September 23, 2004; SHANGHAI, HONG KONG - Profits in China's booming online gaming industry are not limited to the industry's top tier operators according to media and research boutique Pacific Epoch. At least 10 mainland online game operators boast between 50,000 and 100,000 peak concurrent users asserts Pacific Epoch in its latest report: China's Second Tier Online Games.
"With investor interest focused on Shanda, The9, Netease and Optic/Optisp, the second tier players have largely missed out on attention from foreign venture capital firms and media," said Pacific Epoch research editor Elias Glenn. "Our latest report slams home the point: these companies are profitable and have as much potential as the market's leaders - 20 million Yuan a month is not small change."
"Some of these second tier companies just jump out at you when you look at the industry," adds Glenn. "I would not be surprised if we see one or more IPOs out of the group in the next year."
China's Second Tier Online Games is the first in a series of reports Pacific Epoch will release before year-end. All the reports are aimed at investors trying to get some clarity on the direction of China's emerging technology, media, and telecommunications sectors. Pacific Epoch's next report covers the rapidly changing mobile gaming industry in China.