Editor Introduction: In the post-epidemic period, China's mobile game industry is expected to continue to expand with the good momentum, among which mobile e-sports, cloud games, and overseas markets are the key development directions. cloud game has quietly risen! This article will use "Mushroom Cloud Travel" as an example to analyze the business model and future development of cloud games.
1. Project background and industry status
1. Industry background cloud game development history
Figure 2-1 Cloud game market development history
It is not difficult to see from Figure 2-1 that since the proposal of cloud games by OnLive in 2009, after a 7-year germination period, by 2017, as major leading companies joined and began to deploy the cloud game industry, the cloud game market entered a period of exploration. In 2020, with the increasing maturity of G technology and the accelerated construction of 5G networks, the cloud game industry has officially entered the growth period, and more Internet companies have entered the market and launched cloud game platforms.
2. Analysis of its market development background from an industry perspective
Figure 2-2 China's game market size from 2015 to 2023
Figure 2-3 Analysis of the usage time of the top ten Internet industries in 2017
From Figure 2-2, it can be seen that the revenue scale of China's game market in 2019 was about 293.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.1%. It is expected that the overall revenue scale of the game market in 2020 will exceed 330 billion yuan. Factors such as the popularity of smartphones, the improvement of hardware performance, the development of the e-sports industry, and the rise of console games have continued to drive the game industry to maintain rapid growth. The existing game content is an important source of content in the initial stage of cloud gaming development, and provides a content basis for the future development of cloud gaming.
shows from Figure 2-2 that in 2017-2018, the growth rate of the game industry was only 4.9%, a year-on-year growth rate of 31.3% from 2016-2017, a decrease of 26.4%. The reason can be seen from Figure 2-3, with the development of the Internet and the diversification of the entertainment situation, the total monthly usage market of mobile video and news information users increased by 25.3 and 29.2 percentage points respectively during the same period, and the user's game time was further diverted by other entertainment forms.
3. User analysis of its market development background
Figure 2-4 2015-2023 The user scale of the game market
According to the 47th "Statistical Report on the Development of the Internet in China" released by CNNIC, as of December 2020, the number of netizens in China was about 989 million, of which the proportion of game users has reached 78.67% (it is estimated that the total user scale of the Chinese game market in 2020 will be about 778 million), and playing games has become one of the most common online entertainment methods for Chinese netizens. Based on the good market awareness of games in China and the widespread popularity of users, cloud games already have a huge potential user base, and huge game users are the main source of users for cloud games.
4. Estimated revenue scale of China's cloud game market
Figure 2-5 China's cloud game market revenue scale from 2020 to 2024
Cloud game market revenue mainly comes from the payment of cloud game users. At present, the cloud game charging scale is still mainly subscribed and time-based, which is not consistent with the consumption habits of most Chinese game users in the past free games and recharge equipment. Users' consumption willingness still needs time to cultivate. However, with the continuous improvement of cloud game content and experience, the payment willingness of cloud game users and the ARPU value of (average revenue per user) will increase rapidly in the future, and drive the continued growth of cloud game market revenue.
5. The user scale of the Chinese cloud game market is estimated.
Figure 2-6 User scale of the Chinese cloud game market from 2020 to 2024. Many game manufacturers and Internet giants continue to increase their investment in the cloud game industry, which will increase the attention and awareness of the society and users of cloud games. At the same time, with the formal commercialization of 5G networks in the future and the accelerated construction of new base stations, major domestic cloud game platforms will initially attract user experience with the F2P mode, which will enhance game players' experience with cloud games and transform game users into cloud game users. With the continuous improvement of cloud game experience and the increase in market promotion, the overall scale will continue to grow.
6. Related investment and financing situation of China's cloud game market
Figure 2-7 Main investment and financing events of China's cloud game market from 2020 to 202
According to the "Cloud Game Industry Development White Paper" released by the China Academy of Communications and the 5G Cloud Game Industry Alliance, the total financing amount of enterprises entering the cloud game field in 2019 reached 1.338 billion, with an investment rate of 54.6%. According to IT Orange Investment data, in the investment and financing events directly related to cloud games, most of the financing amount was tens of millions of yuan. Due to the continuous injection of capital into the development of the cloud gaming industry, the cloud gaming industry has developed rapidly.
7. Market Macro Environment Analysis (PEST)
Political Environment (P) :
:The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Notice on Promoting the Accelerated Development of 5G", vigorously promoting live events, 5G+VR/AR, game entertainment, virtual shopping and other applications, and promoting new information consumption . Basic telecommunications companies, radio and television media companies and content providers are encouraged to strengthen cooperation and enrich new multimedia content sources such as 4K/8K, VR/AR in the fields of education, media, and entertainment. For example, after testing, the current 5G network speed is generally ten times that of 4G. With such a high network speed, "low-end 3A masterpieces" is no longer difficult to achieve, and the increase in network speed is reflected in the game, and the delay will be reduced, cloud games will run more stably, and the user experience will be greatly improved.
