Author: Wu Xiaoyu
The long-awaited "Black Myth: Wukong" has finally released the information that everyone wants to know.
On the evening of May 19, Tencent Games held the 2024 Wegame Game Night. At this press conference, Game Science brings the latest trailer for Black Myth: Wukong. At the end of the trailer, Game Science officially announced that the standard version of "Black Myth: Wukong" on the WeGame Store is priced at 268 yuan.
Following the rules of the average triple-A game, Black Myth: Wukong may also be available in a deluxe edition or even a collector's edition with more physical giveaways. It's just that at this 2024 Wegame Game Night, Game Science hasn't released similar information yet.
Some industry insiders also pointed out that there is a possibility that the WeGame version of "Black Myth: Wukong" will be discounted for the first time. The price of the game in Steam may even reach 299 yuan.
The price of "Black Myth: Wukong" was announced (Source: Screenshot from the WeGame store page)
As soon as the news was announced, the issue of the price of "Black Myth: Wukong" once again sparked discussion among players. In the comment area of the game's official Weibo, fans have said that the price of 268 yuan is not expensive at all, and they even plan to buy one copy each of the PC version and the PS5 version.
The game media Youyan Club opened a topic poll on Weibo on "Is the price of "Black Myth: Wukong" expensive", and 19,000 players participated in the voting, and the number of players who chose "not expensive" exceeded 16,000.
However, some players expressed different opinions in the comment section of the Youyan Society's voting Weibo. They don't think the price of the game is cheap, so they still have to wait for the game's reputation and reviews before making a decision. Some players even said: "In the early stage of this game, I can't think of a second word except for violent death." ”
Now, the official selling price of "Black Myth: Wukong" has settled. This pricing is extremely important not only for the game science itself, but also for the domestic single-player game market. "Black Myth: Wukong" can be said to be a domestic triple-A game that is now extremely popular. If the public accepts the price of 268 yuan and obtains ultra-high sales, it may be able to achieve the effect of educating the market, thereby promoting the emergence of more domestic triple-A games.
Is $268 too expensive? The UP master of station B once caused a price dispute over "Black Myth".
Time pushed back two months, and "Black Myth: Wukong" had a hot search because of the price.
At that time, the well-known B station UP master C sauce said in a live broadcast that she estimated the price of "Black Myth: Wukong" to be 199 yuan. C sauce bluntly said that game science should not benchmark games like "Elden Ring" when considering price, and should take the route of small profits but quick turnover. With the blessing of the price of 199 yuan, the domestic sales of "Black Myth: Wukong" should exceed 1 million.
After this remark was issued, the voices of support for C sauce and against C sauce reached five or five times. Opponents argue that C-chan himself plays console games regularly, and console games range from $60-$70. According to the specifications and quality of the game shown in "Black Myth: Wukong", the price should be in line with the pricing of mainstream console games, that is, the price in the country is between 248 yuan and 298 yuan.
Netizens who support C sauce believe that players don't need to empathize with game manufacturers. The lower the price of the game, the more benefit the player will get. What's more, the low price can make "Black Myth: Wukong" further break the circle, and the game will be able to gain more players.
"Black Myth: Wukong" (Source: Screenshot from the official announcement video of "Black Myth: Wukong")
Later, C-chan responded through his own live stream. She said that "Black Myth: Wukong" is put in game stores in Japan or the United States, and the price of selling for 70 dollars is reasonable. But in the national region, similar pricing may not work.
C Sauce believes that the pricing of overseas games is determined based on the proportion of Chinese entertainment spending per capita disposable income in each country. For example, the per capita disposable income in the United States has exceeded the $39,000 mark, and the ratio of entertainment expenditure to income is about 3%. Therefore, it is reasonable to anchor the price of a game at $60-70.
China is still a developing country, and the level of consumption is not so high. Some players only have a salary or living expenses of two or three thousand yuan per month, and a copy of "Black Myth: Wukong" accounts for one-tenth of his living expenses. C-chan hopes that works like "Black Myth: Wukong" can be played by more players, and the price should not be the threshold for the game to block more Chinese players. Therefore, C sauce called on game science to set the price of "Black Myth: Wukong" below 199 yuan in the previous live broadcast.
At the same price as overseas 3A, "Black Myth" can only be recouped if it sells 3 million copies
So, is the pricing of Black Myth: Wukong reasonable?
If you want to evaluate whether a game is reasonably priced, you need to judge it on two levels. One is whether the price of the game can help the manufacturer recover the cost of game development and marketing during the launch period (the period when sales are at its highest), and the other is whether the price of the game is at the same level as other games with similar specifications in the same industry.
