騰訊在全球全面市場增長的切入點

With Chinese Internet company Alibaba BABA 1.73% breaking IPO records, another Chinese Internet company, Tencent, is poised for huge growth in the online and mobile games business. According to a recent report by IDC and CNG, the number of mobile gamers in China in the first half of 2014 increased 89.5% to 325 million over the first half of 2013. According to video game research firm Newzoo, last year Tencent moved to the number one position in the global games market with $5.7 billion in annual game revenue, and the company shows no sign of leaving the top in the years to come. Peter Warman, president of Newzoo, forecasts Tencent could take over 10% of the global games market in 2017, if it maintains this pace of growth.

就在中國互聯網公司阿里巴巴（Alibaba）在美國的IPO一舉創下紀錄之際，另一家互聯網巨頭——騰訊（Tencent）則蓄勢待發，準備在網絡遊戲和移動遊戲領域謀劃巨大的增長。據市場調查機構IDC和CNG的最新報告顯示，2014年上半年，中國的移動遊戲用戶人數較2013年上半年同期增長了89.5%，達到3.25億人。據視頻遊戲調查機構Newzoo的數據，騰訊在去年的全球遊戲市場中，以57億美元的年營業收入高居榜首，而且在未來的這幾年裏，也有望保持龍頭位置。Newzoo總裁彼得o沃曼預測，如果騰訊繼續保持當前的增長勢頭，到2017年時，將有望在全球遊戲市場中佔據10%以上的份額。

“We are seeing incredible growth in the China market and are focused mainly on keeping up with that growth for now,” said Bo Wang, vice president of Tencent Games, when asked about his plans for expansion into the U.S. and other markets. “In fact, the Tencent mobile game platform is the leader in mobile games in China. As of the end of March 2014, the number of daily active users on Mobile QQ and Weixin (known as WeChat outside of China) was a stable 180 million. In addition, revenues of mobile games on the WeChat and Mobile QQ platforms reached $488 million in Q2 2014. Mobile games are in the early stage of development in China. The market is forecast to continue to grow.”

“我們正在見證中國市場的驚人成長，所以我們目前的戰略重點是跟上這一增長趨勢，”騰訊遊戲副總裁王波在被問及公司未來在美國及其他市場的擴張計劃時，如此答道，“事實上，騰訊遊戲平臺在中國的移動遊戲領域內處於領先地位。截至2014年3月底，移動QQ和微信（在中國以外地區使用的名稱爲WeChat）上日活躍用戶數穩定在1.8億人的水平上。此外，微信和移動QQ這兩大平臺上的移動遊戲營收，在2014年第二季度達到了4.88億美元。移動遊戲在中國尚處於早期發展階段，預計市場還將繼續增長。”

Tencent was the top publisher in China’s iOS App Store for free downloads and revenue for each of the first seven months of 2014, thanks to the popularity of free-to-play games like Timi Studio’s internally developed Timi Match Everyday and Timi Run Everyday, which has over 60 million daily users, according to App Annie. Timi Studio uses WeChat, China’s leading mobile social communications platform with over 400 million active monthly users, and QQ Mobile, which has over 848 million monthly active users, to cross-promote new games with Chinese gamers.

2014年頭7個月裏，騰訊在中國iOS應用商店的免費下載和營收均位於發行商前列。這要歸功於若干超高人氣的免費遊戲，譬如天美藝遊工作室（Timi Studio）內部開發的《天天愛消除》（Timi Match Everyday）和《天天酷跑》（Timi Run Everyday），根據應用程序數據分析公司App Annie公佈的數據，目前這些遊戲吸引了逾6,000萬名日常用戶。天美藝遊通過微信（中國最知名的移動社交應用平臺，月活躍用戶人數逾4億人）和移動QQ（月活躍用戶人數逾8.48億人）向中國的遊戲玩家們交叉推廣新遊戲。

Since launching its mobile games platform last year, Tencent has 20 titles covering a wide range of genres including puzzle, action and simulation. Localized versions of King Digital Entertainment’s Candy Crush Saga and Square Enix’ Sangokushi Rumble (now known as Battle of Sango in China) are available on WeChat and Mobile QQ as well as through , which is Tencent’s distribution channel of Android apps for local users since Google Play is not popular in China.

