The gaming industry cannot simply "exploit human weaknesses for profit", with over 600 million Chinese gaming users

In 2022, the number of game users in China reached 664 million. The further integration of the gaming industry and other industries is expected to further promote the integration of virtual and real, as well as the integration of digital and real.

"The kernel is content and scene"

Games not only have entertainment attributes, but also have technological and cultural attributes. The gaming industry is not simply an entertainment industry, but has become an industry that has a significant impact on the country's industrial layout and technological innovation.

In terms of the gaming industry chain, the upstream is game development, the midstream is distribution, and the downstream is channels, involving digital economy software and hardware services such as game developers, cloud computing service providers, operation platform providers, and terminal device providers. Some immature advanced technologies are expected to be commercialized on a large scale in the gaming field.

Games are a cross-cultural concept, with content and scenes at its core. From language to text, one-dimensional to two-dimensional, from paper books to e-books, two-dimensional to three-dimensional, games are three-dimensional, animated, and virtual expansion tools and means.

In terms of talent demand in the gaming industry, there are mainly three types of talents: the first type is game development talents, such as designers and programmers. Designers are responsible for the overall design and planning of the game, not only having a sufficient understanding of player needs, but also striving to transcend reality and rise to the level of culture, art, and aesthetics. The second type is talent in the field of game art, responsible for designing game characters, rendering and beautifying scenes, etc. The third category is game operation talents, responsible for daily operation, maintenance, and promotion of games.

From the current perspective, the game industry is most lacking in talents who combine design and programming. They not only understand design, art, market, but also computer science. This is a highly skilled talent that Shanghai should focus on cultivating and introducing. On this basis, efforts can also be made from the following three aspects:

One is the construction of a talent pool in the gaming industry. Support universities to establish gaming majors and cultivate scarce talents. In addition to focusing on local training, it can also actively attract talents from other regions, even foreign talents.

The second is to support the integration of "gaming+industry". Shanghai has abundant future industrial support, as well as high-quality medical and educational resources. How to integrate cultural and creative industries with these industries is worth exploring first.

The third is to support the development and growth of start-up enterprises. A game may take several years or even more than a decade from development to launch. Similar to the launch of new drugs, some game development companies are prone to "dying on the eve of product launch". How can the government help businesses cross this "valley of death"? We can increase the initial basic research and development subsidies for game companies, accelerate the release pace of game licenses, moderately reduce entry barriers, and increase market elimination mechanisms.

"Relying on industry, data, and regulatory advantages"

Since 2020, Chinese games have accounted for over 60% of the overseas market share of various apps. In February this year, 40 Chinese manufacturers were among the top 100 global mobile game publishers in terms of revenue.

Playing games overseas is a good thing, not only bringing tangible profits, but also a cultural output that helps to tell the story of China well to the outside world. It can be seen as a manifestation of cultural soft power.

For example, the game Genshin Impact promoted the traditional Chinese opera culture and caused great repercussions among foreign players. This is a natural process. When our post-90s and post-2000s have a better understanding, recognition, and confidence in traditional Chinese culture, they naturally bring excellent traditional Chinese culture into game characters and scenes in the design process.

The vitality of a game lies in its content. Firstly, it is necessary to have a good theme and design, followed by strong technical support such as rendering technology, motion capture technology, etc. This is something that enterprises can generally do.

For the government, the main focus is to provide public services that support the development of the gaming industry, which cannot be done by enterprises or by individual enterprises. In terms of regulation, it is necessary to maintain market order and promote orderly competition, while also focusing on stimulating market vitality.

It should be pointed out that the country has implemented stricter restrictions on minors who are addicted to online games.

For example, implementing a real name registration system for online game user accounts, strictly controlling the time period and duration of minors using online games, and actively guiding parents, schools, etc. to fulfill their responsibilities such as guardianship and guardianship of minors. These are all essential.

But it should also be noted that for young people in Generation Z, gaming may be a part of their lives. People's disapproval of games mainly comes from the immaturity of the domestic gaming industry's own development.

For example, the profit of the domestic gaming industry mainly comes from stored value payment, which is "exploiting the weaknesses of human nature for profit.". In fact, a mature game should be a work of art, and buyers can enjoy the "flow of heart" brought by the game after paying a one-time fee.

Next, Shanghai can make further efforts in the following three areas:

One is to improve game standards, from technology to regulations, and establish a game industry rule system that is both in line with the world and showcases its characteristics.

The second is to rely on industrial advantages, data advantages, and regulatory advantages to actively explore the initial landing of the "game+industry".

Thirdly, leveraging legislative advantages, we will expand the import and export scale of cultural and creative digital services mainly focused on the gaming industry, and create an international digital service trade platform that is oriented towards the world and the future.