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Chinese and Russian Markets

Lhynn

Arcane
Joined
Aug 28, 2013
Messages
9,823
This tweet is really interesting, and got me to think of what these two demographics look for in rpgs.




It also made me realize why chinese devs often dont bother with fucking translations. Anyway, i wanted to know what you fuckers think of this.
 

LESS T_T

Arcane
Joined
Oct 5, 2012
Messages
13,582
Codex 2014
It also made me realize why chinese devs often dont bother with fucking translations

I guess you mean Chinese RPGs you can see at Random Non-Japanese Asian RPG News Thread? Well I think it's because they are mostly indie or relatively lower-budget games, so they probably can't afford cost of translating massive amount of text. Also that Chinese audience is huge, so they may survive with Chinese only games, similar to Western indie games may live with English only release.

You can see, on the other hand, Chinese indies with small amount of text getting English translation, and they have seen some success on Steam (NEXT Studios, for example). Not to mention higher budget (i.e. multiplayer popamole) Chinese games.
 

jf8350143

Liturgist
Joined
Apr 14, 2018
Messages
1,277
As a Chinese myself, I don't like Chinese RPGs, not even one I think. They are pretty much medicore JRPG, but with Chinese skin. Almost all of them has no character creation, barely any choices and focused way too much on romance. And that's what the main stream Chinese RPG players like. Also lots of them have a weird obesssion with AAA games so they always try to push the devs to make one, even the bugdet for these companies is only like 1% of the big game companies have.

However since there is billions of player in China, it's a big market no company should overlook. Just provide a localization should be enough for smaller game developers.
 
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Urthor

Prophet
Patron
Joined
Mar 22, 2015
Messages
1,872
Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
Chinese tastes are super interesting because the market is barely in existence over there.

Only the massive games like League of Legends or Monster Hunter are big enough to get regulatory approval, so the "indie game market" seems close to nonexistent from the outside, it's super wild to think about *what* they actually like.

Meanwhile it's pretty clear what the Russians like overall.
 

jf8350143

Liturgist
Joined
Apr 14, 2018
Messages
1,277
Chinese tastes are super interesting because the market is barely in existence over there.

Only the massive games like League of Legends or Monster Hunter are big enough to get regulatory approval, so the "indie game market" seems close to nonexistent from the outside, it's super wild to think about *what* they actually like.

Meanwhile it's pretty clear what the Russians like overall.

When it comes to foreign games, most players just buy them from Steam, Uplay or GoG. Origin sucks because it didn't support Yuan(the Chinese currency).

Also there is plenty of Chinese indie game on steam already, one of them just sold more than 1 million in the first month.
 

Lhynn

Arcane
Joined
Aug 28, 2013
Messages
9,823
As a Chinese myself, I don't like Chinese RPGs, not even one I think. They are pretty much medicore JRPG, but with Chinese skin. Almost all of them has no character creation, barely any choices and focused way too much on romance. And that's what the main stream Chinese RPG players like. Also lots of them have a weird obesssion with AAA games so they always try to push the devs to make one, even the bugdet for these companies is only like 1% of the big game companies have.

However since there is billions of player sin China, it's a big market no company should overlook. Just provide a localization should be enough for smaller game developers.

I think chinese midsized studios could find a LOT of success in the mainstream western market if they bothered with quality translations.
 

jf8350143

Liturgist
Joined
Apr 14, 2018
Messages
1,277
As a Chinese myself, I don't like Chinese RPGs, not even one I think. They are pretty much medicore JRPG, but with Chinese skin. Almost all of them has no character creation, barely any choices and focused way too much on romance. And that's what the main stream Chinese RPG players like. Also lots of them have a weird obesssion with AAA games so they always try to push the devs to make one, even the bugdet for these companies is only like 1% of the big game companies have.

However since there is billions of player sin China, it's a big market no company should overlook. Just provide a localization should be enough for smaller game developers.

I think chinese midsized studios could find a LOT of success in the mainstream western market if they bothered with quality translations.
I don't know, they lack the tool to do a passable marketing campaign for their games, and their head is way too up in their asses to think about international players. They can't even figure out how to please Chinese players without being pandering to them.
 

troz

Educated
Joined
Nov 1, 2011
Messages
35
Don't know about chink games, but this whole "yuuugee chinese market potential" has been ongoing for at least twenty years. It's a meme by now.
Investors still speak about this shit, yet all the while China created their own Internet, with their own Google, Amazon and Fagbook.
They are nationalist and protectionist fucks...which means, in other words, they are smart.

