A major headline recently involved the Chinese government announcing that children would no longer be allowed to play videogames for more than three hours per week. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that China is actually the country that has the highest number of weekly gaming hours per capita in the world, with half of respondents to a survey saying that they played video games for more than six hours per week.
What’s more is that about 25% of these respondents play video games for a number of hours that goes into the double digits, namely 10. This means that while children might not be allowed to play as many videogames as they like, when they become adults they will probably at least double their weekly number of gaming hours as soon as they get the chance. This means that the over $40 billion that games earn from Chinese players on an annual basis is going to remain more or less untouched, although restrictions on children’s gaming might make it a bit tougher to maintain that revenue source.
Another odd fact that was revealed by the survey in question is that Japan and South Korea generally have lower numbers of weekly gaming hours. 17% of Japanese respondents and 24% of South Korean respondents said that they played six or more hours of games per week, which is strange when you consider that these are two of the largest gaming markets in the world after the US and China. Hence, total number of hours played does not always correlate to higher profits, and sometimes countries with lower numbers of gaming hours manage to generate outsized revenues for gaming companies. This means that China’s new regulations might not impact revenue generation after all.
H/T: Statista.
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What’s more is that about 25% of these respondents play video games for a number of hours that goes into the double digits, namely 10. This means that while children might not be allowed to play as many videogames as they like, when they become adults they will probably at least double their weekly number of gaming hours as soon as they get the chance. This means that the over $40 billion that games earn from Chinese players on an annual basis is going to remain more or less untouched, although restrictions on children’s gaming might make it a bit tougher to maintain that revenue source.
Another odd fact that was revealed by the survey in question is that Japan and South Korea generally have lower numbers of weekly gaming hours. 17% of Japanese respondents and 24% of South Korean respondents said that they played six or more hours of games per week, which is strange when you consider that these are two of the largest gaming markets in the world after the US and China. Hence, total number of hours played does not always correlate to higher profits, and sometimes countries with lower numbers of gaming hours manage to generate outsized revenues for gaming companies. This means that China’s new regulations might not impact revenue generation after all.
Read next: A Study Shows That 87 Percent Of All Gen Z Consumers Prefer Using Apps With Real-Time Engagement Tech
