Increasingly, our digital economies are defined by a contest to capture our attention. A product, service, or platform can get us to keep it on-screen, that's a gateway to lucrative advertising revenue and monetization opportunities. We're paying with our attention as much as our money—and according to games industry analyst Matthew Ball, we're giving less of both to videogames.
According to an early access release of Ball's report on games industry trends in 2025, eight countries—the US, Japan, South Korea, the UK, Germany, France, Canada, and Italy—accounted for over 60% of consumer spending prior to the COVID pandemic. But in the years since, Ball says "the 'Mature Market 8' have encountered a severe, persistent, and surprising reality: They are losing in the War for Attention."
