27 million gamers, 23.6 percent growth rate,Niko Partners predicts Chinese gaming market will grow to ＄2.1 billion by 2010.

With a population of around 1.3 billion people, it‘s no surprise that Niko Partners, a research firm focused on the Chinese gaming market, is predicting massive growth for gaming in China. Currently, China has 27 million gamers. This is a 23.6 percent growth from 2004 to 2005. Much like South Korea, the majority of the market is in online multiplayer games. Right now, the Chinese market for gaming is pulling in ＄468 million a year. Niko Partners is predicting that number will grow to ＄2.1 billion by the year 2010.

China also shares another similarity with South Korea when it comes to gaming: the proliferation of internet cafes. Niko Partners estimates that there are 20 million PCs scattered throughout 265,000 internet cafes in China. Chinese gamers use these computers for an average of 4 hours a day. Meanwhile, more and more Chinese PC users are getting broadband, which also contributes to more time spent gaming. You can expect plenty of companies to scramble for a way to break into the Chinese market. And don‘t be surprised if more and more Chinese-made games start showing up as well.

From gamespy