Pearl Research forecasts the online games market in China will exceed $5.5 billion in 2012. The market grew more than 63% to reach $2.8 billion in 2008. These findings are contained in Pearl Research’s new 140-page “Games Market in China” study.

Many Chinese game operators continue to be optimistic in 2009, stating that the worldwide economic downturn has had little effect on their business. Games constitute a small-ticket item and users have not cut back as much on this type of discretionary spending.

Pearl Research’s findings:

- China’s most popular online game, Netease’s “Fantasy Westward Journey” achieved 1.8 million peak concurrent users, followed by Giant’s “Zhengtu Online” with 1.5 million users, Tencent’s “Dungeon and Fighter” at 1.2 million users, and Blizzard’s “World of Warcraft” at 1 million.

- Approximately 70% of China’s 298 million Internet users are under the age of 30. This group is most likely to seek out online entertainment, including games, music, and chatting, which Pearl Research believes will drive revenues for the online gaming market.