On April 21, some players found that an account with Blue V certification, named "Blue: Parallel Skyline", appeared on Weibo. In addition to more than 3,000 fans, in the account's watchlist, there is also the figure of the "Blue Route_ R&D Group". The classic "Yellow Rooster" avatar of the comprehensive account, so there is speculation that "Blue: Parallel Skyline" is most likely a new IP work of "Blue Route".
Don't get excited, in fact, the new tour of "Blue Route" is not a "new" smell.
As early as last August, "Blue: Parallel Horizons" has been exposed. At that time, the developer Brute Network began to recruit a large number of 3D talents, combined with the name speculation, "Blue: Parallel Sky" stage is very likely to go from the ocean to the sky, is a depiction of the "airplane girl" 3D STG mecha theme of the two-dimensional game.
Moreover, Brute Tweet has previously revealed on the official website that there are currently two projects under development, which further confirms the game identity of "Turquoise: Parallel Sky".
Coincidentally, another developer of "Blue Route", Yongshi Network's new work "Deep Space Eye" (formerly known as "Codename: Mimir") has been in the top 10 of the best-seller list after its release this week.
Successful quadratic elements will not stop at a game
Not only "Blue Route", in recent years, well-known two-dimensional mobile games, manufacturers launched IP sequels, new works of the case can be said to be everywhere, and this batch of products called "rich second generation two-dimensional" is not exaggerated.
Distant examples include 2016's "Crash Academy 2" and its sequel "Crash 3", "Yin Yang Division" IP universe series product "Decisive Battle! Heian Kyo", "Yin and Yang Division: Baiwen Card", "Yin and Yang Division: Monster House", "Code Name World", etc.
Recent examples include the new work of the Crash Series "Crash: Star Dome Railway", "Maiden Frontline" sequel "Shaoqian 2: Pursuit", "Tomorrow's Ark" IP new work "Tomorrow's Ark: The End" and so on.
When it comes to Mihayou today, most people's first reaction is "Original God", but the development history of Mihayou is actually the development history of a collapsed IP. In 2012, Miha tour was officially established, and a year after development, Miha tour launched "Crash Academy". Subsequently, Miha Yuma continued to start the development of a sequel, and the following year in 2014, "Crash Academy 2" was launched.
Cai Haoyu, co-founder and CEO of Mihayou, regards 2013, when the development of Crash Academy 2, as the most difficult year for Mihayou, and it was also this year that Mihayou firmly established its goal of "a successful commercial product".
Miha you, who changed his mindset, quickly achieved great success in Crash Academy 2, and Cai Haoyu even believed that Crash Academy 2 was China's first "domestic two-dimensional game that made so much money". Also with the success of "Crash Academy 2", the two-dimensional category began to rise truly, and the emergence of "Crash 3" allowed the domestic two-dimensional to step into the 3D world in advance.
Similar to the Crash series, most successful quadratic products have the experience of bringing a large company to one big on their own. For example, "Maiden Frontline" developer Scattered Explosion Network, "Blue Route" developer Barbarian Network and Yongshi Network, "Tomorrow's Ark" developer Eagle Corner Network.
"Yin and Yang Division" is also of great significance to NetEase. Thanks to "Yin and Yang Division", NetEase successfully rewritten the statement that the big factory did not do the two-dimensional gene, and gained a super IP with a valuation of more than 70 billion.
The user base is increasing, and the number of products must also be expanded
Among the many two-dimensional IP that have launched sequels and new works, "Girl Frontline" and "Yin and Yang Division" are more special. Unlike other new works, which are launched step by step, the two IP models of "Girl Frontline" and "Yin and Yang Division" are more aggressive: they lay out multiple new works at once and cover more types of gameplay.
For example, under the umbrella of the "Yin and Yang Division" IP universe, it already has MOBA's "Decisive Battle!" Heian Kyo, "Yin And Yang Division: Baiwen Card" by CCG cards, "Yin and Yang Division: Monster House" for casual, "Codename World" for world adventure RPG, "Codename: Onmyoji Idol Project" by idol planning.
In May 2020, on the live broadcast of the fourth anniversary of "Maiden Frontline", the scattered explosion network also announced four new products of "Reverse Collapse: Bakery Action", "Shaoqian: The Realm", "Shaoqian: Cloud Map Plan" and "Shaoqian 2: Pursuit".
Launching new games is an indispensable part of the ip process of games. As for why a large number of new products are launched, the fame of "Yin and Yang Division" may answer this question.
The earliest core user group of "Yin and Yang Division" was relatively small, but due to the brilliant art and high quality, it soon passed through ten to ten hundred, constantly breaking through the circle and contacting a wider user group. Producer Jin Tao also pointed out that "Yin and Yang Division" is "spread out in a circle", so do not frame yourself in the gameplay, but rely on IP, high quality and other resources to continue to drive the circle.
Yu Zhong, founder and CEO of Scattered Explosion Network, told GameLook that "Girl Frontline" is a product with a richer and fuller world view, and players playing "Girl Frontline" is like playing seven or eight games, "the good part is that everyone can play everything, and the bad part is that they can't specialize in every feature."
In order to meet the different needs of a growing player base, Girl Frontier has different products that side-edge different experiences.
With IP construction as the core, a new moat is formed
In a speech to analyze the success of Mihayou, co-founder and president Liu Wei concisely explained the reason: the game production method with IP construction as the core.
IP can serve games, but there is more to building games. Peripherals, comics, animations, and even concerts are the main forms of IP construction for two-dimensional games.
For example, animation, which is not the industry of game companies, has become a compulsory course for two-dimensional game manufacturers in recent years. As early as June 2019, Mihayou launched the IP derivative animation "Valkyrie's Table" of "Crash 3". In January this year, the official animation of the same name of "Girl Frontline" was also officially launched, and "Ark of Tomorrow" also had the news of making TV animation.
In May last year, "Ark of Tomorrow" also held its first offline performance "Rhythm Synesthesia", and in January last year and February this year, "Original God" also held two online concerts. Earlier, the musical of "Yin and Yang Division" also opened all over the country.
Moreover, as long as it is an offline performance, whether it is "rhythm synesthesia" or "chapter of the great rivers and mountains", there is a situation where it is difficult to find a ticket. GameLook still remembers the crowded scene of "Rhythm Synesthesia" and the long queue in front of the bathroom during the break.
All kinds of signs show that users' loyalty to the two-dimensional IP is extremely high, which is also the unique advantage of the two-dimensional game to create IP.
GameLook believes that the two-dimensional game from no IP to its own IP, comics, animation, offline performances are blooming, and sequels have appeared in a bunch, which essentially reflects the trend of the threshold of the two-dimensional market.
Not only is the R&D upgraded to 3D and the investment increased, IP is also bringing the construction of user barriers, and different products and manufacturers have begun to continue to encircle the land through IP to further grasp the user firmly.
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GameLook Daily Game Industry Report
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