I don't think we will see any western game ever being successful in the chinese market. Hell, does that market even noticeably exist?
 

jf8350143

Liturgist
Joined
Apr 14, 2018
Messages
1,277
Don't know about chink games, but this whole "yuuugee chinese market potential" has been ongoing for at least twenty years. It's a meme by now.
Investors still speak about this shit, yet all the while China created their own Internet, with their own Google, Amazon and Fagbook.
They are nationalist and protectionist fucks...which means, in other words, they are smart.

I don't think we will see any western game ever being successful in the chinese market. Hell, does that market even noticeably exist?
Diablo 3 was released officially in China in 2015, three years after the game released elsewhere, and it sold more than 1 million copies PC version alone in the first week.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jan 14, 2018
Messages
50,754
Codex Year of the Donut
Don't know about chink games, but this whole "yuuugee chinese market potential" has been ongoing for at least twenty years. It's a meme by now.
Investors still speak about this shit, yet all the while China created their own Internet, with their own Google, Amazon and Fagbook.
They are nationalist and protectionist fucks...which means, in other words, they are smart.

I don't think we will see any western game ever being successful in the chinese market. Hell, does that market even noticeably exist?
Diablo 3 was released officially in China in 2015, three years after the game released elsewhere, and it sold more than 1 million copies PC version alone in the first week.
1 million sales isn't much when you remember regional pricing
 

troz

Educated
Joined
Nov 1, 2011
Messages
35
Diablo 3 was released officially in China in 2015, three years after the game released elsewhere, and it sold more than 1 million copies PC version alone in the first week.

Wasn't it free to play?
 

ZeniBot

Cipher
Joined
Nov 1, 2011
Messages
823
Location
Todd Howard's Sex Dungeon - Send Help
The Chinese market comes with too many catches and compromises. Youre baiting people with a big market share but at the same time forcing them to sell their integrity. Naturally the AAAs jump at the chance because they didn't have integrity to begin with. But now that we're seeing indies do it too I can only think that the industry is doomed. Enjoy everything having to go through Tencent because that is currently what IS happening. Tecent controls the gates to China, all the studios are signing on with them. This can only be bad for the industry as a whole.

If the Chinese want westerner games, they should do like the Germans once did and smuggle them in. Fuck the CCP.
 

Bester

⚰️☠️⚱️
Patron
Vatnik
Joined
Sep 28, 2014
Messages
10,992
Location
USSR
Since the author never mentions what it is that the Chinese and Russian audiences prefer, there is nothing to discuss.
 

Riddler

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jan 5, 2009
Messages
2,353
Bubbles In Memoria
I don't think we will see any western game ever being successful in the chinese market. Hell, does that market even noticeably exist?

Dota and LoL are both massively popular in China and both are western games (Riot of course sold out to Tencent but that was after the popularity was built). China seems to be the primary users of micro transactions for Dota which means it is a priority market, unlike the Russians who just play for free.

I would say that micro transactions in general seem to do well in China which leads me to believe that the (non-multiplayer)RPG market has a dark future there.
 

Turjan

Arcane
Joined
Mar 31, 2008
Messages
5,047
It also made me realize why chinese devs often dont bother with fucking translations. Anyway, i wanted to know what you fuckers think of this.
My Steam "Discovery Queue" is full of that stuff ("currently popular"). I have to look how to filter that out properly.

Regarding Frogboy, he should prepare to be review bombed to oblivion if he dares to remove the Chinese language option.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jan 14, 2018
Messages
50,754
Codex Year of the Donut
It also made me realize why chinese devs often dont bother with fucking translations. Anyway, i wanted to know what you fuckers think of this.
My Steam "Discovery Queue" is full of that stuff ("currently popular"). I have to look how to filter that out properly.

Regarding Frogboy, he should prepare to be review bombed to oblivion if he dares to remove the Chinese language option.


my current discovery queue filter:

Sports
Visual Novel
Platformer
Arcade
RPGMaker
Memes
VR
MOBA
Card Game
Clicker
Point & Click
Casual
 

Turjan

Arcane
Joined
Mar 31, 2008
Messages
5,047
It also made me realize why chinese devs often dont bother with fucking translations.
My Steam "Discovery Queue" is full of that stuff ("currently popular"). I have to look how to filter that out properly.

my current discovery queue filter:

Sports
Visual Novel
Platformer
Arcade
RPGMaker
Memes
VR
MOBA
Card Game
Clicker
Point & Click
Casual
Some of those are not bad, but the latest entries that showed up were strategy games, RPGs or fighting games, if I saw that correctly.
 

Delterius

Arcane
Joined
Dec 12, 2012
Messages
15,956
Location
Entre a serra e o mar.
This tweet is really interesting, and got me to think of what these two demographics look for in rpgs.




It also made me realize why chinese devs often dont bother with fucking translations. Anyway, i wanted to know what you fuckers think of this.

The russians like post apocalyptic stalker things and the chinese are weaboos.
 

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