This kind of unwarranted use of the term in-game descriptions and media articles has been rife lately – it seems that pretty much any kind of random element in gameplay is described as “roguelike” nowadays. Therefore, to correct this terrible misuse of the term, we will look at what “roguelike” or “roguelite” or even “Rogue” actually mean, as well as diving into some concrete examples of how roguelike elements and mechanics have been used in mobile games in China lately.

So what is Rogue, “roguelike” and “roguelite”?

The original Rogue game was a freely distributed turn-based dungeon-crawler role-playing video game developed in 1980 for Unix-based computers. Although it was not the first dungeon-crawler game at the time, it became so influential that it gave birth to a whole new type of RPGs called “roguelike.”

The goal for the player in Rogue was simply to explore a grid-based dungeon starting from the top, retrieve an amulet from the bottom level, and return to the surface. The gist of Rogue was the features that came to define the whole roguelike style of RPGs: permadeath and procedurally generated levels. While exploring the dungeon, the player would find equipment items similar to those in Dungeons & Dragons, which would help them on their journey to the bottom of the dungeon. One dungeon run typically took quite a long time, so the player could save the game and continue playing at another time. However, if the player died, they would have to start over from the beginning with a fresh character all over again. But since the levels of the game were procedurally generated, each attempt at the game would be completely different. As the player advanced through the dungeon room by room and level by level, the enemies they encountered became stronger and stronger. Sounds a lot like a tabletop RPG, right?

Therefore, the term “roguelike” means a game that is similar to the original Rogue, so by definition, it is a turn-based grid-based dungeon-crawler RPG with permadeath and procedurally generated levels. This means there are currently no true roguelike games on the top-grossing charts for mobile games (at least on iOS). That would be way too hardcore to survive long on the top of the charts (it’s a popularity contest, after all), but also because there are certain limitations to monetization in this genre originating from the game mechanics. However, what you can find from time to time are rogue-LITE games, for example, Archero (and its clones), whose makers finally figured out in 2019 how to make some money with this type of game on mobile.

Roguelite (or even “roguelike-like”) refers to games that have been inspired by roguelike games but retain only some of the characteristic features of the genre, usually permadeath and randomized level design. Roguelite games are more casual, concentrating on short sessions and easier gameplay, hence the name “rogue-LITE.” Roguelite games usually differ from roguelikes also by the fact that their core gameplay mechanic is not that of a turn-based RPG but, e.g., that of the more fast-paced action RPG or shoot/beat ’em up game.

There have been many cases in China where mobile games that are not roguelike, or even roguelite, were called roguelike just because it was a marketing buzzword, especially in 2021 and still continuing to this day. One of these cases involved the Harry Potter: Magic Awakened game (哈利波特：魔法觉醒), which included one game mode with randomly generated levels (see this blog post for a full deconstruction of the game). In that particular case, it could be warranted to say that the game featured “roguelike elements,” but in other cases, the buzzword was used to describe almost any kind of random element in the design of a game, for example, in the case of the (now killed) Netease turn-based RPG Unknown Future (黑潮之上), “roguelike” was used to describe the game because it had a randomized card deck system in the style of any card battler game you can think of.

“Proper” roguelite games that made it to the charts

The first “proper” roguelite game that made it to the top 200 of the Chinese iOS top-grossing charts in recent years was Soul Knight (元气骑士), which is a very clear example of a roguelite game – a dungeon crawler shoot ’em up game with retro pixel graphics, a catchy chiptune soundtrack, procedurally generated levels, and permadeath. The game was released already in 2017 (two years before Archero) and made it to the Chinese iOS top-grossing 200 for the first time in 2018. 

Soul Knight has been doing rather well on the download charts ever since – regularly appearing in the top 50 even at the time of writing in May 2022, as well as making sporadic appearances in the top-grossing charts every now and then. The game is more focused on quality gameplay than monetization, which is reflected in its low all-time revenue per download rate. Although, to be fair, it has risen steadily from 0.15 USD in the very beginning to 0.66 USD today, while the download rates are still as high as ever. The basics of the game have remained more or less the same, with only small additions of decorative items and other monetization content added into the game later on. In addition, the game also monetizes with incentivized ads. Speaking to the quality of the game, Soul Knight was also released as a premium game for Nintendo Switch in 2019.

So how does it work then? Soul Knight’s gameplay consists of exploring a dungeon with your character, shooting or slashing through hordes of enemies while evading their attacks, and searching for valuable loot as well as items that help you survive longer in the dungeon. And in true roguelite fashion, there is only “one” dungeon, but each dungeon run is a unique experience with randomized level design, and when your character dies, it’s game over. Between levels, the player can choose between three different randomized skills that will be active for the rest of that individual dungeon run, similar to the skill system in Archero.

Soul Knight does have long-term progression as well in many different forms. These are all visually displayed in a house that works as the start menu of the game. For starters, there are more than a dozen different playable characters with different stats and skills that the player can unlock and upgrade for a slight advantage. These characters can be seen sitting around the house when not in use. There are also dozens of collectible pets, which can follow and help the player in the dungeon one at a time. In the dungeon, the player can find material items, which can be used to unlock furniture for the house that provides permanent buffs, as well as materials for craftable weapons to use on your next dungeon run. Furthermore, the player can also craft powerful mecha suits for a really significant boost to their next attempt at finishing the dungeon. Outside the house, there is also a vegetable garden where you can plant seeds that grow into plants that provide different one-time consumable boosts.

Soul Knight monetizes with all of the above things and more. Characters can be unlocked with either premium currency or real money, and so can pets. Unlocking new furniture and vegetable patches requires premium currency (which can be earned in small amounts from gameplay). Permanent character upgrades require premium currency as well. Also, there are dozens of skins for the characters, which can be unlocked either with premium currency or real money. In a run-of-the-mill roguelite game decorative items such as skins probably would not be a very effective monetization tactic since roguelites and roguelikes are by default single-player games, but Soul Knight has tackled this problem with a synchronous co-op possibility. Random weapons, skins, and material items can also be purchased from traders in the house with premium currency. Before the player enters the dungeon, they can try their luck with the gacha machine and see what kind of weapon they get for a small payment of premium currency. And after dying in the dungeon, the player can either pay a small fee to be revived once. The player can also buy a permanent free revive card with real currency for a free revival once per dungeon.

Since the single-player gameplay and roguelike mechanics generally set limits to effective IAP monetization, Soul Knight also relies quite extensively on incentivized ads to create revenue. Before entering the dungeon, the player can walk over to a TV set found in the start menu house and watch a video ad to receive a high-quality weapon to use in the dungeon. The player can also find another TV set, which will give the player a small number of gold coins that can be spent inside the dungeon at vendors and vending machines selling weapons and booster items. And if the player dies in the dungeon, they can get revived once if they watch an ad instead of paying the premium currency fee. The player can also watch an ad in the main currency shop of the game to receive a small amount of premium currency, which is used, e.g., for the various permanent upgrades found in the start menu house. Finally, the player can also watch one ad per day to receive some pet treats, which are used to increase their pet’s friendship level (and upgrade the pet’s fighting ability).

Using roguelike elements to spice up special game modes

A pure-blooded roguelike game would face the risk of being too old-school, hard-core, and niche for a big budget production, although for smaller studios, this can be a viable genre choice. At the other end of the spectrum, a highly casual roguelite game like Archero may suffer from a lack of depth and replayability, meaning that gamers may be less motivated to spend money on the game in the long run, resulting typically in a very low IAP revenue per download rate. Based on our data, the average life expectancy of a roguelite game in the Chinese iOS top 200 revenue chart is roughly three months. However, there seems to be a relatively high demand for this type of gameplay, judging from the high download ranks for roguelite games. Therefore many games in China have decided to cater to the audience with either permanent or limited-time-only special game modes with roguelike mechanics or elements.

One example of taking advantage of the roguelike craze with a special PvE mode is Underground Castle 3 (地下城堡3：魂之诗), which is a dark fantasy-themed turn-based dungeon crawler auto-battle RPG, which was released in October 2021 and is still hanging in there in the iOS top-grossing 200. The main game mode of Underground Castle 3 could very well have been roguelike since the game is all about dungeon exploration. However, actual roguelike mechanics were only included in one special game mode called 秘境 (“Arcane Territory”). The core gameplay consists of linearly progressing dungeon exploration with extensive storytelling in the “text adventure” style. While exploring the dungeons, the player engages in automated battles, in which the player forms a party of six characters, which are placed on a grid, where the player can swipe the characters from the back row into the front row to activate the special skills of each character.

The actual roguelike game mode “Arcane Territory” is partly similar to the main game mode in the sense that there are text adventure elements and the battle mechanics are the same, but in a true roguelike style, in this mode, the dungeon is a truly randomized experience, and if the characters in your party die, that’s it. However, there is also a time limit: the player is carrying an oil lamp with limited fuel, enough to burn for five minutes. When the lamp goes out, the main boss of the dungeon will attack the player, but only if the player has completed the objectives of the dungeon. If the player defeats the boss, they can move on to the next, more difficult dungeon. Luckily, every now and then, the player will encounter a special room in the dungeon, where they can choose to either rest and recuperate or gather more fuel for the lamp to buy more time. All the content in the game mode, except the battles, is delivered in written form with choices for the player to make in each room. This is no surprise since the game proudly uses text adventure mechanics as a selling point in its promotional material.

Using roguelike mechanics in live events

Probably the easiest and least risky way to use roguelike mechanics in your game is to try it out in a non-recurring live event, and this is the way some existing top-grossing games in China have responded to the great demand for roguelike-inspired gameplay in the mobile game market.

