According to the game industry report from January to March 2022 (hereinafter referred to as the report) released by the game Working Committee of China music and digital Association (GPC) and China Game Industry Research Institute on April 24, the actual sales revenue of China's mobile game market from January to March 2022 was 60.432 billion yuan, and the growth rate slowed down. In the list of discontinued products, nearly half are products that have been in operation for five years or more. At the same time, in the top 10 of the flow list, only one new product has entered the list. As a new batch of game version numbers have been issued recently, a number of mobile games are about to be launched. In the competition between new and old game products, how to maintain the flow increment of old games and how to break through the growth period of new games and win more users are the key next step.
revenue growth rate is lower than that of the same period last year
Just as the listed game companies successively handed over the first quarter report of 2022, the overall development of the game market in the first quarter also gradually surfaced, and the mobile game, which occupies a large share, is the focus of attention.
According to the report, from January to March 2022, the actual sales revenue of China's mobile game market was 60.432 billion yuan, an increase of 9.28% month on month and 2.72% year-on-year. Not only did long-term products such as Yuanshen and fantasy journey to the West bring water increment, but also products such as Xinyou civilization and conquest have taken a step forward.
However, although the mobile game market has maintained overall growth, the revenue growth rate is lower than that in the same period of previous years. Data show that from January to March 2021, the actual sales revenue of China's mobile game market achieved a year-on-year growth rate of 6.25%, but this year's growth rate is less than half that of the same period last year. In this regard, the report points out that the increment of new tours is lower than that in the same period last year, making the year-on-year growth rate lower than that in the same period last year.
Beijing Business Daily reporter noted that although the growth rate has declined, there are still more new game enterprises registered. According to tianyancha data, as of April 12, there were more than 370000 enterprises in China whose names or business scope included "games" and whose status was in business, surviving, moving in and moving out. In terms of registration time, 74% of enterprises were established within five years. In terms of registered capital, 44.31% of enterprises have a registered capital of less than 1 million yuan and 12.41% have a registered capital of more than 10 million yuan. In recent years, the number of game related enterprises (all enterprises) in China has gradually increased. Among them, the registration volume approached the 100000 mark last year. More than 23000 game related enterprises have been newly registered this year, and 10000 related enterprises were established in March alone. The emergence of a large number of enterprises has also further intensified the market competition.
market environment catalyzes the survival of the fittest
Market competition is inevitable. The previous suspension of the distribution of game version numbers has also put pressure on relevant companies and practitioners. Until the distribution was resumed a few days ago, it has given many practitioners the confidence to continue to take the next step. However, at this time, the survival of the fittest in the market and the end of the life cycle are also happening synchronously, and some mobile game products choose to terminate the pace.
The report points out that in the first quarter of 2022, the number of mobile game product outages decreased significantly compared with the previous quarter, with a month on month decrease of 81.82%, of which nearly half are products that have been in operation for five years or more and are at the end of their life cycle. At the same time, Xinyou also faces challenges if it wants to stand out from the "old products" that have occupied a certain market share. According to the report, among the top 10 games in the first quarter of this year, only 4399 company's strategic product civilization and conquest entered the list.
In order to make its products attractive to players and have a longer life cycle, relevant game companies are also gradually adjusting the project operation plan Perfect World Co.Ltd(002624) once mentioned in the 2021 annual performance express that the company will tilt resources for projects in line with the future strategic direction, increase R & D personnel, increase R & D investment, and gradually streamline projects that are less consistent with the company's development objectives at the end of the reporting period, so as to promote the optimization of talent echelon.
Zhao Yong, an analyst in the game industry, said that both funds and resources should be used on the blade. "Although the current game market has a scale of hundreds of billions, it is not easy to really want to get a share of it. The disorderly layout will only make itself farther and farther away from the market, so we should work hard in resource allocation, R & D and so on".
high quality output breaking Bureau
The new game is expected to gain the favor of players and become a new popular model. The old game also hopes to run for a long time and continue the popularity of the product. How to find and develop new machines has become a problem that game companies have to consider at present, and R & D is a very key link.
The report points out that the increase in R & D investment and the proportion of R & D talents have played an important role in meeting the new needs of users, improving product flow and enhancing the competitiveness of enterprises. At the same time, enterprises use new technologies, expand product types and enhance user experience, which is also an important factor for flow growth.
According to Wei Pengju, President of the cultural and Economic Research Institute of the Central University of Finance and economics, to maintain the loyalty of old games, we need to timely understand the needs of users and constantly improve and maintain the game content, which can not only strengthen the reputation, but also facilitate the participation of new players. After the new game is listed, it needs to pay a large promotion cost and intervene in a better platform for publicity.
In addition, Zhao Yong believes that whether players will continue to play old products or download new games after experiencing a large number of products, or even be willing to pay for games, all have higher requirements for product quality. Only recognized games can get real vitality.
