China proves promising market for mobile games
In China, mobile games are quickly becoming a big deal. Smartphones and tablets have been gaining popularity throughout the country for some time, but mobile gaming is a relatively new trend among young consumers. Over the past few years, mobile games have become one of the primary interests among consumers throughout China. This has partly to do with a ban placed against traditional gaming consoles by the Central Government. This ban essentially ensured that mobile devices would be the most popular gaming platforms among consumers.
Companies like Yodo1 hold keys to Chinese market
Enthusiasm concerning China’s mobile games market is quite high, considering the fact that this sector alone accounted for more than $352 million in revenue during the first quarter of 2013. During the first quarter, the market experienced a 30% increase in revenue over the previous year. Yodo1 is one of the Chinese gaming companies that have been taking note of the growing interest that consumers have in mobile games and the financial benefits that this sector represents.
China too big to ignore for the game industry
According to Yodo1 CEO Henry Fong, the Chinese market is too promising to ignore. Yodo1 works with developers from Western countries and helps them bring their mobile games to China. Without companies like Yodo1, Western developers would have difficulty entering the Chinese market due to the country’s stringent regulations concerning foreign trade. Gameloft, a French company, first tried to break into China in 2003 and has only very recently found the stability it needs to pursue consumers in a significant way with its mobile games.
Mobile games could be a successful vehicle for companies like Yodo1
Companies like Yodo1 have taken note of the promising environments that mobile games are subjected to in China and have been positioning themselves to be attractive to foreign developers. These companies essentially hold the keys to the Chinese market and many are well aware of this fact. For these organizations, mobile games are not the only an entertainment medium, they are also a promising business opportunity.
Mobile games continue to prove financial attractive for game industry
Mobile games have been attracting a great deal of attention recently due to their lucrative nature. The opportunity to amass fortune has proven strong enough to attract hordes of developers to the mobile sector. While the game industry as a whole may be well attuned to the financial prospects that can be found in mobile games, most consumers are not aware of how much money these games actually produce. iDreamSky, a publisher of mobile games, may serve as an adequate example.
Publisher finds success in bringing western games to China
iDreamSky was founded four years ago just as mobile games began finding traction with consumers. The publisher started out small, but quickly grew to account for more than 200 employees as its growth was powered by some of the world’s most popular mobile games, such as Halfbrick’s Fruit Ninja and Imangi’s Temple Run. The publisher was able to bring these games from western markets and into China, where they found a great deal of success among Chinese consumers that had been very interested in mobile games.
Publisher grosses up to $7 million per month
The publisher’s focus on bringing western mobile games to China has served it well. China is a very competitive market when it comes to gaming and the mobile space. The country is home to thousands of independent Android app stores that are not associated with Google. There are also varying interests among the diverse consumer groups found throughout the country. This makes it difficult to make games appealing to a particular demographic, especially those that are played on mobile devices. iDreamSky has found a way to overcome this issue, however, and is estimated to gross as much as $7 million every month simply by bringing western games to China.
Western games may be more exotic for Chinese consumers
The publisher’s co-founder and executive vice president, Jeff Lyndon, claims that bringing western games to China has provided the market with something unique. Local developers tend to target a very specific demographic, a common practice that can often lead to games that are unappealing to those outside of that target audience. These games are typically associated with elements that are common throughout Chinese entertainment. Western mobile games, however, are not specifically designed with the Chinese market in mind, thus offer some sense of exoticism to gamers.
