13 ban on game reconstruction "living room Strategy"

[Currently, the living room war is imminent, intelligent TV, boxes and other products emerge. With the lifting of the game, in the new round of the living room for the war, the game machine will be a force to be reckoned with.

The 13-year-old game ban has finally ushered in the lifting of a major turning point.

According to the General Plan of China (Shanghai) free trade experimental area, if a foreign enterprise is registered in the Shanghai FTA, its production will be allowed to be promoted and marketed in the Chinese market, but the culture-related products are subject to government approval; At the same time, the domestic gaming and entertainment equipment, which is reviewed by the cultural authorities, can be marketed to foreign markets.

This news, let the domestic and foreign game giant excited, also let the electric business, online video and other Internet companies attention.

Yesterday, a number of industry participants in the "First financial daily" reporter interview said: "The game machine will become the" living room strategy of the new forces, really let interactive entertainment return to the living room, and accelerate the building of the living room intelligent Ecological circle.

"Because the domestic sales of game host in the policy has no obstacles, coupled with the outbreak of intelligent television, these are for living room entertainment to provide an opportunity to return." Ku Haoyi, a senior analyst at Analysys International, says the interactive entertainment return to the living room is likely to be the next outbreak after a hand tour.

Opportunities and challenges

September 23 Evening, the Hundred-Vision (600637.SH) issued a notice, and Microsoft (33.27, 0.50, 1.53%) to achieve cooperation, the two sides agreed to jointly invest 79 million U.S. dollars to form a joint venture. Among them, hundred-Vision shares 51%, Microsoft accounted for 49% of shares. The two sides also made a brief announcement of the contents of the cooperation, the core of which is, production and sale of terminal equipment such as game consoles and related games, entertainment software, etc., the company intends to register status in China (Shanghai) Free Trade test area (hereinafter referred to as "FTA").

That night, the game industry mad about this message: this is not a signal of the loosening of the ban policy?

June 2000, the State Council forwarded the Ministry of Culture and other seven departments, "on the development of electronic game management sites," the views of special governance, including the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Information Industry (the predecessor), such as the seven departments stipulated that "from the date of publication of this opinion, for domestic video game equipment and its 0, accessories production, sales stop, Any enterprise or individual may no longer engage in the production and sales activities of video game equipment and its 0, accessories for domestic.

Since then, the door of China's gaming machine market has officially closed, since then the Chinese game market has become the main network game, game industry into the underground.

Until the 2009, when policies were loosened and large video-game consoles were allowed to be made publicly available for sale, there was no policy mention of home consoles.

Although China prohibits the sale, these domestic game consoles in the Chinese market share is not low, because there is no mainstream "parallel imports."

China Research Institute of the Chinese industry published in the "2013-2017 China Gaming Industry Investment risk forecast and future Prospects Analysis Report" shows that 2012, the Chinese handheld and video game hardware market sales revenue reached about 500 million U.S. dollars, shipments of about 4 million units. Another 2012 China game Industry Report shows: China's game market real sales income of 60.28 billion yuan, of which the actual sales of online games 56.96 billion yuan, mobile game sales revenue 3.24 billion, single game sales income of 75 million yuan, net games market share of 94.5%, Mobile game for 5.4%, stand-alone game for 0.1%.

The report of the China Research Institute for Industry Studies shows that the national video game enthusiasts are at least 20 million. Domestic Palm machine users have 2 million, PS2, Xbox, PS3, Wii and other game machine products less than 500,000 users, more than millions of, to one year per capita consumption of 200 yuan, game consoles around the market size of a year close to 4 billion yuan. "China's large-scale game industry is still in the initial stage of development, in the face of huge market, still appears to be insufficient capacity." Yourselves said that the growing popularity of home networks and the support of more gaming devices for wireless networks will be a booster for the development of the gaming industry.

The Research Institute of China-China Institute of Industry Studies shows that up to the end of 2012, our large-scale gaming industry has a certain scale of enterprises of about 350, of which the annual output value of more than 100 million yuan of enterprises about 16, 10 million yuan or more enterprises about 170, 1 million yuan and more enterprises about 160.

At present, the world's main home gaming market, is firmly "mastered" in Sony (21.29, 0.01,-0.05%), Microsoft and Nintendo three transnational game maker hands. In fact, these game makers have been obsessed with the Chinese market.

Responding to China's ban on the sale of game consoles, Sony responded: "We think China is an attractive market and we've been thinking about the possibility of a career development." Nintendo, another major gaming machine maker, said: "If there's a big change, it's a chance for us." We are ready to do that. ”

Tang Xin, a senior IT analyst, has told the media that the partnership between the Company and Microsoft provides a way for other foreign game makers to enter the Chinese market, and that the next two big game giants, Sony and Nintendo, will copy the Microsoft model into China.

