Kabam hopes to be a marvel of China gaming world

The rewards could be huge as the country is on course to become the largest mobile gaming market in the world－bigger than the US and Europe put together.

"Firstly, there are about 700 million smartphones in China, out of a population of 1.35 billion," Chou said. "The number of people with smartphones in China is already the same as the entire population of the US and Europe combined. Still 600 million more people in China don't have smartphones, so the size of the market is big from a people standpoint.

"Besides, in the US and Europe, gamers have other choices. They play X-box, Play Station and PC games. But here in China, many people are experiencing games for the first time by playing on their smartphones and tablets," he added. "So it is their only choice for gaming."

As the only Chinese-American gaming company, Chou is confident of bridging the cultural divide, although the road ahead will be tough because of the different business environment.

The mobile gaming sector in China is also dominated by domestic players. Although several foreign competitors have entered the market, they have faced big challenges.

"The biggest one for foreign game developers is how to deepen their understanding of local markets and users," Xue Yongfeng, an analyst at Analysys International, said. "Without enough knowledge, they can't launch efficient marketing campaigns and often fail to roll out good localized products.

"There is a growing demand for console-quality games, especially among heavy Chinese players, who now contribute to a bulk of revenues for game companies," Xue added. "Mobile hardcore games, with console quality, are the future of the market. But its success depends on how well developers can adapt it to smartphones without sacrificing the user experience."

Zhang Xuecheng, 26, a graduate student who has been playing mobile games since 2005, is more interested in the quality of the game than the graphics.

"What matters most is whether the game is interesting," Zhang said. "It is OK for a well-designed game to have relatively poor graphics. But I would not be interested in a console-quality game if its characters and events are boring."

Ma Si contributed to this story