It is well known that China has an isolationist policy in every sense, quite restrictive. Internet access is very limited, the entrance of technology is very controlled and video games are subject to many restrictions. Well, a report reveals that on the 80% of Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5 or Nintendo Switch that enter China come from a gray market.
As Niko, a market research company, points out, the console and video game sector in China has a lot of potential. It is stated that a growth of up to $2.53 billion in 2026. It’s not really a very big market, considering the size of the population, but it’s growing fast.
Consoles in China come from the gray market
Some data from the Niko company report is quite interesting. As revealed, hardware and software sales in 2021 reached $2.16 billion, a 17% increase year over year. This figure includes government-licensed consoles and games, as well as gray market sales of imported versions.
The report comments that the limitations of new video games are causing many to look into the unofficial market. Admitted video games must not contain blood or references to the country’s culture, among others. There have been cases of games that change blood and dye it green, to be “less violent”. It is for this reason that 80% of console revenue in China comes from the gray market.
Demand for consoles is driven not just by a higher level of gamer spending, but by a set of gamers seeking high-quality global games beyond what is found in PC and mobile games in China. . Players may have different preferences when it comes to gameplay and visuals, but everyone wants great, high-quality games and consoles have been providing that for many years.
Lisa Hanson, President of Niko
According to the report, the The most popular console currently in China is the Nintendo Switch. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles | S, have also gained great popularity and boosted this market.
A very important market
Keep in mind that China is trying to technologically isolate itself from the rest of the world. This means own production of hardware and software. Although they have been working on it for years, in the last 5 years they have come a long way and are getting closer to solutions from Intel, AMD and NVIDIA.
China is also working on its own software to stop relying on Microsoft and other companies. They have developed their own operating system based on Linux and in most administrations they use different Linux distributions or are in the process of converting.