One of the games to experiment with roguelike mechanics in a limited-time event was Punishing: Gray Raven (战双帕弥什), a hack-and-slash sci-fi action RPG with a group-of-characters meta (read: anime girl collection), which has stuck to the Chinese iOS top 200 revenue chart since its release in 2019 – a rare and applaudable feat for an action RPG. Typically for an anime-style RPG, the game monetizes with gachas, and the release of a new character is always accompanied by a limited-time gacha, a special storyline, and an event game mode showcasing the new character. In November 2021, Punishing: Gray Raven deviated a little from their usual event formula and experimented with a roguelite event game mode in conjunction with the release of a new character. The event brought good results, resulting in a dramatic revenue spike as usual when a new character is released. However, the addition of the roguelite event game mode with new gameplay mechanics made the event refreshing and more memorable than if it had been yet another character release with the same old event formula.

The roguelite mode was called “Recitativo di Fantasia” (宣叙妄响), and it consisted of small levels through which the player would move one by one and encounter randomized enemies or storyline events. First of all, the player could choose the difficulty of the “dungeon,” starting from “beginner,” with a new difficulty level being unlocked every time the player managed to finish the dungeon. Greater difficulties would yield more rewards, such as event currency. Each time the player had a go at the dungeon, they would also encounter random events that would carry the storyline forward. These storyline events would also include player choices that could affect the progression of the story. If the player failed to pass a level, they had a limited number of retries at their disposal. If the player used a retry and still failed, the dungeon run would be aborted. The player could also encounter “buff levels,” and if the player could pass the level, they would be rewarded with a choice out of three random skills, building up to an ever-growing skill roster for the duration of that dungeon run, similar to the skill system in Archero. The event currency received as a reward for each dungeon run could be used in a specific event shop with various items for sale, including the new character introduced in this event as the ultimate prize, as well as tickets for the limited-time gacha machine with the new character inside.

Conclusion

There is a distinct demand for roguelike-inspired gameplay in the Chinese mobile games market, which repeatedly pushes games with roguelike mechanics to the top of the download charts. Game developers have responded to this demand by any means at their disposal – including releasing new, full-blown roguelite games, as we have seen still in May 2022. Releasing a roguelite game carries economic risks, though, as the single-player game mechanics inherently limit some parts of the monetization potential of the game, and we have observed that a Chinese roguelite game usually stays in the top grossing 200 chart for three months on average. The more successful roguelites have found different ways to tackle these problems, e.g., in the case of Soul Knight, with permanent progression vectors, social systems, and incentivized ads. Other games have catered to the demand by including permanent roguelike game modes or event-only game modes with roguelike mechanics. The demand for roguelike/roguelite games is likely to continue since new games are still entering the iOS top-grossing 200 (e.g., 元素方尖).

If you enjoyed reading this post, here are a few more you should definitely check out:

• Archero Excels in Engagement by Creating an Anticipation for Rewards
• The Rise of Midcore Mobile Games Snapshot Report: July 2022
• Three Strategies of Top Performing Chinese New Year Events in 2022

The post Roguelike Elements in Mobile Games in China appeared first on GameRefinery.

Year after year, this results in lots of bored young people turning to games for entertainment, which shows clearly in mobile games’ download and revenue statistics at the start of the holiday, which usually lasts around 1 to 2 weeks.

This year, the Lunar New Year’s Eve landed on Monday 31st of January, and most games started their New Year’s events during the previous weekend. Many games managed to multiply their revenue during the holidays, and many more saw notable growth. The GameRefinery algorithm identified 19 games in the Chinese iOS top-grossing 200 that were able to at least double their income during this time. Some of them did it with a significant user acquisition effort, which shows as a big change in their download numbers, while others did it with quality LiveOps and smart IAP implementations. Below, I will introduce three different approaches to making a successful seasonal event adopted by three completely different games.

Content dump + UA: the case of Arknights (明日方舟)

A common way of executing a seasonal event is with a big content dump to keep the players busy during the holidays. The tower defense RPG game Arknights (明日方舟) almost quintupled its 14-day revenue and more than quadrupled its revenue-per-download figures with its big Lunar New Year event, which could be described as a content dump. Although big events are nothing new to this game, it serves as a good example of what is expected of the LiveOps of top mobile games in China: a high-quality 3D opening trailer, an event-only storyline and game mode vaguely tied to the Lunar New Year theme, new in-game characters introduced through limited-time gachas, a special event currency and shop, new decorative items and so on, as was in the case of Arknights’ Lunar New Year event. 

As is typical of so-called “2D” or anime-style character collector games, Arknights monetizes mainly with gachas and especially by introducing new in-game characters through limited-time gachas, which typically results in extreme revenue spikes followed by a lull period, as seen in the graph below (revenue in orange, downloads in grey). These gacha events are often combined with a collaboration event with an external IP (preferably famous and fitting to the host game’s audience), as well as an intense user acquisition campaign, which can be seen as a sudden spike in download numbers.

The event design and content of Arknights’ Lunar New Year event was not radically different from the game’s usual events, but what was noteworthy was the fact that it managed to pull off highly successful results with relatively low innovation (by its own standard) even when the game was entering its fourth year since release. Apart from the high quality of the gameplay and the revenue-driving potential of the Lunar New Year holiday season, judging by the downloads data, this success was probably due to a sustained UA campaign beginning already on the 1st of January and continuing well into February and the holidays. This shows that with the right ingredients (i.e., some UA effort, lots of content, and good gameplay to begin with), you can make a successful Lunar New Year event, even if you are not reinventing the wheel.

“And now for something completely different…”: the case of Knives Out (荒野行动)

Another frequently seen strategy for holiday events is introducing a minigame or event game mode with gameplay that is completely different from what is usually featured in the game. This can work either as a test platform for a game mode the developers are considering to introduce as a permanent part of the game or simply as a refreshment and curiosity to re-engage old players. To boost engagement further, this type of event game mode should be tied to a special event-only currency, which could be used to purchase exclusive rewards or items that boost regular gameplay.

For example, the Battle Royale game Knives Out (荒野行动) released an update just before the holidays, which could be counted as an application of the above strategy, and managed to raise its 14-day revenue by 251%, notably higher than its usual gacha-based events. Knives Out introduced a special “parkour” game mode called “Wilderness Go Go Go” (荒野冲冲冲), that has nothing to do with the usual Battle Royale gameplay seen in the game. Similar “parkour” game modes made appearances in many Chinese mobile games last year after the hit game Fall Guys went viral. In the case of Knives Out’s “parkour” game mode, the player competes with 19 other players on an obstacle course somewhat similar to what you may have seen on that old Japanese TV show “Takeshi’s Castle.” In the “Wilderness Go Go Go” mode, players race each other as well as the clock to complete the obstacle course, and the fastest one to do it wins. If the player falls, they will have to start over from the beginning unless they have passed a checkpoint on the track. Simple as that.

In addition to the new game mode, the update included a Year of the Tiger-themed limited-time gacha, which included exclusive New Year’s cosmetic items as rewards. The event also featured an innovative event shop with Lunar New Year-themed cosmetic items on sale, which used a special event currency, which could be acquired from a randomized system, the drop rates of which could be leveled up by spending in-game currency. And as if this was not already enough exclusive decorative items, the event also handed out free New Year’s skins and accessories during the holiday. All this, in addition to the game’s plentiful regular LiveOps, including more limited-time gachas, a new Battle Pass season, and so on.

The Way of the IAP: the case of Fusion Crush (球球英雄)

The third commonly seen approach to seasonal events in China is the Way of the IAP: shoveling limited-time offers and discounts of all shapes and sizes at the start of the holiday season, along the lines of “if you throw a big enough net, some fish are bound to get caught.” This is probably the cheapest or most “cost-effective” strategy to organize events, but it probably also won’t do much good to your player engagement or user life expectancy in the long term. Of course, if the offers are simply “too good to be true” and you offer the player some real value, it can increase engagement as well.

The merge tower defense game Fusion Crush (球球英雄) is an example of a game that found success with this strategy during the Lunar New Year holidays. Fusion Crush managed to increase its 14-day revenue by 187% with an update that mostly consisted of new IAP offers. Although, to be fair, they did introduce a new guild war game mode (open only on weekends) in the same update, probably to avoid leaving the players completely high and dry for the holidays.

Fusion Crush’s holiday update included some small free gifts, a login calendar with the possibility to purchase missed days’ rewards, limited time IAP offers of different sizes, progressive IAP rewards, limited-time subscription plans, gachas with special mechanics, gachas with not-so-special mechanics, a special event currency and a special event shop. The attractiveness of these offers was enhanced by including event-only decorative items, such as avatars and decorative accessories, among the rewards.

Readers who are not so familiar with Chinese games or GameRefinery jargon may find the above list of features a bit confusing. But don’t worry, I will explain the most interesting ones below. For example, “progressive IAP rewards” is a very common feature in China, called “lěi chōng” or “cumulative charging” in Mandarin, which incentivizes players to purchase or spend more premium currency in the game by rewarding the player when they reach certain currency thresholds. In the case of Fusion Crush’s Lunar New Year event, the player was rewarded with, e.g., chests, in-game characters, currencies, and material items of rising value when reaching currency thresholds at 10, 30, 50, and even all the way up to 12 000 RMB (around 1900 USD).

Another feature that probably needs clarifying is “special gacha mechanics.” Regular gacha mechanics refer to the usual gacha machine system: inserting a coin into the machine and receiving a random (collectible) item in exchange. “Special” gacha mechanics refer to a more complex system upgraded from the basic one, usually in order to incentivize the player to keep on inserting coins into the machine. There are numerous variations of special mechanics, which are all quite common in China and Japan, including, e.g., box gachas and step-up gachas, where the odds of receiving the main prize increase on every pull (for more information on gachas and special gacha mechanics, see this blog post). In the case of Fusion Crush’s holiday event, a limited-time gacha with a double special mechanic was introduced. Firstly, the gacha included the “choose your own reward” mechanic, which made big waves on the Chinese market when it first appeared there in the spring of 2021. In a nutshell, this mechanic usually lets the player choose the main reward of the gacha (for themselves). Secondly, the gacha also featured a possibility for the player to increase the drop rate of the main prize by completing gameplay and IAP tasks – talk about enticing!

