You would think that the Chinese would be grabbing hold of Facebook and Twitter as fast as they have with our sports, clubbing, and other Western-style decadent cultural influences. They love American-everything. Yet Facebook and especially Twitter are but Pinto cars to China's fast growing Social Networking giants, RenRen and Qzone. Kaixin001 and 51.com round out the four social networking giants in China.
I've spent much of the Christmas holiday chatting with friends from all over the world on dozens of social networks. Nearly every week I find another social network, never mind the games found on those networks. Sure, you could use a select few to connect to virtually everyone around the globe, but just about each country has their own networks that often cater in special ways (language being the primary) that simply aren't offered on others.
RenRen in China is particularly an interesting case. Originally called 'Xiaonei', it's almost a virtual copy of Facebook. That's not really surprising in itself, considering that China copies quite a bit of Western technologies and ideas. They split off from the core technology and get rather unique in how they market the product, considering it a way to restore long-lost friendships and discover the true inner core of one's person through connecting with strangers in nearby cities.
Kaixin001 has been marketed more toward white-collar works and social games than RenRen's friend factor. For the past few years, Qzone has connected closely with QQ, China's primary instant messaging service, and has become a major social network for young teens and particularly rural users that may have spotty internet connections (which isn't a surprising element in even China's urban centers). 51.com used to be more popular than all the others, but has since begun a rapid decline back in 2008.
If you want to hook up with someone from China, Qzone is the way to go, for now. It has the largest social network by far and a great way to hook up with those already using the QQ instant messaging service. However, don't expect it to be an all-in-one service like Facebook that provides a lot of interesting games on the side. It is also weak on more in-depth search capabilities for university students looking to share information. Go to RenRen for that.
Much like Facebook is fast becoming an all-in-one giant in the West, RenRen is increasingly becoming popular for a wider range of users in China and nibbling at Qzone's market share. It may not be long before RenRen encroaches on Facebook's territory and an interesting international social networking war begins. The irony is that Facebook started as a university networking tool, while RenRen is becoming one in the end.
Showing posts with label china. Show all posts
Showing posts with label china. Show all posts
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Getting A Game Studio Started In China
Seekingalpha.com had an interesting article recently that discussed some key points on how western game studios can best establish themselves in the Chinese market, particularly pointing out some of the pitfalls that come with establishing companies in a new market. I thought the following points were especially interesting to read. Take point 2. particularly closely, as this one reaches into all areas of foreign investment and business establishment in China:
1. In addition to the major players the author mentions, other publicly listed companies that deserve a mention are Tencent, the leader in the casual games space with its QQ Game platform, and CDC Games, who have been quite successful operating "Yulgang" through their 17game subsidiary. They also recently announced that they have licensed the MMOG, "Lord of the Rings" [LOTR], which should launch in China later in 2007 or early 2008.
2. One of the reasons why the western publishers such as Electronic Arts (ERTS) struggle in China is that due to regulatory issues they can't directly publish online games so they need to work with a local partner. Korean companies such as NC Soft who have licensed numerous games to Chinese companies are worth looking at. The game consoles (ie: Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox, Sony's (SNE) PS3 etc) has too many issues at this point (regulatory, piracy, business model) so the market will continue to be PC-game dominated for the foreseeable future.
3. A big issue for the Chinese games industry is the shortage of quality game developers, especially game designers, and low level of game developer education. While Netease (NTES) has been successful at developing their own 2D/ 2.5D titles no Chinese company has managed to develop a quality 3D title. Imitation still rules over innovation with many copycat games being developed.
4. I would expect all of the Chinese game companies, including Netease, to license foreign titles in the future. This is partly due to the poor state of the local game development industry as mentioned above, and also because WoW has shown that a lot of money can be made from licensing a blockbuster title even if royalties have to be paid out to a foreign party. Due to the risk averse nature of many of these companies they will try to secure western titles that have reached open beta testing or have already launched in the west, or are being developed by famous developers who already have a track record. While this lowers their risk it also means that they will likely have to pay higher licensing and royalties for these titles.
5. Expect to see more games operated on a "play for free, pay for items" model compared to the traditional subscription model. The Korean games industry has already moved in this direction and Shanda (SNDA) and CDC Games/ 17game have shown that it is a viable model in China.
The9 (NCTY) has had a good run with WoW and has licensed numerous upcoming titles but it is not obvious how a company that has essentially been operating one game could expect to be successfully operating up to six games within the next 18-24 months. Their strategy may be more to do with "locking up" as many of these titles as possible. While this may suit The9 it isn't good for their licensing partners, which makes them a poor "Chinese partner of choice".
1. In addition to the major players the author mentions, other publicly listed companies that deserve a mention are Tencent, the leader in the casual games space with its QQ Game platform, and CDC Games, who have been quite successful operating "Yulgang" through their 17game subsidiary. They also recently announced that they have licensed the MMOG, "Lord of the Rings" [LOTR], which should launch in China later in 2007 or early 2008.
2. One of the reasons why the western publishers such as Electronic Arts (ERTS) struggle in China is that due to regulatory issues they can't directly publish online games so they need to work with a local partner. Korean companies such as NC Soft who have licensed numerous games to Chinese companies are worth looking at. The game consoles (ie: Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox, Sony's (SNE) PS3 etc) has too many issues at this point (regulatory, piracy, business model) so the market will continue to be PC-game dominated for the foreseeable future.
3. A big issue for the Chinese games industry is the shortage of quality game developers, especially game designers, and low level of game developer education. While Netease (NTES) has been successful at developing their own 2D/ 2.5D titles no Chinese company has managed to develop a quality 3D title. Imitation still rules over innovation with many copycat games being developed.
