The Rise of Trendy Toys: The "Battle of Destiny" of Domestic IP

　　Since its release, the domestic animated film "Nezha's Demon Boy in the Sea" has broken a number of box office records and topped the global animated film box office list. is popular with "Nezha", as well as its IP derivatives.

　　The last time IP derivatives were popular was when the domestic game "Black Myth: Wukong" was launched.

　　Domestic phenomenal IP has become a "hot model", and the trendy toy industry has "exploded". In order to please yourself, decompress, feelings, socialize, and collect...... In the era of emotional consumption, the "domestic IP" in the trendy toy industry has more room for upward growth.

The domestic IP derivatives market is hot. Photo courtesy of the interviewee

　　"Happy Hormone"

　　"It's such a big person, and he still buys toys." Ozawa, born in the 90s, and his friends can often hear his family "complaining" like this. Is it really worth spending two or three thousand on a toy?

　　"It's worth it." Ozawa did not hesitate to tell reporters, because in the process he would secrete a large amount of dopamine, the "happy hormone".

　　In January this year, the "Survey Report on the Social Mentality of Chinese Young Netizens (2024)" jointly released by the Communication and National Governance Research Center of the Fudan Development Research Institute and the Global Communication Omnimedia Research Institute of Fudan University shows that young netizens will "pay" for happiness and consumer content that provides emotional value.

　　Trendy toys are one of the typical consumer goods. Nowadays, toys are no longer exclusive to children, and adults are also focusing on obtaining the satisfaction of emotional value and "running in" to the toy track.

　　Trendy toys are the abbreviation of "trendy toys", which integrates various elements such as design, trend, painting, sculpture, and IP, and has multiple attributes of toys and collections. The categories of trendy toys include statues, figures, action figures, models, blind box dolls, plush, etc.

　　Because of a "Iron Man", Ozawa entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe and bought the first action doll in his life "Iron Man Mark 7". He admitted frankly that first of all, it was because he liked movies and Iron Man that he would "enter the pit" to play trendy games. He showed reporters a part of the collection of photos, from Mark1 to Mark85, "At present, the largest collection is Iron Man, about 100 more." "Falling in love with Iron Man is a natural thing for Ozawa. The charm of Iron Man IP is that it is "cool and shows a strong sense of science fiction." Ozawa emphasizes that he is fascinated by this industrial aesthetic.

An Iron Man figure from Ozawa's collection. Photo courtesy of the interviewee

An Iron Man figure from Ozawa's collection. Photo courtesy of the interviewee

　　"Are you new to it?"

　　"It's settled."

　　"I'm determined, too."

　　Because of this hobby, Ozawa met a lot of "friends in the circle". Trendy toys are not only toys, but also a new way of socializing, which meets the emotional and social needs of young people today.

　　Although the selling point of the product is the appearance and concept, the essence of trendy toys is IP. Iron Man, Spider-Man, Hulk, Captain America, Thor...... Although Ozawa collects European and American IP dolls, he is always thinking about "where is the influence of domestic IP".

　　Until he pre-ordered the "Black Myth: Wukong" Destiny Man Great Sage Golden Armor Set 1/6 collectible action figure.

　　Not surprisingly, Ozawa will have his first domestic IP doll in the fourth quarter of this year. As a veteran player, Ozawa has nearly 300 dolls, but all of them are overseas IP images. This time, I started "Wukong" because he thinks that "we have our own influential domestic IP".

　　Wait until the "Mandate of Heaven", the development of domestic IP derivatives is hot

　　IP is the most important part of the ecosystem of the toy industry, and the blessing of IP gives the development of toy products a stronger driving force.

　　According to the "2024 Global Trendy Toy Industry Development Report", at present, in the field of popular trendy toys, IP mainly includes two categories: image IP and content IP. The characteristic of image IP is that it does not shape the growth and change of the image based on the content of the storyline, but is given the identity and background by the creator, and the relevant concepts are conveyed. For example, Bubble Mart's MOLLY, Disney's Lena Belle, etc. Content IP mostly refers to IP images derived from animation, comics, games and other works, and popular ones include classic IPs from Disney, Universal, Warner Bros., Hasbro and other companies, such as the Marvel Universe series, Jurassic World, Harry Potter, etc.

　　Compared with mature trendy toy products derived from classic animation and artistic images such as the United States and Japan, domestic IP has also shown a trend of continuous development.

　　In 2024, the domestic 3A game "Black Myth: Wukong" will be officially launched, and one stone will stir up a thousand waves. The physical collector's edition gift box limited to 10,000 sets and priced at 1,998 yuan was launched before the game was released, and it was sold out in one minute. The gift box contains a Black Myth: Wukong "Face the Mandate of Heaven" 1:6 action figure, created by INART, a label under Hangzhou Shouchuan Cultural and Creative Co., Ltd., in collaboration with Game Science.