Conclusion

Depending on the game and resources available to the developers, any of the three strategies described above may be a feasible way to execute a big seasonal event. However, in the ideal situation, it would probably be best to apply the philosophy of “the Golden Mean” when designing your event according to these strategies. If you are able to apply the best parts of each strategy into your game, you will maximize the chances of your event being successful: a decent amount of new content to keep your players busy during the holiday, a decent effort into UA well before the holiday starts, a decent amount of innovation in gameplay to rekindle your relationship with the veteran players, and a decently sized IAP “net” to bring those whales ashore.

If you enjoyed reading this post, here are a few more you should definitely check out:

• In-Game Events Snapshot Report: November 2021
• Episode 21: Concerts, collabs and KFC: The wonderful world of seasonal events in mobile games
• How to Build Your Next IAP Offer?
• The Most Unbelievable Collaboration Events in Chinese and Japanese Mobile Games

The post Three Strategies of Top Performing Chinese New Year Events in 2022 appeared first on GameRefinery.

The game made a home in the top 1 grossing and download lists straight away and did not leave their top position for several days, challenging Tencent’s 王者荣耀 (Honor of Kings) for a moment. The game ran a powerful “onboarding” approach with the possibility of downloading the game two days prior to the official launch and trying it off, with a social element of encouraging players to share their experiences so far. It is currently holding a top 7 position in the grossing and download ranks, and the hype is still there. It is hard for a new game to keep the top position, as these top games are usually the older titles with a wide, devoted player-base, but it is very likely that we will not see a total dip for this title, and it will keep at least a high position in the future.

About the brand in China 

While Harry Potter’s popularity in China may come as a surprise to some, it is a very popular IP in the country. The first book was published in China in 2000, three years after the first book was published in several other markets. All of the eight movies have also been published in China. There has been some speculation that Harry Potter appeals to Chinese students as it shows problems in the British education system, which resonate with the Chinese audience and their education system. 

In general, fantasy is a popular genre in China, as we can notice from the several fantasy-related games in the top-grossing. It is possibly because of the escapism it offers to the players in a highly competitive society.

Overview of the game 

Harry Potter: Magic Awakened tells a story ten years after the Battle of Hogwarts. The player receives a letter to enter the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to start a journey in the world of magic. The game combines RPG elements with a card-based Tactical Battler core gameplay plus includes several other game modes with separate gameplay mechanics, such as a rhythm game mode and a racing mode for playing Hogwarts’ own sport, quidditch. The gameplay loop revolves around progressing in the main story by playing different PvP and PvE modes and collecting different character and spell cards. Production values of this game are extremely high: the art style, voice acting, and storytelling are top-notch. It is also worth noting that the voice acting is fully in English, which is not very common in Chinese mobile games. 

Let’s now dive a bit deeper into what the game contains.

The core gameplay of the Harry Potter: Magic Awakened

The core gameplay is based on a tactical battler with a twist. There are two elements in the tactical battler: the movable main character and the different cards. The main character is able to move freely on the board as long as they stay behind the invisible wall between the main character and the opposite side player. There are two types of moving cards, step and whirl cards, which player has a certain amount, and these are consumed when the character moves on the board. Character and spell cards work as they normally do in tactical battlers. There is a timer below the cards, and all of the cards have a number which indicates how long the player has to wait to consume a character or a spell card. In the PvP modes, the cards are aimed at either the opposite side main character/characters or the character card characters. In the PvE modes they are aimed at the NPCs. This then consumes the card, the amount in the timer reduces, and the player has to wait for it to fill out again to use more cards.

Character and spell cards

A player collects character and spell cards throughout the gameplay. The cards are collected from various places, such as from a gacha, gift boxes, rewards et cetera. In addition to saving their own assemblies of decks, the player can check recommendations for possible decks. These options can be refreshed, and there are options for different game modes, such as for the main story or the PvP mode.

The cards have four rarity classes: legendary, epic, rare, and common. When the player gets a legendary card from the gacha, there is a cool, short cutscene for introducing the legendary card. Legendary cards include, for example, Voldemort (oops, sorry, the name slipped!).

There are also equipable and upgradable, well-known characters who give an additional boost to the gameplay when they are equipped. These characters don’t show in the battle itself, as they only give passive boosts to you, but it adds yet another collectable aspect/power progression vector to the game.

Main storyline and art style 

As mentioned before, Harry Potter: Magic Awakened tells a story ten years after the Battle of Hogwarts. After the player receives a letter to enter the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, they start a journey through the main story. The main storyline combines progressing in the story (cutscenes) and gameplay, which can be either the tactical battler core gameplay or some other tasks, such as picking up books on the bookshelf or moving the character from one place to another. 

The player collects gift boxes by playing through different PvP and PvE game modes. These gift boxes contain gold and cards, and the player needs to open them to progress in the main storyline. Gift boxes appear after a certain amount of time, and the timer for getting them can also be reduced with a consumable boost. After the player has collected enough gift boxes, the main storyline chapter is unlocked.

The story itself is very immersive with high-level storytelling. There are twists and turns as well as a drama between the main characters. The teachers are familiar ones from the books and movies, but all of the main characters are new ones, not familiar from the Harry Potter universe. The art style deserves praise as it is something unique. The art style could be described as resembling gothic art style and children’s storybooks, as it reminds of, for example, Tim Burton’s movies. Somewhat similar art style can be found from another NetEase title, Identity V.

PvP and PvE modes 

Duelling club 

There are three different PvP modes for players to fight against other players in the tactical battler setting, varying from 1v1 to 2v2 modes, with two modes that are always open and one recurring event mode. 

Quidditch 

In addition to tactical battler PvP mode, a racing mode is implemented as Quidditch, the peculiar sport known from the Harry Potter universe. Quidditch mode is open multiple times per day. The player races against six other players in the quidditch arena. The player completes rounds and throws balls through a hoop, collecting points and trying to beat other players.

Forbidden Forest

Forbidden Forest is a PvE mode that can be played alone or with other players. The levels generate different things, such as bosses, rewards, or mysterious question marks, which can conceal, for example, boosts. After completing the whole level, the next level gets harder. There are rewards to the player from each difficulty level. In the internet discussion, the mode is often called “roguelike.” Still, the only roguelike thing in this mode is the generating options on the levels, as there is no permadeath mechanic if the player fails in the battle. 

Ball 

Harry Potter: Magic Awakened also has another interesting PvE mode called “Ball.” The Ball is a rhythm game mode meant to play together with other players. The Ball is open multiple times per day, and while it’s open, the player can go in and ask for other players to dance with them. Whoever is faster will pick a song to dance to, varying from tango to waltzes.

The Ball is the only mode with an energy mechanic. Every time the player asks another player to dance with them, they lose one energy point. When the player runs out of their 3/3 energy, they can purchase drinks to retrieve it.

Classroom modes 

There are several classrooms to attend classes at, and all of these classrooms have a different game mode inside them. There are storylines and enemies to fight, quizzes related to the Harry Potter universe, and a draw and guess kind of PvE mode in astronomy classes.

Monetization 

Gacha for collecting cards 

The library room contains a gacha, allowing players to get a new spell and character cards by purchasing rolls with gacha tickets. There is a “pity mechanic” in the gacha: every 40 rolls, the player obtains a legendary character. There have been some complaints about players needing to spend a lot of money to obtain higher-level cards. After completing ⅔ of the first study year in the main story (there are two study years currently), the undersigned has several legendary cards, which are also obtained, for example, from the gift boxes. As the focus is probably later on the PvP, especially duel, where people fight with cards, the importance of the variety of cards and the variety of legendary cards might be more crucial for success in the PvP modes than for completing the main story.

Limited-time offers

There are several different limited-time offers running at the same time, such as the ones with special live-event rewards, like limited-time outfits and emotes. Below are some examples of these.

Decorative and equipment items

The game contains many outfits and decorative items, broomsticks, pet owls, wands, and other items to purchase and decorate the gaming experience more individually and show off the looks to other players. There are several social ways to show off the looks, such as in the PvP and PvE modes or social hangout places. There is a seasonal cycle for decorative items and outfits so that players can obtain certain items during a limited time period and gain other items in the next season.

Battle Pass Plan 

The game also has a traditional Battle Pass Plan with a task system and two-part reward layers, which grants rewards for the players such as coins, the premium currency, and cards and special rewards for those who subscribe to the Battle Pass season, such as special skins. 

Social elements in the Harry Potter: Magic Awakened

There are several social elements in the game. The player can play together with others in several game modes, like the Ball or Forbidden Forest. In addition to the gameplay modes, there are other ways to engage players in social interaction with each other. 

As mentioned, before the game officially launched, there was already a social element in the onboarding, as sharing content for others was a crucial part of the gaming experience. This idea of sharing is seen in the game by offering several options to share stuff with other players. In every game mode, there is also a wall where players can share content regarding the game mode. This can be fanart, videos, or some thoughts. The game’s distinctive art style encourages players to draw and paint different fanart. 

There is also another interesting social trait in this game. Every player has their own dorm inside different houses. There are four beds in these dorms, and the player may invite other players to be their roommates in their dormitory.

The game has several social hangout places where players can run to other players, see their outfits, ask them to be friends, or chat with them.

In addition to these social elements, the game also has guilds. In guilds, players can, for example, participate in game modes together with their guildmates, such as quizzes and the Ball, or beat enemies in a synchronous manner.

Summary 

Harry Potter: Magic Awakened is a game with a distinct cartoon art style and high production values, with an interesting main storyline and characters. An unusual mix of several gameplay mechanics such as tactical battler, rhythm, and racing brings something new to the table. The gameplay emphasizes social elements as many of its game modes have social interaction through PvP and co-operational PvE modes. It also includes many other ways for players to interact with each other, such as sharing content in-game, showing off outfits to other players, or inviting players to be their dormitory roommates. Monetization-wise, players will be collecting different types of character and spell cards from gacha and rewards to succeed, especially in the PvP, and decorating their main character with different decorative elements to show off to other players.

