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Xiaojun recently lost his job. The cybercafe where he had worked for three years is closed now.
In 2009， Xiaojun came to Beijing after graduating from computer studies at a vocational school in north China’s Shanxi Province. He got a job at a cybercafe named Jundu in the city’s west end， earning 3，000 yuan （$482.32） a month， plus companyprovided accommodation.
Jundu cybercafe， with 200 computers， is considered mid-sized in Beijing. It used to be quite busy. From afternoon to midnight， almost all the computers were occupied. Most of the customers were young people， including migrant workers and secondary school students. They came to the cybercafe to chat online， play games， watch films and surf the net.
However， Xiaojun found that since the beginning of 2012， fewer and fewer people came to the cafe. To attract more customers， the owner offered free drinks and free time cards to access online games but to no avail.
The cybercafe faced high costs， including telecom fees， electricity， rent， wages and taxes. The owner once thought about offering more services but decided against doing so because of his store’s location.
In March， the boss told Xiaojun that he had to close the cybercafe after losing money for four straight months.
Li Fuliang is also enduring hardship running his small cybercafe with 50 computers， saying overall it’s increasingly difficult for cybercafes to survive.
Li says he now envies the vendor selling sesame cakes outside his cafe. “Running a cybercafe is not even more profitable than selling cakes，” he said.
According to the Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce， there are more than 1，900 cybercafes registered in the city. But these days， a For Sale sign on the storefront has become a common sight.
Impact of smartphones
According to Xiaojun， fewer people frequent cybercafes because of the growing popularity of the smartphone. “Even I’m using a smartphone to chat online，” he said.
As the third-generation telecom networks develop rapidly and smartphones become much cheaper， more people are using smartphones—and hardly for making phone calls. Connecting to the Internet at any time and any place has become a norm for today’s youth.
Smartphones are also changing lifestyles. Users today are connecting to the Internet on buses， in the subway and even at the dinner table. It’s more convenient to browse the Web， chat and play games on a smartphone than it is to meander over to the neighborhood cybercafe. According to a report released by txwm. com on April 18， by the end of June 2012 China had 538 million netizens， of whom 388 million were accessing the Web through their phones. Li also believes another reason for the drop in visitors to cybercafes has to do with the government’s ban on people under the age of 18 from entering.
Li says in 2000 and 2001， most cyberca- fes charged 8-10 yuan （$1.29-1.61） per hour for using a computer. But in recent years， as competition intensified， most cybercafes began charging a mere 1.5-2 yuan （$0.24-0.32） per hour. According to Li’s estimation， for a cybercafe with 50 computers， the hourly cost for each computer is 1.5 yuan.
Who goes to a cybercafe？
Txwm.com conducted an earlier survey from December 26， 2012 to February 15， 2013， among netizens in cybercafes. The aim was to learn more about who exactly visited cybercafes. A total of 8，581 users participated.
The results showed that the proportion of females at cybercafe is reducing. As cellphones have become the largest Internet terminal， females， whose major use of the net is to chat， see no need to visit a cybercafe. The survey also found that young people between 24 and 33 are the most likely to frequent an Internet bar to play online games. Txwm.com suggests cybercafes target these netizens if they wish to survive.
Office workers and the self-employed are another major group visiting cybercafes. Most usually go in the evening after work or during holidays， which explains why the occupancy rate is higher during these periods. Seventy percent of cybercafe users have a monthly income of 1，500-5，000 yuan（$241.16-803.86）. Although many have personal computers， users still prefer going to cybercafes because the environment is conducive to playing online games together with friends. The most important reasons for visiting a cybercafe are， in descending order， Internet speed， price， service and proximity to home， the survey found.
Will 3D be savior？
Li， a cybercafe owner， says now many cyberca- fes are considering deploying computers with 3D technology. Vivid game play is a large attraction， but most Chinese families cannot afford 3D terminals. Cybercafes see this as an opportunity.
In April-September 2011， ViewSonic， a global provider of display technology， held a promotion to push large cybercafes in major Chinese cities to upgrade their computers to include the latest 3D screens. At present， 200 large cybercafes in 50 Chinese cities have offered 3D displays. When a cybercafe in Beijing’s Chaoyang District began to offer 3D displays in June 2012， Li went there to check it out firsthand. Li， however， thinks it unrealistic that cybercafes can use 3D technology simply because the terminals are still expensive. It would cost 1.5 million yuan （$24，116） to purchase 50 screens. Moreover， there are few films and online games that support 3D technology. Even with 3D capability， 90 percent of content remains at the level of 2D. “We’re not at a time when 3D display technology can be as widely applied as 2D technology，” said Li.
Li adds the 3D experience is short lived and consumer interest is unstable and quickly wanes. At present， consumers need to wear special glasses to watch 3D films or play 3D games， but many users say they feel uncomfortable after wearing the glasses for two hours.
The number of cybercafes with 3D capability is small， but the number of consumers who want to experience such technology is big， therefore these cybercafes can make a profit for now， industry watchers say.
But Li is cautious. “Before glasses-free 3D technology becomes affordable to consumers， blind expansion of 3D displays will only bring cybercafes much burden， not profit.”