自從移動遊戲平臺於去年上線以來，騰訊已經先後發佈了20款遊戲，涵蓋類型廣泛，拼圖、動作和模擬均有涉足。英國遊戲公司King數據娛樂（King Digital Entertainment）開發的《糖果傳奇》（Candy Crush Saga）和日本遊戲公司史克威爾艾尼克斯（Square Enix）開發的《三國志亂舞》（Sangokushi Rumble），這兩款遊戲的中國大陸版在微信和移動QQ的遊戲平臺上均有提供下載；此外也可通過下載，這是騰訊面向中國大陸用戶推出的安卓（Android）應用發佈平臺，因爲谷歌應用商店Google Play在中國的使用人數不多。

Wang believes as the Chinese mobile games market matures, new categories such as action games (ACT), ARPG (Action Role Playing Games) and card games (CCG, Collectible Card Game, or TCG, Trading Card Game) will become popular. This will open up new opportunities for game makers interested in navigating this burgeoning new audience of smartphone and tablet gamers.

王波認爲，隨着中國移動遊戲市場日趨成熟，新的遊戲類型，譬如動作類遊戲（ACT）、動作角色扮演遊戲（ARPG）和卡片類遊戲（CCG/TCG，前者指卡片蒐集遊戲，後者指卡片交換遊戲）也會日漸盛行。智能手機和平板電腦正在迅速涌現出一批新的玩家，對於有意這一業務的遊戲生產商而言，將會打開新的機遇。

“We have a lot of experience working with Western developers, having partnered with EA Sports EA 0.39% to localize and launche their NBA Live and FIFA franchises as online games in China,” said Wang. “The successes of mobile games on WeChat and Mobile QQ in China prove there is a market for developers to explore.”

“我們與西方開發商的合作經驗豐富，比如我們曾經與藝電體育（EA Sports）進行合作，將該公司開發的體育競技類遊戲《NBA Live》和《FIFA》本地化，然後將其作爲網絡遊戲在中國大陸地區發行代理權，”王波說，“移動遊戲在中國大陸地區藉助微信和移動QQ平臺所取得的成功證明，這一領域蘊藏着巨大的市場空間，有待遊戲開發商們深入發掘。”

Tencent has also partnered with Korean developer SmileGate to bring CrossFire to China, and it is working with leading Korean mobile game maker CJ Games to localize its games as well. International game publishers are flocking to Tencent because the majority of mobile games distributed by the company have topped the charts in AppStore’s free download category in China.

騰訊還曾與韓國遊戲開發商SmileGate合作，將遊戲《穿越火線》（SmileGate）引入了中國市場；它目前也在與韓國的主要移動遊戲生產商CJ Games合作，將該公司旗下的遊戲本地化。國外的遊戲發行商們開始大量涌向騰訊，因爲在騰訊分銷的移動遊戲中，絕大部分都在中國應用商店的免費下載區佔據了榜單前列。

Wang said Tencent actively promotes games in China on its extensive mobile and Internet user network and has proven experience in operating games, which helps ensure that games are adjusted to suit local tastes. In addition, Tencent provides day-to-day operational support and a cloud-based hosted service to enable quick, seamless and reliable game performances across all platforms.

王波表示，騰訊藉助自身廣泛的移動和互聯網用戶網絡，在中國大陸市場積極推廣遊戲業務，並在遊戲運營方面積累了大量成功的經驗，這有助於確保騰訊能夠根據本地市場的偏好對遊戲進行調整。此外，騰訊還提供日常的運營支持和基於雲端的服務器託管服務，因而能夠在所有平臺上保證迅速、無縫銜接的可靠遊戲性能。

“Weixin and Mobile QQ both have highly active user bases who are energetic and willing to try new things,” said Wang. “According to our statistics, because of the social elements of WeChat and Mobile QQ, gamers are 10% to 15% more active in game play.”