NetEase Games plans to publish the game in other markets as well, starting from other Asian markets in Winter 2021 and expanding to other international markets later. Regarding the in-game content, there will be new gameplay elements and new locations for the players to explore. Will the game become a wider phenomenon in China or even elsewhere? That we will have to wait and see.

If you enjoyed reading this post, here are a few more you should definitely check out:

• Licensed IPs in Mobile Games – Key Things to Know About Different Markets
• Why Game Stories Matter?
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite – Gameplay and Features

The post Harry Potter: Magic Awakened Deconstruction appeared first on GameRefinery.

Let’s take a look at some data to put that into perspective better.

As the graphs above illustrate, the improvement is clear and significant. The game has more than doubled its revenue on the Japanese iOS market during the short time the localized version has been live. With its new launch, State of Survival has now established a good footing among the top 10 4X-titles on the Japanese mobile gaming market. In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at how the game was marketed, what’s different for the Japanese release, and what kind of localization efforts were made to make this success possible. Let’s dig in!

Piquing interest in Japan

Before the release in Japan, players were invited to pre-register with a campaign promising progressively better rewards for all registrants the more people sign up. Along with the campaign, a promotional video was released as well. All in all, more than 600,000 players pre-registered. The game’s Japanese Twitter account @SUTESABA_JP has also been active since July 2021, posting various campaigns, competitions, commercials, and info tidbits on its feed. For example, a follow/retweet raffle campaign was held, offering players the chance to win themselves a new iPhone or Amazon gift cards. For wider visibility, a television commercial starring the famous Japanese actor Tatsuya Fujiwara (best known internationally for films like Battle Royale and Death Note) was also aired locally after the launch.

Maybe these marketing maneuvers worked, as the game got more downloads on iOS on its first day live than the global version did in total during its availability on the Japanese market. So far, the improvement in player numbers has been phenomenal, with the game now having over 500,000 downloads on iOS in Japan while the total for the global version when discontinued was some 38,000. Still, to keep its player base engaged and to stay up there with the best in 4X strategy, some in-game brush-ups and localizations were done as well.

What’s different, then?

One might assume that radical changes were made, seeing that the game is now faring so much better when compared to the numbers of its predecessor’s reign. However, feature-wise, the two versions are nearly identical. The greatest differences between the games are visual: the UI has been brushed up, and the graphics for the settlement have been improved for the Japanese version. Some of the menus were given a more modern, visual look. For example, the event menu now scrolls horizontally and has larger pictures and a navigation bar at the bottom. Overall, especially having personally played the global version almost daily for more than a year now, the Japanese version definitely strikes the eye as fresh. It’s difficult to say how much the visual changes have affected the popularity of the game in Japan, but the new version is certainly an improvement, especially for users who played the global version.

Content tailored for the local audience

Well-designed characters will go a long way in Japan, so it’s only natural that State of Survival got a few specially made heroes for the launch. Two new Japanese characters, Kaya (a Shintoist shrine maiden wielding a bow) and Nanami (a schoolgirl in uniform wielding a katana), were designed for the release with their own introductory cutscenes, for which the music was specially composed with traditional Japanese instruments in the mix. During the initial events, players could obtain Nanami from a login calendar and Kaya as an additional gift for any premium currency purchase (charge reward).

Along with the new additions, the other characters also got Japanese voice acting by well-known voice actors, including Tomokazu Sugita and Yui Ishikawa, to name a few. Adding localized voice acting is an excellent way to make the game and characters feel more familiar and easier to digest, especially for new players. In this case, the character design for the Japanese characters of Kaya and Nanami includes several cultural triggers: as a special treat, Kaya even speaks in a Kyoto dialect. We also recently came across another example of the power of localization from Cookie Run: Kingdom, in which the addition of Japanese voice acting was a contributing factor in a remarkable revenue spike in September.

Interestingly, the early story has also been altered when comparing gameplay between versions. In the global version, the still ongoing Walking Dead collaboration event is heavily intertwined with the early story, introducing Daryl Dixon right off the bat and proceeding with the story with him in the main crew. In the Japanese version, the Walking Dead collaboration is left to the background and introduced slightly later. Instead of Daryl, the main characters encounter Nanami, who even has her own cutscene embedded into the main story. Kaya is also featured in the early story but in a smaller part.

Setting the stage with live events

Live events after the launch also had a distinctly Japanese theme. State of Survival often adds Battle Passes to events, and this time the Battle Pass was titled Tokyo Crisis: players advanced in the pass by firing at infected that are trying to climb the Tokyo Tower. Players could also send each other celebratory gift envelopes that could be acquired by completing regular gameplay activities like giving timer helps in your alliance. Among other rewards, the envelopes contained sushi pieces that could be exchanged for rewards. Players could also enjoy the nostalgic Memories of Akihabara gacha, featuring a gashapon machine (vending machine usually for capsule toys and such).

Rewards for the events included decoratives like the Japanese-style castle HQ skin, a samurai march skin, and avatar frames fitting the style. These events have also been translated and added to the global version and can be enjoyed on new servers (available content may vary between servers). Nanami has also been added to the global version.

Another interesting example from the celebratory events is the recently hosted cosplay contest starring Nanami and Kaya (available only in Japan). The twist here was that the competitors were all Japanese idols/somewhat famous celebrities who each dressed up as either Nanami or Kaya. Players could get voting tickets by playing and then go browse and vote for cosplays of their choosing.

It should be noted that after the initial events, the event schedule has settled into the same rhythm as the global version with familiar recurring events.

To wrap it up

The launch of the Japanese version of State of Survival has no doubt been a triumph, raising the game’s profile considerably and placing it among the top strategy titles on the market. In this case, the marketing efforts, localizations, and in-game improvements make up the recipe for success. State of Survival’s newly found success in Japan especially highlights the importance of localized content: even though the feature sets for the global and Japanese versions are basically the same, tailoring the content to suit the target audience can make a world of difference. We’ll definitely be keeping a keen eye on this one to see what kind of localized content might be added in the future and how it performs.

The full feature analysis, implementations, and updates for this game and other interesting titles on the Japanese mobile gaming market can be accessed with the Japanese market data package in the GameRefinery service. If you don’t yet have access to our data, please feel free to contact us here to schedule a free trial.

If you enjoyed reading this post, here are a few more you should definitely check out:

• What kinds of Western games have taken off in Japan?
• Popularity of mobile game art styles and genres – data breakdown
• Making of an Idol – Celebrity Theme in Japanese Mobile Games

The post Success Through Localization – A Look Into the Japanese Version of State of Survival appeared first on GameRefinery.

According to GameRefinery data, by July 2021, 40% of games in the US Top Grossing 100 had implemented the feature in one form or the other, reaching an all-time high. Meanwhile, only 9% of US games outside the top 100 had the feature, making it a highly differentiating asset for your game.

For an in-game live event to count as a promotional collaboration event, and not just an elaborate ad campaign, it must affect the game’s content and/or gameplay somehow – it could be an exclusive character, a decorative item related to a new hit film, a limited-time-only game mode, or a real-life voucher which you can get from a local convenience store, or many other things. The sky is the limit, really. If you want more ideas, check out the “Implementation Examples” tool in the GameRefinery service.

In China and especially Japan, collaboration events are an even bigger thing than in the US and have been around for years in the case of Japan. According to our data, collaboration events have been rising sharply in popularity in China as well, reaching 51% within the Chinese Top Grossing 100, while outside of the top 100, only 15% had it. However, in Japan, within the top 100 games, a whopping 62% had implemented collaboration events, and even outside of the top 100, it was 28%. Japan can be said to be ahead of the curve on this front since collaboration events reached peak popularity in Japan already in 2017, with a staggering 75% of top 100 games making use of the feature at the time.

You must be thinking: “with such popularity, there must be some pretty interesting collaboration events happening in China and Japan,” right? Well, you are correct. Following is a list of the most unbelievable collaboration event partnerships we have seen in recent years in Chinese and Japanese games. If you are more interested in a deep-dive take on how to execute a collaboration event in your game, check out our blog post from last year.

China: Food and Vocaloids

Everyone loves food, right? This must have been the logic behind Chinese game studios’ decision to organize collaboration events with the likes of Nissin Ramen, Pizza Hut, and KFC, to name a few.

In 2019, Tencent Mobile’s MMORPG Samurai Spirits Mobile (侍魂：胧月传说) did a collaboration event with the Japanese instant noodle brand Nissin Ramen. In the event, players could find noodle ingredients in the game world, which once combined would form a world-famous Nissin RAOH cup noodle dish. In the game, the cup noodle item acted as an energy boost, giving the player +20 action points. Probably not a bad call from Tencent since cup noodles are known to be a gamer favorite around the world.

Another interesting food-themed collaboration event was found in another Tencent game, The Tale of Food (食物语), which featured a big collab with Pizza Hut at the time of the game’s launch in 2019. Gamers could order a Tale of Food meal combo from Pizza Hut and receive exclusive in-game furniture and decorative items on the side. The Tale of Food is a food-themed, romantic, visual-novel-influenced Turn-Based RPG, in which the player collects pretty “food boys” who are gods of famous dishes from the different regional cuisines of China (I’m not making this up). The game also features a restaurant management game mode, in which you could cook up Pizza Hut pizzas during the event and even decorate your in-game house like a Pizza Hut restaurant if you collected all the event rewards. It all makes sense!

However, the all-time champion of food-collabs in China is undoubtedly – no other than – Kentucky Fried Chicken. If you didn’t know, KFC is big in China. It is often cited as the most popular fast-food chain in the country, with over 7000 restaurants in different cities (almost double the number of KFC locations in the US). KFC collabs keep popping up left and right in China, and we have spotted events in at least Arknights, Genshin Impact, Moonlight Blade, Onmyoji, Jiang-nan Bai-jing-tu, Auto Chess: Origin, and Ace Warrior.

