Reports

China's mobile gaming market - including both single-player and mobile online games – continued to record strong growth in 2014, reaching revenues of approximately RMB 28 billion (USD 4.5 billion), up approximately 115% YoY, and an estimated Q4 user base of 485 million, up 26% YoY. However, H2 growth rates in both revenue and user base were slower than those in the first half of the year, owing to a deceleration in China's rate of smartphone uptake and a dearth of blockbuster games during the period.

As China's PC client-based online gaming market continued to slow, recording growth of just 13.5% in 2014, developer talent and major game operator focus shifted increasingly to the mobile gaming sector in Q4 2014. During the quarter, formerly listed game operator Giant Interactive announced that it would now focus primarily on its mobile game business and might consider re-listing, Soco Soft spun out its mobile gaming unit as a semi-independent subsidiary, and YI6 revealed it would reposition itself as a mobile gaming company.

China's mobile gaming industry also saw significant listing activity in Q4, including the IPOs of game publishers Linekong, Feiyu Technology, and Momo Technology. Mobile security and gaming firm NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ) also announced an agreement that will see its mobile gaming subsidiary FL Mobile achieve a backdoor listing in Hong Kong, and PC and mobile game developer and operator 4399 Network filed for an IPO as well.

Investment activity in mobile gaming assets, not only in domestic gaming enterprises, but increasingly in overseas mobile gaming firms, remained robust in Q4. At least 12 domestic mobile gaming M&A deals were announced in Q4 2014, among which at least 2 of the acquirers were from traditional industries unrelated to mobile, such as footwear and electronic components. During the quarter, China's major, publicly traded gaming companies also made investments in at least 7 overseas mobile gaming firms, including in game developers and game play video and sharing platform providers.

Q4 also saw an increasing emphasis on cooperation between mobile game publishers and distributors and hardware makers, such as smartphone pre-installation agreements and investment by gaming firms in smartphone manufacturing.

To help investors and game industry enterprises identify opportunities among China’s burgeoning number of mobile game titles, developers, operators, and distribution channels, Marbridge has developed the Chinese Mobile Gaming Industry Matrix. The Q4 2014 edition of the Matrix provides details on over 200 leading mobile game companies and over 560 of the top games in Excel (read-only) format:

• Listing Status (public, to list, private)
• Location (city in which operator/developer is headquartered)
• Company Homepage URL
• Company Contact Phone Number
• Experience in Overseas Game Publishing (specific examples available for ~11% of companies)
• Games Operated/Developed (with top grossing games highlighted)
• Game Environment (Android, iOS, WP)
• Game Type
• Game Dates (expected release, beta test, commercial launch)
• Game Source (self-developed vs. licensed)
• Revenue Model (pay-to-play vs. in-game items)
• Game Operation Statistics (DAU, monthly revenue, cumulative downloads - as available)
• Game Homepage URL

The Chinese Mobile Gaming Industry Matrix also provides data on China’s top 33 mobile app/game distribution platforms, including:

• Platform Operator Name
• Investment Received (available for ~40% of platforms)
• Number of Apps Hosted (available for ~40% of platforms; dates vary)
• User Base (available for ~75% of platforms; dates vary)
• Cumulative or Daily App Downloads (available for ~55% of platforms; dates vary)
• Revenue Share Ratio with Developers (available for ~60% of platforms)
• Business Model (available for ~35% of platforms)

In addition, the matrix provides a Q4 summary of Chinese mobile gaming industry news covering:

• M&A and Internal Investment Deals (21 items)
• Partnerships (8 items)

The Chinese Mobile Gaming Industry Matrix is available either for one-off purchase or on a subscription basis with quarterly updates.