“微信和移動QQ均擁有高度活躍的用戶基礎，這些用戶精力旺盛，十分樂於嘗試新鮮事物，”王波說道，“根據我們的統計，出於微信和移動QQ本身所具有的社交元素使然，玩家參與遊戲的活躍度要高出10%至15%。”

Gamers can use a single sign-in to log in to different Tencent products like Mobile QQ and WeChat, the two leading social communications platforms in China. Tencent localizes access to Mobile QQ and WeChat for each game. Developers can also take advantage of in-game payment systems and Tencent analysis of user behaviors and insights to help improve their game’s experience and success. Wang added that Tencent’s aggressive protection for its partners’ intellectual property in a new market is a valuable asset.

玩家僅需完成一次登錄操作，便可登入騰訊集團旗下的不同產品，移動QQ和微信便是其中的兩大平臺，同時也是中國大陸地區的兩款主流社交平臺。騰訊爲每一款遊戲都在移動QQ和微信上創建了入口。開發商也能利用遊戲內置的付費系統和騰訊對用戶行爲的分析及見解，改善旗下游戲的操作體驗，從而取得成功。王波還補充介紹說，騰訊對合作方知識產權在新市場積極採取保護措施，本身也是一筆寶貴的資產。

“The total Chinese games market grew even more than expected in terms of (paying) gamers as well as revenue, reaching $13.7 billion in 2013, a 35% year-on-year growth rate,” said Warman. “The share of total app store revenues taken by games has increased more than expected. In the last quarter of 2013, the share of game revenues in the app stores was around 80%, compared to only 65% in 2012. Further, the top-tier mobile games grossed a higher share of the total app store revenues than anticipated, confirmed by public reports of King, SuperCell and GungHo.”

“中國的整體遊戲市場在（付費）玩家人數和營收這兩方面的增長均超出了預期，其中2013年的營收達到了137億美元，實現了35%的年同比增長，”沃曼介紹說，“遊戲在應用商店整體營收中所佔份額的增長，已經超出了市場預期。在2013年第四季度，遊戲營收在各類應用商店中所佔份額約在80%左右，而在2012年時還只有65%。不僅如此，據遊戲公司King、SuperCell和GungHo的公開報告證實，一流的移動遊戲在應用商店整體營收中所佔比例同樣超出了市場預測。”

While the West has seen growth in the free-to-play business model in recent years, the concept originated in Asia as a way to combat piracy as well as a way to deliver games to consumers who played at PC cafes. As a result, Tencent has over 10 years of experience in developing free-to-play online games in China and has now translated that knowledge to the mobile space. Wang believes offering games at no cost lowers the entry barrier for users to start playing, and in return it fuels the growth of the market.

近年來，西方國家見證了免費遊戲商業模式的成長，而這一概念最早其實源自亞洲市場，被用於打擊盜版和將遊戲推向網吧裏的遊戲玩家。因此，騰訊在中國大陸市場的免費網絡遊戲開發領域中積累了10多年的經驗，如今則將這些經驗靈活應用到了移動領域。王波認爲，向玩家免費提供遊戲能夠降低用戶加入遊戲的門檻，從而加速了市場的增長。

One of the most popular free-to-play games in China, as well as the rest of the world, is Riot Games’ League of Legends. Tencent first licensed the game for China and then a few years later acquired the Santa Monica, Calif.-based independent developer in February 2011 for $400 million. The game, which thrives of eSports, has become a huge spectator “sport” in China, as well as throughout the rest of the world.

美國遊戲公司Riot Games開發的《英雄聯盟》（League of Legends）在中國大陸地區乃至全世界都擁有超高人氣。騰訊先是獲得了這款遊戲在中國大陸地區的代理權，幾年之後，又在2011年2月，以4億美元的價格收購了這家位於美國加利福尼亞州聖莫妮卡的獨立遊戲開發商。《英雄聯盟》受益於電子競技遊戲業的蓬勃發展，如今已成爲中國大陸地區以及世界其他地區玩家甚衆的大型“遊戲”。

In June 2012, Tencent purchased a 48.4% minority stake in Cary, N.C.-based independent developer Epic Games for approximately $330 million. The developer is best known for its Unreal Engine 4 technology, which powers big games around the globe from companies like Sony (HellBlade), Bandai Namco (Tekken 7) and Deep Silver (Dead Island 2).