"Black Myth: Wukong" bust of the Great Sage. Photo courtesy of the interviewee

　　Liu Zhuo, co-founder of Hangzhou Shouchuan Cultural and Creative Co., Ltd., told reporters that as early as 2020, he and Yang Qi, co-founder of Game Science and art director of "Black Myth: Wukong", expressed their willingness to cooperate in the development of game derivatives in the future. In the middle of the night in 2022, Yang Qi called and said "almost", and the two sides officially finalized the cooperation.

　　After the pre-sale opened in June 2024, it attracted as many as 700,000 pre-orders to rush to buy, "The enthusiasm of players still exceeded our expectations." Because of this product, Liu Zhuo was on the hot search for the first time, looking at the entry of "Black Myth Wukong Figure Fried to Ten Thousand", Liu Zhuo felt that it was the player's recognition of the product on the one hand, and on the other hand, he felt that "it is very scary, and this industry should not appear in this hot search position".

　　What the hot search witnesses is the popularity of domestic game IPs and the amazing influence behind domestic IPs.

　　As a young figure brand, INART launched its first product as a clown in Warner's "DC series". "We will make a preliminary judgment and choose an IP that can be controlled, good at, and inclusive." Liu Zhuo said, "The current layout is dominated by old IPs that are classic enough, as well as new IPs with market potential. "Black Myth: Wukong" is INART's first domestic game IP product," smelling an opportunity for development. ”

　　Liu Zhuo revealed that at present, INART has a number of domestic IP product development in preparation.

　　To create evergreen IP, it is necessary to both package and cultivate

　　From licensing overseas IP to developing domestic IP, more and more brands have seen the influence of domestic IP. "As the world's second largest derivatives market, China has strong spending power."

　　According to the Report on the Development of China's Toy and Animation Industry (2024), China's toy industry accounts for about 20% of the total value of the global toy market, with a compound annual growth rate of about 33%. In 2026, the scale of China's trendy toy market will exceed 110 billion yuan.

　　Ozawa has always had a puzzle, the domestic consumer market is so big, and 1/4 of the global animation derivatives are made in Dongguan, why does domestic IP not have enough sustained influence?

　　"The most worrying thing in China is IP, and there are many IPs worth mining in traditional Chinese culture." Liu Zhuo said, "What we lack is people who can package IP. ”

　　IP derivatives are one of the important ways to monetize the cultural industry, and Liu Zhuo believes that derivatives can help the development of IP, and the two are complementary to each other.

　　After the launch of the Black Myth: Wukong Collector's Edition Gift Box, INART brought the first exhibition of the officially licensed derivatives of "Black Myth: Wukong" at the 2024 Wonder Festival (hereinafter referred to as "WF"), the world's largest figure model exhibition. The bust of the Great Sage, as well as other characters in the game such as Bajie and Tiger Pioneer, made their collective debut. "It's so hot." Ozawa, who was also at WF, saw the people lining up in front of the INART booth one after another, "In comparison, the popularity of overseas IPs next door is a bit weak. ”

The WF "Black Myth: Wukong" exhibition area is crowded. Photo courtesy of the interviewee

　　Liu Zhuo believes that to maintain the popularity of IP, it is necessary to have continuous new content.

　　In November last year, a carrot was made to the Oriental Pearl in Shanghai. The carrots in the giant art installation "SKY MOJO EXPO" are not ordinary, but are carrot avatars created by Mayday lead singer Ashin on social media. A small carrot later became a big IP, and many peripheral products were derived, such as pendants, dolls, T-shirts, etc. During the Mayday Shanghai concert in 2024, countless "five fans" will check in with carrot dolls at the Oriental Pearl in Shanghai. Xiaoxi spent 159 yuan to buy a carrot doll and successfully took a group photo. "Why does everyone have a carrot in their hands", which became the biggest question of passers-by at that time.

Carrots taken with the Pearl of the Orient. Photo courtesy of the interviewee

　　IP scalability is linked to different consumer needs.

　　For example, after Marvel opened the entire universe through the movie "Iron Man", the core characters of the Marvel Universe will cultivate IP through the model of "personal movies". Participating in the advance screening of every Marvel movie is a must-do for Ozawa.

　　In recent years, more and more domestic film and television works will also deploy IP development in advance. The current popularity of the "Nezha 2" derivatives market has also injected strong impetus and confidence into the development of domestic IP.

　　In the process, Ozawa felt the future and creativity of Chinese culture. "If you operate IP well, Chinese IP has a lot to offer."

　　Last year's Wukong, this year's Nezha, and who will be next year's "domestic hit"?

(Source: Chao News)