This Company Went From 'Game Over' to Gaming Industry Power Player
They say it is all about finding your niche or, in the case of PC hardware you need to diversify and capitolize on the markets that are making money. Gaming and enthusiast PCs are hot right now so why not take advantage.
To understand how the company made its pivot, first let's look at its trajectory. MSI was founded in 1986 with a focus on designing and manufacturing motherboards for computers. Having gone public two years later, the company's next big moves came in 2003 and 2008 when it began selling branded notebooks and netbooks, respectively. At its height during those years, MSI's revenue hit $3.1 billion (U.S. dollars) in 2008.
When I started Ninjalane.com MSI wasn't a huge player in the motherboard market, they had products out there but nothing really stood out and then, overnight it seems, MSI changed and created silos of specialization. Of course, I cared more about the OC line then gaming but that started a trend that has steamrolled ever since.
Unlike consumer PC owners, customers in the gaming world typically demand high-performance devices to help enhance their game play--and they're willing to pay extra for them. While sales of traditional PCs have been slow or trending downward, high-end gaming PC sales are thriving. Specifically, the global gaming hardware market continues to grow and is expected to reach $140 billion by 2019. That's billion, with a "b."
Interest in gaming hardware has been driven in part by the immense global popularity of eSports. With major events including the International and the League of Legends World Championship, revenues from the eSports industry were expected to reach almost $500 million last year, up more than 50 percent from 2015.
This is a key part of the entrepreneur.com article, It will be the enthusaists that dominate the custom PC market and is something I have said time and time again. Personally I'm looking forward to the future of the PC, even if Intel and Microsoft want to kill it off.
Related Web URL: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/288093