"Although the hardware introduction of the game has basically no policy barriers, but the content of the game product review is still a more difficult hurdle." "Ku Haoyi said, the Xbox and other host on a large number of games are violent homicide and other content, because the domestic game classification system has not been sound, so the introduction is not likely, the lack of support of the host is very small competition."

But are China's local markets and companies ready?

Game industry practitioners, netizens "do not drink Coke man" that the ban on game sales policy, for the long time in China set up factories, and obtain sales license of Nintendo, may not have much impact; but if foreign brands enter China, they may face the price competition of Chinese shanzhai machines, And the former cost of production will not have too many competitive advantages.

In Chinese game machine enterprise competitiveness, "Do not drink cola man" that: and Europe and the United States, Japan and other game machine manufacturers, there is a certain gap; especially in the field of home games, the situation may be worse. As a result of many years in imitation of foreign big-name game manufacturers, in the hardware, software, as well as technology, design and lack of innovation.

He told reporters that at present, the domestic game machine production in Guangdong, Shandong coastal Areas and Shanghai, its game consoles are mainly exported to Southeast Asia and other neighboring countries or regions of China. In these areas, domestic gaming machine manufacturers have a price advantage, there are not too many competitors, but in Europe and the United States, Japan and other regions of the competition, there is no advantage to say.

"Domestic enterprises have little chance of independent research and development, before Lenovo, Shanda have done, but failed." Ku Haoyi said, in addition, host game is still facing the high-end core players of the market, a game to hundreds of yuan pricing in the domestic still can only be a small number of people can afford to spend, early user education is still very long; therefore, the future of domestic game host road is still quite bumpy.

New forces in the living room

"In comparison, if Android Smart TV opens the market in the future and the uniformity of the gaming experience is established, it is more promising to introduce some mildly casual family games." "Yourselves."

At present, the living room war, smart TV, boxes and other products emerge. With the lifting of the game, in the new round of the living room for the war, the game machine will be a force can not be ignored.

From the Hundred-Vision bulletin can be a glimpse: in the country on the FTA and other aspects of the policy framework, the company through the joint venture with Microsoft, to create a first-class "new generation of home game entertainment products" and the world's leading level of "Home entertainment Center Service"

"Now there is a very hot concept, is a video game, such as: Microsoft and the co-operation of the Hundred." "Don't drink cola Man" think, although not as cheap as online games, easy to popularize, but Microsoft Xbox in China already has a certain base of the core users, and Xbox's "parallel" sales are not low.

Prior to this, the reporter also learned from people familiar with the situation, the company and Microsoft Joint Venture products may not be named after the Xbox, but the game function will be similar, and will be added to the video on demand, television and other services. In short, the joint venture's product features will be far more than the existing Microsoft Xbox consoles.

"In the future, the domestic millet TV, Lenovo home machine and so on may imitate the Microsoft and the Hundred-vision cooperation mode." "Don't drink cola man," Analysis said, Millet TV can install an android system, download the game through the network, Lenovo home machine will also cooperate, and it is currently in the "pack" some of the company to do the game, may even be involved in their own.

Another view is that more powerful game machine products will grow on their own, if the price is appropriate, will be on the market Ott box class caused a heavy blow, and may spread to smart television, one by one into the living room killer products.

"It is premature to assert that an open ban has made the development of Chinese games a new era." "IBM (186.92,-3.30,-1.73%) senior strategic analyst Wang Yu that the 13 game ban disguised as a boost to the market prosperity of the games, from the PC online to the page, to the current hand tour, capital investment is also changing the positioning of China's huge game groups; like a hand swim, Game consoles are likely to be the new darling of the capital market, the industry is the frequency of investment in mergers and acquisitions.

He further analyzed, in the PC Internet age, the Internet, software, hardware by a specialized division of labor system in a number of companies to provide; in the mobile internet age, Apple (482.75,-3.47,-0.71%) "Triathlon" (software + hardware + Internet) most effective. In other words, home host game is not only a host, but also the combination of software and the Internet, even if the host is open, the latter both in the domestic market mature also need time.

"In this process, the first thing that game OEMs have to deal with is how to get used to free Chinese consumers to accept the hundreds of software licensing problem." "Wang Yu laments that this is a path that requires a lot of resources to collaborate and integrate," but when we think of the real 3D simulations in the movie, we would argue that no matter how long the road is, the future is right.