Asia is the leading global force in the promotion of online sales of games that reach just over $ 20 billion in 2012, according to a new study from ABI Research. China, in particular, will be the main engine of growth, declared the report was released Tuesday.
ABI Research industry analyst Michael Inouye noted that the business model for online games will grow “a little different” in Asia because of a number of factors specific to the region. For example, in general China has a lower PC, Inouye said in the report. Therefore, revenues from gambling in the country depends largely on a pay-as-you-go business model, such as maps prepaid, games or cloud based server, said the analyst.
Earnings from a subscription base will be far smaller in the Asian country compared to markets in Europe or North America, he noted. Regulations governing the online games market are also different across Asia, Inouye said in the report. In countries such as China, South Korea and Vietnam, “the rules are more exacting in what they allow”, Inouye said. To illustrate, he pointed to how virtual blood had to be removed in certain games such as World of Warcraft when distributed in these countries.
More connected devices, more games platforms
According to ABI, the growth of online games will also be driven by the increasingly varied range of connected devices, opening up more platforms other than the traditional desktop–for multiplayer and massively multiplayer online games.
The research firm gave the example of the free box Revolution set-top box, which is made by French Internet service provider, Free. Besides functioning as an Internet router, the set-top box comes armed with an Intel Atom processor, a gyroscopic remote, Blu-ray drive, power line adapters, Wi-Fi connectivity and game controller.
However, the creation of more game platforms will not be free from challenges, the report stated. For instance, more and bigger servers and data centers will need to be built to support cloud-based games, ABI said.
Moreover, added that mobile games such as those that run on smart phones that are popular in Asia, can be harmful. The research firm said this market is fragmented and proprietary platforms, making it difficult for developers to use multiple platforms smaller than a few major brands.
