China could have 59 million gamers this year
Numbers racing up
The latest figures from the China Internet Network Information Center, suggests that the number of online gamers in the People's Republic could pass 59 million in 2008. This would represent a 20% increase over last year's figure, put at 48 million million by the Center.
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The statistics body has apparently spoken to websites, companies and individuals to reach the astonishingly high figure, while free-to-play games continue to prove the most alluring, capturing 80% of the market. The value of the online gaming market was also up 57% in 2007, hardly a surprise given that China could overtake the US as the world biggest internet user in 2008.
Subscribers are on the up at several Chinese MMO firms, with shares rising in the process. That said, Chinese censorship is still firm, while technology remains an issue, meaning that Chinese gaming is some way off the pace of western and Japanese markets.
2008, none the less, looks like another boom year for Chinese gaming.
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