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| In This Issue + Slides from Ion Online Games Conference and Phoenix Generation
analysis - Insights into 300 million young Chinese
consumers |
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| Summary Slides New Phoenix Generation Study Highlights We're pleased to release a NEW Phoenix Generation study. This information provides on-the-ground intelligence for companies seeking a competitive advantage investing in the Chinese markets. Contact us for an excerpt or a briefing.
Popular Trends – The increasing influence of Hip-Hop, Street Basketball and the NBA. Why are stars such as Kobe Bryant more popular than Yao Ming? Who is MC Hotdog and why does he resonate with young Chinese consumers? Games and Digital Entertainment Habits – The study includes highlights from our online surveys. Online gaming (60%) and chatting (65%) were cited as the top reasons to go online and although many Chinese gamers enjoy the intensity of MMORPG’s (51%), casual games (44%) are also a popular gaming experience. More than 81% of gamers played on the PC, however mobile phone gaming is on the rise at 23%, showing a marked interest in this sector.
Consumer Segmentation – Pearl Research has
developed consumer segmentation to understand the wide range of
Chinese consumers. How do their personal views, character traits
and psychographic factors affect their lifestyle choices and buying
decisions? Consumer segmentation includes: In-depth one-on-one interviews – T.Q., a
22-year old female, spends about 10-12 hours online per week, prefers
to use Baidu, and shops online at Alibaba.com. Find out more about
our interviewees' spending habits, income sources and cultural influences
from our extended interview profiles. AND MUCH MORE... About the Phoenix Generation Pearl Research estimates this demographic has $135 billion in spending
power, making this cohort highly prized for international marketers.
The Phoenix Generation is a research initiative designed to understand
this demographic and their consumer and spending habits. |
May 2008 Monthly Newsletter
EA FIFA Online Apple iPhone in China Casual Games
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| Rise of Digital Entertainment in India The year 2007 and the first half of 2008 saw a flurry of activity in India as companies seek to expand their footprint in gaming. In this NEW market brief, Pearl Research will analyze the major drivers and trends in 2007 and 2008.
Pearl Research believes the games market will continue to gain momentum as the rate of Internet and PC adoption continues to rise. With Internet cafes and Internet access at work, there are now an estimated 30 million plus active users. The India personal computer (PC) market crossed yet another milestone to ship more than 6 million PCs in a calendar year. However, PC penetration in India is less than 5% and is one of the inhibitors for growing the games market. Investments in Market India is often compared with China and some investors anticipate
a similar boom in India’s digital entertainment field. Pearl
Research believes this comparison is tempered by the lower rates
of PC and Internet adoption and persistent issues with India's infrastructure,
a nascent gaming culture along other challenges as discussed in
the brief. |
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Pearl Research believes there are 2 notables games to track from two publicly-traded game companies. One of them is Dungeon and Fighter, which is licensed and will be released by Tencent in China this year. The title already has placed in the top-10 list in Korea and at one point was the #1 played game in Korean Internet cafes. Comparisons have been made to Nexon's Maple Story, although Pearl Research believes that the games are different, as noted in our analysis. There are action style fighting elements from Dungeon and Fighter that traditionally were seen in single-player fighting games. A comment on a gaming forum, stated Dungeon and Fighter combines the "fighting combinations of Capcom, the arcade style of SNK, the game settings of Sega, the storytelling of Square, the equipment interface of Blizzard, and the gaming spirit of Nintendo."
The second is an MMORPG from NetDragon called "Warlords" based on the Chinese movie, Warlords, starring Jet Li. It has introduced several new concepts including the role of "bodyguards" that have sparked the interest of gamers. Players can gain new and more powerful bodyguards after gaining in rank and levels. These bodyguards are not just "human pets" but instead they can have different occupations and even speak in different regional dialects depending on where in China they are from. This article is excerpted from Pearl Research's latest May 2008 China update and the upcoming Korea report; these studies contain the full update and analysis for both titles. |
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| New Reports ii. Phoenix Generation: Our new report includes online survey results covering gaming and Internet trends, discussion of lifestyle trends such as hip-hop and streetball, consumer segmentation, extended interviews and much more. iii. May 2008 China Update: This report updates digital entertainment, technology, Internet and consumer trends in China, including an analysis of the Sichuan earthquake on the digital entertainment market. Companies covered include The9, Giant Interactive, Tencent, Baidu, Shanda, Sina, Sohu, China Mobile, among others. iv. Digital Entertainment Brief for India: India's digital entertainment market continues to attract investors and new market entrants. This brief updates the latest events in the Indian market and contains key metrics. v. Coming Soon: Virtual Worlds report List of Reports: Visit: http://www.pearlresearch.com/ Contact Us |
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