The most surprising collaborator of the above was most certainly Jiang-nan Bai-jing-tu (江南百景图 or “A Hundred Sceneries South of the Yangtze” if you want a translation), a city-building game set in Ming dynasty China, centuries before KFC was even invented. The event took place in February 2021 and featured an interactable reincarnation of Colonel Sanders wandering around your city with a chicken in tow, as well as reward chests stylized after KFC buckets, an exclusive food stand, and your very own KFC restaurant – all redesigned to fit a Chinese cityscape 500 years ago.

Another surprising collaboration partner you might not expect in Western games is probably a “Virtual Idol.” Although originating in Japan, the Chinese editions of the virtual YouTuber Kizuna Ai and the virtual pop star Hatsune Miku are surprisingly popular also in China and have made their appearances in mobile game collaboration events. Miku even used to have her own rhythm game (Hatsune Miku: Dreamy Vocal 初音未来：梦幻歌姬) in China before it was dropped in 2020 due to contractual reasons. Miku has also made an appearance in collabs for example, in the rhythm game Diva Destiny (命运歌姬) in 2019. Meanwhile, in Japan, Hatsune Miku is a veritable superstar and has appeared in a long list of games.

Perhaps even more surprising is the appearance of the virtual YouTuber Kizuna Ai in games. The Chinese release of Sky: Children of the Light (光·遇) did a collaboration event with the Chinese version of her in 2020, sending sales through the roof, peaking at a million dollars per day. The event was quite simple, though. It only featured Kizuna Ai playing the game in her videos in her usual humoristic style and an in-game Kizuna Ai accessory set being sold for 128 RMB (roughly 20 USD).

Japan: Sex sells, and anime

As you may already know from our other blog posts, the Japanese mobile games market is oversaturated with anime-style content. So much so that even non-anime brands sometimes need to go through a transformation process if they strike up a collaboration deal. A somewhat amusing example of this was the bobbleheaded “chibi” version of award-winning baseball player Kenta Maeda in eBaseball Powerful Pro Baseball (実況パワフルプロ野球) in March 2021, in which Maeda’s character was available for purchase from a gacha machine.

Another perhaps more impressive example of things getting “animefied” was the Stranger Things collaboration event in The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross in the Spring of 2021. The event featured high production values with specially made animated cutscenes, an event storyline, and game mode, lots of dialogue and event-only areas to explore, costumes and characters from the TV series to collect from limited-time gachas, and so on.

Apart from anime, another special trait of the Japanese games market is the relatively large amount of borderline-erotic content, which probably wouldn’t make it into games anywhere else. This is by no means a new phenomenon in Japan, and our Japan analyst team can be called somewhat “battle-hardened” when it comes to exposed cleavages in games, but still, they can sometimes be caught off-guard. For example, Shinobi Master Senran Kagura’s (シノビマスター 閃乱カグラ NEW LINK) collaboration event with the anime Queen’s Blade at the beginning of the year 2021 was a shocker at the time due to its almost pornographic character design.

However, the bar was lowered even further (or perhaps raised depending on who you ask?) by Onegai Shachou (おねがい社長！) recently. This year, Onegai Shachou has already featured three collaboration events with three real-life Japanese porn stars – befitting the game’s questionable backdrop of the player roleplaying a business executive that hoards sexy assistants. Each of the collaboration events featured three versions of the actresses as collectible in-game characters, which could be acquired through limited-time gachas by collecting the required number of shards. Needless to say, each of the three versions is raunchier than the previous one.

To end this blog post on a more calming note, I will introduce something a bit less steamy to not get you too excited. When the Action RPG Alice Gear Aegis (アリス・ギア・アイギス) was celebrating its third anniversary in January 2021, nobody probably expected the game to partner up with a Japanese eyeglass brand. Well, that’s exactly what they did, rolling out a series of actual limited-edition eyeglasses available only from the real-life optician chain Eye Mirror. The event also featured a special eyeglass-advertising storyline with the in-game characters wearing the glasses, and the virtual glasses could also be collected in exchange for event currency. The event turned out pretty well, sending IAP revenue spiking up 126-fold for a day. That really shows that only your own imagination is the limit when it comes to collaboration events!

If you enjoyed reading this post, here are a few more you should definitely check out:

• Take Your Game’s Retention To The Next Level With Collaboration Events
• Drive-Up Your Revenues with Seasonal Events
• Making of an Idol – Celebrity Theme in Japanese Mobile Games

The post The Most Unbelievable Collaboration Events in Chinese and Japanese Mobile Games appeared first on GameRefinery.

Celebrity theme is much more popular in Japan’s top-Grossing 200 compared to the top-grossing charts in the US market and China. In Japan, 17 games out of 200 have the Celebrity theme, while in the US and China, the amount is 4 and 3 respectively.

The theme in Japan is a bit different from the one in the US market. While Western games with this theme are mostly centered around familiar faces like Kim Kardashian, in Japan, fictional characters might also have that status. Japanese celebrity games tend to focus on local celebrities called idols, and more specifically, idol groups.

In this article, we look at what elements are used to create highly character-focused games using the example of Celebrity games in Japan.

Idol games in Japan

Idol groups in Japan have a long history, first groups being formed as early as in the 1960s. They have the possibility to attract a large audience, with each member of the group cultivating their own fanbase. In the more recent years, large supergroups have become common, and concepts like “idols you can meet” have gained footing within the Japanese market. In general, an idol’s main objective is to “sell dreams,” offering fans a certain form of escapism from their daily lives.

Celebrity games have been around since the beginning of modern mobile gaming in Japan. The first Idolmaster title on mobile, later discontinued H@PPENING LOC@TION, was published back in 2006. While certain long-running mobile game series like The Idolmaster by Bandai Namco and Ensemble Stars by Happy Elements K.K. have been dominating the Celebrity games scene in Japan, some refreshing new entries have emerged recently. Umamusume Pretty Derby is a prime example, with a respectable position on the top-grossing charts ever since launch. Our full deconstruction of the game is available here.

In which subgenres the celebrity theme usually appears

Celebrity theme is most popular in the Casual genre. Within the genre, the most popular subgenre is Music/Band (12 out of 200), but games with Adventures and Interactive Story approach have been made as well. Additionally, we can see games in Arcade Sports and Turn-based RPG in top-grossing 200.

Outside of the top 200, even more subgenres are added to the list, and we’ll encounter Match3 Puzzle, Time Management, Idler, and even Puzzle RPG. While the idol aesthetic might seem most fitting for a Music/Band game, there’s no saying that it couldn’t be successfully applied to other subgenres as well.

Features in idol games

Most celebrity-themed games focus on various collecting elements, character development, and storytelling. These characteristics fit into the Japanese mobile game market like a glove because they are generally well-received across the market, no matter the subgenre.

1. Collecting elements

Character collection and development are largely similar to what we’re accustomed to in RPG games, even when the games are casual in nature. The games tend to have the typical upgrading schemes of leveling up, awakening and evolving characters, and upgrading skills. A rarity system is an integral part of the character collection: Usually, the most sought-after characters are of the higher rarity, and low-rarity characters are used as level-up material. Gacha mechanics are some of the most important monetization methods. Celebrity games in Japan usually tend to focus on groups rather than single idols, most likely due to the diverse monetization possibilities.

However, collecting does not stop there. Unlocking new characters might unlock new clothing options and other exclusive decorative items for characters, which adds to the proper collection experience. Some games include collecting performing outfits that players can use to customize the characters during their performance screen. In Love Live School Idol Festival ALL STARS, special performing outfits can be unlocked by upgrading certain characters.

An additional interesting collectible element is the dorm mechanic. Players can choose their favorite characters to loiter around in a dorm room that can be decorated with various furniture items. Usually, the furniture does not have any significant use other than being decorative, but it might give some boosts to the characters in some cases.

All of these collections are usually captured within a collectible album. Some games offer multiple albums: for collected characters, voice lines, outfits, promo pictures, and more. If you’re interested in a more in-depth look at innovative collection album systems in mobile games, check out our previous blog on the subject here!

2. Building relationships

Most celebrity-themed games incorporate some form of relationship elements. Out of the top 200 Celebrity games, 73% have implemented some form of NPC Relationship system. Out of all games in the Japanese top 200, only 30% have implemented the feature.

In idol games, players can build relationships by increasing a special trust or affection level. This can be done by giving gifts to characters, having them take part in the core gameplay, or making the right choices in narrative. Reaching higher relationship levels might unlock additional voice lines, pictures, outfits, and story segments. Relationship building might be an integral part of character stat development as well.

Some games release characters’ exclusive voice lines for players to collect. Voice lines might reveal something personal about the character or be something as simple as a Happy Birthday wish. These can be unlocked through raising relationship levels, logging in on a special day, or collecting and developing characters.

3. Engaging stories

Every single Celebrity game in Japanese top-grossing 200 has some kind of storytelling element. The stories are not limited to a general main story but are also told through discussions with (and between) characters and unlocked by achieving certain levels of character development.

Limited-time events are commonly used as means to add special stories. Usually, the player is required to take part in the event to unlock the whole story.

The topics are usually centered around the main characters’ daily lives and the hurdles of idol management. Especially the character-specific stories might include some personal worries a character might have, to which the player character can answer with reassurance and comfort. In some cases, the stories might even have slight romantic elements, but the tone is usually kept very subtle. Generally, the narrative is light-hearted, and difficult or sad topics are not discussed. Some games implement stories that are for reading only, but in some games, players can make choices that might slightly affect the storyline.

Stories are a great way to make the characters even more accessible and their personalities more apparent. Stories give the player a chance to dive into their favorite character’s world and perhaps take a break from their own.

