Why can’t you play good standalone games? Tencent can’t take the blame alone
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Domestic stand-alone games are a topic that can never be exhausted. It is not because our stand-alone games are so prosperous, but on the contrary, it is because of the decline and decay that we have so much to discuss. Although we once had a glorious history, in just over a decade, our stand-alone games were ruthlessly strangled almost as soon as they came out of the cradle. We have always hoped to find the answer to a question: what exactly ruined domestic stand-alone games? Piracy as a cause This is a commonplace topic. Domestic players have never developed good consumption habits. Moreover, piracy has an inherent price advantage, which makes domestic stand-alone game manufacturers in a bad consumption environment very headache. At that time, manufacturers did not understand the significance of the added value of games, so they could not find a correct way out; in fact, they still do not fully understand it today, but just follow the steps of foreign game manufacturers. Think about the era when stand-alone games were popular. The domestic economic level was generally low, and the price of a stand-alone game was ridiculously high, which was not at the same level as the national consumption capacity at that time. Buying genuine games was almost a luxury for most people. In addition, the popularity of PCs in China was relatively low, the number of players was small, and the market scope was severely limited. However, players were reluctant to buy genuine games because they could not afford them. The frustration caused by piracy has made the stand-alone game manufacturers become snobbish and gradually forced them to move towards the direction of quick success and instant benefits. Manufacturers no longer expect players to pay for genuine products, because they have seen through it, which is simply impossible. Just a few days ago, the domestic stand-alone masterpiece "ICEY" was launched, which seemed to give us a glimpse of the dawn of domestic stand-alone games. But this last remaining spark was also extinguished. The reason was that ICEY was cracked only two days after it was launched, and then it could be downloaded online. Although the website later removed the resource, the concept of domestic piracy has already taken root. Manufacturers don't put their heart into making games just to make money It is under the influence of piracy that many domestic game developers have gradually turned their attention to "money". After all, the game industry is a commercial industry, and the ultimate goal of a game is to make money. However, before most games are produced, developers will definitely have a profit estimate. Because the number of people who buy this game is basically fixed, the developer will infer how much development funds are needed to make this game. Once such an estimate appears, it means that the domestic stand-alone development funds will be very low, which explains why the quality of the game is so poor. Domestic stand-alone games are far less profitable than mobile games. Mobile game developers are only thinking about making quick money and big money, and never care whether the game quality is up to standard. Some mobile games that can dominate the game by just spending money are very popular in China. However, high-quality games with connotations are gradually ignored and abandoned by players. This has given game developers such a message that although high-quality games are profitable, they take a long time to develop. Brainless games have extremely low costs, but they make money quickly. Although the life cycle is short, the next one can be made immediately. This situation has turned China into the world's largest garbage producer. This is true for mobile games, let alone stand-alone games. Investors are spending so much money on a stand-alone game that they don’t know if it can make money. If it weren’t for those investors who are obsessed with stand-alone games, those who are truly patient and wise, I can’t think of anyone who would do this. Chinese investors, like Chinese players, generally lack patience and foresight. Distorted sentiments seriously undermine market rules In fact, apart from the funding, Chinese developers basically have a terrible logic, which is also the reason why Chinese games have not made any progress so far. Many game developers think that as long as they can keep their own small piece of land in the domestic market, as long as they cater to China's unique preferences (such as martial arts, Chinese Paladin, the Four Great Classics, etc.), the Chinese will pay for it, even if the development cost is low and the game quality is poor, the Chinese will still generously pay for it. Just like the domestic 3D Swords, every time a new generation is released, there will be a group of people who will buy it even if they are disappointed with the game. This is what players have been talking about as "sentiment". This is very similar to the fan-oriented economy abroad. Some games made by well-known IPs are only sold to fans, and the domestic sentiment is even more distorted than this fan-oriented economy. Speaking of sentiment, in fact, around 2000, some games made by some producers with passion were still very popular among players, such as "Legend of Sword and Fairy 1" and even "Legend of Sword and Fairy 4" were very popular among players. However, with the changes in the domestic game market, these originally confident developers have been hit hard and have all succumbed to the spell of sentiment. Such "sentiment" seriously undermines the iron law of the market, the survival of the fittest! The so-called sentiment has led to many domestic games, even if their quality is very poor, they can be self-sufficient relying on sentiment. In this way, the market cannot eliminate inferior products, but instead relies on sentiment to make these inferior games fearless, exacerbating the gap between domestic and foreign game development levels. These manufacturers always think that I can make money, so why should I innovate? It's not just a matter of sentiment, domestic players are also responsible. A big part of the reason for the unhealthy market is that players passively choose to be blind, because China has a 13-year-long game ban, which blocks many players from getting useful information. Due to the long-term information blockade, most players cannot distinguish between good and bad games, and have no idea how far foreign games have developed. Therefore, they cannot measure what games are good. In addition, players can only access domestic games, so naturally, no matter how poor the quality of domestic games is, there will be players who buy them. This is the lack of sentiment and information that has caused domestic games to regress in recent years, making the gap between us and foreign games increasingly larger, and fundamentally limiting our quality, technology, and creativity. Players' bad spending habits In fact, in addition to the above external factors, the culprit for the destruction of stand-alone games is the players themselves. In the 16 years from 2000 to this year, although stand-alone games are gradually declining, online games and mobile games are developing rapidly, especially the rise of Tencent and NetEase, which has brought fun and memories to many domestic players. However, it is also these two game companies that changed the habit of domestic players to pay before playing, thus forming a bad habit for players to play games for free and then pay after entering the game. Once players develop such bad consumption habits, they will support the existence of piracy and have the shameless idea of "why buy genuine games when there are pirated ones", and some players even don't know what genuine games are. The genuine products that never get support from players, and the manufacturers behind the genuine products, face the huge game market and lament that people's hearts have changed. Since people's hearts are separated from their stomachs, the manufacturers are simply unkind and unjust. They have lost their enthusiasm for developing games, abandoned their serious and responsible attitude, and lost their patience for meticulous work. They began to become snobbish and eager for quick success; from then on, they had no players in their eyes, only money. But players began to complain again, why game manufacturers only care about money. But I have to say a fair word for the manufacturers. All this is caused by ourselves. As the saying goes, you can't live without it. You will have to taste the fruit of your own actions. Problems such as piracy, information blockade, the domestic gaming environment, and players’ spending habits have led to the current dilemma in the development of stand-alone games. If the situation continues to develop in this way, what will be the future of stand-alone games? Some foreign game companies have been spying on the Chinese game market for a long time, but domestic players are already accustomed to the model of free games and paid props, so it is not realistic to ask them to buy games out of their own pockets. So these companies came up with a roundabout way to save the country, and let some well-known IPs, such as NBA2K, FIFA, Need for Speed, etc., cooperate with well-known domestic game manufacturers to launch online versions. However, this has formed a difference between China and foreign countries. China has a derivative online version, while foreign countries are just a simple network version. A game has taken different routes in China and abroad. Is this a good development? In fact, such development not only cannot change the consumption habits of players, but also helps the evil. Basically, the domestic game manufacturers will still use the model of free game props and paid props to represent these games. For example, games such as "NBA2KOnline" and "FIFAOnline3" represented by Tencent are continuing this charging model. So in the end, only when we players change our bad habits and eliminate internal factors can we overcome those external factors. As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity. |
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