Only the lonely? Cats, cuddly toys and those who keep them company

Two mobile games have recently been hugely popular in China. One is Love and Producer, in which players can experience romantic relationships with four different handsome men. It beat Honor of King on the Apple Store's free download charts, but was soon supplanted by a traveling frog developed by the Japanese company Hit-Point.

The two games are said to be mostly played by single young women who desire romantic relationships or to play the role as the mother of a frog who loves traveling and mailing postcards back as the only interaction with players who help harvest clovers in a yard and prepare food and tools for the frog. Some people spend a lot of money on the games.

These mobile games are just two examples of the rising consumer demand by the increasing single population in China, who tend to spend more money on themselves, which is creating new businesses and economic opportunities.