Chinese games industry hits $9.7 billion in 2012

Online gaming accounts for 90 per cent of the industry, mobile a distant second

The Chinese games industry grew 35.1 per cent year-on-year to reach total estimated revenue of $9.7 billion.

According to data released in the 2012 China Games Industry Report, reported by Techweb, online gaming accounted for 90 per cent of total revenue - around $9.1 billion.

[majiebeast]

99% of that is from ruining games with gold farming/botting.

[adorie]

I don't know about 99%, cause they spend money on games there too. They can sometimes have great addictions to games, as we have read from time to time on N4G.

I will go out on a limb and say that the farming industry there has contributed a significant portion of this total, though.

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

And selling kids to play?

[Catoplepas]

Considering the fact that gold farming is actually illegal in China, I doubt the China Games Industry Report would factor it into it's revenue.

[adorie]

It might be illegal, but it is still prevalent, also if you think anyone is ignoring the figures that farmers generate, then you'd be foolish to think so. I have been gaming for quite awhile and farmers have been around over 10 years, in my ONLINE GAMES. The majority of those farmers, even today? Chinese.

The communist party of China knows this is good business and will act as if they are doing something about it.

Pockets lined, same old stick, like in every country.

[The Meerkat]

97,000,000,000 blank DVDs

[3-4-5]

98% made from copying or stealing somebody else's idea though.

[FinalomegaS]

is that from legit games or just games sold regardless of origin.

[AO1JMM]

Do any of those games even qualify as bargain bin in the western world? LOL

[pedroyamato]

Reading some comments here I guess since when american ppl got so naive.

China just topped a 300 million ppl middle class this last year. It is more than the entire US.

They will move the money around world for the next 50 yrs, so everybody should just pay attention, they can save the game industry, or maybe, even destroy it. The chinese number not only for games, but for entertainment industry can indicate a lot how they will proceed, change, work from now on.

[Qrphe]

Yes these people don't really understand what it's being talked about here. I remember when US companies used to exports engineering positions all over China (I can only speak for this industry but I believe it's representative of the great picture), yet as of this year and the last, this shipping of jobs to China has decreased dramatically due to Chinese engineering positions reaching similar salaries to the ones in the US.

China is an economic monster and I can clearly see them taking over as the world's first super power eventually, so it makes sense that their industries (including the video game industry) would see similar fates (they already have the largest MMO market, which is one of the most profitable video game markets).

[pedroyamato]

Well said, bubble up

China is an important partner for any company or market that want to succeed in a near future