Gaming monitor shipments doubled in 2018

[Shawn Knight]

Why it matters: Renewed interest in the gaming sector has provided the PC industry with some much-needed momentum, helping to drive upgrade / replacement demand for peripherals. If you've been considering a high-end gaming monitor, now is a great time to make the transition as holiday sales are in full swing.

Shipments of gaming monitors are forecasted to reach 5.1 million units worldwide by the end of 2018 according to a new report from WitsView, a division of TrendForce.

WitsView, who defines a gaming monitor as having a refresh rate over 100Hz, said the forecast represents growth of 100 percent compared to 2017.

Asus and Acer will retain their first and second place spots, respectively, in the global shipment rankings. Beyond that, there’s a bit of a market shuffle going on as AOC / Philips is expected to place third followed by Samsung. Last year, BenQ took home the bronze followed by AOC / Philips in fourth.

WitsView notes that more than 95 percent of gaming products shipped by Samsung this year are of the curved screen variety. Indeed, overall sales of curved gaming monitors are up as the segment has eclipsed 50 percent market share in 2018. That’s up from just 23 percent a year ago. Market share for flat LCD models in the gaming sector, meanwhile, is expected to drop from 77 percent to just 46 percent.

Anita Wang, senior research manager of WitsView, notes that a wave of replacement purchases in Internet cafes in China last year helped spur sales of gaming monitors with high refresh rates among common gamers.

Have you made the jump to a gaming / curved monitor? If so, let us know your thoughts on it in the comments section below.

Image courtesy sezer66, Shutterstock

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https://www.techspot.com/news/77719-gaming-monitor-shipments-doubled-2018.html

 

[GreenNova343]

Nope, haven't made "the jump". Although I love PC gaming, the amount of time spent on our desktop for gaming is well below 50% usage. Plus, I would have to get two of them, as we use a dual-monitor setup (we both love having the extra desktop space for working with apps). For non-gaming purposes, I don't need a monitor with a 100+Hz refresh rate...& I positively cannot stand curved screens. So I'll save my hard-earned money for something more useful...

 

[amstech]

Your missing out if you don't have Gsync or a high refresh rate monitor, even regular browing is silky smooth and the gaming experience is on another level. As far as the curved monitors, they don't sell as good as the regulars. I have nothing against them, used one at a e-show, meh... their ok, nothing special, I like my 27" Omen better.

 

[ShagnWagn]

No I have not "jumped". I am still using my old 24" 1080p monitor from years ago. If I am going to upgrade, I am going to 4k. The current state and price of video cards is ridiculous (plus not fast enough for 4k). Monitor sales, as far as me personally, is suffering because of the video card industry's greed. I also do not need to build a new rig because I can't justify a new card, so the whole PC hardware industry is losing out.

I have no interest in a curved monitor because nobody will be able to watch me play when they come over (a distorted view anyway). I have never used a curved monitor either.

 

[senketsu]

Curved? Yes, and it's not like someone else can't watch you.
Dell U3415Wb, for my games it is fine, Netflix et al, looks great even tho merely 60 Hz refresh
edit: 3440x1440

 

[EClyde]

"We got 'em right where we want 'em". It's capitalism at it's finest

 

[EClyde]

Your missing out if you don't have Gsync or a high refresh rate monitor, even regular browing is silky smooth and the gaming experience is on another level. As far as the curved monitors, they don't sell as good as the regulars. I have nothing against them, used one at a e-show, meh... their ok, nothing special, I like my 27" Omen better.

Keep telling yourself that

 

[LeoLancaster]

Your missing out if you don't have Gsync or a high refresh rate monitor, even regular browing is silky smooth and the gaming experience is on another level. As far as the curved monitors, they don't sell as good as the regulars. I have nothing against them, used one at a e-show, meh... their ok, nothing special, I like my 27" Omen better.

Keep telling yourself that

It's almost like different people have subjectively different experiences and preferences

 

[Evernessince]

Your missing out if you don't have Gsync or a high refresh rate monitor, even regular browing is silky smooth and the gaming experience is on another level. As far as the curved monitors, they don't sell as good as the regulars. I have nothing against them, used one at a e-show, meh... their ok, nothing special, I like my 27" Omen better.

Keep telling yourself that

I was like that years ago before I got my first gaming monitor. It's a genuine difference though and there hasn't been a single gamer I've demoed a 144 Hz panel to that they didn't instantly love.

 

[Nobina]

I still have an old 24 inch 60hz 1080p monitor. It's so old it only has one VGA connector, nothing else, so I have to use digital to analog converter to make it work with the GPU. If I was to buy a new one I would look for 144hz monitor but I don't know if it makes sense buying it with my mid-range setup. Not that I'm in a hurry.

 

[toooooot]

I still have an old 24 inch 60hz 1080p monitor. It's so old it only has one VGA connector, nothing else, so I have to use digital to analog converter to make it work with the GPU. If I was to buy a new one I would look for 144hz monitor but I don't know if it makes sense buying it with my mid-range setup. Not that I'm in a hurry.

When you play your favorite games, notice your average fps. If you cant reach 144, I wouldn't buy it. This is my problem now. There is only one game I can afford to have 144 fps. So I actually feel I made a mistake buying this monitor.

 

[amstech]

What most people do not understand is, they think they need a system capable of running 144 FPS, or a 165 FPS to validate a monitor purchase which runs at 144Hz, or a 165Hz. You can not be more wrong. My Gsync monitor makes even the toughest games look silk smooth on very high settings...even though my old girl can only run Far Cry Primal at 30-40FPS at the settings/resolution I want (2560X1440, high details, SMAA), it looks & feels above 60 and its smoother then it should be.
It's unexplainable, you have to see it to believe it.
Best upgrade since an SSD. I don't know how else to say it, and I am not trying to brag. And my old GTX 670 is limited to 120Hz.
That being said I can't speak for monitors without Gsync or Freesync, I went from a U3011 to a Z4D33AA.

 

[MaXtor]

What most people do not understand is, they think they need a system capable of running 144 FPS, or a 165 FPS to validate a monitor purchase which runs at 144Hz, or a 165Hz. You can not be more wrong. My Gsync monitor makes even the toughest games look silk smooth on very high settings...

Disregarding latency, I tend to agree with you, however there are still exceptions to that. The prime example being CSGO (and CSS) where the netcoding is actually tied to your framerate. In those games if you're only seeing 60 frames per second, you'll only receive 60 updates per second. So if you're on a 128 tick server but getting less than 128fps, then your rates will be inconsistent as you'll be sending 128 updates per second but only downloading as much as your fps. Of course you can cap your rates lower so that lower fps is not causing inconsistent rates, but then you're at a slight disadvantage to higher fps players. Meaning you'd be better off playing on a 64 tick server.