More on great storytelling in mobile games can be found here.

In conclusion

Idol games are a good example of an extremely character-driven approach to game design. The success of these games lies in not just engaging gameplay but the ability to make players invested in the characters and their stories. Creating meaningful content and collectibles for existing and soon-to-be fans to enjoy in and outside core gameplay seems to be what keeps players coming back to these games.

Idols are just one of the many curiosities of the Japanese mobile game market. If you are interested in finding out more, check out our ever-growing database of feature analysis and implementation examples!

If you enjoyed reading this post, here are a few more you should definitely check out:

• We examined 7 Chinese and Japanese Mobile Gaming Stereotypes and Here’s What We Found!
• What kinds of Western games have taken off in Japan?
• How player motivations & archetypes can help you with your key audiences

The post Making of an Idol – Celebrity Theme in Japanese Mobile Games appeared first on GameRefinery.

Editor’s Note: This is an extended version of an article on the same topic that we published in Pocketgamer.biz and BusinessofApps

All data and examples in this post are gathered from the GameRefinery service, check it out here. If you’re interested in researching over 200 in-game features, their popularity, and implementations or checking out feature deconstructions of hundreds of games, you might want to pay a visit!

This blog post is all about the gaming stereotypes we tend to have of the Japanese and Chinese markets. Is FPS still a turn-off for the Japanese? Is casual all but dead in China? What about Japanese gamers and their alleged “multiplayer phobia”? 

Disclaimer: It should be noted that we are only looking at mobile (iOS, top grossing, number of games). 

Stereotype #1: “The Japanese don’t like shooter games, especially FPS”

Background: This has to be one of the most long-lasting puzzles relating to the Japanese gaming culture. Why have many kinds of shooter, especially FPS games been largely marginalized in the land of the rising sun? Is it because the Japanese have a totally different attitude towards guns and popular FPS themes such as WW2, compared to let’s say Americans? Or does the market’s history of neglecting PC-gaming for a substantial period of time have something to do with this?

What Does GameRefinery Data Say: 

Based on this market comparison of shooter games in the US, Japan and China of the top 500 grossing mobile games, we have several interesting findings.

1. The amount of shooter games in Japan is lower than in China or the US.
2. Battle Royale is the most popular Shooter subgenre in all 3 markets, including Japan.
3. No home-grown shooters exist in the Japanese top 500 grossing market, leaving the market up for grabs for overseas publishers. 
4. The biggest shooter in Japan is NetEase’s Knives Out, which enjoyed a first-mover advantage in this space way before Fortnite, PUBG or Call of Duty managed to blast their way in. 

Verdict: more true than false. Japanese gamers are not discriminating shooters, but they aren’t keen on developing them locally either.

Stereotype #2: “China is the Land of MOBAs”

Background: Let’s start with the obvious: Honor of Kings (Arena of Valor in the West) is absolutely huge in China and one of the highest-grossing mobile games in the world. After all big in China = big globally! For that reason, it’s tempting to think that MOBAs (multiplayer online battle arenas) would be all over the Chinese market.

What the GameRefinery data says: 

All the top 500 Grossing MOBAs in China listed.

What we can see here is that MOBA’s market share – when purely looking at the number of titles inside the top 500 grossing – can be described as modest at most. This is further emphasized if compared to the market coverage of the biggest subgenre in the market: MMORPG, which has almost one-fifth of market coverage inside the top 500 grossing.

It is very likely that we are looking at a winner-takes-it-all scenario here, where even major publishers with big local IPs (such as NetEase’s Onmyoji Arena) haven’t been able to match Tencent’s success with Honor of Kings.

Verdict: False. China is not the land of MOBAs, but rather the land of a MOBA.

Stereotype #3: “Battle Pass, Battle Pass, Battle Pass, You Need to Have a Battle Pass (in Your Mobile Game)!”

Background: battle pass is something we’ve covered in numerous blog posts already, so no need to go into a lot of detail here. However, with the season pass fever running high, it’s easy to forget the battle pass mania isn’t as much of a universal phenomenon as one might think.

What Does GameRefinery Data Say:

While the battle pass has seen a surge in China and the US, the same cannot be said about Japan, where non-Japanese titles mostly fuel the (comparatively speaking) modest growth in BP utilization. It remains to be seen when, if ever, Japan-made-games will start experimenting with the mechanic as well.

Verdict: False. Japanese top-grossing games have not jumped on the battle pass bandwagon (yet).

Stereotype #4: “There is no room for casual games in China!”

Background: China is known for its gaming culture that favors deep mid- and hard-core game types that can be experienced through genres such as (MMO)RPGs and 4X strategy games. For many Western developers more focused on the casual space, this raises questions on market demand for “lighter” experiences.

What Does GameRefinery Data Say:

From this, we can make a couple of interesting observations:

1. China pales in comparison to the US in terms of market penetration of casual (i.e. non-midcore) games.
2. Casual subgenres that seem to be working in China include Match3 and Tycoon.

Verdict: More true than false. There is no denying that getting to the top 500 grossing with a casual game is more difficult than in the US. However, this is not to say it’s impossible as some of the most successful foreign games in the market are Playrix’s Scapes match3 titles.

Stereotype #5: “Japanese Gamers Prefer Co-op and Single Player Experiences over PvP”

Background: Another common belief about Japanese gamers is their appeal for single-player and co-op experiences over player versus player multiplayer action. Should “multiplayer phobia” be blamed for this?

What Does GameRefinery Data Say:

1. Looking at the top 200 grossing markets as a monolith, we can observe PvP being more popular in Japan than in the US, but falling short to China. Now, a potential shortcoming of this comparison is the fact that implementing PvP just happens to be more challenging in some genres than in others. For instance in the US, certain popular game genres – such as slots games – just don’t bend so well into incorporating PvP.
2. Perhaps more interesting, then, is to zoom into mid-core, as practically all mid-core subgenres can reasonably be loaded with PvP. Here then, we can see that Japan has fewer PvP games than China and the US. For instance, hit mid-core games such as Puzzles & Dragons and Monsters Strike don’t have PvP.

Verdict: More true than false. As much as one-fifth of Japanese top-grossing mid-core games have managed to find success without PvP. In the US and China, 95% of top mid-core games utilize PvP.

Stereotype #6: “Top Games are All Manga in Japan”

Background: One of the things that are often thought of as a distinguishing factor between Japan and the West is the market’s peculiar preference for the Manga art style.

What the GameRefinery data says:

Games not utilizing manga are using either “realistic” or “cartoon” art styles. Regarding data on China: games using the so-called “Chinese manga” art style are also counted here. 

Unsurprisingly, Manga is widely utilized throughout the most successful mobile games in Japan and we can see a drastic difference in its popularity when compared to the US. On the other hand, as many as 43% of games have still managed to reach the top 200 with cartoon or realistic art styles.

Verdict: More true than false. The majority of successful Japanese mobile games do utilize the Manga art style.

Stereotype #7: “Top Grossing Chinese Games are largely PC-ports”

Background: Console gaming has never really had a chance to take off in China due to the bans imposed by the local government. That’s why many popular console brands such as Mario don’t resonate with local gamers the same way they do in other markets. However, the opposite holds for PC IPs, as computers were the number one gaming platform before mobile.

What Does GameRefinery Data Say:

1. First, let’s take a look at how popular is it to utilize an IP in general, no matter the type (gaming, movie, anime, etc.).

2. Next, we can drill down to see what percentage of games utilizing an IP are based explicitly on a PC IP.

1. The majority of top-grossing licensed games in China utilize a PC gaming IP. Even IPs commonly associated as console IPs in the West – such as FIFA and Need for Speed – are big in China no thanks to their console background, but because of their popularity on PC.
2. Big PC IPs in China include Fantasy Westward Journey, CrossFire, and Perfect World to name a few.

Verdict: More true than false. In China, half of the top 200 grossing games are based on an IP, and among them, the usage of PC brands is very high, especially when compared to the US and Japan.

Conclusion 

So to sum things up:

1. Top-grossing shooter games do exist in Japan, but their number is smaller than in the US or China. And where are all the successful made-in-Japan shooters?

2. Honor of Kings seems to be the one and only MOBA king in China

3. Battle Pass is all the rage in China and the USA. However, the Japanese market shows that it’s not utilized in all markets.

4. Casual games are overshadowed by Mid-Core in China, a clear difference to the US. 

5. While having PvP in a Mid-Core game in the US or China is an absolute must, some of the Japanese mid-core top-grossers, such as Monster Strike, can thrive without it.

6. More than half of successful Japanese mobile games (57%) do utilize the manga art style.

7. PC IPs are more widely used among hit games in China than in other markets.

Are you interested in finding data on the mobile game market? Sign up for the free layer of our service here.

If you enjoyed reading this post, here are a few more you should definitely check out:

• Bubbling beneath the surface – Innovative mobile game features that could gain popularity in the future
• Casual Games are “Guilding Up”
• Battle Pass is a hot trend in mobile games – like it or not

The post We examined 7 Chinese and Japanese Mobile Gaming Stereotypes and Here’s What We Found! appeared first on GameRefinery.

The current situation is that there are no major western RPGs in China on the Android side. This is not to say there is no potential, but the competition is fierce, and the market is very top-heavy.

The size, quality, and thus, the development cost of Chinese RPGs is exceptionally high. Many titles easily rival some of the RPGs we’re used to seeing on the PC or console side in the west. The development time for an average Chinese RPG is often a couple of years with dev teams that are 50+ strong. And games are developed almost purely for the Chinese market by big Chinese companies with deep pockets for marketing and experience making RPGs that appeal to Chinese players. With that mind, let’s look into some characteristics of the Chinese RPG market.

