Chinese games bring culture to global market

Chinese electronic games are continuously thriving in global markets, and are increasingly becoming carriers of culture to promote cross-cultural understanding and exchanges as a new universal language, said industry experts during the recent 22nd China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference, better known as ChinaJoy, in Shanghai.

By the end of June, China had a record 679 million gamers. In the first half, actual sales revenue of the domestic game market totaled 168 billion yuan ($23.3 billion), up 14.08 percent year-on-year, according to a report released on July 31 by Zhang Yijun, first vice-chairman of the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association.

Overseas sales of Chinese games exceeded $9.5 billion in the first half, growing 11.07 percent year-on-year. The United States, Japan and South Korea continued to be the main overseas markets for Chinese games, accounting for 55.63 percent of total sales. European nations such as Germany, the United Kingdom and France are becoming emerging destinations for more Chinese games, said the report.

From a global perspective, China continued to hold the position as the world's largest game exporter in the first half, ranking first with a share of 32.6 percent of global total, according to a report released by mobile analytics firm AppsFlyer.

Over the past five years, Chinese games have entered the markets of more than 100 countries and regions around the world. In particular, games such as Honor of Kings and Genshin Impact have accumulated hundreds of millions of users globally, said Ao Ran, executive vice-chairman of the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association.

"China's gaming industry has shown a positive trend toward high-quality and sustainable development in recent years, since a large number of Chinese enterprises are collaboratively creating world-class innovative video games within the global supply chain. Notably, the fine traditional Chinese culture is becoming the unique source of innovation and a differentiating advantage for Chinese games," said Richard Yu, vice-president and editor-in-chief at Tencent Interactive Entertainment Group.

The hit title Black Myth: Wukong, an action role-playing video game rooted in Chinese mythology, is a prime example of the worldwide appeal of Chinese video games with a strong cultural identity. Industry experts agree that games are rapidly developing beyond products for entertainment, and becoming a new cultural form integrating with advanced technologies and an important carrier of Chinese cultural aspects that keep expanding globally.

Yu pointed out that more Chinese game producers are ramping up efforts to make high-quality original games that draw both domestic and international players. Instead of simply putting cultural elements together, they explore deep into Chinese cultural connotations and strive to interpret them in innovative, globalized and modern ways.

"As a composite cultural carrier that integrates various art forms such as literature, music, film and fine arts, games naturally possess the potential to promote cross-cultural understanding and boast the advantage of crossing cultural boundaries. Their interactivity turns the players into 'interpreters' of different cultures," Yu added.