Optimizing the paid experience is the key to Android TV games

In 2014, as relevant state departments relaxed restrictions on TV game consoles, XBox and PS4 were able to legally enter the Chinese market, sparking a lot of imagination in the industry. Many IT and game people cheered that "the spring of Chinese TV games has arrived." However, the sales of Xbox One in China were not very popular, showing some signs of not adapting to the local environment. Chinese things still need to be handled in a Chinese way. A large number of Android boxes and Android game consoles have sprung up like mushrooms after rain. This kind of Android TV game may be a more appropriate model that is more in line with the consumption capacity and consumption habits of Chinese users.

Internet giants such as Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, Xiaomi, LeTV, and 360, as well as telecom operators such as China Telecom Aiyouxi, China Mobile and Games, and China Unicom Xiaowo have actively laid out in the field of TV games, sending a strong signal to the market: "The segmented market based on large-screen TVs will be the new game market in the future."

Before 2015, the prominent phenomenon in the market was that there were few Android TV game developers and few game products. The reason for this phenomenon was that the developers did not make money, and the main troublesome factors for developers not making money were the poor charging experience and poor control experience of players. In particular, the charging experience is the most important link.

The person in charge of Jixiangniao Games, a domestic company that specializes in developing Android TV games, said: "According to our actual operating data, Android TV game players are not unwilling to pay, but have a high willingness to pay. Taking "Cute Beast World" as an example, we noticed that on average each downloading user will send 4.5 payment requests. This is much higher than the willingness to pay for mobile games. But the payment success rate is not high, much lower than that of mobile games."

This information from the frontline of operations illustrates two issues: First, TV game players have a strong willingness to pay, which is very important for the future development of the industry. Second, there must be something that needs to be improved in the payment process or payment methods, which results in players having the willingness to pay but a low payment success rate.

It is understood that many TV game channel providers have opened paid SDKs to game developers and provided charging support. There are two main categories. One category is such as Alibaba, Xiaomi, LeTV, etc., and the main payment methods are Alipay, UnionPay cards, etc. The other category is telecom operators such as Telecom Aiyouxi, Mobile and Games, Unicom Vle, etc., and the main payment method is SMS. The author has conducted actual experience with these two types of charging methods.

(1) Alibaba

After choosing to purchase items in the Alibaba version of "Cute Beast World", it prompts that the Taobao account has not been logged in.

There are two ways to log in to your account. One is to scan the QR code on the TV using Taobao on your mobile phone.

The other is to use the remote control to enter the Taobao account and password.

Once you have bound your Taobao account, you do not need to enter your account multiple times, but you will need to enter your payment password every time you make a purchase, just like the process of buying goods on Taobao.

(2) Telecom Love Games

iGame provides three payment methods: the first is "Idol Payment", which is the secondary currency commonly used on the iGame platform. Players need to purchase Idol in advance to pay for various game props;

The second is Alipay; the third is to make the purchase by dialing the 168 voice telephone and then entering the 6-digit number on the screen according to the voice prompts.

It is understood that China Telecom Aiyouxi is exploring more payment methods, including SMS payment and broadband collection.

(3) Mobile and Gaming

Mobile provides three payment methods. The first is SMS payment. Players enter a mobile phone number on the screen, and the phone will receive a 6-digit SMS. After entering the 6-digit number into the screen, the payment is successful. The author noticed that after entering the mobile phone number once, the number will remain on the screen, so there is no need to enter the mobile phone number again every time you buy, which is very convenient.

The second is QR code payment, which requires that you install a software called "Play with You" on your phone. Use "Play with You" to scan the QR code on the screen and the payment will be successful immediately. The third is the very interesting "sound wave payment". After the player enters a mobile phone number, the phone will receive a call. After the player confirms according to the voice prompt, the payment is successful.

Through the charging experience of these three typical channels, we can see that each channel has made great efforts to improve the payment experience, and at the same time, they have made efforts in the charging methods they are good at. Alibaba mainly promotes Alipay, and telecom operators mainly promote mobile payment. However, there are still some obstacles, such as Alipay requires players to bind their accounts. Young children and teenagers generally do not have Alipay, which will block some of these players; mobile payment is relatively more convenient, but also requires a mobile phone as a carrier for charging. If it is a young player who does not have a mobile phone, he needs to ask his parents for help when paying.

Comparing the payment channels of mobile games, the first is bank account, the second is Alipay, and the third is mobile payment. Each of them has a certain market share. It took about 3 years for the mobile game market to cultivate players' payment habits. It may take less time to cultivate players' payment habits in TV games. On the one hand, it is due to the fact that many game players have learned to pay on PCs and mobile phones. On the other hand, it is believed that TV game payment service providers will continue to improve the process and optimize the payment experience, so that many players who are willing to pay can pay smoothly.

Only by solving the payment problem and providing players with a convenient and smooth payment experience can game developers earn income, more developers can enter the TV game field, the number of games can be enriched and the quality of games can be improved, and the TV game industry can explode soon.

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.