GCAC: China's online growth to continue

The boom in China's online gaming sector will continue for the foreseeable future, according to Lu Guangyuan Desmond, director of international business development for Chinese online games publisher Shanda.

In his opening keynote speech at the Games Convention Asia Conference, he quoted a DFC report which estimated that global revenue for online games would multiply five times from 2003 to the end of 2008, with China alone accounting for 13 per cent, and other Asian territories a further 55 per cent.

Desmond attributed the continuing upwards trend to a number of factors, including consumer, supply and technology elements, and cited management of these issues as the path to success in the country.

Whereas packaged games have suffered from piracy and affordability problems, Desmond pointed out the accessibility and social nature of internet cafes as a reason that 52 per cent of its members were over 23, and specifically that the approach for free-to-play games worked better than a subscription model.

To underline that he revealed the company had 80 million active users during the first quarter of this year, although only 4.7 million were classed as paying members, with the rest given the option of microtransactions to purchase functional or cosmetic items at their convenience.

Furthermore, Desmond went on to explain that one of the cornerstones of Shanda's success in the sector was down to support: "Customer service is critical to maintaining and expanding [the] user base."

Currently the company has 17 existing games published, with a further 16 under development.