From Fortnite to Smart Frames: Gaming Growth, Hardware Inflation and AR Innovation

The gaming landscape is shifting fast. In this episode of "MediaTalk," S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan analyst Neil Barbour breaks down the sector's biggest stories: Chinese mega-publishers like Tencent and NetEase are crushing it with smart live-service strategies, while Xbox struggles under the weight of $800 console price tags and shrinking margins. Meanwhile, Nintendo's Switch 2 is dominating hardware sales even without a blockbuster Mario or Zelda title. But it's not all consoles and controllers. Neil explores what PC gaming growth means and why Roblox's safety measures could slow its meteoric increases. The conversation takes a futuristic turn at the Augmented World Expo, where Neil test-drives the latest smart glasses from Meta, Snap, XReal, and the sleeper hit Raven Prism — revealing which devices might actually make it into our daily lives. Are $800 consoles pricing out the next generation of gamers? Will consumers adopt smart glasses in public if they solve real problems? More S&P Global content: Data & Dimensions | Ep. 6 - An Investment Insider's Look at Gaming in 2026 Data & Dimensions | Ep. 13 - What Xbox could learn from Atari Featured experts: Neil Barbour, S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan analyst  Credits: Host/Author: Mike Reynolds Producer/Editor: Sarah James www.spglobal.com www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence