With the news that ZT Games has attracted almost 100 million in venture funding in China, the China game industry has heated up a little more from an already simmering pot of financial euphoria. The China game industry in some ways can be considered the only real profitable and viable B to C internet play in China.
“ZTgame needs the money to stay on a fast track,” said Liu Xin, an analyst with Analysys International. “It may acquire game development teams or obtain game authorization from overseas gaming companies, as its competitors did.”
China’s online gaming sector has been growing rapidly over the years, spawning a swarm of local operators like Shanda and NetEase. These companies started by operating games developed by overseas companies and paying license fees. But in recent years, the Chinese companies have stepped up efforts to build their own research and development capacities, sometimes through acquisitions.
Now that the industry is attracting non gamers and opportunists alike, what changes can we see in the future? My guess is the following:
More casual games to attract mainstream users and the big league in revenues
More foreign companies coming to China
More emphasis on security
More original IP attempts by Chinese companies
More Non-Game companies in China coming into the gaming space.
So lets watch, blog and check on this space a year later.
-frank yu
