Chapter 634 Salute to all genuine users (no charge for this chapter)
Qiu Hong sighed softly and continued: "The closed and unique operating system that comes with home consoles is a strong protection for the copyright of stand-alone games. Although it can also be cracked, this line of defense has become a major factor in foreign game development.
This guarantees the factory’s profitability.”
"No matter how online games develop, overseas, stand-alone games account for more than 60% of the market, exceeding online games; but in our domestic market around 2001, this proportion was approximately zero."
"The lack of home consoles has caused the proliferation of piracy, and the booming piracy has destroyed the stand-alone game market."
"People who have not experienced that era have no idea how brutal the stand-alone game market was at that time. To put it simply, the stand-alone games were so miserable that even if the price was reduced to 15 yuan a copy, players would still choose pirated versions for 6 yuan."
"At that time, domestic games were just in their infancy. Due to cultural barriers, they were basically unable to be sold overseas, so they had no choice but to stick to the domestic market."
"Before that, many domestic stand-alone games were priced at tens of yuan and could be sold with good profits; but in just one or two years, genuine games had to fight price wars with pirated games.
To fight against piracy, we lowered the retail price to 18 yuan, and even gave away a batch with the magazine, but it still didn't help."
"The reduction in the price of the game has not achieved the effect of small profits but quick turnover. Instead, it has significantly reduced revenue. With reduced revenue, production costs can only be reduced, and the quality of the game will also be reduced."
"Coupled with the fact that some junk companies have developed a lot of junk games, which has seriously overstretched the enthusiasm of a small number of genuine game supporters, it has eventually become an endless cycle, and domestic stand-alone games are equated with inferior quality."
"When genuine games that cost 18 yuan still can't beat pirated games that cost 6 yuan, everything is doomed. No matter how hard you struggle, it won't help. The tide of online games has given game producers like me a way to survive.
, so that I can make online games and continue to stay in the game industry. Otherwise, maybe I will find an Internet company to be a product manager."
"So, on the contrary, stand-alone games did not die from online games, but from piracy. Online games, on the contrary, are a life-saving straw for these manufacturers."
Pei Qian was silent for a long time and said, "But if the product is good enough, people will still pay for it, right? I heard that there are 3A masterpieces abroad, but there are no anti-piracy measures."
Qiu Hong nodded: "Yes, Mr. Ma, you are right, that's it, absolutely correct."
“The only question is, what is ‘good enough’?”
"Are you able to produce 3A games at the same level as those of major foreign manufacturers? Or, in other words, can you be one of the best among domestic manufacturers?"
"That means that only by reaching the top 1% of the entire industry can it be considered good enough and enough people can be impressed by you and pay for you."
"Some people say that piracy will expand the potential market share. First of all, this statement is nonsense. Secondly, even if it is true, it will only have a little effect on the top 1% of the industry."
"If you can achieve a monopoly like a computer operating system, then perhaps piracy can help you fight against competitors and maintain market share."
"However, how many companies can be in the top 1%? How many companies can be a monopoly?"
"Is any company born a big company, a monopoly?"
"Shall we let the remaining 99% die?"
"It is meaningless to discuss the top 1% of an industry. How many people can be the top 1% in their own field? If someone tells you now that in the industry you are engaged in, only the top 1% can be recognized and survive.
If the remaining 99% will starve to death, will you stay in this industry?"
"Industry giants like He An have made many successful stand-alone games, why don't they also switch to online games? When the tower base dies, the entire market will shrink completely. How can one or two companies on the top of the tower change?
What about the entire market?”
"So, a healthy industry should be like a pyramid, or an iceberg. The top of the tower, or the part of the iceberg that rises to the surface, is the top 1% that enjoy the glory, and the base of the tower, or the iceberg under the water, is the one.
The cornerstone of the industry’s existence.”
"How can the spire exist when the base of the tower no longer exists?"
"So, whether the top 1% live well or not will not determine how the industry will fare. What really determines the life and death of the industry is whether the bottom and middle levels can survive."
"This is an endless loop:"
"Manufacturer: I need you to buy the genuine version in order to better develop the game!"
"Player: Then give us the best experience first! If you are the best, we will give up piracy and buy genuine copies!"
"Manufacturer: But you must first refuse piracy and pay first so that we can have money to provide a better experience!"
"Player: Then you have to give us the best experience first, then we will refuse piracy!"
"So the manufacturers had no choice but to make online games."
"This is the market. It is the choice of players to vote with their feet. Players said that we only accept online games and only accept pirated stand-alone games and not genuine stand-alone games. Therefore, as everyone wishes, the genuine stand-alone games will be extinct."
