Are airlines ready for the world’s most lucrative form of entertainment?

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Look around on subways, buses and trains, and you’ll notice two things: One, gamers are everywhere now. Two, they have a desire to play while traveling.

Video games are integral to our culture. The question is not who plays, but what games they like. If you add up all playing and viewing hours, gaming is the world’s favorite pastime. There are more than 2.3 billion active gamers in the world this year, according to a new report from gaming market intelligence firm Newzoo. The report forecasts the global gaming market will grow from $137.9 billion in 2018 to more than $180 billion in 2021.

Demanding the real deal

Gaming represents a valuable opportunity for airlines, but one that comes with high expectations. Gamers want the same high-speed connections, access to gaming community forums and video content for double-screen experiences just as they experience at home. Further, they don’t want low-quality games that are thrown onboard as an afterthought. Instead, they expect a high-quality, immersive experience that provides entertainment value for the entirety of their flight.

Airlines looking to facilitate better passenger experiences and explore revenue opportunities need to keep that in mind. As Peter Warman, the CEO and co-founder of Newzoo puts it: “What’s important to gamers is that they feel respected.”

Gamers expect playing Candy Crush on a plane to look no different than it does on their current generations of tablets and smartphones. Airlines considering integrating gaming into their inflight experience need to ensure the technical specifications of their inflight systems are always up to date.

There’s also the need to deliver fast and dependable inflight connectivity to appeal to the immense popularity of social and multiplayer gaming experiences. That means airlines must continually invest in the latest technology to keep gamers of all stripes happy.

Your inflight entertainment screen, upgraded

Airlines can take comfort in knowing people already enjoy using inflight entertainment and communications systems. Seatback monitors, due to their screen size, are an inherently better option for gaming than a smartphone. Customers are ready to use seatback screens for games, and that willingness-to-play can turn into a great deal of value for savvy airlines

More than ever, airlines need to understand the importance of immersive entertainment. Passengers don’t just want passive entertainment options, but active ones that will keep them engaged throughout their journey. Read details on how by providing gaming options, airlines can tap into an exciting market that both exceeds passenger expectations and drives revenue opportunities.

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