The development of Chinese online games in times of economic crisis Liuxin
Contents 01 Overview of online gaming industry 02 Behaviors of online gamers 03 Reflections on the Chinese Gaming Industry
01 Overview of game industry
Categories of PC games PC Games Single PC games Online Games MMOG Browser Games Casual Games MMORPG Game Competition Platform MOG Board games Advanced Casual Games MMOFPS MMORG MMOSG MMOR MMORPG :Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game MMOG :Massive Multiplayer Online game MOG :Multiplayer Online Game
Online gaming population Statistical Survey Report on Internet Development in China Number of online gamers 300 million 200 100 0 Jun.2006 Dec.2006 Jun.2007 Dec.2007 Jun.2008 Dec.2008 Jun.2009 Scale Growth Rate 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Online gamer: The person who plays any kind of online game at least once every six months. 2008 research and analysis report of Chinese MMOG gamers 50% MMOG gamers growth rate million 100 MMOG gamer: The person who plays a MMOG product at least once a month. 0% 2005 年 2006 年 2007 年 2008 年 Scale of MMOG gamers Growth rate 0
Market size of online games 25 20 15 10 5 0 Market size of online games in China Billion RMB 2002 年 2003 2003 年 2004 2004 年 2005 年 2006 年 2007 年 2008 年 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Revenue Growth rate Why have online game appears largely immune to the effects of the current economic recession? Market Size
02 Behaviors of online gamers
Age and occupation of online gamers 36-40 3.0% 31-35 5.3% 26-30 18.0% age 40+ 1.7% 0-18 16.5% manager unemplo 3.9% yee 3.8% employe e 10.5% occupation unemplo yment 3.5% Others farmer 2.7% 0.3% students 33.8% 23-25 19.6% 18-22 36.0% freelance 14.3% staff 27.1%
Income of online gamers Monthly income of online gamers 5001 8000RMB 3.5% 3001 5000RMB 11.3% 8000 RMBabove 2.3% 2001 3000RMB 16.4% none 31.2% 1001 2000RMB 25.5% 1000RMB or below 9.9%
Total years of online gaming experience 5-7years 14.8% 7years+ 10.7% Gamers are becoming more sophisticated, marketing methods will change. 0-1year 6.6% 1-2years 17.3% Total years of internet usage 7years+ 30.6% 0-1year 2.4% 1-2years 7.4% 2-3years 13.9% 3-5years 26.8% 2-3years 23.8% 5-7years 22.2% 3-5years 23.6% More sophisticated Gamers are now more sophisticated and savvy than ever now that gamers are highly experienced with gaming and internet usage. As a result, savvy gamers are now an excellent group for companies to reach with various multi-marketing methods. For example, some companies have involved fictive literature written by individuals and SNS in their marketing. I predict that the other internet services such as online video and blogging will also be incorporated into companies marketing methods.
Keeping users is the key for attracting new users How gaming information is obtained Friends Official website Search engine Internet café Professional game portal Content platform BBS Outdoor advertising Blog Others 1.5% 60.0% 54.3% 43.8% 42.4% 38.5% 28.8% 22.6% 18.6% Factors that influence product choice 86.6% Use of friends Praise of friends Result of game test Content of game Publicize Brand of operator Spoken person Other 83.0% 75.1% 63.8% 45.7% 45.2% 41.8% 14.0% 7.0% Focus on friends Friends play an important role in online gaming, especially when users are deciding which game to play. For game companies, traditional marketing methods are not as effective as before.companies now have to develop new marketing methods to reach the new group of gamers, who are now more sophisticated and savvy than ever.
Number of female gamers are increasing rapidly Gender of online gamers The growth rate of female gamers is Female 38.1% Male 61.9% higher than male gamers. Female gamers outnumber male gamers in the primary target user age. The gender of online gamers by age level 39.1% 34.6% 19.2% 15.2% 18.7% 21.6% 19.8% 13.9% 6.4% 2.7% 3.3% 2.4% 2.0% 1.0% 0-18 18--22 23--25 26--30 31--35 36--40 40+ Male Female
Online game market in rural area Breakdown of Urban and Rural internet Users Rural 28.4% Breakdown of Urban and Rural gaming Users Rural 21.8% Urban 71.6% Urban 78.2% Urban and rural gamers by age 39.7% 35.3% Urban region rural area 18.6% 16.1% 19.9% 18.4% 18.4% 16.1% 5.5% 4.0% 3.2% 2.1% 1.8% 1.1% 0--18 18--22 23--25 26--30 31--35 36--40 40+
89.7% 78.0% Home Gaming in Rural Areas Rural players are centralized in internet cafes. Internet café s are the popular way of paying for gaming. 43.5% 41.8% Location Users are dependent on telecom networks and mobile phone cards when paying game fees. Gaming in rural areas: site-specific behaviors 10.3% 5.7% 6.0% 3.8% 1.4% 2.1% Internet Company School Other cafe Urban region Rural areas Internet café Shop pay with phone or mobile service Pay with internet bank C2C website mobile phone card B2C website Pay with phone or ADSL ATM Payment 15.9% 12.8% 10.2% 8.0% Rural areas 29.6% 22.7% 21.5% 21.7% 36.0% 32.2% 35.2% 40.0% 31.2% 34.8% 41.9% Urban region 62.1% 53.4% 56.3%
Gaming habits feed in-game competitiveness number of games played at the same time 2 27% 3 10% 4 + 3% 1 60% life cycle of game products 5years above 6.8% 3-5years 3.4% 2-3years 7.0% Others 12.3% 1-2years 18.2% 3months/b elow 19.0% 6-12months 18.3% 3-6months 15.1% Competition among gaming products will increase as gamers decrease the number of games played at the same time. Shorter life cycles in gaming products indicate that companies need to improve the quality of their products.
03 Reflections on the Chinese Gaming Industry
Why did online game appears largely immune to the effects of the current economic recession?
Possible Reasons Character of online games: Playing games is a natural trait of people. Gamers are strongly committed to playing. Games function as a SNS and as a form of social networking. Changes in business models: User can play game without any difficulty Free gaming increases the likelihood for gamers to pay for a richer gaming experience. Increasing revenue options Background of Typical Gamers: young Low-Income Low-education
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