A recent survey of 13,000 consumers in 13 countries found that more than 20 percent of respondents said they spend up to half of their leisure time playing video games. Conducted by market research firm GMI, the poll found 30 percent of those surveyed in India and 20 percent of respondents in Mexico spend up to half of their leisure time playing games, compared with respondents from the U.S. (24%) and Germany (24%). Eighty percent of all consumers surveyed said they believe people will spend more time playing video games over the next ten years. "Relatively unexploited markets in Latin America and in Asia such as India offer new growth to the videogame industry," said analyst Billy Pidgeon. While 58 percent of consumers overall don't think games are a good form of social activity, this thinking is reversed in India and Mexico, where 4 percent and 64 percent of those surveyed, respectively, play games to socialize -- compared with other nations like the Netherlands and France, where only 14 percent and 20 percent of respondents, respectively, said they played games socially.
Alternative Payment Methods (APMs) – comprising digital wallets, instant payments, and QR payment systems – are experiencing explosive growth that's reshaping the global financial services marketplace. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research , the combined global transaction value for APMs is projected to reach $142 trillion by 2030. What's particularly fascinating is the underlying driver behind this trend: a growing desire for financial sovereignty, with nations developing domestic payment ecosystems rather than remaining dependent on international financial networks. Payment Ecosystem Market Development In 2024, approximately 45 percent of the global population used digital wallets – a remarkable adoption rate for a technology that barely existed a decade ago. China leads this transition, with 95 percent of its population using WeChat's payment functionality. WeChat exemplifies the "super app" phenomenon, where payment capabilities are in...