Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The market
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- Figure 1: Short, medium and long-term impact of COVID-19 on esports, September 2020
- eSports market gaining substantially
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- Figure 2: Market volume of esports in China, by billions of people, 2014-22 est
- Figure 3: Market size of esports in China, in RMB million 2016-22 est
- Centrally promoted and encouraged
- Continuation of broader trends in technology and communication
- Companies and brands
- Streaming platforms top heavy
- Game developers
- eSports clubs
- The consumer
- Making and viewing gaming content has gathered an audience in the past year
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- Figure 4: eSports activities, September 2020 versus June 2019
- Engagement red flags after COVID-19
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- Figure 5: Ways to de-stress, March-September 2020
- Two thirds of esports viewers go to Douyu
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- Figure 6: Platforms for watching esports tournaments, September 2020
- KPL reigns on top in China
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- Figure 7: eSports tournament penetration, September 2020
- eSports portrays serious competition instead of entertainment
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- Figure 8: Emotion association with esports, September 2020
- Computing products the highest category spent for the esports consumers
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- Figure 9: Spending on eSports, September 2020
- eSports can compete with traditional sports because of COVID-19
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- Figure 10: Key demographics between traditional sports tournaments and esports tournaments, by gender and age, September 2020
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Different perceptions of esports present challenges and opportunities
- The facts
- The implications
- eSports is not only for youngers
- The facts
- The implications
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- Figure 11: World of Warcraft Classic Primer for New Players, August 2019
- eSports driving awareness and growth in other sectors
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Centrally promoted and encouraged
- Money reaching new areas
- Driven by internet giants
- Long term upside from COVID-19 lockdown
- Potential for all games
Market Size and Forecast
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- eSports market gaining substantially
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- Figure 12: Market volume of esports in China, by billions of people, 2014-22 est
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- Figure 13: Market value of esports in China, by RMB million, 2016-22 est
Market Drivers
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- Maturing business employment opportunities
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- Figure 14: Secondary institutions and esports degree offered, 2019
- Licensing IP franchises to foster cross-category collaborations
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- Figure 15: Onmyoji musical production, 2018
- 5G gaming
Key Players – What You Need to Know
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- Increasingly diverse cross-category collaboration with esports
- Tencent’s appeal to foreign gaming companies
- Streaming platforms increasingly commercialised
Key player performances
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- Platforms and tournaments
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- Figure 16: 2020 esports livestream tournaments and platforms
- Clubs (both traditional sports and esports)
- Internet giants
Competitive Strategies
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- Establishing joint venture for great opportunity
- Rising trend of naming right
- Training facilities improve performance
- eSports meets mainstream entertainment
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- Figure 17: Go Go Squid a tale of digital romance, July 2019
Who’s Innovating?
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- Cross-branding with fashion industry
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- Figure 18: Cross branding between Louis Vuitton and League of Legend December 2019
- Figure 19: Nike and LPL brand crossover, September 2019
- Gaming furniture
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- Figure 20: Herman Miller’s esports furniture portfolio, July 2020
- Adaptogenic ingredients in esports
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- Figure 21: Diclofenac’s commercial collaboration with Uzi, September 2020
- Wearables for players
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- Figure 22: BeANCA’s arm cover, July 2020
- Smartphone for gaming
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- Figure 23: Nubia Red Magic 5G, March 2020
- eSports enters livestream commerce
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- Figure 24: Douyu and Taobao cross collaboration for 18 June Mid-year shopping festival 2020
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Competitive gaming attracts 85% of adults
- Douyu has the most audience, but new players emerge
- eSports as a competition rather than entertainment
- Low spending on esports leads to more potential
- eSports gender difference compared to traditional sports
Frequency of eSports Activities
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- Making and viewing gaming content has gathered an audience in the past year
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- Figure 25: esports activities, September 2020 versus June 2019
- eSports viewers branch outside of competitive gaming
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- Figure 26: Frequency of esports activities, September 2020
- eSports enthusiasts are expected in youngers
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- Figure 27: Frequency of esports activities, those who watched live-stream tournaments once a week or more, by key demographics, September 2020
- Engagement red flags after COVID-19
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- Figure 28: Ways to de-stress, March-September 2020
Platforms for Watching eSports Tournaments
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- Two thirds of esports viewers go to Douyu
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- Figure 29: Platforms for watching esports tournaments, September 2020
- New platform emerges to share the live streaming of esports tournaments
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- Figure 30: platforms for watching esports tournaments, September 2019 vs September 2020
- Age draws a line between Bilibili and Douyu
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- Figure 31: Platforms for watching esports tournaments, Douyu and Bilibili, by age, September 2020
- eSports content on short video platforms
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- Figure 32: Platforms for esports contents, Douyin and Kuaishou, by age by gender, September 2020
- The most diverse streaming: Magic Pro League
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- Figure 33: Platforms for watching esports tournaments, count, by tournaments watched, September 2020
- Heavy users go to Douyu
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- Figure 34: Platforms for watching esports tournaments, by user type, September 2020
eSports Tournaments Penetration
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- KPL reigns top in China
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- Figure 35: eSports tournaments penetration, September 2020
- Older games reach an older audience, while newer games bring in younger adults
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- Figure 36: eSports tournaments penetration, by age, September 2020
- Significant increase in viewership for LPL
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- Figure 37: eSports tournaments penetration, by gender, 2019 vs 2020
Emotion Associated with eSports
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- eSports portrays serious competition instead of entertainment
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- Figure 38: Emotion association with esports, September 2020
- Older consumers see it as trendy versus younger adults sees the sport as lit
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- Figure 39: Emotion association with esports, by age, September 2020
- Lower tier city users are more aligned with the competitiveness of the sport
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- Figure 40: Emotion association with esports, competitive, by city tier, September 2020
Spending on eSports
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- Computing products the highest category spent for esports consumers
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- Figure 41: Spending on eSports, September 2020
- Promising future for esports businesses
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- Figure 42: Spending on esports, esports tournament related, September 2020
- Watchers spending more on keyboards
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- Figure 43: Spending on esports, keyboards, by type of consumers, September 2020
eSports as a Professionalised Sport
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- Consumer preferences towards faster pace sports
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- Figure 44: Traditional sports watched in the last 12 months, September 2020
- eSports can compete with traditional sports because of COVID-19
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- Figure 45: traditional sports tournaments versus esports tournaments, by key demographics, September 2020
- eSports as a means of leisure activity in tier two cities
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- Figure 46: Sports tournaments versus esports tournaments, by city tier, September 2020
- Competitive sports most popular amongst parents
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- Figure 47: Sports tournaments versus esports tournaments, by marital status, September 2020
Meet the Mintropolitans
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- Professionalism more recognised by Mintropolitans
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- Figure 48: Emotions attached towards esports, professional, by consumer classification, September 2020
- Mintropolitans spend the most on gaming monitors
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- Figure 49: Spending on esports related products, gaming monitors RMB3,001 and above, by consumer classification, September 2020
- Platform subscription upgrade
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- Figure 50: Spending on esports live streaming/short video platform subscription services, have not spent, by consumer classification, September 2020
Appendix – Methodology and Abbreviations
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- Methodology
- Abbreviations
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