Economic Environment (E):
Figure 2-8 Economic Effects brought to the game ecosystem by the development of cloud game platform
In the long-term development of the future, in addition to digging deep into game content, the cloud game platform has derived upstream and downstream industrial chains, which also promote the application of cloud games to more scenarios, integrate with live broadcast, VR, advertising marketing, education and other content to create a diversified content platform and increase its economic effect.
Social environment (S):
Figure 2-9 Growth of the mobile game market in 2019
Due to the impact of the epidemic, people stay at home, and entertainment demand passively shifted to online. Electronic games have changed from ordinary entertainment consumer goods to "necessities for life" for players. As one of the main forms of online entertainment, games have been greatly affected. The game industry has achieved unprecedented significant growth this Spring Festival. Specifically, it is reflected in the increase in the number of active online entertainment users in a single day, the overall cycle of the Spring Festival is lengthened, and the user's willingness to pay is enhanced.
Technology Environment (T):
Figure 2-10 Emerging technologies help the development of the cloud game market
Behind the cloud games, there are many emerging technologies, and telecom operators, cloud service providers, hardware manufacturers, etc. continue to develop and innovate related technologies, providing possibilities for the implementation and commercialization of cloud games. On the one hand, new technologies have laid the foundation for users' cloud gaming experience. The advancement of technologies such as codec and network transmission will greatly improve the content presentation quality and interactive operation quality of cloud gaming; on the other hand, emerging technologies will improve the management, scheduling, reuse and tuning capabilities of cloud gaming manufacturers, making cloud gaming cost controllable, and ultimately creating a successful cloud gaming business model . In terms of the
market, major game manufacturers and Internet giants at home and abroad have launched cloud gaming platforms. The rapid development of the game market, the steady growth of game users, and technological innovations such as 5G and edge computing will lay the foundation for the explosion of the cloud gaming market. In terms of its own value, cloud game platforms are the main channel connecting game content and game users. The development of cloud game platforms will bring new industrial value and commercial value to game manufacturers, game users and game ecosystems.
2. User demand
1. User tag
Figure 2-10
The proportion of users between the ages of 25 and 30 in my country's mobile game user market is dominant, while the female group has been increasing year by year. The proportion of users with well-off and above in the user market reaches 67.2%, the proportion of low-income users is 32.8%, and the proportion of middle and high-income users is high, and most of them appear in second-tier and above cities.
Summary: According to the chart, the main users are between 25 and 30 years old, with middle and upper income, and second-tier cities above the level. The main reason is that most games have paid links, which requires a certain amount of economic ability, reflecting the high value of Chinese mobile game users. With the integration of social networks and the discovery of women as a large proportion of consumption power, many game companies develop games for female players, such as: Miracle Nuannuan , Love and Production, and many games also provide corresponding skins and equipment for female users.
2. User behavior
Figure 2-11
Data shows that the top three games that netizens prefer are role-playing, shooting, and multiplayer online competition, accounting for 46.4%, 32.5%, and 31.8% respectively. Because role-playing games have rich themes, characters are more substitutable in combination with the storyline, and this type of game has relatively low requirements for specific operations and strategies, making it easy for players to get started. Launching role-playing games in the cloud game mode will enhance and enhance the user's experience.
3. User group
4. User portrait
3. Profit model
1. Cloud service + game
Cloud game platform takes game content distribution (selecting popular games and latest game information) as the entry point, and then provides cloud game services. The commercial monetization model is based on the buyout system, subscription system, membership system, and single-time purchase.
(1) Buyout
users directly purchase it for one time and have the permanent right to use the game. For example, the game on Stadia is priced at US$20-60; on the Huya YOWA game platform, although users do not need to pay directly, users need to purchase the game on the Steam personal account before they can play it on the platform.
(2) Subscription to make
mainly refers to a subscription method that pays for a certain period of weekly/month/year, etc., and buys out a certain game time. For example, the payment for the PC game in NetEase Cloud Games is 100 yuan cloud coins, deducts 5 cloud coins per minute, and the special price period is 180 cloud coins per hour; mobile game payment: 30 yuan per month, 85 yuan in quarterly card, and 299 yuan in annual card.
