-The current gamers in China only take up roughly 5% of the entire market. These gamers are all on the extreme end of the spectrum and are unable to form a market by themselves.
-TV games occupy most of the video game market in foreign countries, and online games take up less than 10% of the share. This is the exact opposite of the situation in China. From my perspective, the Chinese game market is too homogeneous, and most of the online games are radical games.
-I have always advocated that games should be played with friends and acquaintances. The form where strangers play different roles will often give people an escape from reaility. The issues exposed as of now are enough to show its harms.
(Reporter Zhou Fang reporting with photography) Recently, our paper has made a series of in-depths report on online games, attracting wide attention from society and industry alike. In foreign countries, people first think of TV games when they talk about video games. However, in China, online games have become the synonym of video games, and TV games have slowly been forgotten.
On December 20th, Nintendo's "iQue Player" was put on display in shopping malls in major cities in southern China, and TV games have made their comeback. Recently, after Nintendo's "iQue Player" release press conference, our journalist interviewed the pioneer of the world's video game industry, American Chinese scientists Dr. Wei Yen.
Journalist: What's your view on China's video game market?
Wei Yen: There are two opinions as of now. One of them suggests that China has no market for video games, while the otherclaims China's video game market to be very huge. I agree with the latter, but I don't know if this market would become one as large as those overseas.
Journalist: What's the difference between the video game market in China and that abroad?
Yen: The current gamers in China only take up roughly 5% of the entire market, and the remaining 95% have yet to become gamers. These 5% are all playing imports and bootlegs, and it's impossible to form a true market out of them.
There appears to be no market for TV games in China, with online games forming an almost monopoly. What's your view on this situation?
This is a wierd phenomena. In foreign countries, TV games have occupied most of the video game market, and online games take up less than 10% of the share. This is the exact opposite of the situation in China. From my perspective, the Chinese game market is too homogeneous, and most of the online games are radical games, full of violence and pornography. These extreme games are very harmful.
Journalist: While online games are very popular, they have also led to a wide range of societal issues. Do you know about those?
Yen: I have tried many online games, which falls into three different categories in my opinion: Games that play with friends and as a form of socialization; games that ultilize internet as a technology to interact with friends; games that are played with strangers and each playing a different role. Almost all of the online games in China fall under the third type, while the first two are the majority overseas.
Journalist: I wonder what are the primary harms caused by this situation?
Yen: As someone who has been making games for years, I have always advocated that games should be played with friends and acquaintances. Playing games with strangers and in the form of playing different roles will often give people an escape from reaility. The issues exposed as of now are enough to show its harms. 。
Jouralist: There are many extreme games in foreign countries as well, such as those with violence and pornography, but why don't these countries have an issue as severe as in China?
Yen: There is no difference between Chinese people and foreigners, but the children in China did not experience the process of guidance before they got their hands on these extreme online games. The sudden exposure to extreme games could lead to one's loss of judgement, and thus become indulged and radical.
Some people see it as a problem of China's education system, but I don't think so. The education system and teachers of China are far better than that of the United States, but the parents in China do not collaborate well with this system. For instance, American parents often actively introduce their children good games, helping them build a gradual understanding of video games. Thus, if a child experiences bad games in the future, he or she will have their own system of judgement. A Chinese child, however, lacks in this aspect.
Journalist: You introduced Nintendo's TV games into China. Are you able to guarantee it will not lead to consequences like that of the online games?
Yen: China has its own censorship system on introducing games, but the regulations are not in detail, so we must have social responsibility. We can guarantee that every game we introduce will be healthy. There are business people who only care about making money, but there are also buisness people who both make money and have social responsibility, and my idea is to become the latter. TV games are different from online games as the former can be controlled and guided by parents.
Journalist: How do you see the future of China's video game industry?
Yen: In China, video games have been radicalized as if they are a great scourge. The truth is, they are widely accepted in any developed country. Every country has their own characteristics, but the eventual outcome after mature development will not be very different. I believe healthy games will eventually become mainstream, and extreme games will be abandoned by the people.
Dr. Wei Yen is a famous American Chinese scientist, also a legend of the IT industry. He was the founder of many important technologies such as bringing graphics processing to 3D animation technology, America's digital cable TV system, and bring 3D animation and graphics technology into the world of video games. He led four worldwide high-tech companies, and current the chairman iQue (China), and holds concurrent posts as directors in major companies such as Acer Inc. of Taiwan, iKuni of United States, and Monolithic System of USA. He is currently in charge of all Nintendo's businesses in China. (Zhou Fang)