The mobile market continues to expand in many ways, thanks to a number of quality apps and games that keep consumers coming back. With that, China has proven to be a strong market when it comes to mobile, as a new report by Niko Partners (via GamesIndustry International) shows.
Its report shows that the mobile growth rate in China has already reached its peak growth, but that doesn’t mean money will be dropping out anytime soon. The market managed to generate $5.5 billion domestically over the past year, along with an additional $1.3 billion from exports.
Niko stated that we haven’t seen anything yet, as it expects the market to reach $11.1 billion in just three years’ time, by 2019. Google Play will likely play a big part in that, thanks to increased Android revenues and ad campaigns featuring various foreign celebrities.
The report also notes that eSports will see a great amount of expansion, with more interest in investment when it comes to competitive gaming. Thanks to this growth, Internet cafes are seeing more business than ever before, with more and more players taking part in MOBA-based games like League of Legends and DOTA 2, amongst others. This indicates that the Chinese market isn’t just thriving from mobile games, but also PC titles.
Niko noted that 40 percent of overall revenue for the past year came from the top 10 mobile games on the market, with 420 million gamers in all. However, that number is also expected to rise, reaching as far as 570 million gamers by 2019.
One other area where the Chinese gaming market could thrive is virtual reality. Even though it won’t be as widely accepted by consumers as some companies are hoping, Niko believes that there’s potential, especially with public demonstrations of virtual reality gear at events like the China Joy show, which is considered one of the country’s biggest trade events. Other notable factors in the report include an increase in domestic investment, as well as more games featuring properties that are based outside of China (potentially from Western developers). That said, some companies should be aware of the higher development costs and copycat developments that emerge as a result.
Not everything was positive in the report, as consoles like PlayStation 4 and Xbox One aren’t quite making as big an impact as hoped. However, there’s still time for them to grow, especially with more properties that worldwide audiences can relate to, such as Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.
