Game markets: Asia and China

In recent years, the Asia Pacific gaming industry has attracted the attention of investors, developers and analysts. Within Asia, Japan, South Korea and China are the leading markets. The Asia Pacific remains the largest games market and is expected to reach USD71.4 billion in revenue, with a spectacular 39 per cent growth in 2018. By 2021, domestic market revenue in China is poised to increase from USD27 billion to USD35 billion. Asia’s gaming market is being transformed by Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technology as well as gaming on social media platforms. Above all, Esports looks set to transform the industry. These were the findings from a study conducted by Spire Research and Consulting in Q3 2018.

Gaming market in Asia Pacific (APAC)

The Asia-Pacific region has been leading the global electronic game market. In 2017, total revenue from the gaming market reached USD51.2 billion, almost twice the revenue of the second-ranked North American region.

Electronic games have a broader audience due to the adoption of free-to-play gaming along with rising Smartphone penetration. Mobile gaming continues to see tremendous growth within the region. AR and VR are examples of new technologies that could transform the sector within the region.

Table 1 shows the gaming market revenue from 2015 – 2018, by region. Asia Pacific revenue increased from USD43.1 billion in 2015 to USD71.4 billion in 2018.

Gaming market in China

In China, more than 500 million gamers generated over 56 per cent of APAC gaming revenue and 28 per cent of global gaming revenue in 2017. Games like League of Legends have a vast following in China.

Approximately 36 per cent of the world’s game market uses mobile devices, with nearly 183 million mobile players in China alone.

The field of Esports also promises to transform the industry. Esports refers to the public playing of electronic games by professional or semi-professional players, along the lines of conventional sports. Business and institutional eco-systems are emerging around Esports, mirroring those that exist around conventional sports like football and basketball. In China, Tencent-owned Arena of Valor and Clash Royale are the top mobile Esports games. China accounted for 15 per cent of global Esports revenue in 2017, nearly USD660 million.

Among Chinese consumers, mobile VR games are very popular, augmented by affordable and cost-effective VR devices . Chinese consumers prefer low-priced VR devices such as Samsung (Gear) and Google (Cardboard), over costly VR devices provided by HTC (Vive) and Facebook (Oculus).

The rise of mobile gaming

Mobile gaming in Asia is taking off, in contrast to the West where desktop gaming continues to play a major role in the industry.

Over the past five years, the structure of China’s online gaming market has changed drastically, with more share going to mobile games over PC games.

Out of the overall gaming sector in China, the total revenue share of mobile games increased fivefold from 11.6 per cent in 2011 to 63.2 per cent in 2017, as shown in Table 2. This figure is projected to get even bigger, with mobile gaming revenue expected to reach 76.5 per cent in 2022.

In terms of market value growth, Chinese mobile gaming revenue has expanded by 250 per cent from 2015 to 2017.

The rapid expansion of cheap Smartphones with high performance and the rise of female gamers are some of the key drivers behind China’s booming mobile gaming market.

Big players in China

China’s mobile gaming market is highly competitive and currently dominated by Tencent and NetEase.

The world’s top earning mobile game publisher is Tencent with 147 mobile games , including blockbuster titles like Arena of Valor that has over 80 million active gamers each day on an average weekend.

WeChat, a mobile messaging application of Tencent, currently has more than 1 billion monthly active gamers in 2018 and serves as a vital distribution channel for games.

Tencent’s WeChat Mini Program has also seen rapid development, with the viral mini game Tiao Yi Tiao (a mini game directly accessible from the Wechat app, with a scoreboard that permits players to view friends’ rankings) boasting 100 million players.

Upcoming trends for mobile gaming

The Asia Pacific region will remain the largest gaming market by revenue, with over 25 per cent growth expected in 2018.

Three key trends will shape the gaming market going forward.

China’s mobile gaming market will continue to grow, not only in terms of revenue but also in terms of sophistication and quality. This will continue to fuel the development of mobile Esports.
Game exports are expected to rise as Chinese publishers adapt or develop games catering to global audiences.
VR and AR will gain traction despite still being at an embryonic stage. Companies like NetEase have achieved success in AR development and will be experimenting more with this technology in the coming years.

Conclusion

The future is undoubtedly bright for the gaming industry. AR, VR and Esports are a few of the hot concepts of 2018 that are ready to drive gaming in the coming years.

