Online games industry booms

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-11-2  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

CHINA has about 40 million people who frequently play online games through major portals, with an average annual outlay for each player of 400 yuan (US$58.80).

Online game players are steadily increasing and their average spending on games and related services will also rise, Zhou Mingquan, dean of the Information Technology School at Beijing Normal University, told an international online game symposium in Beijing yesterday.

"The statistics show that the Chinese market for online games are rosy," Zhou said.

However, key technologies for the development of online games and strategies to market such games were lacking, he added. Zhou suggested that domestic IT companies and online game developers cooperate to form an industry cluster.

He said the symposium, every five years, was a good opportunity for Chinese developers and vendors to learn from overseas counterparts.