Deserted stores, closed cinemas, factories in slow motion ... the coronavirus epidemic, which has caused 560 deaths, is having a severe impact on the Chinese economy. However, one sector does not seem to be suffering from this situation. According to the Niko Partners institute, a specialist in the Chinese video game industry, the smartphone game market grew strongly in the last week of January, which marked the start of the Lunar New Year festivities.
On the iPhone alone, "game downloads jumped 27.5% compared to last year, and spending increased by 12.1%," said a report released Thursday. "We attribute most of this growth to the coronavirus epidemic, which has caused many players to stay at home rather than travel or do outdoor activities. This freed up playing time , ” continue the authors. "We expect to see this growth continue as the length of New Years' leave increases, and some cities across the country are quarantined."
Forced to stay at home, Chinese players have also turned to their PCs. The Steam gaming platform peaked in the country on January 26, with 18.4 million people connected. Ironically, one of the most played titles during this period was Plague . This strategy game born in 2012 aims to eradicate the world population through a pandemic. Plague is also the most bought game on the iPhone in China during the New Year holidays.
Nintendo hit
This is the rare “good” news in this report. Other parts of the video game industry are suffering from the consequences of the epidemic. Some e-sports teams, such as the Guangzhou Charge and the Shanghai Dragons, have decided to temporarily leave the country to relocate to South Korea. Several esports meetings scheduled to take place in China or involving Chinese teams have been canceled, while others will have been closed. The Taipei Game Show, which usually hosts more than 300,000 visitors, has been postponed until August. This public fair was originally scheduled to take place from February 6 to 9. As for Chinese cybercafés, popular for playing online, many of them had to temporarily lower the curtain.
The slowdown in factory activity is also affecting the major players in the world of game consoles. Nintendo has announced "production and shipping delays" in its Switch console to Japan, and in particular the limited edition model colors of the Animal Crossing game. The Ring Fit Adventure sports exercise game, which has been out of stock for several weeks, will remain unavailable longer than expected. "Deliveries of the game should be delayed," said the statement.
This is not the only bad news for Nintendo. With the extension of New Year's holidays, the procedures for approving video games on the market in China, a legal obligation, should not resume before mid-February at best. However, Nintendo is waiting for this sesame to be able to market other games for its Switch console, released in the country in December. Chinese consumers can currently only buy one title on this console: New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe . What singularly reduce its attractiveness.