netease - story of a transformation
TRANSCRIPT
Game Platform TransformationDavid Ting9/27/2015
Who is NetEase
19972000
20012002
2003
Founded
PCU=1.26 M
User=310 MPCU=2.71 M
20112009
User=80 M
User=100 M
Online Game
NASDAQ： NTES
2014
All in MobileGoing Global
2008-now
Blizzard Partner
Company History
Service RankWebsites & Apps
No.1Email
No.1News
No.1Education
No.2Music
No.3IM
NetEase: Leading Services Provider
Overseas Publishing
Self-development Investment
Co-developmentLicensed Game Publishing
Provide the TOP quality Game Content to Our UsersTop Game Developer & Publisher
Game First, Game Everywhere
100+
Top 10 Game Company in the WorldThe Largest Game Developer in China: 5000+ engineers
Rich Pipeline
Developer Room
Apple Store Event
Featured Titles（ 15+）
Recognition from App Store
Best of 2014 in App Store
Best of 2014 in App Store Product Page of Fantasy Westward Journey
Top Products in 2014 and 2015
310 Million (Population of USA)Registered Users
2.71 Million (Population of Chicago)PCU
23 MillionRegistered Users
2.04 MillionPCU
$313 Million USDGross Revenue
First 60 days:
Transition a PC Success to Mobile
Game Grossing No. 4 in Global App Store, April 2015
Company Grossing No. 5in Global App Store, April 2015
Based on AppAnnie
Now a Top Grossing Publisher
Amazing Response in US
Fantasy Westward Journey has reached a high of 27 on the US
Games overall grossing chart without any
marketing and translation
Mobile
PC growth slows, and mobile growth
is explosive
Mobile is casual, fragmented game
play sessions, smaller emphasis on social elements
Platform DifferencesShift in Demand
Platform Transition
Achievement
Esteem
Love/belonging
Safety
Fulfillment
Development
Belonging
Subsistence
Top-level player
High-class player
Ordinary player
Fulfill Diversified Demands
Game Design Meet the Demand
PK CompetitionClan WarCross-server PKTop PK CompetitionAchievements
Home Marriage Clan Friend Avatar
Daily PlayBenefitsMoney
Fully Interactive World
Jade Gold Silver
￥ 1 = 10 Jade
1 Jade = 100 Gold 100 Silver = 1 Gold
Stable Game Society Stable Economic System Stable Currency Value
Tradable Currency
RMB purchase Players produce
Control the amount of Gold to maintain a stable currency value
Economy Design
Each player can only purchase 200 gold chests per day, and only 10,000 chests are available each day per server
•Need house before marriage•House needs decoration•Friends invited to a party•Need money to raise family
Non-violent game play strongly appeals to both genders.
“The Sims” Based in Chinese Myth
Skill Requirement on Social Activity
•Rich Gameplay
Pets
FishingChess
SchoolProtection
GuildsClans
Banking
MarriageGive Birth
Buy House Construction
QuestsRaw Materials
FengShuei
Tailor
Farm
ForgeFurniture
Cook
Trade
Craft Gems
Duel
…
Medicine
Dye Hunt Ghosts
Trade
Treasure Hunt Casual Games
Raise kids
Crafting
Division of Labor
Produce and Consume
Sense of Accomplishment
Make Social Interation Core
Player Stickiness
Player Stickiness
Virtual Society
Mobile
Feature Changes：
-Simplify control: Path finding, auto-combat, chests open automatically, auto-provisioning
-Common UI components-Optimize the experience on smaller screen (ie: Trading)-Shorten combat duration-Added auto leveling
•Based on mobile design pattern
Designed for Mobile
Mobile
Differences：
-Many events require teams-Large number of clan activities-Improve the chat system. Added in voice chat, lowered
level requirement for chat and changed tradition mobiles simulated social interaction to real-time interaction
•Require real-time social and team interaction
Deviation from Mobile Cliché
Mobile
Art Changes：•Modernized the Art. Example, Goddess of Forgetfulness
Modernize
Mobile
Stickiness Stable Economy
Create durable and stable PC game on mobile
Encouraging results Rare pet listed for trade： $1,100 USD
Similar to PC, many items are above $1,000 USD
Built for Stability
Continue With an Eye to Innovation
Speedy Ninja Launch
Launched at PAX
Culturalization
The image on the left is too similar to the western Chewing Gum brand “5 Gum”. The new image shown right.
These weapons are both too close to the intellectual property of Apple, and Lucasarts. Our revised images are shown on the right.
Changes to adhere to IP and copyright law: Replacing single character words with symbols:
These images from the game can’t be represented by a single english word. We replaced them with symbols that are understandable and will not require further translation.
The first image is from a projectile in the game. This is too similar to the Nazi Swastika, and so we had to change it.
Correcting culturally offensive assets:
Due to app store policies, and the general perception of smoking in the west, we also removed the cigarette from Archimedes (who we call Clucky)
How Do We Select The Name
Ninja Must Die 2
Survey results:Respondents are not attracted to ‘Ninja Must Die 2’ as a mobile game name. Approximately 40% of respondents from all countries indicated they were ‘not at all’ attracted to this name. After seeing a description of the game respondents either did not change their original rating or lowered it. One-third of parents would not let their child play a game with this name.
Over 80% of respondents misunderstood the theme of the game based solely on seeing the name ‘Ninja Must Die 2’ ‘Killing Ninjas’ was the assumed theme of the game given by 47% of those extremely likely to play the game.
Sample Test Icons for Speedy Ninja
Control Icon (China)
App Store Icons - Art Reference
5 Star Weapons
1/200 Chance
$840 or 5208 RMB
x50
1/227 Chance (Each)
$4,828
x20
1/274 Chance (Each)
$2,336
x280 $4.20
Character Skin
x30 $0.43
Epic Chest Fish Lotto
$7,164 or 44,417 RMB
Overall, the price range for items inside the game are priced considerably higher than what western players are comfortable and experienced paying. In our analysis for the game economy, we found that getting high quality items can cost as much as $840, and unlocking the most rare Skins for a character can cost thousands of dollars.
One of our major goals in our launch is tuning and balancing the game economy, so that players feel that they get good value for their money.
Economy Balance
