Interviews

Check out our interview with one of the biggest players in the gaming market right now, 360Games

Expect big things from this industry giant

Check out our interview with one of the biggest players in the gaming market right now, 360Games
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The name 360Games might not be as instantly recognizable as some of the other gaming giants like Ubisoft or Activision, but with over 800 million mobile game users worldwide there is no arguing that it is one of the most significant brands in the industry right now.

Not only is it a hugely successful distributor of both mobile and PC games, but it’s also one of the leading publishers and strategic partners for developers the world over.

Having successfully launched titles like Plants vs Zombies and Clash of Clans in the Chinese market, 360 Games is taking things a step further - branching out from distribution into becoming a fully service oriented platform, helping developers get their ideas from pen and paper and into your hands.

With growing surge in cross platform technology, Virtual reality and interactive gaming, the market is open to a wealth of new ideas and creative thinking. 360Games has made a clear indication of its intention to be at the forefront of this wave of creativity having already started several initiatives including the formation of the SUPER360 Strategy and 360 App Security Reinforcement solution.

360Games President Alex Xu spoke with us in depth about 360Games’ operations and the services it provides.

How do developers work with 360 Games?

China has become the world's second-largest gaming market. If international game developers do not consider the China game market, they are ignoring a tremendous market opportunity. In China’s online gaming market in particular is an ample opportunity for international gaming companies. SUPERCELL seized this opportunity a few years ago and released Clash of Clans and Clash Royale, both of which generated record-level downloads.

It is very challenging to enter China’s online gaming industry. An international game developer cannot be successful unless it familiarizes itself with the Chinese market, Chinese gamers’ behaviors, and payment preferences. This is why many popular Western game titles do not see similar success in China. By partnering with 360 Games, an international game developer can leverage 360 Games’ distribution network, localization support and big data, including user behaviors, user preferences, and user characteristics, to help the developer achieve its target revenue in the Chinese market.

In addition, 360 Game can provide talent support to international game developers. The 360 Games staff includes a number of outstanding and experienced game planners, responsible for counseling game developers in localizing their games. This is a unique service that distinguishes 360 Game from other online game distribution platforms. Together with 360 Games’ big data, distribution network and localization support, international game developers can effectively reduce development costs, improve their local appeal, and shorten the development times of their game titles.

What is the league of global game publishing service you’ve set up?

Besides the big data and talent support services I mentioned earlier, 360 Games offers international game developers a large China user base and distribution capabilities upon which we can provide localized operation services.

In addition, we recently launched its 360 App Security Reinforcement, which provides piracy monitoring, data analytics, and other security-related services for mobile apps.

360 Games also offers international developers an in-game advertising platform which helps such developers better monetize standalone games.

International game developers can also leverage our IP customization services to localize overseas IP. Lastly, we provide marketing services to game developers who exclusively publish their titles on our game distribution platform.

What is different about the China market – in terms of PC and mobile games, the types of games that are popular, gaming models, mobile gaming platforms, etc.?

The biggest difference between China and the rest of the global market is that in China, there are hard-core web games with huge number of users but few standalone games. In terms of payment preferences, the international market generally has better revenue from paid games while the China market prefers free games with in-game purchases options.

We usually divide gamers into two categories: time-invested players and money-invested players. The former refers to players who prefer to invest in the time to progress up the game levels while the latter refers to players who simply purchase their way up the game levels. On these two types of players, we see differences in global market and Chinese market. The most attractive thing for money-invested players in the China market is the time savings and satisfaction from completing the games. In the rest of the market, both categories of gamers find developing their gaming skills is a more important part of the gaming experience.

In terms of online app marketplaces, the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store are the main platforms in the international market. In China, however, the market is much more fragmented, with the Apple App Store for iOS devices and different Android-based distribution platforms in lieu of the Google Play Store. 360 Games is the biggest Android distribution platform in China.

Lastly, the most popular game types in China are hard-core games –Massively Multiplayer Online games, Role-playing Games, Card Role-Playing Games and Multiplayer Online Battle Arena games.

How does 360 Games provide IP customized services?

When international intellectual property holders with limited or no game development resources want to enter the China market, 360 Games can provide experienced and appropriate local China game developers to create games for the China market. Alternatively, if local China game developers need international intellectual property rights (such as rights to use a Disney character), we have the resources to obtain the appropriate licenses from the intellectual property holders.