The Exploding World of China's VR Cafes

ChinaJoy 2016

This week is China’s biggest gaming convention of the year, ChinaJoy. The conference is in Shanghai and it runs July 28th through the 31st. Let us know if you would like to meet with us!

Internet Users in China Reaches 688 Million

Data published by China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) shows that as of the end of 2015, the number of internet users in China has reached 688 million. Internet users younger than the age of 19 account for 24.1% of total users, and the number of internet users younger than the age of 10 is over 18 million.

The Exploding World of China’s VR Cafes

As we predicted, Internet Cafes (I-Cafes) are back on the scene in a big way thanks to VR technology. I-Cafes used to be the main spot for people to come play PC games in China due to a lack of owning personal PCs in their homes – PCs were too expensive and the hardware changed too often to make the investment worth it. Now, more Chinese gamers own PCs and are going to I-Cafes for social gaming, such as competitive eSport tournaments. However, we are seeing the investment for VR parallel the rise of the PC industry and once again, Chinese gamers are going to I-Cafes to try out new technology that they can’t afford to personally own.

According to the interview on Inside Games Asia, “Not only do they not have the installment money for that, but they don’t have the room either,” elaborated Liu. “Housing prices in china are really crazy and our population is incredibly high. When we take the room space into calculation considering our costs and clearing out the room space, it’s not really possible.”

VR will also be a big highlight at the upcoming ChinaJoy conference and Gamesbeat.

Crossfire 2 in Development

Crossfire, one of the biggest games in Asia, is going to have a sequel. Remedy Entertainment, the Finnish studio that produced Quantum Break and Alan Wake, will be co-developing the game with Korea-based Smilegate. The9 secured exclusive rights to publish the game in China last year.

Niko Partners on Twitter

Follow us on Twitter @nikochina to see these comments in real time as we publish them! Here are a few of our tweets from last week:

Everything from the PlayStation China conference https://zhugeex.com/2016/07/everything-from-the-playstation-china-conference/ … via @ZhugeEX

China Telecom Signs Purchase Orders for 67 Mln Smartphones http://www.marbridgeconsulting.com/marbridgedaily/2016-07-
15/article/93826/china_telecom_signs_purchase_orders_for_67_mln_smartphones …

Facebook seeks China intel with WeChat employee hire
Chinese $1.2B takeover of Norway’s Opera fails, alternative $600M deal agreed http://venturebeat.com/2016/07/18/chinese-1-2b-takeover-of-norways-opera-fails-alternative-600m-deal-agreed/ … via @VentureBeat

Hearthstone’s production director on crafting a $1.2 billion market leader http://venturebeat.com/2016/07/05/hearthstones-production-director-on-crafting-a-1-2-billion-market-leader/ …