In a time of economic downturn you see where people’s real priorities are. In the current global slump certain industries are struggling, especially the automotive industry. Yet others are continuing to flourish as people tighten their belts and restrict their spending. Despite the crunch many are feeling, restaurants continue to flourish; not only the low priced chain joints but gourmet restaurants are still drawing in crowds. No industry though can claim to be doing better than the video game industry.

It’s growing steadily and is getting a huge foothold in a substantial marketplace: China. In 2008 the online video games market in China grew by 63% to reach $2.8 billion. Analysts at Pearl Research are expecting this trend to continue, with a projected market of over $5.5 billion in the next four years. Industry members attribute much of this growth to the rising popularity of social networking sites which make it easier for users to be introduced to new games, which in turn gets them bringing their real-world friends on board.

The three most popular games are all of Asian origin, two being from Chinese companies and one a Korean company. World of Warcraft however holds a strong foothold on the market with one million users. Some might attribute the greater popularity of the other games over Western-world dominating WOW to cultural bias, but it seems some of the appeal of the other titles could be simply financial as all the other titles are less graphically intensive than WOW and thus require less computer upgrades.