Business
        

Technology

Online game industry levels off, insiders say

Updated: 2011-01-20 14:11

By Chen Limin (China Daily)

Twitter Facebook Myspace Yahoo! Linkedin Mixx

Creative concepts and business models urged to maintain growth

BEIJING - Government officials and China's online game providers said on Wednesday that the industry will not sustain rapid growth if it fails to innovate and rid itself of repetitive online games, repeating the challenge the 30-billion-yuan ($4.55 billion) industry faces.

China's online game market, which expanded rapidly over the past 10 years, has entered a "steady" development curve and "needs to solve problems that used to be less noticeable during the fast market expansion", said Sun Shoushan, deputy director of the industry regulator, General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP).

His remarks were made after GAPP released figures Wednesday showing the industry's annual sales reached 32.37 billion yuan last year, an increase of 26.3 percent from 2009.

Sun added that the industry's revenues will easily exceed 50 billion yuan in five years' time, based on a "conservative" annual growth rate of about 10 percent.

"The industry maintained good momentum last year, even with a worldwide economic slowdown," said Sun, "but the lack of innovation has become a problem that may hinder its development."

Online game providers, who saw signs the market was slowing in the second and third quarters last year, agreed.

Related readings:
Online game industry levels off, insiders say China has 265m online game users: blue paper
Online game industry levels off, insiders say Online game good for kids: CUHK
Online game industry levels off, insiders say Online game vendors to be hit hard
Online game industry levels off, insiders say China online game market shrinks in Q2

"Of the hundreds of online games produced every year, most are repeats and copies of each other," said Liu Wei, president of a major online-game company, Giant Interactive Group Inc.

She added that in addition to innovative content, online game providers also have to think about new business models.

She said the company will try a method of generating revenue that differs from the time- and prop-based business models in its online game "ZT Online 2", which will be launched in a half year.

Other companies, however, are putting more of their efforts into Web games and games on social networking sites. Such games have increasingly gained users in past year or two, compared with massively multiplayer online role-playing games, whose growth has slowed after years of quick development.

"We may even separate our Web game department as a new company for further growth in this area," said Wang Feng, chief executive officer of LineKong Entertainment Technology Co Ltd, an online-game company.

The country's largest online game provider Tencent Holdings Limited, earlier said it will also invest more in the niche game markets this year, such as real-time strategy games, sports games, and games on Web pages.

Tencent held 28.5 percent of the country's online game market last quarter, followed by Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd with 18.1 percent, and NetEase.com Inc with 16.3 percent, according to the domestic research firm Analysys International.

E-paper

Ear We Go

China and the world set to embrace the merciful, peaceful year of rabbit

Preview of the coming issue
Carrefour finds the going tough in China
Maid to Order

European Edition

Specials

Mysteries written in blood

Historical records and Caucasian features of locals suggest link with Roman Empire.

Winning Charm

Coastal Yantai banks on little things that matter to grow

New rules to hit property market

The State Council launched a new round of measures to rein in property prices.

Top 10 of 2010
China Daily in Europe
The Confucius connection