China
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Gaming in China is on the rise as people mostly stay indoors to protect themselves from the coronavirus outbreak.
Usually, during the Lunar New Year that falls in January or February each year, gamers in China have more time to play games during the holiday season. But this year, following the coronavirus outbreak, authorities decided to extend the holiday by almost three weeks in many places, leaving millions of people with a lot of time to fill.
The coronavirus, which first appeared in Wuhan, China in December, is a potentially fatal respiratory disease that has infected more than 59,000 people worldwide and killed more than 1,300. The vast majority of cases are in mainland China.
Unable to venture from their homes, many people have turned to meeting up online. CNN Business interviewed three people in mainland China and translated their comments from Mandarin Chinese to English.
"During the new year, we're usually home anyway. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, we're virtually always home," said Zhanchao Yang, 24, from Dongguan, Guangdong, China. He works in construction and said that in recent weeks, he's been playing video games more frequently.
Yang traveled to his hometown in Kaifeng, Henan province during the Lunar New Year. Upon returning to Dongguan, Guangdong, he's required to stay under self-quarantine at home for 14 days before he can return to work. Guangdong residents who didn't travel to other cities and provinces were allowed to return to work on February 9.
"This holiday is too long," he said, noting that he can return to his office on February 17. He said his salary wasn't affected and that he's able to work from home while he's in quarantine.
Tencent's mobile game, "Honor of Kings," hit a new all-time high in daily average users during the week of January 30, according to Niko Partners, a research firm that focuses on the gaming industry in Asia.
"We attribute most of the increase to the impact of the novel coronavirus which led to more gamers staying at home instead of traveling or socializing outside of the home, allowing more time to play games," Niko wrote in a report. It added that it expected spending and downloads to increase in the next couple of weeks due to the extended holiday and travel bans in certain cities.
While the coronavirus has caused cancellations of esports tournaments throughout China, and slowed down manufacturing of video game consoles, stay-at-home activities are more popular than ever. Total game downloads on Apple's app store in China increased 27.5% year over year and revenue rose by 12.1%, according to market research firm Sensor Tower.
Gaming in China is on the rise as people mostly stay indoors to protect themselves from the coronavirus outbreak.
Yang traveled to his hometown in Kaifeng, Henan province during the Lunar New Year. Upon returning to Dongguan, Guangdong, he's required to stay under self-quarantine at home for 14 days before he can return to work. Guangdong residents who didn't travel to other cities and provinces were allowed to return to work on February 9.
"This holiday is too long," he said, noting that he can return to his office on February 17. He said his salary wasn't affected and that he's able to work from home while he's in quarantine.
Tencent's mobile game, "Honor of Kings," hit a new all-time high in daily average users during the week of January 30, according to Niko Partners, a research firm that focuses on the gaming industry in Asia.
"We attribute most of the increase to the impact of the novel coronavirus which led to more gamers staying at home instead of traveling or socializing outside of the home, allowing more time to play games," Niko wrote in a report. It added that it expected spending and downloads to increase in the next couple of weeks due to the extended holiday and travel bans in certain cities.
While the coronavirus has caused cancellations of esports tournaments throughout China, and slowed down manufacturing of video game consoles, stay-at-home activities are more popular than ever. Total game downloads on Apple's app store in China increased 27.5% year over year and revenue rose by 12.1%, according to market research firm Sensor Tower.
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