China to Be World Gaming Giant
Local Editor
China overtook the US in game revenues, as the nation's consumers are increasingly willing to pay for online entertainment content, according to a report issued by London-based venture capital firm Atomico on Thursday.
Last year, more than 600 million game players in China spent more on games than in any other markets, generating $24.6 billion out of the industry's $101.1 billion global market value, said the report. By contrast, $24.1 billion came from the US market.
An annual analysis report issued by Mary Meeker, a US Internet analyst and a partner in venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers [KPCB], also found that China surpassed the US to become the world's largest gaming market by revenue last year.
Citing data from Amsterdam-headquartered research house Newzoo, Meeker's report said that China will continue leading the global gaming market in 2017, with its game software revenue set to reach $27.5 billion, while the sum generated in the US market is expected to reach $25 billion.
Meeker and domestic analysts attributed the rise of China's gaming industry to the country's large population base, booming mobile Internet and consumers' growing acceptance of paid-for entertainment content.
Meeker's report said that China's Internet sector has entered an entertainment golden age.
Buoyed by activities such as online shopping and games, the country has seen the number of its mobile users surpass 700 million in 2016, up 12 percent year-on-year, according to the KPCB report.
"People's demand for online and mobile games is strong in China, even at a time when the economy is gloomy," Ma Jihua, an analyst with Beijing Daojing Consultant Co, told the Global Times Thursday.
And Chinese consumers are also increasingly willing to pay for games, live-streaming services and video content, which Ma said was facilitated by the rise of convenient mobile payment tools.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
