Tag: china mobile games

Tencent makes a move on mobile games

| August 16, 2013

Mobile games are coming to WeChat

Tencent, China’s largest Internet company, has been making aggressive moves in the mobile field recently. The company has been looking to boost the revenue generated from WeChat, China’s most popular social messaging application. WeChat is used by over half of the smartphone and tablet owners in China and the application is making its way to other markets beyond the country’s borders. Tencent believes that it can boost the revenue of WeChat by making various updates to the application and adding new features, such as mobile games.

WeChat brings social elements to mobile games

The company has noticed that mobile games are quite addictive to consumers throughout China. Tencent believes that this creates an ideal environment for consumers to compete with one another on mobile games through the WeChat application, adding a social element to these games. Users of WeChat will not be charged to play the mobile games associated with the application. There are various features that are included in these games that do come at a price, however. These in-game purchases can unlock additional content for those interested in spending money on the games they are interested in.

Tencent - Mobile GamesConsumers may make in-game purchases due to competition with friends

Tencent expects that competition will be the main reason consumers spend money on mobile games. WeChat is a social platform, allowing more than 300 million users throughout China to connect with one another in real-time. Tencent believes that the allure of “one-upping” friends could be a driving force behind in-game purchases. Those that do purchase additional content or advantages in mobile games establish a slight lead over their friends and this may encourage others to follow suit so as not to be left behind.

Consumers are notoriously fickle when it comes to mobile games

While mobile games have proven to be a lucrative sector for the game industry as a whole, consumers are notoriously fickle when it comes to this type of gaming. Few mobile games have the ability to hold a consumer’s attention for prolonged periods of time. While games like “Candy Crush Saga” manage to generate a great deal of revenue, consumers tend to move quickly from game to game in order to find a better experience. WeChat may need to support a wide variety of mobile games if it wants to generate revenue  in this way.

Chinese developers set to bring mobile games overseas

| July 30, 2013

Chinese mobile games may soon find their way to foreign markets

Chinese game developers may soon flood into overseas markets, using mobile games to reach a vast multitude of new consumers. Several of the country’s prominent game developers have announced plans to make a push into foreign markets, hoping to engage consumers that are interested in mobile games. Many of these consumers have become enthralled with the simplistic, yet addictive nature of these games, and Chinese developers are well versed in making such games. Some developers believe that they could find strong success in foreign markets in the short-term while also enjoying the success they have fostered in their home country.

Domestic game industry boasts of $3 billion in revenue

China’s game industry reached more than $3 billion in revenue at the end of June this year. The industry is experiencing a 36% year-on-year growth in revenue, driven heavily by consumers that have shown strong interest in mobile games. This interest in not exclusive to Chinese consumers, of course, and those with smartphones and tablets in other countries have also become enthralled by mobile games. Some Chinese games are already available outside of the country and have pulled in more than $300 million in revenue.

China mobile games to go overseasDeveloper has plans to acquire foreign studios

Shanda Games, a prominent developer and game publisher in China, has plans to launch two new funds that are meant to invest in the acquisition of mobile game studios within China as well as overseas. The company will release a total of 30 mobile games by the end of this year and plans to carry this momentum into 2014 with new studios that are located outside of China. WeChat, a popular social networking and gaming platform in China, is also expected to find its way overseas in the coming years.

Developers may face challenges in foreign markets

While Chinese companies have high hopes for mobile games in foreign markets, the game industry is notoriously fickle when it comes to such titles. Consumers had once shown a great deal of favor for the games produced by U.S. developer Zynga. After a few missteps, the company is now struggling to find some solid footing in a market that is extremely critical on any degree of failure.