China's growing gaming market
Take a close look at the trends in the mobile gaming market in China, and you’ll see the signposts of an industry that’s evolving from fledgling upstart to mature market.
The mobile games segment has been staking an increasingly significant claim on the overall digital games market in China for several years. While online PC gaming is still the undisputed giant of the industry, and still dwarfs mobile gaming revenue by at least three times, analytics firm DataEye — a company that works closely with my employer, Niko Partners — reports that mobile games now account for nearly 40% of the country’s total digital games revenue.
DataEye puts total revenues in mobile gaming at $7.94 billion. However, that number includes revenue from exported games. Independent research by Niko Partners puts in-country revenues at $5.5 billion — higher than that of the U.S., but lower than the roughly $18 billion in PC online revenue in China.
The key thing to keep in mind here is just how fast mobile gaming’s ascent in the country has been. In 2012, mobile accounted for just 5.4% of all gaming in China. Last year, it accounted for a whopping 36.6%, if you include the export value (as DataEye does). Although the growth in mobile gaming seems certain to continue, the same blistering pace is probably not sustainable in the long run. The expansion will most likely slow over time.
Here are some of the key factors that point toward an industry rapidly growing into maturity:
The Big Guys are Moving In
The mobile games segment has been staking an increasingly significant claim on the overall digital games market in China for several years. While online PC gaming is still the undisputed giant of the industry, and still dwarfs mobile gaming revenue by at least three times, analytics firm DataEye — a company that works closely with my employer, Niko Partners — reports that mobile games now account for nearly 40% of the country’s total digital games revenue.
DataEye puts total revenues in mobile gaming at $7.94 billion. However, that number includes revenue from exported games. Independent research by Niko Partners puts in-country revenues at $5.5 billion — higher than that of the U.S., but lower than the roughly $18 billion in PC online revenue in China.
The key thing to keep in mind here is just how fast mobile gaming’s ascent in the country has been. In 2012, mobile accounted for just 5.4% of all gaming in China. Last year, it accounted for a whopping 36.6%, if you include the export value (as DataEye does). Although the growth in mobile gaming seems certain to continue, the same blistering pace is probably not sustainable in the long run. The expansion will most likely slow over time.
Here are some of the key factors that point toward an industry rapidly growing into maturity:
The Big Guys are Moving In