Web Games in China Are at a Crossroads

BEIJING, May 21 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Web games in China are at a crossroads. On the one hand, the future looks prosperous with new web games of all types popping up constantly; on the other hand, the web games industry is also challenged by the problems of a chaotic market and copycat products, leading to many low quality products on the market.

Some assert that 2010 will be a decisive year for web games, as the industry ponders the direction it is heading. The 3rd China Web Games Summit will be hosted by China.com in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province on May 28, 2010. The summit will discuss the development of China's web game market in-depth. According to Mr. Gao Fuxiang, General Manager of China.com, the number of participating developers, operators, experts and game journalists is poised to exceed attendance numbers of the past two years. This reflects how much the web games industry values the summit.

The main purpose of web games is relaxation, just like puzzles, cards and video games. Web game players, in general, are slightly older than MMO players, and most of them are office staff. Research shows that among web game players, 62.8% have received tertiary education, which means that this group has strong buying needs and power. This group of users will be the catalyst for the growth of in-web game ads in the future. Thus, some experts claim that web games are a new phase in the development of online gaming, and its future looks bright. Throughout the financial crisis, instead of contracting, the web games market maintained its strong growth, which was remarkable during the tough economic conditions.

However, crisis is lurking beneath prosperity. Before the summit begins, reporters interviewed some developers and operators to look at what they consider dangerous.

Lack of innovation - Web game companies are plagued by the question of innovation, as the only way to differentiate oneself in this crowded market is through creative gameplay and topics. The key is whether the web game companies can accurately understand the players' needs and control the creativity and quality of the games themselves. Ms. Zhu Haiyan, CEO of 'Guanghuai Interactive,' believes that there is imitation now, but innovation is the future, and games should emphasize originality at every step of the development process. Only high quality products can last in the market, and this is also vital to companies' sustained development. The most popular games on the market have integrated players' favorite gameplay elements, and these games also boast high-quality design, graphics and control schemes.

Fast-food-like low investment, short lifecycle model needs change - Some developers categorize web games as 'fast-food' products - they copy ideas off others and make unpolished products. This leads to uneven quality of products on the market. Right now, many players treat web games as mini-games, primarily because they have played games that were rushed or even technically flawed. Many studios only spent a few tens of thousands of dollars to develop a product in three to five months, but they did not think about the lifespan of a web game, which is determined by its playability. Mr. Li Ming, a project manager at Changyou Interactive, believes that a product of true quality requires a long development cycle. Fortunately, the increased investments (both financially and talent-wise) of many client-based online game companies have led to increased investments from small to medium-sized web game companies. Their products have become more polished and can begin to rival those developed by the larger counterparts. Li thinks this is a good start.

Widespread imitation in the market - New products that have varying quality, designs and technological sophistication but are similar in content and creativity are constantly pushed into the market, and there is little difference between them. These products will eventually flop together like dominoes, and those companies that are chasing immediate profits will also fail en masse. There are more calls for a more regulated web games industry. Ms. Zhou Ning of Bihan Nework said that many current web games play very similarly. She thinks that web games can partially integrate with MMORPGs or other genres, and this will lead to games of higher quality and depth. However, this hybrid model will not be easy to implement, and is totally unproven among players. Still, as Ms. Zhu Haiyan, CEO of 'Guanghuai Interactive', said, developers should be disciplined and create products in a legitimate manner, and their mission is to provide users with fresh gaming experiences and sensations.

Although the current web games market is dwarfed by that of client-based games, web games are more accessible and user-friendly, and they are poised to take a larger chunk of the market share in the future. However, web games also have the shortcomings of low barrier-to-entry, short lifecycles and lack of stickiness. Developers should decide on a target group of players when developing a game, cater to specific market niches and create polished products. Mr. Tang Wentao of 'Fantasy Game' thinks that a product needs to have a specific focus first and foremost, in order to be accepted by players - the target user group and the experience that the game is trying to provide. Developers need to adhere to this principle constantly and focus on developing the product that players need. Targeting all kinds of players is simply infeasible - a game typically only has one core gameplay mechanic, and the rest is all built around this core.

The 3rd Web Games Summit will 'diagnose' and 'reveal' the web games industry's next step. China.com, the organizer of the summit, and the municipal government of Jiaxing will also release the China Web Games Development Report and select the first "Golden Leaf Award" winners for web games. Please see the following feature for more information: http://webgames.china.com/wg3/

    For more information, please contact:

     Ms. Wu
     Tel:   +86-10-8410-5858
     Email: [email protected]

SOURCE China.com