Mobile gaming continues to gain a much larger audience than PC and console games, due to advancements in technology and affordable devices.

China will continue to play a leading role in this industry world-wide. The outlook for Chinese gaming exports is promising. For example, in spite of tough competition, Chinese companies plan to enter South Korea to build more Esports leagues.

Read here more:https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/media/game-markets-asia-and-china/

FIFA World Cup 2018 holds lessons for successful team building

The FIFA World Cup 2018 is widely seen as one of the best World Cups in recent memory, with many surprises and goals aplenty. One talking point was the role of teamwork as opposed to just superstar talent. What lessons can businesses learn from the beautiful game? Leon Perera, CEO of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his thoughts in The Business Times – Views from the Top section on 23 July 2018. As World Cup fever draws to an end, the game lived up to its hype with breath-taking goals and outstanding performances. Perera highlighted the role of 'team effort' over mere individual talent, which was evident in the early failure of teams with world-class superstars like Argentina and Portugal. Perera also pointed out the importance of investing in new talent pipeline development, which paid rich dividends for France, the winning team and also one of the youngest teams in the World Cup. The game also highlighted the role of risk-taking. A relentless approach t...

Raising a glass to India’s wine market

India is not famous for its wine, but the nation does have a viticultural industry that has been producing wine for centuries. This industry suffered a major setback only in the 19th century when phylloxera – a wild pest – destroyed countless vineyards. Nonetheless, a few entrepreneurs in India are now taking great pains to restore the Indian wine industry, setting their sights on the massive vineyard spreads across Nashik, Maharashtra. This is where Rajeev Samant founded Sula Vineyards in 2002 – making a noteworthy entry into the global wine market. Amongst the first in India to be featured in Wine Spectator – a renowned industry magazine – his company currently holds 65% of the country’s wine market, making him the top wine producer in India. Will India’s entrepreneurs succeed in placing India on the world wine map? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/raising-a-glass-to-indias-wine-market/

Side Click: Are you under the surveillance camera?

Identifying VIPs with strong purchasing power is crucial to retail success. More often than not, retail staff fail to do this in time. Facial recognition technology can help prevent this. But does it put our privacy at risk? With high-spending customers making out-sized contributions to retail profitability, it is increasingly crucial for retailers to provide personalized customer service the minute a VIP customer sets foot in the store. For instance, Katie Holmes reportedly spent USD100,000 on a fashion makeover and USD14,200 on lingerie alone in 2012! This is where identification technology can play a role. NEC, a Japan-based ICT vendor, has developed an identification application based on a facial recognition system – comparing the individual’s facial features against its database, and sending prompts when a match is identified. The initial purpose of the application was to help identify terrorists and criminals , but it was subsequently adapted to the retail setting....

The Indonesian Elections – Will it change the business landscape?

Since 1998, Indonesia has become one of the most dynamic and successful democracies in Southeast Asia today. Though it has navigated the global financial crises of the past five years relatively unscathed, infrastructure bottlenecks and regulatory hurdles have held back the country’s economic potential. How will the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections impact the Indonesian economy and the companies operating in it? Indonesia may become the world’s 7th largest economy by 2030. A growing young population, bountiful natural resources along with an expanding consumer base will help sustain growth. Indonesia’s 2014 elections have been touted by some observers as the country’s most important since 1955. What is at stake? 1. Economic growth Elections do have the ability to kick-start growth by boosting business and consumer confidence in ways that defy normal economic calculations. Witness the surge in confidence that accompanied the election victory of Japan...

China: The quest for clean air

Global air pollution costs add up to more than USD160 billion in lost productivity every year, China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases and the cost to China of carbon emissions is estimated at USD7.6 billion. As China implements countermeasures to ensure clean air, what does that mean for its economy? Will there be a clean-tech silver lining? China’s air pollution chokes its economy More than 80 per cent of Chinese people face regular exposure to dangerous levels of air pollution, which is the cause of death for more than 4,000 people per day on average. The country’s economy grew by approximately 10 per cent year-on-year from 1980 to 2010, but the phenomenal pace of growth came at a big cost to the environment. China’s environmental crisis first became a discussion point during the 1970s with widespread concern over the black smoke emanating from its industrial cities. The primary causes of pollution are the burning of coal in factories and power plants...

The Knowledge to Decide

Search This Blog