Gamers in China are big fans of free-to-play, says a report.
The size of the mobile gaming market in the United States will soon be overtaken by that of China, says a report.
Research firm Superdata estimates that Chinese gamers are on track to spend around $3 billion this year on mobile games, and are expected to soon overtake the $3.2 billion US mobile games market.
The spending rate of the US market, on the other hand, continues to grow, but at a slower rate than that of China
The report also reveals that the average revenue per paying user in
China is $32.46, compared to the $21.60 rate in the US. China's average
revenue has grown more than 20% in the past year.
What does this mean? The report concludes that both markets will need to
focus on research monetisation mechanics within the ubiquitous
free-to-play market. There may be significant differences in the way
that the two markets grow, however, as China's leading platform is
Android, as opposed to the US' preference for Apple's iPhone.
Of course, mobile isn't the only area of growth in the Chinese market -
Microsoft recently announced that it would be releasing the Xbox One in China this September, the first system of its kind to launch since China lifted its ban on consoles earlier this year.
King, the developer behind Candy Crush Saga, is at the forefront of the
growing free-to-play market. "The micro-transaction is so strong and
it’s definitely a much better model," King's Tommy Palm recently told Consoleinfo. "I think all companies have to transition over to that."
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