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[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

When asked in an interview with 4Gamer whether there was a specific trigger that made them want to step into the global console game market, Chang, who is the art director of Phantom Blade Zero, says that Chinese creators have always been heavily influenced by Japanese and Western console games, and have always aspired to make such games themselves.

However, up until recently, circumstances had not allowed them to do so – “In the past, the market and our technology weren’t mature enough, so we simply weren’t able make console games.”

Chang goes on to explain that “It’s not like Chinese developers got together and decided to release console games at the same time, but rather, we’ve wanted to make these kinds of games from the beginning. It’s just that now, at this exact timing, we’re finally able to release high-quality games like this.” According to the Phantom Blade Zero developer, there are multiple Chinese companies currently working on new console games, and they all seem to be spurring each other on.

But what contributed to conditions in China finally ripening for independent AAA game development? Qiwei, Phantom Blade Zero’s producer, mentions two significant factors, the first being that China has been a huge market for both PC and console games for a long time.

“Even before Black Myth: Wukong came out, 30-40% of the sales of most major Japanese and Western games came from China. This has been the case regardless of whether a game has Chinese themes or not, as seen with titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, Palworld and Needy Girl Overdose. It’s a clear fact that China consistently accounts for at least 30-40% of sales.”

But aside from favorable market conditions, Chinese game developers’ years of experience doing outsourced development work for foreign studios have contributed to a high level of expertise, Qiwei emphasizes.

“In terms of technology, China doesn’t have much experience developing console games or singleplayer PC games. That’s undeniably true. However, China has gained plenty of experience in mobile game development over the past few decades. This experience is now being put to use in the development of singleplayer PC games. Also, Chinese subcontractors for art, motion capture, 3D capture etc. have been suppliers for AAA game developers in various countries.”

S-Game’s CEO argues that these decades of doing outsourced work for other studios have contributed to China’s “industrial pipeline maturing,” and that all this accumulated experience and knowledge is now being put to use in making original games.

China’s AAA console game boom may seem like it was suddenly triggered by Black Myth: Wukong, but Chinese creators have been working towards it for a long time, Phantom Blade Zero devs say - AUTOMATON WEST

Phantom Blade Zero developers Lian Qiwei and Michael Chang talk about tectonic shifts that have led to China's AAA console game boom.

automaton-media.com

 

[Majukun]

well nowadays projekts need a lot of time to go gold, so of course we are seeing now the effects of something started long ago

 

[tommib]

I hope they get more and more familiar with consoles because Wukong runs like an unresponsive mess on PS5. I know it’s very demanding, but every graphical mode is its own disaster.

I really hope it comes to its own with a Pro mode.

 

[Hrk69]

I really hope it comes to its own with a Pro mode.

Like clockwork

 

[tommib]

Like clockwork

What? Game runs like shit and I hope it runs better on new hardware? Is this a gotcha?

 

[The Cockatrice]

I hope they get more and more familiar with consoles because this Wukong runs like an unresponsive mess on PS5. I know it’s very demanding, but every graphical mode is its own disaster.

I really hope it comes to its own with a Pro mode.

UE5 is a mess, better hw isnt the answer as its a mess of an engine even on PC. I cant even imagine what a shitfest the new cyberpunk game will be at launch.

 

[Hrk69]

What? Game runs like shit and I hope it runs better on new hardware? Is this a gotcha?

The crying for a pro mode

Every

Thread

 

[tommib]

The crying for a pro mode

Every

Thread

Crying? Get a grip. I got the game on day one and stopped after 20 hours because I did find it repetitive with horrible performance. And now I’m interested in seeing it performing on better hardware? What am I crying about?

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

The crying for a pro mode

Every

Thread

Imagine wanting games to run better and being prepared to work on a system you're about to buy. The audacity!

 

[tommib]

Imagine wanting games to run better and being prepared to work on a system you're about to buy. The audacity!