In 2009， Xiaojun came to Beijing after graduating from computer studies at a vocational school in north China’s Shanxi Province. He got a job at a cybercafe named Jundu in the city’s west end， earning 3，000 yuan （$482.32） a month， plus companyprovided accommodation.
Jundu cybercafe， with 200 computers， is considered mid-sized in Beijing. It used to be quite busy. From afternoon to midnight， almost all the computers were occupied. Most of the customers were young people， including migrant workers and secondary school students. They came to the cybercafe to chat online， play games， watch films and surf the net.
However， Xiaojun found that since the beginning of 2012， fewer and fewer people came to the cafe. To attract more customers， the owner offered free drinks and free time cards to access online games but to no avail.
The cybercafe faced high costs， including telecom fees， electricity， rent， wages and taxes. The owner once thought about offering more services but decided against doing so because of his store’s location.
In March， the boss told Xiaojun that he had to close the cybercafe after losing money for four straight months.
Li Fuliang is also enduring hardship running his small cybercafe with 50 computers， saying overall it’s increasingly difficult for cybercafes to survive.
Li says he now envies the vendor selling sesame cakes outside his cafe. “Running a cybercafe is not even more profitable than selling cakes，” he said.
According to the Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce， there are more than 1，900 cybercafes registered in the city. But these days， a For Sale sign on the storefront has become a common sight.
Impact of smartphones
According to Xiaojun， fewer people frequent cybercafes because of the growing popularity of the smartphone. “Even I’m using a smartphone to chat online，” he said.
As the third-generation telecom networks develop rapidly and smartphones become much cheaper， more people are using smartphones—and hardly for making phone calls. Connecting to the Internet at any time and any place has become a norm for today’s youth.
Smartphones are also changing lifestyles. Users today are connecting to the Internet on buses， in the subway and even at the dinner table. It’s more convenient to browse the Web， chat and play games on a smartphone than it is to meander over to the neighborhood cybercafe. According to a report released by txwm. com on April 18， by the end of June 2012 China had 538 million netizens， of whom 388 million were accessing the Web through their phones. Li also believes another reason for the drop in visitors to cybercafes has to do with the government’s ban on people under the age of 18 from entering.
Li says in 2000 and 2001， most cyberca- fes charged 8-10 yuan （$1.29-1.61） per hour for using a computer. But in recent years， as competition intensified， most cybercafes began charging a mere 1.5-2 yuan （$0.24-0.32） per hour. According to Li’s estimation， for a cybercafe with 50 computers， the hourly cost for each computer is 1.5 yuan.
Who goes to a cybercafe？
Txwm.com conducted an earlier survey from December 26， 2012 to February 15， 2013， among netizens in cybercafes. The aim was to learn more about who exactly visited cybercafes. A total of 8，581 users participated.
The results showed that the proportion of females at cybercafe is reducing. As cellphones have become the largest Internet terminal， females， whose major use of the net is to chat， see no need to visit a cybercafe. The survey also found that young people between 24 and 33 are the most likely to frequent an Internet bar to play online games. Txwm.com suggests cybercafes target these netizens if they wish to survive.
Office workers and the self-employed are another major group visiting cybercafes. Most usually go in the evening after work or during holidays， which explains why the occupancy rate is higher during these periods. Seventy percent of cybercafe users have a monthly income of 1，500-5，000 yuan（$241.16-803.86）. Although many have personal computers， users still prefer going to cybercafes because the environment is conducive to playing online games together with friends. The most important reasons for visiting a cybercafe are， in descending order， Internet speed， price， service and proximity to home， the survey found.
Will 3D be savior？
Li， a cybercafe owner， says now many cyberca- fes are considering deploying computers with 3D technology. Vivid game play is a large attraction， but most Chinese families cannot afford 3D terminals. Cybercafes see this as an opportunity.
In April-September 2011， ViewSonic， a global provider of display technology， held a promotion to push large cybercafes in major Chinese cities to upgrade their computers to include the latest 3D screens. At present， 200 large cybercafes in 50 Chinese cities have offered 3D displays. When a cybercafe in Beijing’s Chaoyang District began to offer 3D displays in June 2012， Li went there to check it out firsthand. Li， however， thinks it unrealistic that cybercafes can use 3D technology simply because the terminals are still expensive. It would cost 1.5 million yuan （$24，116） to purchase 50 screens. Moreover， there are few films and online games that support 3D technology. Even with 3D capability， 90 percent of content remains at the level of 2D. “We’re not at a time when 3D display technology can be as widely applied as 2D technology，” said Li.
Li adds the 3D experience is short lived and consumer interest is unstable and quickly wanes. At present， consumers need to wear special glasses to watch 3D films or play 3D games， but many users say they feel uncomfortable after wearing the glasses for two hours.
The number of cybercafes with 3D capability is small， but the number of consumers who want to experience such technology is big， therefore these cybercafes can make a profit for now， industry watchers say.
But Li is cautious. “Before glasses-free 3D technology becomes affordable to consumers， blind expansion of 3D displays will only bring cybercafes much burden， not profit.”