(3) membership system
through the membership system, lowering the threshold for purchasing for a single time, quitting queues, etc. The gameplay depends on the platform strategy. For example, Dalong Cloud can become a member if a single recharge of 50 yuan. Non-member games are equipped with 5 Yundou/hour, and 3 Yundou/hour of membership; 39 Yundou/50 yuan, 100 Yundou/208 yuan.
(4) Single-time purchase
users directly purchase the hourly duration and then play the game. For example, the tariff standard in Migu Kuaiyou is 5 yuan per hour, and members can enjoy discounts.
Figure 2-12 Details of the charging model of cloud gaming products on the market
2. Cloud Service + Advertising
Currently, cloud gaming platforms provide two forms of billing methods: billing by time and billing by click. The cloud gaming platform only charges a certain transaction service fee for advertisers, which is the amount of advertising transactions, which is billed by time: 8% and billing by click: 15%. For example: The seller successfully sold an advertising space, and the price for a week is 500 yuan. As a seller, you need to pay: 500*8%-40 yuan, and the direct income you get is 460 yuan.
3. Cloud service + live
combines the characteristics of cloud games "click and play" and the interactiveness brought by live barrage and gifts. The combination of the two can create a "live broadcast + cloud game" gameplay, greatly enhancing the user's sense of participation, rather than just watching, but more so that they can participate.
is currently available in the market with various ways of playing, such as "cloud opening, cloud PK, cloud relay, cloud participation" and other forms emerging one after another. The anchor and players can fight and play black in the game through cloud games. The existence of live broadcasts has made more users’ interactions no longer fall into the sea, but participated in the game (using barrage and gifts to increase the difficulty of the game), which is a new form of live broadcast + game. Currently, only Douyu and Huya live broadcast platforms are tested, and the commission ratio of cloud gaming platforms and theirs is 50%.
4. Competitor development
Summary: Compared with "NetEase Cloud Game" and "TapTap", the two are to create a game sharing community. "TapTap" is more aimed at high-quality players among students and office workers, while "NetEase Cloud Game" is aimed at students and office workers mainly adults, and has its own game resources. "Mushroom Cloud Tour" is a console game such as AAA masterpieces. The main users are console game enthusiasts, allowing console game enthusiasts to play anytime and anywhere on their mobile phones, getting rid of the limitations of the computer and greatly improving flexibility. "Mushroom Travel" is more targeted at the host game lovers.
4. Product planning
1. Product positioning
Mushroom Cloud Travel is a platform APP developed based on cloud technology, cloud computer players gathering place, popular stand-alone game 3A masterpieces skip queue information video guide real-time sharing recommendations, accelerate simulation experience of new fun in cloud game box.
2. Core target
online cloud play on the mobile phone by providing some large-scale games on the computer or paid games in the APP, solving the problem of users' device restrictions on playing these games, solving the problem of not wanting or unable to download them, and using the user's recharge virtual currency to achieve profitability.3. Product structure
4. Product route
5. Product non-functional requirements
Security requirements: There are no security vulnerabilities in the data, and the user's personal account information is kept confidential, ensuring that the information is complete and not modified or destroyed by illegal authorization.
Reliability requirements: the network is stable and reliable, the software is reliable and easy to use; users require stable and smooth operation when playing games, which can achieve long-term play without lag, and users enter the application without delay.
Ease of use: If an application wants to be easily accepted by users, it needs to have multiple ease of use requirements such as easy to learn, understand, and operate. The feedback of system information must be timely and clear.
expansion needs: If the platform develops well in the later stage, it will also have a huge user base. The platform needs better performance to meet the needs of large users for simultaneous use.
6. User benefits
Purpose: obtains and consumes mushroom coins to increase the game duration for free, and improves the user retention rate of .
Strategy:
Summary: Open the APP in a single day to get at least 100 mushroom coins, and new users get at most 10750 mushroom coins/25 diamonds in a single day. The time for users to get all points is about 1 hour, and most games consume mushroom coins between 6000-12000 mushroom coins or 20-30 diamonds (refer to the game consumption excel), so the rewards obtained by users spending one hour can be played on the platform for about 2 hours.
5. Risks and countermeasures
1. SWOT analysis
S (advantages):
Mushroom Cloud Travel has the advantage of mobile phone PC cross-platform service, and can play on multiple terminals. No need to download or queue to play, reduce user action costs; it is not limited to screen operation, and supports controller operation; it comes with a virtual game keyboard, and all host operations can be completed on the mobile phone, and the gameplay of host masterpieces can also be automatically archived; users do not need to consider the device hardware too much, and the full scene coverage improves the high-quality gaming experience. The subdivided community of 3A masterpieces allows users to share and communicate within the site.
