Niko News on China's Video Game Market
Volume 24
 January 2010

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Weekly Twitter Posts

Interesting timing for the CEO of Shanda Games to resign, on heels of their IPO and after several recent acquisitions http://tiny.cc/zdphp 4:35 PM Jan 25th from web

Worrisome part of Mr. Sun's GAPP speech at CGIA was that he said China's WTO obligations exclude publishing & games fall under publishing 8:25 PM Jan 22nd from web

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Welcome to Niko News, just part of the market intelligence experience offered  to help you better understand the thriving video game market of China.

Niko Partners is the premier provider of market intelligence and custom research services on China's video game industry. There are more than 70 million Chinese gamers eager to play hit titles on systems with the latest technologies. With Niko Partners market intelligence services, you can get to know these gamers, find Chinese partners, and use our actionable market data to build and execute your strategic plan.
SNS Gaming
Picture of hands at a computer
During the time that social networking games have been popular in China, most of the leading social networking sites have developed games in-house and have been resistant to third-party development. Recently a few of those sites have indicated a shift in strategy to allow third-party development. Some indications were made privately while others hit the media outlets in China, such as Gamecool.com, when they reported that Tencent's Qzone and QQ Alumni would be doing so. This is good for game developers but as one developer told Niko, it is very tough to pick which Chinese SNS to go with since about 10 have large market shares.
Niko recognizes the difficult spot that American game publishers are in when it comes to the US government trying to persuade China to stop censoring the Internet. American publishers have enough of a regulatory headache in China to not want to deal with the backlash of fighting censorship. On the other hand, since most games are operated over the Internet, they also probably would like to see more freedom of content and more self-regulation via a true ratings system. The regulatory landscape in China is cumbersome and not fun to deal with. It is a reality, however, and Chinese consumers adore video games - it is still certainly a market worth pursuing seriously.

Niko's knowledge of the regulatory landscape and people who control it will help companies navigate the complexities of China's market. Lots of people claim to understand it, but Niko has been covering the market for 8 years and we really can help.
If you have any questions or if you have a project that could use our assistance, please let us know at info@nikopartners.com