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2010 Chinese Gamer Focus Group Findings

Research firm Niko Partners studies the latest trends in Chinese gaming.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – August 12, 2010 – Niko Partners, the leading market intelligence firm on China’s video game industry, today announced findings of the firm’s latest unique study on China’s video game industry. The 2010 Chinese Gamer Focus Group Findings report compiles the results of 12 focus groups conducted in June and July in two cities, one tier 1 and one tier 3. The analysis includes interesting findings such as the migration of hard-core male gamers to SNS games, the increasing boredom of Chinese hard-core gamers with existing MMORPGs, and the strong tendency to play on home PCs instead of in Internet cafés given certain circumstances.

The focus groups were divided by age brackets, hard-core gamers and non hard-core gamers, and cities and the conversational format enabled a deeper view into the minds of Chinese gamers to understand what inspires them to play a game as well as spend their money on things such as in-game items and currency. The perspective of the 2010 Chinese Gamer Focus Group Findings brings insight beyond traditional anonymous online gamer surveys.

“There is significant value in getting qualitative feedback from the actual target audience in the market,” said Lisa Cosmas Hanson, managing partner of Niko Partners. “Through the focus groups, we a great deal about Chinese gamers that will be beneficial for companies to tune a virtual goods strategy or choose the right business model for the China market. Additionally, the information we gleaned from this project has caused us to reevaluate our Chinese online game market forecast and may result in a revision of our current market forecast in the coming months after further analysis on topics of Chinese gamer behavior and interests presented in this Focus Groups Findings report.”

Niko analyzed the findings to explain insight such as:

Why spending per gamer is falling as the number of gamers is rising Why online game operators need to heed the success of SNS games What the differences are in gamer behavior between cities of different tiers What the reality is about Internet café usage

ABOUT NIKO PARTNERS

Niko Partners is the leading research firm focused on providing specialized market intelligence on China’s video game industry. Founded in 2003, the firm conducts syndicated and custom research studies on Chinese gamers, online games, offline games, consoles, handhelds, regulatory issues, piracy, development, online operators, distribution, and retail. Niko Partners also offers consulting services including focus groups, partnership selection, market opportunity analysis, custom surveys in cities throughout China and customized data analysis. The goal of the research and strategic advisory services is to help understand the market, strategically enter or expand market share, and continue to profitably grow within China. The company is based in Silicon Valley and Shanghai, and its clients include worldwide leaders in game software, hardware, and services, as well as hedge funds, media companies, trade associations, and management consulting firms, all of whom have a vested interest in a thorough understanding of China’s video game industry. The company launched Niko Asia Emerging Markets in 2010 and will publish reports on the game markets in Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines in September, October and November this year. To purchase, contact info@nikopartners.com

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Contact:

International Digital Entertainment Agency

Sean Kauppinen

+1-415-299-2156

sean@ide-agency.com

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