In 2017, the domestic game market may reach 188 billion yuan, and the number of global paying players exceeds 1 billion

The report shows that the number of active game players worldwide in 2017 was 2.2 billion, of which 1 billion were paying players, accounting for 47% of the total number of players.

Game industry data research institute Newzoo pointed out in its recently released 2017 Global Game Industry Report that the total size of the global game market this year will reach US$108.9 billion, of which digital games account for 87% to US$94.4 billion. Smartphones and tablet games will increase year-on-year. 19% to US$46.1 billion (equivalent to RMB 315.2 billion), China's game market size is US$27.5 billion (equivalent to RMB 188 billion), ranking first in the world.

According to this report, the number of active game players worldwide in 2017 was 2.2 billion, of which 1 billion were paying players, accounting for 47% of the total number of players. Ten years after the release of the iPhone, the mobile game market has become the largest gaming platform in the industry and is still growing at a year-on-year rate of 19%, accounting for 42% of the total gaming market.

The number of paying players worldwide exceeds 1 billion: mobile games account for 47% of total game revenue

. In addition to mobile games, console games have become the second largest market, and are expected to grow by 3.6% year-on-year to US$336.5 billion in 2017; the PC game market fell year-on-year by 2.6%, ranking third with US$29.4 billion; the PC web game market size was US$4.5 billion, down 9.3% year-on-year; the boxed console and PC download game market size was US$24.8 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 1.3%.

The proportional distribution of global game revenue across platforms

, the company wrote in the report that consumers are spending more time in games, especially millennials. The reason for this phenomenon is that games are now attractive to a larger user base. Watching game video content from professional or amateur players allows millions of people who don't have time to play games to watch other players and championship games around the world. Gamer's definition of a player is becoming increasingly outdated because it does not include many consumers who regard games as entertainment content. Game enthusiasts or Player are more suitable to describe the current player base.

Newzoo CEO Peter Warman said,"The current stage of the game market is where we need to redefine the industry, players and the future. From an industry perspective, game developers and publishers are no longer suitable for the GAAS model and the overall game business model. From a consumer perspective, we also need to expand the scope, because many people who watch game content don't play games. If we don't face new changes and industry gathering, games may no longer be games."

Game companies are gradually becoming global entertainment companies

As game IP increasingly becomes entertainment content, many game companies are beginning to think about their strategic position in the entire entertainment industry. Game companies have become winners in the interactive entertainment space and have a significant effect on stimulating social, creative and sharing behaviors. Most of their revenue comes from direct consumption by players, rather than advertising revenue as other digital or broadcast media companies do. At the same time, the time people spend watching non-interactive content (video) has exploded, and it is no longer used as a free marketing tool, but has become a very reliable business opportunity. As traditional media struggled to provide interactive experiences around their content, game companies quickly learned how to use video content to make money through millions of viewers.

Following this trend, game companies are likely to become the dominant players in the media field because they can make both interactive content and games. The largest game companies have far more users than the world's largest traditional media and entertainment companies.

China is still the world's largest game market.

In addition to regional rankings, Newzoo has also updated the game revenue rankings of countries around the world. China ranks first with US$27.5 billion, and the United States and Japan rank third and fourth with US$25.1 billion and US$12.5 billion respectively. The UK's game revenue will reach US$4.2 billion, ahead of South Korea.

The

most obvious growth in game revenue among countries in the global game market is India. The report predicts that India's game revenue in 2017 will be US$818 million, from the previous 20th to 17th, and 87% of its revenue comes from mobile games. Of course, this result is not surprising, because in May, the number of smartphones in India reached 290 million, surpassing that in the United States. In terms of region, the Asia-Pacific region still dominates, with game revenue expected to be US$51.2 billion in 2017, accounting for 47% of total global revenue.

The Middle East game market has the largest growth

in North America, ranking second with game revenue of US$27 billion; game revenue in Western Europe is expected to be US$18.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 4.8%; game revenue in Latin America will increase by 13.9% year-on-year to US$4.4 billion, mainly due to the growth of smartphones and the popularity of the Internet; the size of the Eastern European game market is expected to be US$3.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8.8%. Game revenue in the Middle East is expected to be US$4 billion, an increase of 25%.

Editor: Mary