Cultural inheritance and innovation in games
At the MiHoYo Guangqi Park on Cangwu Road, there is always a long queue at the door every weekend. The birthplace of popular games such as “Genshin Impact” and “Honkai Impact 3: The Star Railway” has become a holy place in the hearts of countless players. According to data from market research organization Sensor Tower, MiHoYo’s “Genshin Impact” won the annual revenue champion of overseas mobile games in 2022. In May of this year, MiHoYo’s new work “Honkai Impact 3: The Star Railway” surpassed “Genshin Impact” and topped the overseas revenue list. In the Top 10 global popular mobile game revenues in June, Chinese games occupied half of the seats. Domestic game masterpieces with traditional Chinese cultural elements have entered the mainstream overseas population through localization and regionalization strategies, conveying China’s unique cultural charm and values ??to the world, and enhancing the international influence of Chinese culture.
As one of the components of the upcoming ChinaJoy, the 2023 Game Business Conference held in Beihongqiao has set up a special “Game Industry Overseas Development Forum”, inviting many industry professionals to share what Chinese boutique games that have successfully gone overseas and braved the wind and waves have done right?
“Genshin Impact” is undoubtedly a benchmark. The story background of the open-world adventure game “Genshin Impact” is set in seven “countries”, and the design of each “country” incorporates cultural elements and civilization symbols from different regions of the world. For example, Mondstadt is based on medieval Europe and incorporates the natural scenery and cultural characteristics of the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Kingdom; Liyue’s art style, plot, and culture are full of Chinese cultural characteristics. The early trailer released by Fontaine, the fifth country that is about to be launched, has aroused more resonance among the player groups in France and Western Europe. The diverse content allows “Genshin Impact” to successfully attract players from different cultural backgrounds worldwide at the beginning of its launch. Each has its own beauty, and beauty is shared. The outstanding achievements of “Genshin Impact” in the global market are a good proof of this.
“Empathy” with global players
“As the industry continues to grow, the boundaries of games are gradually extended, and international development has become a topic that cannot be ignored.” Ao Ran, executive vice president and secretary general of the China Audio-visual and Digital Publishing Association, proposed that games, as a global characteristic cultural language and a new cultural carrier, have the gene of crossing national boundaries and the internal driving force of shared development. “Genshin Impact” is undoubtedly one of the Chinese boutique games that has successfully gone overseas and braved the wind and waves. The story background of the open-world adventure game “Genshin Impact” is based on the setting of seven “countries”. The design of each “country” incorporates cultural elements and civilization symbols from different regions of the world. For example, Mondstadt is based on medieval Europe and integrates the natural scenery and cultural characteristics of the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Kingdom; Liyue’s art style, plot, and culture are full of Chinese cultural characteristics; the early trailer released by Fontaine, the fifth country that is about to be launched, has aroused more resonance among the player groups in France and Western Europe. The diverse content allows “Genshin Impact” to successfully attract players from different cultural backgrounds worldwide at the beginning of its launch. Each has its own beauty, and beauty is shared. The outstanding achievements of Genshin Impact in the global market are a good proof of this.
The success of Genshin Impact is inseparable from the language expert team composed of multiple native speakers built by Mihoyo. They will not only use the native languages ??of R&D and copywriters to communicate and understand, but also find appropriate expressions in the target language and culture to accurately convey the information and the context behind it. It is of utmost importance to let players of different language systems “understand” the diverse culture presented by Genshin Impact.
“Empathy” with global players
“Self-developed games should give play to the strong inclusiveness of Chinese culture and the natural landing attributes and advantages of online games, seek in-depth integration with Chinese culture in themes, plots, art, and music, and also pay attention to the localized expression of works, and strive to form sustainable operations in overseas markets.” Ao Ran observed. The player ecology of Genshin Impact can be analyzed from three perspectives: people, content, and community relations. The official community of Genshin Impact maintains a huge fan base and tens of thousands of creators. The number of views of secondary creative content with the topic of Genshin Impact on the YouTube video platform has reached 12.6 billion; Genshin Impact is also the most discussed game on Twitter in 2021 and 2022, and there is frequent communication between players. We should leave them enough creative space, provide a lot of secondary creative inspiration and materials, further activate the co-creation content ecosystem centered on IP, and strive to serve and maintain this huge and active community.