Change, or “up” to a level. In the past it was “what to see”, but now it is “don’t see”. The answer is increasingly “No, I want to play a game.” For this problem, neither Netflix nor Hollywood have a good solution.
2, the game is copying the elements of TV
At the same time, the success of television is not only due to the lack of competitors. TV has many characteristics that ensure its popularity, promote its popularity, and maximize its utilization rate. Yes, TV is flawed, and its value changes over time, but pay TV is still an incredible set of things, packaged and bundled to provide users:< /p>
1. Rich content (including quantity and type)
2. Easy to obtain (TV is everywhere, and its content can be widely disseminated and watched immediately; you can go to a friend’s house, bar or other place to watch your “Regular program”).
3, frictionless (eliminating all intermediate links) content (all content can be accessed immediately; in fact, a lot of content is discovered by accident, or I found it when I was playing an ad and changing channels.
4, a variety of different use cases and functions (some content is for information, some content is for entertainment, babysitting, teaching or serving local, etc.) .
5. A range of different levels of participation (viewers can be completely immersed in it, or they can watch while doing other things, such as cooking, washing clothes or running When running on the plane, turn on the TV in the background.
In addition, TV also benefits from…
6. A cultural critical point has been achieved. Because “enough” people watch TV, TV gets a lot of discussion,And dominates popular culture, which forces many people to watch TV just to participate in society, similar to the phenomenon that “social smokers” only smoke when they are with smokers.
7. A high degree of competition will continue to promote more value and form diversification/innovation.
A closer analysis reveals that basically every element of the TV experience is being copied by the game ecosystem.
Availability. Cloud gaming means you will be able to take your game with you “walking around”, avoiding the terrible 20-minute update to start the game . In addition, the new console will allow players to automatically resume multiple games (instead of just one), claiming to reduce game loading time to less than two seconds, and will expand the ability to log in to your “archive” files from other players’ consoles . We are no longer stuck on a single device and a single location.
Discover/Try it. Historically, the number of games played and the total game time have been limited by the high barriers to finding and trying a new game. That is, the price of 40-60 US dollars, plus the time it takes to download a game for half an hour, and spend more time to buy or receive a physical game. “All you can eat” subscriptions like Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass, Apple Arcade, and Sony’s PlayStation Now bundle the most valuable games together and other games that many people like but don’t know or want to seek Bale. Microsoft claims that the overall game time of Game Pass users has increased by 40%, which proves that this kind of content bundling will not swallow the participation of more content products, but will bring growth.
Competition. After nearly 20 years of the Nintendo-Sony-Microsoft Big Three, several new platform giants emerged. Apple and Google have become the fourth and fifth largest gaming platforms outside of China through their mobile phones. Google is now entering the 3A-level “game console” game field through Stadia. Amazon is also expected to enter this field soon.
Intensified competition does not only occur at the platform level. The increase in the number of game platforms has led to the influx of “super funds” into the developer ecosystem, which in turn has increased the total amount of game production and the diversity of games. The aforementioned rise of bundled subscriptions across the entire network also allows game developers to take on increasing creative risks in content. Historically, developers need to persuade players to buy their games for $20-60 instead of continuing to play games they already have or buying competing similar games. Generally speaking, this is a difficult requirement, especially for new game types/styles that lack IP accumulation. However, as part of the game’s top-reading plan to bundle games, developers can focus on earning a share (or growth) of players’ game time without involving additional costs. Reducing the risk of game innovation is obviously good for current gamers. But the most important thing is that this also creates the best opportunity for developers to create non-traditional games that may be attractive to non-players. “Call of Duty” is a traditional game, no matter how good it is, it is unlikely to expand the market in many industries.
Features. In the past, the function of the game was very simple: immersive entertainment. Now not only the degree of immersion is diversified, but the purpose is also diversified. Many games, such as Fortnite, have become participatory cultural phenomena, spending time with friends, and gaining shared live experiences (including Fortnite concerts and live movie events). Fortnite collaborated with the famous American rap singer Travis Scott to launch an in-game concert called “Astronomical”, which attracted 12 million people at the same time.
The participation threshold. Historically, games have been restricted by cumbersome requirements. Want to play a game, You need “full concentration”, multitasking is impossible. More importantly, you need to spend a lot of time to become a “good player” in a game. Even so, you may not be able to enjoy the fun of competing with your friends, nor can you enjoy the complicated routines in a single player game. Through e-sports, you can now enjoy professional-level matches at any time, providing more or less attention and investment, and the time you like. Similarly, live streaming allows you to “play” an entire game without picking up the gamepad (Earlier this year, Polygon reported on the rise of this behavior, and many “players” were on lunch breaks, buses going home, etc. Time to watch the game live). It is worth mentioning that the most popular video site in the world is YouTube, and its most watched content is recorded game clips.
