Having been to China and having been inside one of their internet “cafes,” where large groups of people sit crunched together playing online videogames non-stop I can tell you that some people in China will put up with anything to get online and play some videogames — even death. Some of the “cafes” I went into reminded me of holding pens used at county fairs, but dirtier. The Chinese like their free online games, and according to a recent study by Niko Partners released this past week the number of them playing those games is growing at an “incredible rate.”
That rate of growth means that they are projecting that there will be 64 million people playing online games in China by the end of the year. That’s 1,246.11 times the population of Eddy County, New Mexico (I love you Google). Most of these gamers will spend $56 during the year to play these games and prefer to play free games while spending their money on micro-transactions. Niko has previously said that the Chinese online games market will reach $8.9 billion by the end of the year, with 77 percent of that coming from MMOs.
Anyone know a way I can easily become the owner of a popular MMO in China? I’m thinking there’s some money to be made there.