Disgusting. Cancel the Pro. Let UE5 games run at their worse. What a weird post that was.

 

[Nankatsu]

The crying for a pro mode

Every

Thread

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

The crying for a pro mode

Every

Thread

You sound like a sub $50K income household

 

[Fabieter]

The crying for a pro mode

Every

Thread

It will probably be better even without a pro mode tho. But it was the same with port begging for different platforms a few years back. So I think its okay to ask for pro versions tho.

 

[Begleiter]

Of course they've been working towards it. Why wouldn't they want their prestige games along with the likes of Genshin Impact and Azur Lane?

 

[Kotaro]

From what we’ve seen so far, seems like Chinese games are heavily influenced by JRPG and Soulsborne games

 

[Sharius]

They has advance of cheap salary compare with western side, and their market doesn't being poisoned by wokeness

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

They changed the mobile scenario with full-fledged AAA games. Genshin Impact costs 200M per year, you can't go more AAA than that and it shows, the game has fantastic production values, no bugs, and hundreds of top-tier soundtracks

Infinite Nikki is a cozy open-world game for girls with better graphics than most games. The beta impressions are excellent. Coming next, Arknights Endfield and Phantom Blade Zero.

Their real limitation is not being able to produce a game like GTA due to official censorship.

 

[MayauMiao]

Their real limitation is not being able to produce a game like GTA due to official censorship.

Of course due to China origin, violence will be off the table but they make up for it with waifus.

 

[ReyBrujo]

But aside from favorable market conditions, Chinese game developers’ years of experience doing outsourced development work for foreign studios have contributed to a high level of expertise, Qiwei emphasizes.

That's something Chinese factories have exploited for decades, whenever a big company asks them to build something, they reserve the "right" (or better said, the "left") to use the designs for their own purposes. That's why you got dozens of DeWalt, Milwaukee and Makita clones, they just use the design and the factories to create cheap alternatives and flood the market. It was only a matter of time until they decided to apply all the know-how they have been getting from getting tasks outsourced to start creating their own jewels. And just wait until the real deal, India and the Southeast Asia area wake up.

 

[Solarstrike]

Good for them. Bring on the games!

 

[nial]

Even before Black Myth: Wukong came out, 30-40% of the sales of most major Japanese and Western games came from China. This has been the case regardless of whether a game has Chinese themes or not, as seen with titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, Palworld and Needy Girl Overdose.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Of course due to China origin, violence will be off the table but they make up for it with waifus.

I know, I was referring to edgy or adult themes. That's a no-no in China, though they have investments in the producers of the Fast and Furious saga, that's the maximum of "criminals breaking the law" they would allow.

The driving sections of that game you posted remind me of Burnout Paradise.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

That's something Chinese factories have exploited for decades, whenever a big company asks them to build something, they reserve the "right" (or better said, the "left") to use the designs for their own purposes. That's why you got dozens of DeWalt, Milwaukee and Makita clones, they just use the design and the factories to create cheap alternatives and flood the market. It was only a matter of time until they decided to apply all the know-how they have been getting from getting tasks outsourced to start creating their own jewels. And just wait until the real deal, India and the Southeast Asia area wake up.

Japanese devs have been outsourcing asset creation to India for a decade now.

 

[RoboFu]

There's a boom?

 

[rodrigolfp]

triggered by Black Myth: Wukong​

 

[Roman Empire]

triggered by Black Myth: Wukong​

They did impact the gaming market, huh?

 

[Fabieter]

triggered by Black Myth: Wukong​

Going four years back everyone thinking this is a botw clone seems like a clown.

 

[FoxMcChief]

It’s been a trend slowly picking up speed. I welcome it with open arms. I just want to see more potential games that look good to me. The current remaster agenda of this generation has soured me more than anything.

 

[Hotel Security]

Going four years back everyone thinking this is a botw clone seems like a clown.

Yeah, BOTW is a real game and Genshin is a gacha phone game disguised as a console title.