From the perspective of cost recovery, the price of "Black Myth: Wukong" at 268 yuan is not even enough. According to Feng Ji, the producer of "Black Myth: Wukong", in an interview with Touch, the average development cost for players is 15 million to 20 million yuan for every hour of play.
It is conservatively estimated that the game time of "Black Myth: Wukong" is about 25-30 hours, and the game cost is in the range of 375-600 million yuan. This coincides with the 600 million yuan development cost that the industry believes. Coupled with the platform commission and various taxes, "Black Myth: Wukong" may have to create nearly 800 million yuan in turnover to recover its cost.
Now, at a price of 268 yuan, Game Science has to sell at least 3 million copies of the game to recoup its costs. Referring to the popularity of "Black Myth: Wukong" at home and abroad, the target sales of 3 million copies is a relatively difficult task. As of now, Game Science has not publicly set any sales targets for Black Myth: Wukong.
If compared with competitors in the same category, the price set by "Black Myth: Wukong" is not excessive.
According to the data released by Sina Weibo @Guoyou Sales Bar, the most expensive domestic game in the past three years is "Lost Maze: The Curse of the Stars" produced by Acme Games, which is priced at 129 yuan. The second place "The Legend of Sword and Fairy VII" and "The Legend of the Three Kingdoms 8" are both priced at 128 yuan. The list price of "Shadow Torch City" on the PC platform is 108 yuan. "Ancient Sword and Strange Tan III", which has created a temporary sales record, is priced at 99 yuan in the Steam country. "Beast Party" and "Naraka: Infinite" are priced at 98 yuan.
"The Legend of Sword and Fairy VII" (Source: "The Legend of Sword and Fairy VII" official website)
In other words, the upper limit of the price of domestic games in the past three years is 128 yuan. None of the games mentioned above are triple-A level games, though. Even "The Legend of Sword and Fairy VII" cannot pay the same cost as "Black Myth: Wukong". Therefore, compared with other domestic games, it is reasonable for "Black Myth: Wukong" to raise the upper limit of the price of national games.
At the same time, compared with the prices of some overseas games, "Black Myth: Wukong" is on the same starting line as them. For example, in the past year, games such as Pinocchio's Lies, "The Fallen Lord" and "Wo Long: Skyfall" have been released. They are action games like "Black Myth: Wukong", and the price in the Steam country is also locked at 298 yuan.
The significance of the high price of "Black Myth": education market & boost 3A production
As China's first triple-A game that attracts national attention, the price of "Black Myth: Wukong" has a profound impact on the entire national game market. If the business model of "Black Myth: Wukong" finally runs through, players' acceptance of domestic game prices will be reshaped, and domestic manufacturers will also be willing to develop more triple-A games.
C-chan's worries are not unfounded. Before the advent of Black Myth: Wukong, players were very sensitive to the price of a game. For example, in "Beast Party", the price of 98 yuan has caused a lot of controversy among the player group.
In the expectation of ordinary players, the price of a party game should be less than 50 yuan, and the price of 98 yuan is obviously too expensive. At the same time, there are also in-app purchase options such as skins within "The Beast Party". Players believe that manufacturers can make money through in-app purchases, and the unit price of the game should be beneficial to users.
However, from the manufacturer's point of view, the production cost of "Beast Party" is already relatively high in the same type of party games. The server cost is more expensive than shooters like CS:GO. Luo Zixiong, the producer of "Beast Party", said in an interview with the media that if the game itself is priced at 60 yuan, there is a high probability that Sosi Technology will go out of business.
"Beast Party" (Source: "Beast Party" official Steam page)
The advent of Black Myth: Wukong has obviously raised the upper limit of the game's price acceptance for ordinary players. If the player can accept the price of 298 yuan, then other games can also get a certain amount of room for adjustment when setting the price.
On the other hand, the production of domestic games is increasing year by year, but there are still very few domestic games that truly match the production specifications of triple-A games. Some creative domestic indie games can gain some influence in overseas markets, but only triple-A games like "Black Myth: Wukong" have a chance to win the greatest common divisor overseas.
Overseas players have no emotional bonus for the IP of "Journey to the West", and there is no filter for the so-called "Chinese stand-alone game", but they hope to be able to play high-quality games. And that's why Black Myth: Wukong was able to surpass Hollow Knight: Song of Silk to the top of Steam's wishlist.
Three months later, Black Myth: Wukong will be officially launched. At that time, what will be the reputation of the game? How much are players willing to support the game? Everything will be answered.