How to localize a Western game for the Chinese audience? Simplified Chinese vs Traditional Chinese Game reviews, genre, and IP recognition are the main purchase drivers for Chinese gamers. Puzzle games take a lower share of the market due to the over saturation of these games in the app stores.Īt present, China’s PC and console games are still dominated by casual, puzzle, action and adventure games, and the competition is fierce.ĭistinctive and creative games are key when attempting to attract Chinese gamers. Social casino and racing (parkour) games became increasingly popular in 2018. The most popular game genres in ChinaĬhinese mobile gamers prefer shooting and MMO/MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) games, such as King of Glory and PUBG. VR games have a potential in China too, due to the thousands of VR arcades all over the country. Note: We expect Steam to be the future of PC gaming in China but at the moment, Chinese local platforms (Wegame, FHYX, etc.) accommodate way more gamers. According to SteamSpy’s data 2018, in two years, the number of active Chinese users on Steam has grown from 6 million to an astonishing 40 million, surpassing the 39 million US gamers on record. With the rapid development of games, we’re seeing a surge in the growth of Steam China. Nevertheless, in 2020, PC games revenue bypassed $14.1 billion! In total, more than 150 million Chinese people play video games. How about the PC and console games?Ĭomputer games were forbidden in mainland China for 20 years so gamers tended to download free pirated games. Top 10 Android app stores in China in January 2019. Keep in mind: Copycats can be an issue in China, however, releasing a localized version of the game simultaneously with the international version does make a difference - there is little sense for local devs to duplicate the existing localized game.Īs Google Play is banned in mainland China, it’s been replaced by a number of local Android app stores. Game in-app advertising has become one of its main monetization models and now makes up to half of the casual games revenue. With 882 million smartphone population, there is potential for further growth. More than 65% of game revenue was generated by mobile. The mobile game market revenue in China reached $29 billion, and the year-on-year share continued to increase, now amounting to over 18%. In 2020, the Chinese mobile gaming audience reached 651 million people, mainly due to the interest of female gamers. !(/upload-data/chinese game localization factsheet.jpg “Chinese Game Localization Factsheet”) Mobile games market For instance, in China, World of Warcraft is run by NetEase and Dota 2 - by Perfect World. To legally establish themselves in China, international developers need to partner with local publishers. Nevertheless, foreign game studios can target the massive gaming audience that plays smartphone games at least half an hour daily. The Chinese games industry is dominated by Tencent (#1 game publisher in the world) and NetEase. Your 4Rs for successful game localization to China: rewrite, rebrand, rename, and redesign.Ĭhina has already surpassed the US and has become the largest in the world taking 25% of the international game market.Localizing voice-overs, select between Mandarin and Cantonese.
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