Growing incomes and advanced technology are expanding the video game market in
Vietnam at a rapid pace, according to a new study released last Thursday by
Pearl Research in the US.
The
report discusses the gaming industry in Vietnam and India, and argues that local
gaming development is on the rise in both countries.
Vietnam and India will have 25 million active gamers by 2014, according the
California-based business intelligence and consulting firm specializing in the
internet and technology with a special focus on emerging markets.
The
current number in the US, where the gaming tradition has spanned several
decades, is more than 174 million.
Although the first games only appeared in the country in 2004, Vietnam now has
about 50 actively played MMOGs (massively multiplayer online games), both
foreign and homegrown. More popular games can attract more than 200,000 users
who mostly play at internet cafés, according to the study which, includes
interviews with Vietnamese gamers.
The
internet cafes that Pearl Research visited in Vietnam were usually crowded with
people playing online games.
It
associated the developments in gaming to booming internet usage. Vietnam has
about 22 million active internet users while India has 44 million.
"Both markets are driven by rising incomes, increasing PC and internet
penetration rates, and a large population of youth that are actively seeking out
entertainment content," Pearl said in a report.