Daniel Camilo
Wednesday, August 19, 2020
Share this article
China recently approved the official launch of 28 foreign games in the country. In other words, an ISBN publishing license has been granted to those games, and can now be legally published and distributed through their respective publishers, with a full range of monetization features at their disposal.
There are many things to go into, if I had to comment on the title, so I’m going to point out some cases that I think are interesting, and what we can read more widely about the current state of the Chinese. . Market. Please note that a publishing license takes between six months and one year to be approved, if approved.
Of the 28 approved games, only one is for console. After experiencing a massive increase in popularity in China in the first months of the year due to COVID-19 locks, Ring Fit Adventure can now be officially introduced to China. Logic? Of course not.
All this to say that a foreign console game has been approved in the last five months in China.
In the first part of the year, demand for Nintendo games in China was so high that it was sometimes sold retail, online, in Taobao, for more than double its original price. So why and how did the game officially come out now? Note that I use the term “officially” very intentionally, and that’s because most consumers in China buy imported consoles instead of officially released versions.
I’ve written a lot about this page online here and here, but in short, imported consoles are incredibly easy to get online, while officially released hardware has all sorts of restrictions similar to those of the region, and top expert consumers will avoid them.
It’s practically knowing and tracking how many imported copies of Ring-Fit Adventure have been sold in China in recent months in China, but if I had to guess, I’d say at least two hundred thousand, if not more. copies, can we be waiting for the official edition of the game to be sold? Given the low sales of Chinese transfer in China, compared to imported editions, it would estimate 30,000 games at the peak positive end of the spectrum. The approved edition of the game will only work with the Chinese edition of Switch.
All this to say that only one foreign console game has been approved in the last five months in China. Xbox One and PS4 will also be officially available in the country, in versions that have their own set of restrictions. As with Switch, maximum consumers also purchase imported versions of those consoles, which has led to Sony and Microsoft’s official presence on the market dying.
Of the 28 approved games, 24 are for mobile phones. This deserves to imply how one-sided the way is for foreign corporations wishing to enter China. Of course, this also applies to Chinese games, as most of all approved titles are on cell phones. It is worth noting that once a game gets the editing license, it is valid for all platforms on which you have the game, as long as it is the same game, with the same content. For example, a mobile game with an approved publishing license can potentially be released in Android app stores as well as in the iOS app store.
Tencent was implemented to obtain a publishing license for China as soon as eligible COD Mobile, but the procedure took ten months
For many, this would possibly seem obvious. After all, Call of Duty Mobile is owned by Tencent and has been one of the most successful games of all time, accumulating nearly three hundred million downloads since its release. However, I must admit that I was surprised that he was allowed to go out to China. In fact, a few months ago, when I expressed my opinion on the subject to the South China Morning Post, I was convinced that it would never be published in China.
Please note that Fortnite is not available in China. Despite its cartoonish appearance, lack of bloody violence and one of the most popular games in the world, Fortnite has never been very popular in China and is not licensed to be published. It is also manufactured through Epic, in which Tencent has a 40% stake. Given all this and the much more realistic look of CoD Mobile, I felt confident that the game would not be approved. I was wrong, clearly.
However, what is literally appealing about the situation of CoD Mobile is that the game was originally released in October. This means that Tencent actually implemented a publishing license for China as soon as the game was eligible, but the procedure took ten months. The game was meant to be released in China, and the fact that no significant leakage has given the impression from the initial global release to now is simply astonishing.
Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if CoD Mobile is banned in China in the future. Depending on its success, the way the media represents it and the amount of exposure it gets, it is very conceivable that a backlash will eventually hit hard. There are too many elements in the game that can affect “Chinese values” incorrectly (American militarism, war, combat/realistic violence, weapon gloration) and, in my opinion, Tencent probably used his influence and strength to make sure the game is approved, although this is just a hypothesis on my part.
Of all the approved titles, the one that surprised me the most was Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes. Until recently, the game did not have a publishing license for China, it is available for iOS. Late last year, and earlier this year, Apple announced that it would remove games from the App Store in China that did not comply with government regulations. In this case, games with in-app purchases, pay-as-you-go and/or subscription require a publishing license. Apple’s deadline was July 2020.
EA got rid of Galaxy of Heroes from the App Store before the deadline, leading most to assume that the game could leave China forever. And behold, Galaxy of Heroes is one of the games approved for release in this latest batch, which means EA planned the move in advance and made sure to apply for a release license months ago.
At this point, it is vital to realize how complicated it is to download a publishing license for China, especially for foreign games. With Apple’s announcement of removing games from the App Store less than a year ago, many developers have been left off guard. A Chinese spouse has a legal obligation to obtain a publication license, and the license takes at least six months to pass, but more than a year. This has left thousands of independent developers in a vulnerable position, looking for long-term answers to their games in China. However, everything worked well for EA and Star Wars.
Last but not least, I felt one of my eyebrows rise when I met Harry Potter: Magic Awakened among the few foreign games approved for release in China, basically due to recent rumors about the imaginable sale through Warner Bros Interactive ATT. I wonder if the agreements signed between Netease (game editor in China) and Warner Bros. (the owner of the Harry Potter intellectual property) come with a stipulation in case the sale takes place.
Oh, what about PC games? Yes, 4 foreign PC games have been approved. That’s all I have to say about it.
Daniel Camilo lives in Shenzhen. He is the commercial developer of Apptutti, a specialist in the publication of games in China.
There are no comments related to this article at this time. Why not be the first to publish one?
Sign up to contribute