Concerning Chinese devs, it's definitely been a focus of some Eastern devs to try to make more Western-style games. Because consoles and high-end PCs are hard to come by in some of these countries, phones have been the primary source of gaming...which is why these devs mostly stick with phone games. It's a culturally thing but it does seem like some devs are trying to branch out. The more the merrier, I say.

 

[Zacfoldor]

Crying? Get a grip. I got the game on day one and stopped after 20 hours because I did find it repetitive with horrible performance. And now I’m interested in seeing it performing on better hardware? What am I crying about?

20 hours.

Spoiler

I bet you got to the top of the pagoda and fought that hard boss up there, saw the latency and slowndown from the snow/blizzard was making it harder than it should have been, and quit.

I almost did the exact same thing.

However, I will be honest with you. The game gets SUPER HARD right after that. You are literally in the easy part.

Once you get to

Spoiler

Turtle Island

the game puts on the gas and never lets up. The snow slowdown only lasts for that one boss/part though, it's pretty playable now except for the latency.

I'm currently on chapter 5 boss on PS5 and it has been a struggle but mainly only because the damn game is so hard. It ain't like lies of P(very easy soulslike) it is actually more like elden ring xpak level hard(which I completed twice right before this). It's hard hard. I don't know who said it is an easier souls game, it's a fucking hard one and the bosses rip me new assholes constantly.

I think the people who think it is an easier souls-like quit at the same spot you did and never got further or they didn't play it at all. The fucker gets super hard right after the pagoda(which is a notorious quit spot by itself due to the level design).

Edit: As yall can see I'm super into this Chinese game, lol. It's not bad at all!

 

[Doggyred]

If the AAA market ever becomes dominated by Chinese studios, I wonder if western game developers are going to complain that they can't compete with them because of the low wages they get paid while posting on twitter from the latest iPhone release.

 

[Mister Wolf]

I'm glad we are getting an influx of Korean and Chinese devs into the single player game market. They seem to prefer making action-RPGs which is fine with me. Also, Lies Of P > Wukong/Stellar Blade

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

I love seeing the AAA boom from Chinese and Korean devs. They have a lot of creativity and talent and it's nice to see them compete with Japanese and Western devs for our money.

Japanese devs are always at the top of their game but Western devs have completely fallen off a cliff. I'm hoping the added competition from Korean and Chinese devs forces Western devs to wake up and start making good games again instead of releasing generic garbage and chasing stupid trends like "modern gaming audiences" and GAAS.

 

[Grildon Tundy]

With China's blatant disregard of international copyright laws, I can't wait for Bloodborne 2: Straight Outta Hangzhou.

 

[Icymanipulator]

So by the West outsourcing work to china they have indirectly nurtured and fed a beast who is now eating a good chunk of the pie.

Wonder if saving that money was really worth it in the long run. Could have developed and trained that talent here.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Even before Black Myth: Wukong came out, 30-40% of the sales of most major Japanese and Western games came from China. This has been the case regardless of whether a game has Chinese themes or not, as seen with titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, Palworld and Needy Girl Overdose.

Didn't check until now, but it looks like Needy Streamer (Girl) Overdose is indeed a very popular game in mainland China based on the number and % share of reviews it received from the region.

Anyway, I plan on picking this one up myself since I was surprised to see that a local video game retailer is stocking the Switch JP import at a decent price.

 

[Fabieter]

Yeah, BOTW is a real game and Genshin is a gacha phone game disguised as a console title.

Concerning Chinese devs, it's definitely been a focus of some Eastern devs to try to make more Western-style games. Because consoles and high-end PCs are hard to come by in some of these countries, phones have been the primary source of gaming...which is why these devs mostly stick with phone games. It's a culturally thing but it does seem like some devs are trying to branch out. The more the merrier, I say.

I dont even play genshin myself but I know some people who do that so I can see for what i know that there is no story game with that much of quality content.

