Staggering 32.8 million people playing online games in Vietnam

More than a third of Vietnam’s population play online games and they are expected to spend $365 million on virtual entertainment this year, making it the 28th biggest market in the world, according to a games data site.

The Amsterdam-based Newzoo, which surveyed online players in major cities, estimated that 32.8 million people will be playing online games in Vietnam this year. Players’ ages range from 10 to 50 years old, with more than half of them from 21-35 and usually with a paid job.

The survey found 45 percent of gamers play across all platforms, from PC to mobile and console.

Women account for 43 percent of “active” players on PC/laptop, defined by those who play more than once a month, the survey found.

This new information is important for games producers in Vietnam given the small ratio of games designed for women.

More than half of Vietnam’s population of nearly 92 million has access to the internet.

A report this month from social media marketing and advertising agency We Are Social found Vietnamese Facebook users had jumped 40 percent from last year to around 64 million, making Vietnam the 7th most active country on the social network.

Google statistics in April also showed that many Vietnamese people spend their summers searching on Google and watching YouTube.

Trailers on the site got more than 500 million views across the country in summer 2016, up a staggering 136 percent from the previous year. Every day during that summer, 100 million mobile searches were made on Google in Vietnam, it said.