On December 22, the National Press and Publication Administration issued the Measures for the Administration of Online Games (Draft for Solicitation of Comments) (hereinafter referred to as the "Draft for Solicitation of Comments"). The draft contains 8 chapters and 64 articles, of which Article 18 is eye-catching, clearly proposing to "restrict excessive use and high consumption of games". This means that online games must not set up inducing rewards such as daily login, first recharge, and continuous recharge, and online game publishing business units cannot provide or condone the trading of virtual props through speculation, auctions, etc. All online games must set user recharge limits and publicize them in their service rules, and pop-up warnings should be given to users' irrational consumption behaviors.
Regarding this new regulation, an industry insider told a reporter from the global network that although the new regulations have a certain impact on the operation of the game industry, they are mainly aimed at impulse consumption and underage players. The new rules will have a big impact on those sheath games that rely on inducement to attract players, because such games often need to be profitable in a short period of time, and do not pay much attention to the sustainable ecology and player reviews of the game. For gaming companies that focus on long-term operations and engaging players through innovative gameplay and experiences, the impact is relatively small.
At the same time, according to the industry insider, the game industry has a set of formulaic operation processes, which are usually used to convert how many paying users can be converted after investing in the cost of buying volume, research and development. Through this process, the game company can roughly calculate the approximate number of paying players.
However, there are some problems with this formulaic operational process. On the one hand, it may cause game companies to focus too much on short-term revenue and ignore the sustainable ecology and player reviews of games. On the other hand, it can also make game companies rely too much on marketing to attract users, rather than sticking users by providing a quality gaming experience.
Therefore, the introduction of the new regulations is a necessary adjustment for the game industry. In the eyes of industry insiders, the new regulations require game companies to pay attention to the sustainable ecology of games and player reviews, and also restrict game companies from providing or conniving at the trading of virtual props through speculation, auctions and other means. This will help promote the healthy development of the game industry, promote the sustainable ecology of games and improve player reviews.
In the long run, the new rules will help improve the brand image and credibility of gaming companies, and attract more players to choose their products. At the same time, the new regulations will also prompt game companies to pay more attention to innovation and user experience, and promote healthy competition and development in the game industry. Although revenue may be greatly affected in the short term, game companies can attract small, medium and micro krypton players through discounts and price reductions.
*: Global Network.