Online PC Gaming Will Grow to 9.2 Billion Dollars

Niko Partners has issued a report projecting that the Chinese online videogaming market will reach an overall value of no less than 9.2 billion dollars in 2014, the main sources of growth being the ever expanding infrastructure that is being built to connect more and more of China and the power of social networking sites that are better connected to MMO titles.

The study also says that 68 million online gamers logged in in China at the end of 2009 and that the number will reach 141 million in 2014. It also seems that most of them are interested in so-called free-to-play titles, which make their money through microtransactions. This model is just taking off in the West, with titles like Free Realms from Sony and Battlefield Heroes from Electronic Arts.

China is not only growing in terms of people playing but it appears that those already hooked on online gaming are ready to pay more for the experience. 63% of those surveyed by Niko Partners spent more than during the previous year and 88% of them also played games on social networks. Online gaming in China is centered around the PC (the platform that was supposed to be dying) and Internet cafes and their social elements are part of the draw.

Lisa Cosmas Hanson, who is a managing partner at Niko Partners, stated that “While the global economic downturn hurt video game publishers in much of the world, China’s online game industry reflected no pain in 2009 and gamers continued to embrace online games as the best inexpensive source of social entertainment available.”

Her firm has determined that more and more Chinese players are getting into the market every year and expanding the audience, while Western gamers are still interested in experiences that have no online component.