China’s mobile gaming industry will surpass the U.S. as it grows to $5.5B this year

China’s enormous population is giving it spending power that will outstrip even consumers in the United States this year in certain sectors — such as mobile gaming.

Smartphone and tablet games should generate more than $5.5 billion through the end of 2015, according to a new report from Asia market-intelligence firm Niko Partners. That is a huge chunk of the $30 billion that people spend on mobile gaming worldwide, and it is also a 66 percent year-over-year increase from $3.3 billion in Chinese spending last year. And this makes China a bigger spender on mobile gaming than the United States. Obviously, that kind of money has to look enticing to game developers around the world, and that’s where Niko comes in with its full 2015 Chinese Mobile Gaming Report.