腾讯的全球增长切入点

    腾讯还曾与韩国游戏开发商SmileGate合作，将游戏《穿越火线》（SmileGate）引入了中国市场；它目前也在与韩国的主要移动游戏生产商CJ Games合作，将该公司旗下的游戏本地化。国外的游戏发行商们开始大量涌向腾讯，因为在腾讯分销的移动游戏中，绝大部分都在中国应用商店的免费下载区占据了榜单前列。

    王波表示，腾讯借助自身广泛的移动和互联网用户网络，在中国大陆市场积极推广游戏业务，并在游戏运营方面积累了大量成功的经验，这有助于确保腾讯能够根据本地市场的偏好对游戏进行调整。此外，腾讯还提供日常的运营支持和基于云端的服务器托管服务，因而能够在所有平台上保证迅速、无缝衔接的可靠游戏性能。

    “微信和移动QQ均拥有高度活跃的用户基础，这些用户精力旺盛，十分乐于尝试新鲜事物，”王波说道，“根据我们的统计，出于微信和移动QQ本身所具有的社交元素使然，玩家参与游戏的活跃度要高出10%至15%。”

    玩家仅需完成一次登录操作，便可登入腾讯集团旗下的不同产品，移动QQ和微信便是其中的两大平台，同时也是中国大陆地区的两款主流社交平台。腾讯为每一款游戏都在移动QQ和微信上创建了入口。开发商也能利用游戏内置的付费系统和腾讯对用户行为的分析及见解，改善旗下游戏的操作体验，从而取得成功。王波还补充介绍说，腾讯对合作方知识产权在新市场积极采取保护措施，本身也是一笔宝贵的资产。

    “中国的整体游戏市场在（付费）玩家人数和营收这两方面的增长均超出了预期，其中2013年的营收达到了137亿美元，实现了35%的年同比增长，”沃曼介绍说，“游戏在应用商店整体营收中所占份额的增长，已经超出了市场预期。在2013年第四季度，游戏营收在各类应用商店中所占份额约在80%左右，而在2012年时还只有65%。不仅如此，据游戏公司King、SuperCell和GungHo的公开报告证实，一流的移动游戏在应用商店整体营收中所占比例同样超出了市场预测。”

    近年来，西方国家见证了免费游戏商业模式的成长，而这一概念最早其实源自亚洲市场，被用于打击盗版和将游戏推向网吧里的游戏玩家。因此，腾讯在中国大陆市场的免费网络游戏开发领域中积累了10多年的经验，如今则将这些经验灵活应用到了移动领域。王波认为，向玩家免费提供游戏能够降低用户加入游戏的门槛，从而加速了市场的增长。

    美国游戏公司Riot Games开发的《英雄联盟》（League of Legends）在中国大陆地区乃至全世界都拥有超高人气。腾讯先是获得了这款游戏在中国大陆地区的代理权，几年之后，又在2011年2月，以4亿美元的价格收购了这家位于美国加利福尼亚州圣莫妮卡的独立游戏开发商。《英雄联盟》受益于电子竞技游戏业的蓬勃发展，如今已成为中国大陆地区以及世界其他地区玩家甚众的大型“游戏”。

    2012年6月，腾讯出资近3.3亿美元，买入了美国纽约的独立游戏开发商Epic Games48.4%的少数股东股份。这家开发商拥有享誉业内的虚拟引擎4（Unreal Engine 4）技术，能为全球各大开发商开发的大型游戏提供技术支持，譬如索尼（Sony）的《HellBlade》、万代南梦宫（Bandai Namco）的《铁拳》（Tekken 7）和Deep Silver的《死亡岛2》（Dead Island 2）。

   Tencent has also partnered with Korean developer SmileGate to bring CrossFire to China, and it is working with leading Korean mobile game maker CJ Games to localize its games as well. International game publishers are flocking to Tencent because the majority of mobile games distributed by the company have topped the charts in AppStore’s free download category in China.

    Wang said Tencent actively promotes games in China on its extensive mobile and Internet user network and has proven experience in operating games, which helps ensure that games are adjusted to suit local tastes. In addition, Tencent provides day-to-day operational support and a cloud-based hosted service to enable quick, seamless and reliable game performances across all platforms.

    “Weixin and Mobile QQ both have highly active user bases who are energetic and willing to try new things,” said Wang. “According to our statistics, because of the social elements of WeChat and Mobile QQ, gamers are 10% to 15% more active in game play.”

    Gamers can use a single sign-in to log in to different Tencent products like Mobile QQ and WeChat, the two leading social communications platforms in China. Tencent localizes access to Mobile QQ and WeChat for each game. Developers can also take advantage of in-game payment systems and Tencent analysis of user behaviors and insights to help improve their game’s experience and success. Wang added that Tencent’s aggressive protection for its partners’ intellectual property in a new market is a valuable asset.

    “The total Chinese games market grew even more than expected in terms of (paying) gamers as well as revenue, reaching $13.7 billion in 2013, a 35% year-on-year growth rate,” said Warman. “The share of total app store revenues taken by games has increased more than expected. In the last quarter of 2013, the share of game revenues in the app stores was around 80%, compared to only 65% in 2012. Further, the top-tier mobile games grossed a higher share of the total app store revenues than anticipated, confirmed by public reports of King, SuperCell and GungHo.”

    While the West has seen growth in the free-to-play business model in recent years, the concept originated in Asia as a way to combat piracy as well as a way to deliver games to consumers who played at PC cafes. As a result, Tencent has over 10 years of experience in developing free-to-play online games in China and has now translated that knowledge to the mobile space. Wang believes offering games at no cost lowers the entry barrier for users to start playing, and in return it fuels the growth of the market.

    One of the most popular free-to-play games in China, as well as the rest of the world, is Riot Games’ League of Legends. Tencent first licensed the game for China and then a few years later acquired the Santa Monica, Calif.-based independent developer in February 2011 for $400 million. The game, which thrives of eSports, has become a huge spectator “sport” in China, as well as throughout the rest of the world.

    In June 2012, Tencent purchased a 48.4% minority stake in Cary, N.C.-based independent developer Epic Games for approximately $330 million. The developer is best known for its Unreal Engine 4 technology, which powers big games around the globe from companies like Sony (HellBlade), Bandai Namco (Tekken 7) and Deep Silver (Dead Island 2).