Rovio layoffs, game bombing simmer

Not long ago, the developer Rovio announced that the company announced that it would lay off 110 people, let the gaming industry blow up the pot. Rovio, the "Angry Birds" (Angry Birds) series of fast-sweeping Finnish hand tour company, now seems to have encountered a very difficult situation. According to Sina Technology, Rovio, who started with mobile gaming, has now expanded to a variety of entertainment and licensing businesses. The company's 2013 revenue growth stalled because of the poor performance of the new series, Angry Birds.

The specific statement is as follows:

Rovio Entertainment has completed the Employee consultation program announced October 2 this year, with the result that Rovio will cut fewer people than originally planned for 130 employees.
Rovio estimates that the total number of employees to be cut is around 110 people. As part of the restructuring plan, several positions have been opened for recruitment within the company, and the final number of employees will be determined by the ownership of these new positions. In an effort to consolidate all Finnish operations in Espoo, Rovio will close down its subordinate Tampere studios.
In the industry's view, Finland has been seen as a "Silicon Valley" for mobile game developers from the supercell of Helsinki to the Rovio of Espoo. While these two games are just the tip of the Finnish gaming industry, Rovio is arguably one of the leading players in the game, and has been the focus of most global game developers.

The Angry Birds series has now become a global product, but the game has been 5 years since 2009. Because the bird series game in the play basically no innovation, has changed is the picture and role, which will inevitably make the player aesthetic fatigue.

You know, Angry Birds. This casual game and the development of heavy games are not the same. Heavy gamers ' user viscosity increases as game time increases, but casual games in most cases, people experience only in the time of fragmentation. Although Rovio has been rolling out new games in the past few years, such a move to occupy the market, in fact, the role is not very large, because they have not achieved a degree of difference.

It boils down to the fact that Rovio's fiasco is complicated, with the company's own positioning and the reasons for the changes in the market environment. But in the thousands of military games, the following three points are undoubtedly very important.

I. China's Waterloo, a major failure of internationalization

In fact, Rovio to China Mobile games, the world's second-largest market after Japan, has been ambitious, Chinese players have been the global mobile games in the future growth of the source of power. Master mobile games to master the mobile Internet, master the Chinese market may have mastered the mobile game.

Rovio into China, the choice of cooperation with Alibaba, such measures in the thousands of military games, a bit too put the cart before the horse. Rovio as a world-renowned gaming company, in China also has a very high visibility, to enter the Chinese market, the object of cooperation should be to choose a focus on the game distribution company or channel to cooperate, choose to cooperate with Ali, perhaps limited the development of Rovio.

For example, "Fruit Ninja" in the localization of the time, Halfbrickstudios chose the fun game to cooperate, "Candy Smash Chuan Qi" King chose Tencent. Alibaba, a company without game genes, is no doubt a Rovio China strategy.

Frankly speaking, Alibaba does have a lot of good channels: MO, Micro Bo, UC nine tour. But because these channels are too dispersed, it is difficult to form a resultant force, only UC Nine is Ali's wholly-owned subsidiary can control the whole, other channels can only be matched, nothing more. Therefore, Alibaba has no advantage in the channel. Rovio Choice and Alibaba cooperation, in fact, is the value of Ali in the field of electricity distribution, but this is no doubt the cart before the horse, after all, for the Rovio game is the root of its survival. "Angry Birds think Della" This game, the main segment of the female market, is supposed to be Rovio, the result was finally met Waterloo, this is undoubtedly Rovio internationalization of a major mistake.

Second, the fragmentation of the layout, can not form their own channels

In fact, in addition to the Slingshot series, Rovio running cool, shooting, racing games have a layout, "Angry Birds: Go" and "Angry bird Transformers" two games in the App store scoring and ranking is not bad. But for Rovio, the Thousand-army game thinks their big problem is that the game is too fragmented.

According to incomplete statistics, Rovio has launched up to 52 kinds of bird derivative game, on the surface to see these games so that birds everywhere, but in fact it directly diluted the bird brand value, brought a lot of vicious circle. Each game may have millions of downloads, but all users are not able to come together. The game that is too fragmented, also lets Rovio the game maintenance cost is quite high.

You know, if the flow can not be pooled, then there is no use of large flow. This leads to Rovio a big problem in the future, and the subsequent promotion of new games will have a high cost. In contrast, King only has a "Candy smash legend" success of the game, even if its late growth is weak, but because the user base is large enough, can be transformed into advertising platform, distribution platform. In fact, the promotion of the game is one of the most effective means of promotion, mobile game market risk is very high, how to reduce risk, continuous introduction of successful Games has always been a common dilemma for all game developers. But if you have a channel of your own, it will undoubtedly reduce your risk to a large extent.

Third, the brand aesthetic fatigue, vain Denise Dream

To tell you the truth, the quality of the Birds series is very high, the players are not low score. But in reality, these games are basically in the awkward position of applause. The reason why, we are not difficult to find: Rovio launched all the games are birds derivative products, which led to their brand is too simple and weak. A game category is also very easy to make people aesthetic fatigue.

Supercell their first game, the COC success, launched a similar play but there are subtle differences in the island, but also a great success. Recently launched a three-elimination game spooky Pop, the RPG elements into the, completely abandoned the "class COC" play. But all of these games are located in casual games, occupy market segments. And King, two consecutive three games are good results, candy smash legends and Candy soda legend, the subtle place of innovation. But Rovio out of many games, is not so much a new game, as is added to the new level and role of the information film.

Originally is too want to become Nintendo, Rovio later actually imitate the other side is Disney. Rubik's Cube network has in the report that: "Rovio developed the game is basically divided into three kinds of forms." That is, the original main line game, brand cooperation game, the role of derivative deformation. "The car, the shooting category is the same IP in different areas of the extension, but it is difficult to reach the level of Nintendo Super Mario." Because there is no channel advantage on the hardware.

So now Rovio's biggest problem is that mind is not on the game, obsessed want to become Disney. "So no matter on what occasion, Rovio's explanation for poor earnings is uniform--the angry bird is no longer just a game, it's a brand," The new financial Observer said in an analysis of the birds ' downfall. Therefore, can not according to the game model to consider a brand's operation. ”

Online theme park, selling all kinds of surrounding toys, making movies, is operating a brand. But the problem is that the image of being overly reliant on birds is definitely going to be a huge shock. After all, they are far less well-known than Disney, and want to continue to produce online influence, in fact, depends on their game.

Angry Birds can still rage for how long, but in the end can only see the patience of the fans, but when everyone has no sense of "bird-like" game, the brand value of the game may be on the verge of collapse. What the Rovio urgently needs to do is to roll back the new role and subvert the stereotype of the bird in the player's mind. You know, even Disney, it's not just a Mickey Mouse.