The Far East has a lot more gamers than can fit in Japan and South Korea. In fact, the six countries of Southeast Asia will double the amount they spend on gaming in the next few years.
Niko Partners, a behavior-tracking firm in the Southeast Asian region, is offering a detailed report about its part of the world and the growing market for games. The 74-page document covers player habits in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
After generating more than $560 million in 2012, Niko expects the region’s game market to expand by an average of 17.4 percent per year through 2016.
“A big surprise to us is that social games have been losing momentum in all Southeast Asian countries this year except for Indonesia,” said Lisa Cosmas Hanson, a managing partner at Niko. “We had anticipated stronger growth for social games, but in fact, gamers in Southeast Asia prefer free-to-play client-based [massively multiplayer online] games as well as casual games.”
Other key findings include:
- By 2016, Niko expects 117 million gamers in the six regional nations.
- Revenues should exceed $1 billion in that time.
- Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand have interconnecting gaming markets.
- Philippines and Vietnam are much more unique.
- Indonesia should experience the greatest growth in online gamers.
- Philippines should experience the fastest growth in revenue.
The full report is available from Niko Partners Research Store for $5,500.