To those few businessmen relatively unplugged from the era of the Internet, online gaming should still start to mean something. When it comes to sales revenue of over 6.54 billion yuan in a year with an estimated 30 percent annual increase, the unreal should become real for even the most old-school of profit seekers.

According to the 2006 Gaming Industry Report jointly prepared by the China Game Publication Association and International Data Corp., the online gaming market of China reached 6.54 billion yuan last year, up 73.5 percent compared with 2005. Surprisingly, this industry took in a mere 310 million yuan just five years ago.

Kou Xiaowei, Deputy Director of General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) in charge of online publication, stated in early January that the "gaming industry has become one of the creative industries with the most development potential." Kou added that the Chinese online gaming industry has been recognized by the world as the biggest emerging market.

The abovementioned report also shows that in 2006, over 31.12 million Chinese played online games.

Market driven

Backed by the world's largest population, the number of China's online game players is bound to increase every year. Both domestic and foreign game developers and operators are seeking shares of this ballooning market.

But one question remains: How can operators make money from a virtual world? In the past, players had to buy certain cards to get access to an online game. However, currently, most of the operators don't charge players due to the cutthroat market competition. To find profits, the game operators turn to selling virtual gear, including clothing and special weapons, to players to enhance their gaming experience. That virtual gear costs real money and satisfies "human beings' inner desire to be powerful and dominant in one world," said Zhang Yang, a 25-year-old online gamer.

Zhang added that every one of his classmates in university played online games and those who didn't were laughed at.

"It's trendy," said Zhang.

NetEase.com, Shanda Entertainment, 9you.com, Kingsoft Corp. and Tencent Inc. are the major market players in the online gaming field. Most of them create their own games and also import online games from foreign countries. In 2006, NetEase replaced Shanda as the market leader.

According to CTR Market Research, about 68 percent of netizens play online games and the average age of online game players is 24. Those people will spend an average 188 yuan each month.

Domestic vs. imported

Attracted by the lucrative market, online gaming giants have flowed into the Chinese market, such as Blizzard Entertainment, whose World of Warcraft amazes Chinese online game players.

However, as the examination and approval procedures for imported online games are stricter than domestic ones, many overseas online gaming companies would rather set up joint venture companies with local Chinese ones.