- Get link
- X
- Other Apps
After Arena of Valor Failure, Tencent Retools Its Overseas Strategy
Missteps in development and marketing have seen Honour of Kings international version, called Arena of Valor, flop in Europe and North America.
When Tencent Holdings made its first big foray overseas with an adaptation of its blockbuster mobile game Honour of Kings in the summer of 2017, executives thought they had a sure-fire success on their hands
Tencent has now all but written off its original plans for Arena of Valor and disbanded the games marketing team for Europe and the United States, two company sources with direct knowledge of the matter said
Tencent lacked distribution channels and experience in user demographics, so they did not know how to compete, said IHS Markit games analyst Cui Chenyu
Internal tensions Trouble came early for Tencent in its marketing plans for Arena of Valor
Its homegrown games operation had long had a strained relationship with US unit Riot, whose employees view Honour of Kings as a knock-off of Riots League of Legends - the worlds most popular desktop-based game, the two Tencent sources and one Riot source said
Those tensions grew when Tencent developed Arena of Valor and promoted it in Europe with e-sport tournaments featuring gamers such as Spains Xpeke and Frances YellOwStaR, best known for their exploits in League of Legends competitions
Incensed that its own brand was being undermined, Riot complained to a senior Tencent executive group, resulting in a 2-month freeze in marketing for the game, the sources said Riot was later granted the right to review all marketing plans, even the design of posters, and veto use of certain celebrity gamers
False assumptions Other mistakes were more fundamental One blunder, the Tencent sources said, was to replace the Honour of Kings characters, which are inspired by Chinese mythology with figures from European folklore and Western comic-book heroes like Batman and Superman
Tencent also realised too late that hardcore gamers in the West prefer desktop-based games and that many consumers in Europe and the United States did not have access to 4G internet connections needed for sophisticated mobile games, the sources added
In contrast to its European efforts for Arena of Valor, Tencent has outsourced the marketing and operation of the game in Southeast Asia to Sea, which has used its extensive and relatively low-cost sales force to promote the game Sea said last August the game had achieved daily active users of 14 million
Tencent has also become more conscious of local sensibilities in the wake of its marketing missteps for Arena of Valor It made sure to gain the support of the Dubai government for a marketing event of PlayerUnknowns Battlegrounds Mobile and took care to link the desert portrayed in the game with the local area, a source said The event drew 60 million views online and 5,000 attendees
To strengthen its presence in the West, Tencent is publishing more independently developed games and has launched its WeGame X gaming platform of mostly Chinese developed games in overseas markets
Timez Doctor
Missteps in development and marketing have seen Honour of Kings international version, called Arena of Valor, flop in Europe and North America.
When Tencent Holdings made its first big foray overseas with an adaptation of its blockbuster mobile game Honour of Kings in the summer of 2017, executives thought they had a sure-fire success on their hands
Tencent has now all but written off its original plans for Arena of Valor and disbanded the games marketing team for Europe and the United States, two company sources with direct knowledge of the matter said
Tencent lacked distribution channels and experience in user demographics, so they did not know how to compete, said IHS Markit games analyst Cui Chenyu
Internal tensions Trouble came early for Tencent in its marketing plans for Arena of Valor
Its homegrown games operation had long had a strained relationship with US unit Riot, whose employees view Honour of Kings as a knock-off of Riots League of Legends - the worlds most popular desktop-based game, the two Tencent sources and one Riot source said
Those tensions grew when Tencent developed Arena of Valor and promoted it in Europe with e-sport tournaments featuring gamers such as Spains Xpeke and Frances YellOwStaR, best known for their exploits in League of Legends competitions
Incensed that its own brand was being undermined, Riot complained to a senior Tencent executive group, resulting in a 2-month freeze in marketing for the game, the sources said Riot was later granted the right to review all marketing plans, even the design of posters, and veto use of certain celebrity gamers
False assumptions Other mistakes were more fundamental One blunder, the Tencent sources said, was to replace the Honour of Kings characters, which are inspired by Chinese mythology with figures from European folklore and Western comic-book heroes like Batman and Superman
Tencent also realised too late that hardcore gamers in the West prefer desktop-based games and that many consumers in Europe and the United States did not have access to 4G internet connections needed for sophisticated mobile games, the sources added
In contrast to its European efforts for Arena of Valor, Tencent has outsourced the marketing and operation of the game in Southeast Asia to Sea, which has used its extensive and relatively low-cost sales force to promote the game Sea said last August the game had achieved daily active users of 14 million
Tencent has also become more conscious of local sensibilities in the wake of its marketing missteps for Arena of Valor It made sure to gain the support of the Dubai government for a marketing event of PlayerUnknowns Battlegrounds Mobile and took care to link the desert portrayed in the game with the local area, a source said The event drew 60 million views online and 5,000 attendees
To strengthen its presence in the West, Tencent is publishing more independently developed games and has launched its WeGame X gaming platform of mostly Chinese developed games in overseas markets
Timez Doctor
- Get link
- X
- Other Apps
Comments
Post a Comment