China sees strong growth in mobile games market
Mobile games are popular all over the world, but in China, the game market has boomed in the first quarter. Gaming in China has been a somewhat tricky situation for the past several years. The Central Government imposed a ban on gaming consoles in 2000 that has all but stymied the country’s market for console games. Despite the ban, many Chinese consumers consider themselves to be avid gamers and, in the past, have turned to PC gaming over other forms. With the advent of mobile technology, however, these consumers have been showing a great deal of interest in mobile games.
Games market grows as mobile technology thrives
China’s mobile games market has been experiencing strong growth over the past several months. Consumers have proven themselves to be heavily reliant on their mobile devices, which also means that they turn to these devices for entertainment when necessary. Mobile games have become an ideal form of entertainment for commuters and for students spending time between classes. These people are not only willing to spend their time on mobile games, of course, as they are also eager to spend money on these games as well.
Market exceeds $350 million in first quarter
The country’s market for mobile games has breached the $350 million mark for the first quarter of this year, a 30% increase over what it had been during the same quarter of 2012. The boom is being attributed to the growing popularity of so called mobile network games — games that require an Internet connection to play. These mobile games typically offer strong social elements that allow consumers to connect with one another and play together.
Console ban may be good for the mobile games sector
China’s ban on consoles may be a powerful boon for mobile games. The lack of competition in this given market has allowed mobile games to flourish and reach a large portion of the population. Most of the mobile games enjoyed by consumers are free to obtain, but also offer content for a modest fee. Consumers have proven that they are happy to pay for additional content, as long as the game can hold their attention.
Second place, behind Android, was Symbian. Apple’s devices make up only 19.9 percent of the Chinese mobile market, while Symbian is a notable but not enormous step above at 23 percent. That said, while this shows that Symbian has fallen by 2 percent in its own market share, iOS has maintained about the same strength. This suggests that Apple isn’t necessarily advancing as much as Android is taking on some of Symbian’s former market share.