Global game revenue will reach US$108.9 billion in 2017, smartphones account for more than 70%

PC computer game revenue will decline as people spend less on stand-alone game downloads and browser-based casual games.

According to foreign media reports, market research firm Newzoo said that in 2016, global consumers spent approximately US$101.1 billion on video games; this year, their spending on video games will continue to grow, reaching US$108.9 billion.

Global game revenue growth will continue to come from mobile games and China and other regions of Asia. PC computer game revenue will decline as people spend less on stand-alone game downloads and browser-based casual games.

"Global mobile games will generate US$46.1 billion in revenue this year, accounting for approximately 42% of all global game revenue." Newzoo reported that "more than three-quarters of its revenue, approximately US$35.3 billion, will come from smart mobile games. Tablet games revenue was $10.8 billion."

Nowadays, tablet sales are not as good as they used to be, but users who have purchased tablets still spend money on them to play games.

As for console games, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo continue to demonstrate the stability of the development of such games.

"In 2016, console games performed better than expected as console manufacturers, publishers and consumers began to embrace various digital business models." Newzoo's report said,"Microsoft and Sony generated combined revenue from first-party games, third-party games and subscription services exceeding $14 billion."

Newzoo expects console games to generate $33.5 billion in revenue this year. 65.8% of revenue will come from digital revenue.

Finally, Asia-Pacific will generate $51.2 billion in gaming revenue this year, representing 47% of total global gaming revenue and an annual growth rate of 9.2%.

"This year, China will account for a quarter of all global game revenue, or approximately US$27.5 billion, far exceeding the United States. U.S. game revenue this year is estimated at $25.1 billion." Newzoo's report stated,"Most of China's game revenue growth will come from mobile games led by Tencent and Netease. In 2016, the two companies 'combined mobile game revenue reached $7.7 billion."

However, when it comes to the development of games,"Asia" no longer just refers to Japan, China and South Korea.

"In the next few years, the fastest growing regions of games will be other regions in Asia except China, Japan and South Korea. In 2016, total revenue from the rest of Asia was US$4.5 billion; by 2020, total revenue from these regions is expected to grow to US$10.5 billion."

North America will spend $27 billion on games this year, a 4% increase from last year. However, global consumption power has shifted significantly from the West to the East, which is bound to continue to influence the types of games people develop and the way they promote them. (Compilation/Music Learning)

Editor: yvonne