Arcade game maker in Guangzhou dominates market

Panyu district in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, has become a global production base for arcade machines that feature a mechanical claw that drops onto a pile of prizes — dolls, for example — and the player attempts to retrieve one.

The district, with more than three decades of experience developing and producing animation and entertainment equipment and commercial game consoles, has registered more than 1,000 animation and game enterprises. It employs more than 50,000 people.

It currently accounts for 60 percent of the domestic claw machine market and more than 20 percent of the global market, local authorities said.

The district produces 3,700 types of animation and entertainment machines and products certificated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, accounting for 85 percent of the country's total, local authorities said.

Many of the claw machines found in shopping malls, game centers and on the streets of Australia, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Britain and the Philippines are produced in Panyu district.

Insiders said machines from Panyu have maintained their sales growth momentum, as the local government continues to support and encourage the development of the animation industry.

According to Panyu Customs, the export value of game consoles and accessories logged year-on-year growth of 96.8 percent in the first 11 months of last year.