 

[mdkirby]

This is great, but I do with more of their games would be set like now, in Shanghai, Hong Kong etc, or in the future, or another planet…just something other than xyz dynasty, cos they are all looking very samey at the moment.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

So when are we getting AAA game/s from China and what will they be?

 

[DarkstarRising13]

They has advance of cheap salary compare with western side, and their market doesn't being poisoned by wokeness

Speaking of wokeness...you're NOT going to see that ever take place in China. Not only will the CCP ever allow this to happen, but the Chinese citizenry will reject it immediately. They even had a word for it in their language - Baizuo, meaning "White Leftist."

And even Koreans won't accept it either. The fact that Lies of P, a game that was created by a publicly traded company, did not have a single trace of that woke B.S. and all the women in the game were beautiful and looked like actual females are proof that it will not take hold in these nations.

The Japanese may be showing signs of it in their games, but it's not likely to ever take hold of it; the bombings of Forspoken and Unknown 9: Awokening will cause these companies to abandon them like the wind as Square Enix and Bandai Namco have done with layoffs.

 

[DarkstarRising13]

I'm glad we are getting an influx of Korean and Chinese devs into the single player game market. They seem to prefer making action-RPGs which is fine with me. Also, Lies Of P > Wukong/Stellar Blade

They're all good games regardless.

 

[DeepEnigma]

What a silly title. Games take years to make, yes.

 

[nial]

Didn't check until now, but it looks like Needy Streamer (Girl) Overdose is indeed a very popular game in mainland China based on the number and % share of reviews it received from the region.

Anyway, I plan on picking this one up myself since I was surprised to see that a local video game retailer is stocking the Switch JP import at a decent price.

I've been telling myself to buy it for 3 years at this point! Any time soon...

 

[yogaflame]

I never ,and will never like the Chinese government and communism, but in fairness along with other Asian developers, there games are very good (Stellar Blades, Lies of P, and Wukong) does not impose, or push or force any twisted agenda especially twisted gender ideology. It is Ironic I did not see any communist ideology or doctrinarian in the games from china even movies that are produce by Chinese. But still communism and Chinese government is evil ,for me.

 

[Mistake]

It's very unfortunate chinese people cannot be as creative as they want to be due to censorship. I don't see them overtaking game markets unless they continue to backbone off other ideas. Look at Genshin. The style and engine isn't chinese, but it turns a hefty profit.

Speaking of wokeness...you're NOT going to see that ever take place in China. Not only will the CCP ever allow this to happen, but the Chinese citizenry will reject it immediately. They even had a word for it in their language - Baizuo, meaning "White Leftist."

And even Koreans won't accept it either. The fact that Lies of P, a game that was created by a publicly traded company, did not have a single trace of that woke B.S. and all the women in the game were beautiful and looked like actual females are proof that it will not take hold in these nations.

The Japanese may be showing signs of it in their games, but it's not likely to ever take hold of it; the bombings of Forspoken and Unknown 9: Awokening will cause these companies to abandon them like the wind as Square Enix and Bandai Namco have done with layoffs.

Japanese otaku make up most of the market when it comes to purchasing power, so none of that will fly. Look how aegis was added in smash. Plenty of bitching in moaning in the west at the time, but it still happened anyway. I do see problems if they try catering to a global market though, like with Dragon Quest. Even with the option to switch languages, character pallets and other things won't be original

 

[Crystal Winters]

There are a lot of things about Korea and China that I do not like, but if they keep putting out games like Stellar Blade, and Wukong, then I am down for it.
looking forward to games like Wuchang, and the upcoming AI Limit whenever pre orders go up at gamestop or amazon.

 

[Xtib81]

They may be our saviors. No DEI bullshit, pure talent and hard work. They need to diversify though, they can't just make Souls clones.

 

[Lng0004]

I have a feeling it'll go the way of manhua.

 

[SHA]

Japanese devs now running on survival mode.