Niko Partners: China is finally embracing consoles

China’s console and TV games market is expected to grow from $997 million in 2019 to $2.15 billion in revenue by 2024, according to market researcher Niko Partners. The combined Chinese console game market includes gray market revenue of hardware and software alongside legal sales, Niko said. The gray market includes consoles that are designated for other markets but are actually sold and used in China, illegally.

Most consoles were gray market products in China in the past, as consoles were banned. But starting in 2014, China has slowly expanded the legal console market production for Sony PlayStation 4, Microsoft Xbox One, and lately the Nintendo Switch. While the number of legal consoles is expected to grow from 460,000 in 2019 to 975,000 in 2024, the number of gray market consoles sold is expected to decline from 1.18 million in 2018 to 1.02 million in 2024.