Research firm Newzoo recently forecast global video games sales to top the US$100-billion mark this year, driven by the estimated 565 million gamers on the mainland.
Source: SCMP
China has emerged as the world’s single largest market for e-sports, drawing 170 million players and viewers last year.
Last year professional e-sport teams in China competed for US$42 million in prize money, or about 45 per cent of the US$93 million prize pool globally.
E-sports events will be included in the upcoming Asian Games, due to be held in Hangzhou in 2022, and an eventual spot in the Olympics has been muted.
The industry is on track to reach 74 billion yuan (US$11.2 billion) in 2019, up from 3.6 billion yuan in 2016.
Overseas revenue for China’s online games increased 36.2 per cent to US$7.2 billion in 2016.
600 million gamers almost double the population of the United States, driving an industry worth US$24.6 billion annually.
On JD.com, Logitech’s 399 yuan (US$60) G502 programmable gaming mouse is the top-selling product in its category.
During the Alibaba Singles’ Day shopping festival on November 11, Razer said it emerged the top gaming peripherals brand in terms of sales, with Chinese consumers mostly snapping up its Deathadder mice series and Blackwidow gaming keyboards.
The team’s top players can rake in up to 30 million yuan ($4.54 million) a year each from tournament prize money, commercial endorsements and payments from avid fans who spend hours watching them play online.
China Market: $27.5b in sales this year.
Cities around the country are looking to cash in on the market’s fast growth with video game theme-parks and e-sports venues. Some universities are even rolling out gaming degrees.
Alisports, which organizes the World Electronic Sports Games, successfully lobbied the Olympic Council of Asia to include e-sports at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
The extent of the e-gaming boom was on display in Beijing in November at the world final of League of Legends, with a prize of over $4 million at stake.
President Xi Jinping has publicly spoken about the need to help children’s eyesight. Myopia among students is more common and is affecting children at younger ages, Xi said.
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