4. I would expect all of the Chinese game companies, including Netease, to license foreign titles in the future. This is partly due to the poor state of the local game development industry as mentioned above, and also because WoW has shown that a lot of money can be made from licensing a blockbuster title even if royalties have to be paid out to a foreign party. Due to the risk averse nature of many of these companies they will try to secure western titles that have reached open beta testing or have already launched in the west, or are being developed by famous developers who already have a track record. While this lowers their risk it also means that they will likely have to pay higher licensing and royalties for these titles.
5. Expect to see more games operated on a "play for free, pay for items" model compared to the traditional subscription model. The Korean games industry has already moved in this direction and Shanda (SNDA) and CDC Games/ 17game have shown that it is a viable model in China.
The9 (NCTY) has had a good run with WoW and has licensed numerous upcoming titles but it is not obvious how a company that has essentially been operating one game could expect to be successfully operating up to six games within the next 18-24 months. Their strategy may be more to do with "locking up" as many of these titles as possible. While this may suit The9 it isn't good for their licensing partners, which makes them a poor "Chinese partner of choice".
Sunday, June 27, 2010
An Infant Chinese Game Industry
With China exploding in growth in all sectors of industry, you would expect game development to be doing the same. This hasn’t quite been the case in the degree that many foreign analysts expected, especially in terms of foreign penetration. Although the Chinese game industry overall is huge with vast potential for years of growth (not to mention a lot of tax revenue for the country itself), game development has ironically been hindered by the government and the people’s inherent social culture.
Game development is not allowed to have government support (but plenty of regulation), partly due to the government’s somewhat reputed belief that games are not socially functional or beneficial. Most western cultures would abject to this stance, firmly believing that its own citizens can and have benefited from the mental activity of playing games, not to mention again the taxation opportunities the industry is capable of generating. Much like the American and Indian movie industries, the game industry is seen by most other cultures, even in many parts of Asia, as a positive influence.
What is most disturbing about the Chinese government’s intervention is the blatant disregard for actually understanding the industry and its products. Just a few days ago, China’s Ministry of Culture introduced new online gaming regulations which only vaguely define what they consider as “unwholesome” content. The regulations also severely restrict play session times with the goal of stopping recent deaths resulting from gameplay “marathons” that can last days straight. While moderation can be said to be a good thing, these regulations blanket the entire industry and often ignore many of the positive potentials that are snuffed out.
On the consumer end, games in Asia have just as much of a different perspective. Very few Chinese games, or even any other Asian ones for that matter, display graphical blood effects, visibility of human bones (but not bones of another creature), and persona fighting in the reference of a person directly referencing their characters as their own while fighting another person in the same capacity. World of Warcraft was a recent victim of this difference in culture, as the latest expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, was restricted from being published until the game’s skeletons were covered up with flesh or clothing.
The later reference is more easily dealt with in foreign markets, while the former once is proving cumbersome for western game developers. Another problem that invades the Chinese government and its citizens is copyright ethics. The Chinese don’t much care about, or more pointedly can do anything effective to stop it, the rampant stealing of software. One of the more unfortunate results is the undermining of their culture with very young kids getting hold of games meant for a much older audience. This has resulted in addiction and even death in the few cases linked to the marathon gameplay sessions mentioned a moment ago.
Regardless of these issues, nothing is going to stop the ultimate engine that is the Chinese game industry. It will undoubtedly overtake all other international game markets in the not-too-distant future in terms of revenue, game development efforts, and sheer player count. Like many industries in China and all over Asia, the question will be whether foreign games are as accepted in China as much as most Asian games have been in western markets. Instead of western games reaching Asian audiences, we may unexpectedly find ourselves and our locally based games in the minority on local turf.
Game development is not allowed to have government support (but plenty of regulation), partly due to the government’s somewhat reputed belief that games are not socially functional or beneficial. Most western cultures would abject to this stance, firmly believing that its own citizens can and have benefited from the mental activity of playing games, not to mention again the taxation opportunities the industry is capable of generating. Much like the American and Indian movie industries, the game industry is seen by most other cultures, even in many parts of Asia, as a positive influence.
What is most disturbing about the Chinese government’s intervention is the blatant disregard for actually understanding the industry and its products. Just a few days ago, China’s Ministry of Culture introduced new online gaming regulations which only vaguely define what they consider as “unwholesome” content. The regulations also severely restrict play session times with the goal of stopping recent deaths resulting from gameplay “marathons” that can last days straight. While moderation can be said to be a good thing, these regulations blanket the entire industry and often ignore many of the positive potentials that are snuffed out.
On the consumer end, games in Asia have just as much of a different perspective. Very few Chinese games, or even any other Asian ones for that matter, display graphical blood effects, visibility of human bones (but not bones of another creature), and persona fighting in the reference of a person directly referencing their characters as their own while fighting another person in the same capacity. World of Warcraft was a recent victim of this difference in culture, as the latest expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, was restricted from being published until the game’s skeletons were covered up with flesh or clothing.
The later reference is more easily dealt with in foreign markets, while the former once is proving cumbersome for western game developers. Another problem that invades the Chinese government and its citizens is copyright ethics. The Chinese don’t much care about, or more pointedly can do anything effective to stop it, the rampant stealing of software. One of the more unfortunate results is the undermining of their culture with very young kids getting hold of games meant for a much older audience. This has resulted in addiction and even death in the few cases linked to the marathon gameplay sessions mentioned a moment ago.
Regardless of these issues, nothing is going to stop the ultimate engine that is the Chinese game industry. It will undoubtedly overtake all other international game markets in the not-too-distant future in terms of revenue, game development efforts, and sheer player count. Like many industries in China and all over Asia, the question will be whether foreign games are as accepted in China as much as most Asian games have been in western markets. Instead of western games reaching Asian audiences, we may unexpectedly find ourselves and our locally based games in the minority on local turf.
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