The Chinese gaming industry had a record year in 2005, a new report has found.
According to research and consultancy firm Niko Partners, the Chinese market now stands at $683m, up 23.6 per cent on 2004.
Nearly 85 per cent of the $683m is comprised of online games, the report revealed.
Niko expects the Chinese games market to increase by 233 per cent over the next five years, climbing to $2.1bn.
About 30 per cent of China's 27 million gamers played games for more than 60 hours per month in 2005, the report added.
"Chinese gamers' passion for massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) has extended to the casual and premium casual segments," said Lisa Cosmas Hanson, managing partner of Niko.
"Premium casual games provide new gamers greater access to the online game market and open up an alternate source of entertainment for hardcore gamers."
Niko attributes the increase to rising demand for Broadband and the growing popularity of Internet cafes.
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