Mobile games are picking up steam in China
When it comes to online gaming, China is a thriving market. China has been closed off to console gaming for several years, but this has allowed the PC gaming sector to thrive. While laws exist in the country that limit the amount of time a person can spend on online games, the PC game market has managed to grow exponentially over the past few years. According to a new report from Niko Partners, the PC online game market in China is expected to hit $11.9 billion in revenue by the end of this year. Mobile games, however, may derail these forecasts.
Online games continue to prove very successful among consumers
One of the most popular online games in China currently is World of Warcraft. This game has helped the PC gaming market thrive due to its addicting nature and the hours upon hours of content it offers to players. Less popular online games have also helped the growth of the market, but the grip that these games have on the Chinese market may be loosened by a major shift in focus toward mobile games and other, less casual titles.
Mobile games offer consumers more freedom
The Chinese market is beginning to grow more interested in mobile games. Part of the reason behind this is because these games are often more social and much more casual than other online games. China also does not restrict the time consumers can spend on mobile games, and these games are not required to be played in Internet cafes, making them immediately more accommodating to those that are not interested in spending a few hours in a particular space.
Online games expected to continue showing strong progress
While online games may be losing their luster with Chinese consumers to some degree, the market is still responsible for strong revenue. Niko Partners predicts that the online PC gaming market will continue to grow despite the impact of mobile games and that this growth will remain steady for the next five years.
China Mobile sees major progress in mobile games
Mobile games continue to generate a great deal f attention in China. This week, China Mobile, one of the country’s largest telecommunications companies, announced that 25% of the applications downloaded from its Mobile Market app store were games. Moreover, these mobile games account for the vast majority of the revenue generated from all of the applications found on the company’s Mobile Market. This makes the mobile games sector the most lucrative sector in the mobile space, at least in China.
Majority of revenue in app market comes from games
According to China Mobile, mobile games represent 87.5% of total revenue earned by the Mobile Market. These games are rampantly popular among Chinese consumers, many of whom use them for entertainment purposes or, quite simply, to pass the time. China Mobile notes that the number of people willing to pay for mobile games is significantly higher than those willing to pay for games on other platforms. Up to 30% of mobile consumers, for instance, have paid or are willing to pay for mobile games of some kind, whereas 1-2% of consumers are willing to pay for PC games.
In-app purchases are becoming more common
China Mobile also notes that consumers are willing to have the fees tied to their mobile games included in their regular phone bill, with approximately 70% of mobile gamers favoring this practice. In-app purchases have also become the stable of the mobile games sector in China, with 90% of all games in the Mobile Market offering some form of in-app purchase. China Mobile expects that in-app purchases will eventually replace the pay-to-download model that has long dominated the applications market, leading most, if not all, mobile games to be free.
China sees economic growth in games
Mobile games have become a strong force in the Chinese economy. For several years, China’s game industry has been somewhat isolated, largely restricted to the borders of its native country. Despite this, the industry has become very affluent in the economy by providing consumers with countless hours of entertainment.