In addition, major game streaming platforms are now creating experiences that allow viewers to send items or health conditions to help or hinder players, thereby affecting this game live broadcast . Genvid (a company I invested in) is designing a series of brand new “games” specifically for this purpose. Genvid allows developers to create various ways for users to watch e-sports matches from any angle. In addition, cloud services like Stadia are building the ability to let viewers “jump” into a video or live broadcast and play a game at a specific point; instead of playing a full 40-hour game, you can play the part you want to play ( Maybe it’s just to try something a certain anchor does or something the anchor asks the viewer to do). We also saw the emergence of news programs, tidbits and clips, and in-game comedies. You no longer need to sit down and play for hours to enjoy the game content.
(It is worth noting that this is actually just “video”, not game content, which is correct, but it is similar to saying “sports” Just like a TV series, it doesn’t make much sense. In addition, it ignores the unique virtuous circle in the game, similar to football fans watching football not to make themselves play better, nor to see their friends’ “best record” Collection, not to play football for a few hours a day)
The critical point of culture. Although the penetration rate of the game in the older generation has not increased significantly, it is infiltrating into the younger generation of the pyramid. 90% of Americans can watch TV and listen to music. Over time, the influence of the game categoryIt should be as big as other types, so it is also talked about like other media, and it has the same social importance.
3. The content leverage of the game is unprecedentedly high
Most media categories are limited by three challenges. The first is that their length is limited. You will always finish reading the last page of a book, watching the last episode of a TV show, or listening to a podcast. Consumers can re-read/watch/listen to them, but few people will do so, and even then, most people will only re-read them once. Secondly, lengthening the content requires more investment, writing another book or producing an episode of a TV series (this requires an investment equivalent to the first book, episode or podcast, and thus cannot solve the actual problem). We also know that stretching content for additional engagement rather than narrative needs tends to weaken the overall quality of the experience (see the Marvel series on Netflix).
The third is that although traditional content can stimulate consumers’ imagination, they cannot really engage consumers, let alone use their imagination. For example, “Star Wars” gave birth to billions of hours of imaginary stories, which are locked in the minds of children and can only be played in the family or the yard. A good IP can promote the creation of such stories, but only through the production of rich movies/TV/books/comics and the sale of interesting toys, but they cannot obtain these stories, and these independent “imaginers” cannot really Share with their friends (especially those who do not live nearby).
These points are not a problem for the game.
On the surface, games are usually designed around auxiliary content that exists outside the core story, such as badges/achievements, side missions, etc. Although this requires additional programming, it usually gains significant leverage over previous investments (such as characters, items, stories, programming). In fact, the game will not dilute the experience like a TV series, where 7 hours of TV series exceed 13 hours. As a stand-alone game, Red Dead Redemption 2 can be as long as 47 hours (main game), 76 hours (main game + core line game) or 161 hours (complete all game content).
More broadly, games are increasingly being driven by social experiences. A game player does not play a game to “complete” a story, they do it because they like competitive games, especially with friends. And no multiplayer experience is the same, so there is always a “new story” to play. The online experience of Red Dead Redemption 2 will only end when your friends are bored.
In addition, many games use audience obsession to generate more content. Sometimes this is nothing more than a UGC “map” or “MOD” (such as putting Iron Man in “Grand Theft Auto”), but its significance has far exceeded this. For example, the “multiplayer online tactical competitive game” type (where “League of Legends” is the most famous representative) is basically created by the user mod of “Warcraft III” (a real-time strategy game).
In addition, a whole sub-economic system appeared in “Fortress Night”, “players” can build (and make money) their own games and worlds, and ” Roblox and Minecraft are completely based on this model. This not only increases the audience’s time in a game, but also increases the breadth of consumer experience in this game. In 2019, Roblox stated that it will pay more than $100 million to its global game creators (a group ranging from a single “developer” to a “10 or 20 person” studio). The company also pointed out that it doesn’t even pay these developers directly. Unlike the iOS app store, developers get income directly from users. In the fall of 2019, Roblox launched the “Developer Market”, allowing developers not only to monetize their games, but also to currency the assets, plug-ins, vehicles, 3D models, terrain and other items they made for these games. 化.
“Fortnite is a game. But please ask this question again in 12 months.”-Tim Sweeney (CEO of Epic Games) December 26, 2019.
In just one month, the three games of “Fortnite”, “Roblox” and “Minecraft” may bringCome 1.2-1.5 billion hours of game time, which has not been added the extra time brought by the live broadcast and video content of these games. Similarly, the most popular video service on the planet is YouTube, and Netflix, HBO, or Disney+ spending a lot of money on content cannot overturn YouTube. Although the creation of user-generated game experiences is still very complicated, it is just like video creation, which is getting easier every day (refer to “Super Mario Maker” global players have uploaded more than 10 million self-made levels).
Although “The Incredibles” is very successful and as obsessive as the original “Star Wars”, fans can’t spend hundreds of hours watching this IP; its content is not scaled up, even if there are physical toys. However, video games often achieve better engagement. The game has a unique ability to capture all the audience’s love for IP. It can not only capture linear stories, but also the infinite multi-person experience based on the story, and more and more capture the countless experiences that a family can dream of. The audience’s favorite ceiling is unlimited, and therefore, the potential “game time” and monetization are also unlimited.
Related reading: Seven reasons why games will dominate future entertainment methods beyond movies and TV (part 2)