User habits play a key role

As mentioned in part one, RPGs aren’t nearly as big a thing in the west as they are in China. One simple reason is that the overall gaming habits on mobile are quite different. For many Chinese, a smartphone is their primary gaming device, whereas a PC or console serves that purpose in the west. With countless high-quality RPGs available on mobile, the hard and mid-core players are often happy simply playing RPGs on mobile instead.

[Photo by Hu Yuanjia/for China Daily]

The high-paying users that are really into RPGs are generally from tier 1 or tier 2 cities. They are more likely running high-end devices, with iOS common as well. People living in tier 1 and 2 cities are also more exposed to and interested in Lord of the Rings-like western fantasy themes common in western RPGs, with orcs, elves and such. The recently concluded Game of Thrones was also very popular among this audience.

In contrast, some of the current top android channels, such as Vivo and Oppo, are much more popular in lower tier cities. Their best-selling devices are also mid-to-low-end, and the user’s gaming habits are less demanding. In other words, they tend to play casual games instead of RPGs. These users aren’t too familiar with western fantasy themes, but instead, watch Chinese fantasy films and TV.

Tencent users, on the other hand, lean clearly towards the more mid-to-hardcore side, and RPGs are thriving on their app store. As mentioned earlier, out of the top 500 grossing games on China iOS, RPGs command 56%. On Android overall, this figure is closer to 70%. Some hardcore players may spend half or even more of their disposable income on their favorite title(s) every month.

Also touched upon by the Chinese channels participating in MyGamez’s China Game Day Helsinki panel was the need to make the game “simple.” It may sound a bit funny, but the average Chinese person faces a lot of stress and pressure. There’s pressure to pay off your mortgage and car payments and take care of the kids and parents. This makes for a stressful combination when combined with lots of overtime and lack of a safety net in the form of social welfare if things go downhill.

As analyzed in part 1, most top Chinese RPGs feature auto-play, and the previously mentioned cultural aspect is one of the key reasons for this. People don’t want to add extra stress into their lives because of a game. Auto-playing some dungeons and getting rewards to progress is a way to alleviate the stress of daily life. The controls and mechanics should not be complex, and generally western titles are heavier on combat complexity than Chinese titles.

An example of RTS games on the PC side was brought up in our China Game Day panel discussion. RTS games are generally some of the most strategically and mechanically demanding games out there. While such titles of course still have fans in China, when a simpler alternative in the form of MOBAs came out, most people quickly switched to playing those instead.

Own-channel distribution with 99% revenue share

One extremely interesting aspect widely employed by publishers of RPGs in China is what we call own-channel distribution. Essentially this is what Epic is doing in the west with Fortnite – skipping Google Play and their 30% cut – and distributing the game through their own website. For comparison, the revenue share on Chinese android channels is 50/50 after a 5% payment method fee, effectively leaving you with only 47.5%.

With own-channel distribution, you only give 1% to the payment provider (AliPay or WeChat pay) and keep 99%. Just think about the ROI on paid UA! The hardcore gamers who typically enjoy these RPGs are also tech-savvy enough to find your website to install the APK. Therefore, providing some extra in-game gifts, or perhaps the newest update slightly earlier through your channel is an easy way to lure fans to download the update from your website. Channel experts from Xiaomi, Vivo, and Tencent revealed that this is actually the most prominent distribution channel, at least in terms of revenue, for big Chinese RPG titles.

Western titles’ potential and challenges

Age of Magic’s potential on Android

With the Chinese industry experts and Playkot, we also discussed Age of Magic. As mentioned in part 1, the game is doing great on China iOS, which should bode well for it on the Android side as well. Right?

Age of Magic does indeed have strong potential on the Chinese Android market. However, western fantasy themes are still somewhat alien to a lot of Chinese players. The reference point used was to think about how many people are into Chinese fantasy (Kung Fu / Three Kingdoms / Journey to the West / etc.) in the west. Roughly the same proportionate amount of Chinese people (mostly from tier 1 and 2 cities!) are into western fantasy. In other words, western fantasy does have its fans, but that group isn’t as big as we think. As for the art style of Age of Magic, the channels all agreed that it fits the Chinese market very well, but that adding more Chinese-themed characters and environments always helps.

The channels pointed out that gameplay-wise Age of Magic doesn’t bring anything new to the table compared to its Chinese rivals. Although, the western theme and of course, gorgeous graphics should allow it to set itself apart. However, as mentioned earlier, the average Chinese Android (i.e., low-to-mid-end device) user typically enjoys casual titles, so this type of game is not for them.

Challenges western developers face entering the Chinese market

Western studios do face some challenges when bringing their RPG into China. The absolutely ruthless pace of content updates needed to keep your audience engaged and from just jumping to the next RPG is one. With Chinese studios used to cranking out massive amounts of content, this is where western studios are most likely to falter.

Running Live-Ops may pose another challenge for western studios without a solid understanding of Chinese player habits. The end-game in RPGs, in particular, is often based around social functions and rankings such as Guilds raiding together and various live-ops events e.g., limited-time dungeons and large scale PvP events.

This leads us to the final point of how some Chinese RPGs continue to monetize through constantly opening new servers, a method rarely used by western studios. Chinese users are highly competitive and willing to spend large amounts of money to get that coveted top server rank, and the associated rewards that come with it.

Chinese RPGs tap into this by opening new servers every few weeks, funneling in just enough new players to get competition (and spending) going. Players who fail to reach the top can start over on a new server, giving them another chance at glory and spending some more money.

Another emerging trend is Chinese-developed games based on big western IPs. Youzoo-developed and Tencent-published Game of Thrones strategy title was just released on July 10th in China. Another example is the upcoming Diablo Immortal, developed by Netease. It will be interesting to see how these titles do, both in and out of China.

To Conclude

To conclude, the Chinese RPG market is certainly tough to crack. But Chinese players’ yearn for new RPG experiences may open the way for some western titles finding significant success in China. Here are a few key takeaways:

• Keeping your game simple will help you appeal to a wider Chinese player base
• Including “autoplay” is a must
• Own channel distribution is king in China to maximize revenue
• Western studios face challenges in terms of the pace of content updates expected by Chinese players
• Understanding Chinese player habits is crucial for successful Live-Ops

If you enjoyed reading this post, here are a few more you should definitely check out:

• What You Need To Know About RPGs In China
• Genres, Publishers, Brands and Features: All You Need to Know About the Chinese Mobile Games Market
• Overview of the current mobile RPG market
• What Types of Western Games Find Success in China?

The post What You Need To Know About RPGs In China – Part Two Android appeared first on GameRefinery.

In this post, we’ll take a look at what makes the Chinese RPG market so special. And our friends at MyGamez will look at the unique traits of the Chinese RPG market on Android in part two (check it out here).

RPGs in the US vs. China

The majority of RPGs in China fall under turn-based RPGs 44% (including “pure” TBRPGs, auto-battle RPGs, “palace games” etc.), MMORPGs 37% and action RPGs 16%. The remaining 3% are “other RPGs” such as puzzle RPGs, fighting games and survival games. Fighting and survival games may not be the first thing that come to mind when you think of RPGs, but in the GameRefinery genre taxonomy (learn more about it here), they are regarded as such if they, for example, include significant character development mechanics.

Meanwhile in the US, RPGs take up only a measly 19% of the iOS top grossing 500. Sub-genre-wise there are also some differences between US and Chinese RPG markets: MMORPGs are less than half as big in the US compared to China where they make up 16% of top RPGs, and “other RPGs” (fighting, survival, puzzle RPGs) make up a shocking 22% of the US RPG pie – more than seven times the share of that in China.

Features that make successful RPGs in China tick

Diving deeper into the RPGs themselves, one can’t help but notice that Chinese RPGs have developed some unique and innovative features. First of all, although present in many Western RPGs, “triggerable auto-play mode” seems to be an almost a must-have in Chinese RPGs, with 82% of Top 100 RPGs including it. Other features that are common in Chinese RPGs, but rare in Western ones, include “exclusive relationships with players”, “paid progression plan”, “online time rewards” etc., some of which will be introduced more thoroughly below.

Exclusive relationships between players

“Exclusive relationships between players”, a staple feature of Chinese MMORPGs, usually means that it is possible to “marry” other players through built-in mechanics or in-game systems. In some games, “exclusive relationships” may also mean a master-apprentice system or a best-friends relationship etc. The main point is that these relationships bring about tangible benefits to the player, such as XP boosts, special game modes, special items and so on. In the case of marriage systems, reaching these goals may require extensive gameplay and socializing with other players. That is because you usually have to first find someone who is willing to be your friend, then cultivate your relationship level with that player by gift-giving (often purchased items), and purchase special material items (such as wedding rings) before you can attend your virtual wedding.

Still keeping with the romantic theme, but somewhat different is the feature “relationships with characters”. In this case, instead of other players, players can flirt with, date or even marry NPCs. This is a classic feature of Japanese RPGs, but it has become very common in Chinese character-collector and anime-style “2D” RPGs. Usually, this is implemented in the form of developing your relationship or intimacy level with pretty girl characters (sometimes also boys), with stat buffs and/or pictures, videos, and voice clips of the characters as rewards.

Online time rewards and offline reward mechanics

On a completely different side of the feature spectrum are “online time rewards” and “offline reward mechanics”. Both are related to playing time, but from a different angle. “Online time rewards” mean prizes that the player gets for staying online – the longer the session length, the better the prizes usually are. Meanwhile, “offline reward mechanics” seems to be doing the opposite – rewarding players for their offline time. This may seem counter-intuitive, but there is a logic to it because there is usually a limit to how much a player can hoard items, XP, gold etc. in one go while offline. Therefore, creating an incentive for (multiple) sessions each day. So instead of session length, this feature is aiming at session frequency. This mechanic tends to be made very clear to players with some form of report every time they log in to the game. It is also different from common resource harvesting in the sense that in offline reward mechanics the rewards are given for actual automated core gameplay. Players usually need to trigger the offline grind in some way, for example by placing the player character in a “grind dungeon”. This way, offline time rewards guarantee an easy grind for the player because every time they log on, they will have loads of XP, gold and/or items to speed up their gameplay.

