China has 26 million paying online-gamers

by Blake Snow on Jan 12th 2006 1:45PM

According to a new annual report, China has over 26 million paying consumers for online video games. From the article: "There were 26.34 million online game players last year, most of whom paid 30 to 50 yuan (about 3.7 to 6.2 U.S. dollars) per month to subscribe to online services from games providers... The report also showed that the majority of online games subscribers in China were people aged from 19 to 25 last year."

Someone tell Forbes readers to invest in publishers selling to Chinese gamers. And as the trend continues, it should be interesting to see what effect Chinese culture will have on games.

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Reader Comments (7)

26 million gamers? Don't you mean 26 million fulltime employed gold farmers.

I think we can expect more anti-Japanese games: http://news.com.com/2061-10797_3-5861327.html ;-) Seriously though, China should have a tremendous impact on the gaming industry.

If it's costing Chinese gamers $3.70 to $6.20 per month, why do games cost $15 per month in the US?

#3, because their standard of living is not quite the same as here. So, the prices must adjust for the difference in the level of income.

"And as the trend continues, it should be interesting to see what effect Chinese culture will have on games."

You mean it will be interesting to see how much cheaper buying in-game gold with real currency will become?

#1 not all gamers in china are gold farmers. People just think that way cause people have been talking about it so much.

It is similar to how people think USA never tortures.......

Judging a book by its cover is never a good thing, especially if the glossy cover is hiding something really bad and dark.