2012年6月，騰訊出資近3.3億美元，買入了美國紐約的獨立遊戲開發商Epic Games48.4%的少數股東股份。這家開發商擁有享譽業內的虛擬引擎4（Unreal Engine 4）技術，能爲全球各大開發商開發的大型遊戲提供技術支持，譬如索尼（Sony）的《HellBlade》、萬代南夢宮（Bandai Namco）的《鐵拳》（Tekken 7）和Deep Silver的《死亡島2》（Dead Island 2）。

“As we headed towards a new generation of open, live games, we found that partner in Tencent. Rather than a worldwide retail publishing deal, the Tencent relationship gives Epic a solid publishing partner in Asia while we operate our games and directly serve our customers here in North America and Europe,” said Tim Sweeney, founder and CEO of Epic Games. “It provides all of the benefits of both independence here, and a strong partner in China and elsewhere.”

“我們在進軍新一代的開放式實時遊戲的過程中，發現了騰訊這位合作伙伴。相較於在全球各地簽訂不同的零售發行協議，與騰訊的合作能讓我們安心在北美和歐洲地區運營遊戲並直接服務當地客戶的同時，在亞洲市場獲得一位值得信任的發行合作伙伴，”Epic Games創始人兼首席執行官蒂姆o斯文尼表示，“我們與騰訊達成的合作，既能爲我們提供在北美及歐洲市場獨立運營所帶來的全部優勢，又能爲我們在中國及其他地區帶來一位強大的合作伙伴。”

Wang said Tencent’s internal studios are using Unreal Engine 4 technology on several games. Since the investment, Epic Games has been able to migrate to a $19 monthly subscription model for its game engine technology. Epic is also developing a free Unreal Tournament online PC game for the global market.

王波表示，騰訊的內部遊戲工作室正在使用虛擬引擎4技術開發數款遊戲。自從拿到騰訊的投資後，Epic Games便有了足夠的資金，將自己的遊戲引擎技術更換爲月費19美元的訂閱模式。Epic還在開發一款免費的電腦端虛擬巡迴賽（Unreal Tournament）網絡遊戲，擬向全球市場推出。

“There are a lot of new and traditional game companies that are moving into the MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) space based on Tencent’s success with League of Legends,” said Warman. “They are also the go-to company for all U.S. companies with an Asian ambition and a lot of game developers that are seeking investment. Tencent plays a pivotal role in aligning game business models and individual game titles on a global scale.”

“鑑於騰訊通過《英雄聯盟》取得的成功，目前有許多傳統及新建的遊戲公司都在開始進入多人在線戰術競技（MOBA）遊戲領域，”沃曼說道，“所有希望打入亞洲市場的美國公司，以及衆多正在尋求外部投資的遊戲開發商，都將騰訊視爲夢寐以求的合作伙伴。騰訊在全球範圍內推廣遊戲商業模式和各款遊戲中，扮演着關鍵性的角色。”

In addition to Riot and Epic, Tencent has a small office in Palo Alto, Calif., with a group of employees who support the U.S. business. Wang said Tencent Games is always looking for developers who have innovative ideas and properties that could translate and become popular in China.

除了Riot和Epic外，騰訊還在美國加利福尼亞州帕洛阿爾託設立了一間小型的辦事處，僱傭了一批員工，負責發展騰訊的美國業務。王波表示，騰訊遊戲一直在不斷地尋找合適的遊戲開發商，希望他們擁有開創性的想法和遊戲，適合在本土化後投入中國市場，並且贏得足夠高的人氣。

“We seek out new talent, cool companies and developers large and small who want to successfully enter the China mobile and online market,” said Wang.

“我們全面尋找想要成功打入中國移動和網絡市場的優秀人才、創意公司和開發商，無論其規模大小如何。”王波如此表示。

With a recent evaluation of over $139 billion on the Hong Kong stock exchange, Tencent certainly has the money to invest in games. And it’s early track record has shown nothing but success in an evolving and growing video game landscape.

騰訊日前在香港證券交易所的市值逾1,390億美元，自然不缺可以投入遊戲領域的資金。而其早期出色的成績已經證明，騰訊在不斷髮展併成長的視頻遊戲領域大獲成功。