| WagnerPaiva said: 2 billion people over there, 1% market penetration in these numbers would mean 20 million consoles. It is potentially a 100 million consoles market (considering that 5% of the population can afford and is interested in gaming), so, Sony better hurry, a company can make a lot of money in China. Just think about Brazil: it sucks, but the market was big enough to justify sony instaling a factory in here. China is much more promissing. |
The math doesn't support that when you examine the details. The absolute vast majority of the population lives in astonishing poverty, and there are hundreds of ethnic minorities that have wildly varied cultures and languages. Then you have a working class that slaves themselves to death trying to make it working for the industrial sector of the economy, but these people have almost no discretionary income nor time to spend on gaming. Up the ladder from there you have similar people in lower and middle management, but they have to work just as insanely hard, so they also have no time. Families are very tight and savings is a huge deal to them, so spending on a luxury item would be sacrilege. On the go is also paramount, so the relatively small numbers that can afford such items tend to buy mobile stuff, from android/iPhone to small tablets or macbook airs for the wealthy. Boiling it down, the actual group of people that can buy a $500 console are very tiny overall. To further complicate things, $500 buys someone a respectable PC, which is far more understood to the Chinese consumer compared to a console, and far more capable for multipurpose and economy use. China will prove to be an utter failure for Sony and Microsoft in the console business. Nintendo has a shot, with a cheap handheld, but even that is a tough sell honestly.
