China and Gaming – A Deeper Look Beyond The Great Firewall

China has always been conservative when it came to approaching technology – or so it seemed. With time, the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) looked upon technology more favorably. This was further accelerated by the fact that China was the hotbed for the manufacturing of all major electronics giants in this world. This meant that further down the line, China’s gaming industry was kickstarted, though exact dates are not known to the outside world.

China’s gaming industry has grown faster than their equivalents in other Eastern countries. China’s population is evidently huge despite the one-child policy, and the average income has increased over the years. Access to cheap electronics also means greater exposure to the Internet and online gaming as a whole. There are a whole lot of games you can play online, and quite a few of them earn you real money and other online swag. Online casinos hosting real money games to betting sites offering you a variety of games to bet and win money – there’s something for everyone (do check out the best Internet casinos in China if you want a whiff of the money yourself). Traditional games also have got their virtual counterparts now, with electronic sports, or esports being a thing. Unlike most other countries, the Chinese are fuelled in their desire to be competitive, which leads to the flourishing existence of brands that endorse an ultra-competitive gaming culture.

Most other countries have started catching up, though it will take some time before they can reach the equivalent of China’s gaming industry in terms of total valuation. Korea, in particular, has taken great strides in an endeavor to dethrone China – even though the market size in Korea is smaller. If there’s anyone who’s famous in Korea, it’s definitely either an esports player or a Kpop star – that’s how popular gaming is in Korea. Singapore and Taiwan have also been busy building up their infrastructure to support a robust ecosystem for gamers throughout their nation (and way beyond).

What is truly amazing is that despite having a disadvantage of being a colonized nation, China has managed to maintain quite some economic growth. This means that all industries (including the gaming industry) have received the boost, making China the gaming capital in Asia (and a strong contender in the whole world too, if you carefully consider the population).