China extends lead as the world's biggest video game market

China has extended its lead as the world's biggest market for video game content, and now represents 25 percent of the global games market. 

That's according to a recent report from IHS Markit, which reveals that PC remains the platform of choice for players in China with a 51 percent share of the region's $25.6 billion video game market. 

Although PC is leading the charge for now, mobile game spending grew by 55 percent to reach $12.4 billion in 2016. If that upwards swing continues, IHS expects spending on mobile games to overtake PC games by the end of 2017. 

Console games on the other hand continue to struggle in the region, and sales of official console games and services only amounted to $53 million in 2016. 

What's more, the install base of official PS4 and Xbox One consoles in China was less than 500,000 at the end of 2016, showing mainstream systems still have a long way to go to win over Chinese consumers. 

"This slow adoption is a reflection of having to compete with the entrenched PC and mobile games markets and existing grey market console imports from Hong Kong and Japan, which are often cheaper than the official versions of the consoles," reads the IHS report. 

"Sony has experienced a mild increase in sales momentum in 2017 and will be further helped by the recent launch of the PS4 Pro, which has been priced aggressively to compete with grey market imports. The company also benefits from a well-established brand and its entrenched console lead versus Xbox in most Asian territories."

Be sure to check out the full report to find out more about how the Chinese video game market is shaping up.