ChinaJoy is by far the largest and most attended videogame exposition that no one has ever heard of. The rise of China means that everything around is also rising: largest internet audience, largest wireless market, largest online gaming population...etc etc.

Sure, a lot of this is hype and market size does not necessarily equal financial revenue as well but the trend is your friend. I still remember attending the very first ChinaJoy in 2002 which was then called GTEC and based in Hong Kong. We would go to a talk and the room would have perhaps 3-5 people per talk from companies I never heard of like Gamania or SeaRainbow or something. Its hard to believe from that small little group 5 years ago has grown into the largest videogame jamboree of all.

  • ChinaJoy had 123, 962 attendees. E3 at its peak in 2005 had 70,000 This makes it the most attended game event in the world
  • E3 the emphasis has been on Graphics and Consoles, In ChinaJoy emphasis is on community, MMORG and casual games
  • Casual Games are more and more being embedded into MMORGs as mini-games as part of gameplay
  • Casual Game Portals or lobbies, are more and more beginning to resemble virtual MMORPG worlds (you see this in casual game portals where you need to buy clothing)
  • China will most likely be the largest Casual Gaming market in the world in a few years (2-3 or less) based on market size and expertise contingent on the evolution of Casual Game Designers. Unlike consoles development and MMORGs, technology is less of a factor.
  • China already leads in alternative casual game monetization model: micropayments, integrated online communities, secondary market for goods and items

When I was in Shanghai I got to ride the MagLtrain which was way cool. Too bad the ride only lasted 8 minutes but 400km/hr on land is wild.

 

-Frank Yu