Paid progression plan

A true Chinese innovation is what GameRefinery calls the “Paid Progression Plan” (成长基金), which is arguably the ancestor of the Battle Pass in mobile games. But compared to the Battle Pass it is both older and somewhat simpler. Present in 45% of Top 100 RPGs, the Paid Progression Plan is basically the same as the Battle Pass, but without time limits or “seasons”. In this sense, the Paid Progression Plan does not benefit from the “fear of missing out”, which is a major element in the Battle Pass monetization mechanic. However, it still increases long-term retention because players have to e.g. fully level-up their character to reap the full benefits of the plan.

Example of a Paid Progression Plan from the survival MMO LifeAfter (明日之后) by NetEase.

What does a successful Chinese RPG look like?

Perfect World

So what does a successful Chinese MMOARPG look like feature-wise? Tencent’s Perfect World (完美世界), which has been hovering at the top of the China iOS top grossing list since its release in March of this year, includes many of the previously mentioned special Chinese features. It’s a typical example in many ways: an easy grind with triggerable auto-play, offline and online rewards; realistic art style with a Chinese fantasy theme, strong storytelling and game-related quizzes; strong social features with exclusive relationships and many different (sync. & async.) PVP modes.

Langrisser

Langrisser (梦幻模拟战) by Zilong Games, in turn, is a good example of a successful “2D”-style Turn-based RPG in China. Typical for the Chinese market, there is a lot of triggerable automation in the form of auto-play, auto-looting and triggerable speed of core gameplay, as well as strong social features with sync and async PVP modes, instant rewards for interacting with players etc. As a “2D”-style RPG, Langrisser gives the “relationships with characters” feature a major role by including many relationship development types with collectible characters and many types of rewards for such development. In addition to the already wide pool of characters, the game also regularly introduces new characters from outside the games the lore through collaboration events with other manga/anime style IPs.

Age of Magic

One of the few foreign RPGs to make it to the Chinese iOS top grossing 200 is Age of Magic, a turn-based RPG by the Russian studio Playkot. Although it looks very different from the usual Chinese RPG with its Western style fantasy visuals, it has many features that make it easily digestible for the Chinese market. These include for example high levels of triggerable automation in the core layer, very story-driven gameplay and a strong emphasis on the character development meta, along with a healthy dose of live events with exclusive rewards.

To wrap things up

In conclusion, when you consider releasing your RPG on the Chinese market, the first thing to remember is making the core layer of your game straightforward and easy for the player, with a strong emphasis on the meta. The importance of automation cannot be overly stressed. Chinese RPG gamers also expect lots of storytelling, beautiful visuals and lots of cutscenes. As tools for increasing user engagement with the game’s lore and content, you can add quizzes, player relationships, as well as online and offline rewards. The work you put into your game can bring about huge pay-offs in the end because Chinese RPG gamers are used to huge amounts of monetization sinks. You can even use many overlapping monetization mechanics, such as paid progression plans, rentable items, subscription plans, progressive IAP achievements and so forth.

To learn more about the mobile gaming market, make sure to try out the free layer of our service here.

If you enjoyed reading this post, here are a few more you should definitely check out:

• Overview of the current mobile RPG market
• Genres, Publishers, Brands and Features: All You Need to Know About the Chinese Mobile Games Market
• What You Need To Know About Match3 in China
• What Types of Western Games Find Success in China?

The post What You Need To Know About RPGs In China appeared first on GameRefinery.

The Match3 genre in China is heavily contested with countless Match3 titles of varying quality and a few top titles controlling the market. Let’s start by taking a closer look at some of the Chinese titles and especially how they are doing on Android in China.

As you likely know, China does not have Google Play, but there are dozens of local app stores – or channels as they’re called in China – instead. Let’s take a quick look at the downloads the top titles have achieved on a few of the top channels.

And finally

Note: the Huawei China app store has Candy Crush Soda Saga for some reason, while the other download numbers are for Candy Crush Saga. The game hasn’t been updated on China Android since late 2016.

A localized version of Candy Crush was launched on China Android by Tencent in 2014, but it failed to capture the same success it enjoys in the west. Its closest competitor in China, Anipop, has instead firmly established itself as the #1 Match3 title in China.

Let’s take a look at a few key reasons for Anipop’s success.

Art Style

The art style is vividly colorful, featuring cute animals as the blocks. Happy Elements’ other popular Match3, 海滨消消乐 features the same animal characters as Anipop.

Here are a few key characteristics of the art style:
• Extremely colorful
• Cute Animal characters with childlike facial features
• Small but noticeable facial expressions bringing characters to life, also during gameplay
• Body and heads are proportionately very wide
• Characters feature big heads and big eyes

During our Helsinki China Game Day’s deconstruction workshop, Hyde Li from Xiaomi, having previously himself worked on Anipop, revealed some insights into the art direction: During the early design phase of Anipop, Happy Elements created almost 40 different, fully fledged-out art style options for the game. Out of those options, through target audience testing and in-house analysis, they finally landed on the one we see in the game today.

In the panel discussion, Vivo’s Li Yanqi mentioned the strength of Anipop’s icon. Browsing the app store, or any environment with tons of icons, Anipop’s is often the one that immediately draws people’s attention. This is another vital factor in attracting massive amounts of downloads. Note that the icon here is Dragonboat festival themed, with the characters wrapped like zongzi, a glutinous rice wrap eaten during the festival.

Live-Ops, Community and Customer Support

This the key differentiating factor between Anipop and other Match3 titles, and the area where Happy Elements is strongest. They are constantly running loads of events and campaigns both in and out of the game, specifically tailored to Chinese players. At the IMGA China 2018 Seminar session in Nanjing, Happy Elements’ Chief of Operations, Jiang Wu, gave some insights into how they do live-ops, and how thanks to their commitment to keeping players happy, Anipop has the highest MAU out of all the mobile games in the world.

They view Anipop as a service for players, and players can really feel the difference. Their aim is to make it bigger than just a game. Player stories play a key role, and many live-ops campaigns ask players to participate by submitting content of their own. Some player created content may not actually have much do with Anipop itself. Instead, they may, for instance, be short videos of players’ lives that other players can relate to.

Here are a few samples of campaigns that Anipop has done recently:

The infamous Chinese high school final exams were held in early June, and they ran a related playful quiz for the community, with funny game-related questions in Chinese, math, English, geography, and history. Rewards included in-game items as well as a chance for a big plushy!

They also ran a father’s day event, asking players to share what their father means to them, and why fathers are important. Like all their events, this included in-game items and some plushies as rewards.

All these events are directly accessible from an in-game community menu, and integrated with Tencent social networks and channels community features, allowing for easy sharing and increased virality. User tastes are different on each channel (for instance, Tencent users lean towards hardcore, and Oppo users are casual), so they create tailored events for each channel.

Additionally, they run weekly and seasonal competitive events, and naturally big festival-themed events, such as the recent Dragonboat festival.

Finally, another part of their “service” mentality is great customer support. This may sound like a given but in reality, we all know there is a huge difference between great and lackluster customer support. They make it easy for players to reach out to them and respond quickly to keep players happy.

Social functions

Anipop takes great advantage of the social functions of WeChat and those provided by channels. They are one of the best, apart from Tencent themselves, at utilizing WeChat’s social features. Some of the WeChat’s social features are not openly available, especially for non-Tencent games. Anipop, however, managed to get access to the key features early on and continues to utilize them to significant effect.

Here is one example of an in-game event, which provides a free energy boost for the weekend. The duration of the free booster begins with 30 minutes but can be increased by completing tasks over the week, and by asking friends to participate – which provides players with additional boosters.

Anipop also features all the basic functions one would expect such as leaderboards with friend ranks (if you pass your friend you’re prompted to boast to them), high score sharing, request energy from friends to unlock a level or even help for a level, etc.

Additional Factors Worth Considering

There are a few other notable factors that make Anipop different, especially from its western counterparts.

Difficulty Curve

One is the difficulty and difficulty curve – whereas, in Candy Crush or other western Match3’s you will encounter an extremely challenging, so-called paywall level quite early on (likely within the first couple of dozen levels), this will happen much later in Anipop. In Anipop, there are several hundred levels before you reach a real paywall level, ensuring that players are properly “hooked” before putting a temporary stop on their progress. The game overall is easier as well.

How players play the game is somewhat related to the difficulty. Chinese players may keep playing the same level throughout the day, making a few moves here and there when they have a few seconds, instead of completing a level on the spot when they have a few minutes. The level design supports this – there are very few time-limited levels, and the player is not rushed to make moves.

Content Updates

Naturally, frequent content updates are key. While there are nearly 2000 normal levels in Anipop already, they add roughly 15 new levels per month, along with new functions and modes added now and then. Like any modern Match3, the game includes numerous different level types to keep things fresh for players, so it doesn’t get boring quickly.

Download Size

While no longer such a significant factor, the games download size is relatively small at only 145 MB. The game is also playable offline, making it easy to play anywhere. The rural areas of China may not have the best connections yet, so this is an additional benefit compared to other titles that require a constant internet connection.

Marketing That Goes Beyond Traditional UA

Finally, Happy Elements does mass-scale multi-platform marketing, such as that presented by the above graph for Chinese New Year. This is all in addition to traditional user acquisition and marketing on social media. The Chinese New Year period around February is excellent for these types of campaigns as it’s the peak period for mobile gaming and spending. People return home to spend time with family and realize there’s not much to do aside from playing games!

If you enjoyed reading this post, here are a few more you should definitely check out:

• Genres, Publishers, Brands and Features: All You Need to Know About the Chinese Mobile Games Market
• Match3 – meta layers and matching types
• What Types of Western Games Find Success in China?

The post What You Need To Know About Match3 in China – Part Two Anipop appeared first on GameRefinery.