Perhaps it’s just simply a matter of timing, but recent figures from research firm Analysys International arrive hot on the heels of the Chinese Government’s announcement that they’re banning foreign investment, or ‘influence’ in the domestic online gaming market. Their recent report indicates that the Chinese online gaming market grew 39.5 percent year over year in Q2 2009 to a massive 6.18 billion yuan, or approximately $906 million.
Coming out on top was popular online messaging platform Tencent Holdings. While the company’s QQ messenger is still the primary driver for Tencent, they also operate a number of free-to-play games in the Chinese domestic market. In this Q2 report, Tencent managed to carve out 20.2 percent of market revenues totaling 1.24 billion yuan (~$182 million).
Taking the number 2 Q2 spot was Shanda Games, the recent spinoff from Shanda Interactive Entertainment, which pulled down 20 percent of market revenues with a revenue total of 1.23 billion yuan (~$180 million).
Rounding out the top three, NetEase.com, the recent winners of the highly lucrative Blizzard/Activision World of Warcraft operators license in China managed a healthy 12.7 percent of Chinese domestic market share. While only culling 780 million yuan (~$114 million), in Q2, it’s important to remember that NetEase.com has been through the ringer with Chinese regulators regarding the support levels that Blizzard would fill in the contract.
If these Q2 numbers are any indication, it seems like Niko Partners, who made projections and put some numbers to the page back in May of this year, are right on track. Their report indicates that by 2013, the Chinese online gaming market should reach an annual revenue number value of $8.9 billion. While the market shows no signs of slowing, in fact these numbers clearly indicate a continued growth, it will be interesting to see how the governments’ recent decision to pull the plug on foreign investments in the domestic gaming will effect this growth, and associated revenue streams, if at all.
Tags: China, Chinese, chinese government, netease, Niko Partners, qq messenger, Shanda, tencent