“For players, the concept of ‘only paying for good enough stuff’ is perfectly fine and should not be criticized, but the premise is that this is a healthy and orderly market.”
"If the market itself is full of unfair competition, then 'paying only for things that are good enough' means that except for 1% of top content producers, the remaining 99% of ordinary content producers will be unfairly
Those who compete and those who break market rules will be killed."
"Just like now, many video creators work hard for three days to make videos, but some people copy and paste them directly and steal them. You need three days, but he only needs one second. How can you compete with him? If the audience is all
Without this awareness, they all think it’s the same content anyway. I see it the same way with people who steal videos. Who cares about the original author? Then do you think that except for the top people, how many video authors can truly
Stay?"
"So, thank you for the establishment of the esro official platform in 2006. Without it, until now, the domestic stand-alone game market would still be a desert with no grass growing."
"Even if there are one or two single seedlings, they are just short-lived and will never grow into towering trees."
"Because no one really cares about this."
Qiu Hong took a sip of coffee with a sad expression.
Pei Qian was silent for a moment and asked: "Then...since the living environment of domestic stand-alone games has improved again in 2006, why don't you stick to your dream and continue to come back to make stand-alone games?"
Qiu Hong smiled somewhat self-deprecatingly: "Because I gave up on my dream."
"Remember what I said at the beginning? Holding on to your dreams is the biggest failure factor."
"When I first entered the industry, I made a stand-alone game. I worked on it for more than two months without any salary. In the end, no one even knew its name."
"So I gave up my dream and made a krypton gold online game with a fairy tale theme. This game allowed me to get a project bonus of 1 million yuan a year. It can be said that I became famous."
"So, does it matter what my dream is? Does anyone care? Who am I holding on to this dream for? If I hold on to my dream, I can only drink cold water and eat instant noodles every day, and give up my dream so that I can live a comfortable life.
I live a worry-free life and get the attention of tens of thousands of players, so why should I persist?"
"So from that time on, I made up my mind that I would only make money-making games, and my goal was to make more money. As for the great mission of revitalizing stand-alone games? What does it have to do with me? Even the players themselves
I don’t care, who am I insisting on for?”
"In fact, of all the game makers who entered the industry at the same time as me, who didn't have a dream?"
"But those people who were my contemporaries and persisted in their dreams have already left this industry. Only those like me who have given up on their dreams can survive."
"Mr. Ma, you may feel that my experience is not applicable to this era."
"Because domestic stand-alone games are getting better and better, there is no piracy now, and more and more people are paying for domestic stand-alone games."
"But the truth remains the same. Between dreams and reality, only a handful of people can have both. And the vast majority of people can only make a cruel choice: either give up their dreams, or be taught by reality."
"Mr. Ma, these are my last words from the bottom of my heart."
"It's not for everyone, maybe it's right, maybe it's not. But no matter what, I hope it can bring you some inspiration."
Pei Qian took a sip of coffee and didn't speak for a long time.
Because this topic is indeed a bit heavy.
Pei Qian really didn't know the relationship between the esro official platform and the disappearance of piracy and the normal development of stand-alone games in this world. Only now did he know that it was the establishment of the esro official platform and strict control over piracy that saved the domestic stand-alone game market.
This world is different from the world in my memory.
A slight difference makes a world of difference.
Qiu Hong said that without the esro official platform, domestic games would be a desert to this day.
Pei Qian knew very well that what he said was right.
Because all of this really happened in my own memory.
But it was precisely because of this that Pei Qian felt that he should say something.
The current environment can already be said to be paradise. The reason why Qiu Hong felt that he was in hell was simply because he had never seen a real hell.
Pei Qian thought for a moment and said: "Mr. Qiu, I know that it is impossible for people to truly empathize with each other. Many people can be tolerant just because they have not experienced the pain. Therefore, I often advise others to be generous.
It’s all something that can easily be struck by lightning.”
"But I still want to say a few words to you, okay?"
Qiu Hong nodded: "Of course, Mr. Ma, we are close friends, it doesn't matter if you say so."
Pei Qian said seriously: "I know it's painful to feel that you have paid but not received the rewards you deserve. Everyone will feel angry when their efforts are plagiarized. The world is full of unfairness, and sometimes you can't even tell the difference.
Who is right and who is wrong? Not every disaster can find a responsible person."
"There is a creed in life that not everyone can adhere to, but everyone knows it is right. This saying is called: Do good deeds and don't worry about the future."
"Mr. Qiu, don't let the tragedy of the times become your personal tragedy."
Qiu Hong repeatedly read the last sentence and remained speechless.
After a long time, he raised his head and said, "Mr. Ma, it's really good that you can think like this."