Thursday, December 25, 2008

Online games see revenue up by 50%

China's online games market revenue has exceeded 20 billion yuan (US$2.94 billion) this year for the first time, a growth of 50 percent year-on-year, according to a local Internet research firm.

The domestic games market, however, will see its growth rate down to about 20 percent in the next three years, as the market is close to saturation point, iResearch Inc said.

This year, China's online games market revenue was 20.78 billion yuan, a 52.2-percent growth year-on-year, compared to an annual growth rate of 77.7 percent last year, it said.

"The game industry is less influenced by the tough environment as its cost is limited," Kou Xiaowei, official at the General Administration of Press and Publication, said recently.

Kou expected the domestic games industry 2009 growth to be about 50 percent.

A total of 147 million people play online games, 10 percent of the country's population, according to the China Internet Network Information Center.

More than 70 percent of online players have a monthly income of less than 2,000 yuan and players spend 100 to 300 yuan for games on average, which means their potential consumption ability is limited, according to iResearch.

Future growth will come from children and older players, iResearch said.

In 2009, the domestic games industry is expected to grow by 49.7 percent.

The annual growth rate will be 37.3 percent in 2010 and 28.8 percent in 2011, according to iResearch.

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