W (disadvantage):
Mushroom Cloud Tour's disadvantage compared to other similar products lies in resources. Many cloud game products such as NetEase Cloud Games, Tencent Xianyou, etc. have their own game sources; and since Mushroom Cloud Tour is a large-scale game, the startup speed and smooth running are also disadvantages that cannot be avoided, it is more necessary to solve its own technical problems and optimize related problems.
O (opportunity):
In addition to bringing high-quality PC and console games to mobile platforms, many Chinese cloud game service providers, such as NetEase Cloud Games, are putting those high-fidelity native mobile games on their gaming platforms, aiming to provide a consistent gaming experience for users with different hardware configurations.
In China, " cloud mobile " is also a hot topic. For example, technology giants such as Ribaba, Huawei , Tencent , Baidu , etc. are all investing in this field. The concept is to transfer all computing power and storage to the cloud, thereby eliminating hardware boundaries. Cloud gaming is one of the most promising applications of cloud mobile phones on the consumer side, and can provide a high-quality gaming experience even on low-end smartphones.
T (threat):
cloud gaming services at home and abroad are still far from realizing their full potential. The smooth user experience is still limited by the overall network connection quality and the popularity of 5G networks. Some other technologies such as cloud computing and edge computing must also be developed simultaneously to improve the user experience. In China, mobile platforms are the key access point for cloud gaming. Cloud gaming services must fully optimize the experience of PC and console games on touch screen. Competitive hardcore gaming could lead to a surge in demand and revenue for mobile gaming peripherals. If there is no way to achieve the popularization of G network from a technical level, then cloud gaming platforms will not be able to survive.
2. Risk Analysis
(1) Infringement of intellectual property rights
In judicial practice, games can be protected by my country's " Copyright Law ". Based on the Copyright Law, the developer or authorized user of the game works enjoys the "right to disseminate information network" of the game works.
Therefore, when the platform places unauthorized game works on the cloud server for users to click, browse, and run through different terminals, the platform will constitute an infringement of the right holder's information network dissemination rights. Once it is found to have infringement, the platform will not only bear civil liability, but will also bear the risk of being subject to administrative penalties when it is in situations that harm the public interests of society.
Countermeasures: platform should conduct a compliance review of the rights source of game works, including whether the authorization has been obtained from the right party, whether the authorization is still valid, whether the scope of authorization covers the open use of the platform, etc. If necessary, the corresponding authorization documents can be notarized to reduce the risk of platform infringement or unfair competition.
(2) Constitute unfair competition
platform restricts game functions and information links. If technical means are directly used to intervene and restrict the products and services provided by the rights party without permission, including restricting marketing, information advertising, peripheral product transactions, etc., this move is not known by the user and actively chooses, which is improper and liable, which will obviously damage the legitimate interests of the rights party of the game.
Countermeasures: The operating model of the platform should also be included in the scope of compliance review, including whether the original functions of the game have been restricted or castrated in the "cloud game" mode, whether the game quality has been reduced, and whether users are restricted from jumping to relevant web pages on the platform through in-game announcements, activity information and other links. If the corresponding game has been authorized and the relevant operations of the platform are within the scope of authorization, the risk of unfair competition in the above situations will be greatly reduced.
(3) Violating the regulatory regulations of online games
platform provides users with interfaces to experience many games. As a provider of game content, they should also abide by various regulatory regulations on online games. Taking game qualifications as an example, games connected to the platform should have legal online qualifications such as software copyright certificates and version numbers in China; taking game content as an example, games connected to the platform should not have illegal and irregular situations such as "endangering national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity", "promoting obscene, gambling, violence or instigating crimes", and should comply with domestic compliance requirements such as real-name system and anti-addiction system, otherwise the platform may also face relevant regulatory measures.
Countermeasures: The platform should conduct strict compliance review of the game content. For game works that do not meet the domestic online game supervision requirements, timely rectification and offline. Only by fulfilling the basic review obligations for the game content can the platform avoid or reduce regulatory penalties and other dispute risks related to game products.
6. Summary
As the related technologies that break their barriers mature, cloud service will also randomly usher in corresponding opportunities, and is expected to become one of the most explosive application scenarios in the 5G era, with broad prospects. The country's recognition of the 5G+ entertainment model, the playability of the economic model, the overall social user habits cultivated by the gaming industry, and technological breakthroughs have directly promoted the booming development of the entire cloud gaming industry.
But opportunities also mean challenges. If you want to have a place in a highly competitive market, you have to optimize more. For example, in terms of functional design, Mushroom Cloud Travel still has some problems, such as technical problems such as slow startup speed and poor picture quality, too many advertisements and unclear tariff descriptions. In terms of prospects, you also need to pay attention to finding your own highlights under the double-team of many major manufacturers.
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