Mobile game promotion recharge rebates are hotly hyped, channels and small and medium-sized CPs are helpless

At first, this phenomenon only existed on the channel side, but gradually what we saw was that some small and medium-sized CPs also joined the trend of recharge and rebates with great fanfare.

At first, this phenomenon only existed on the channel side, but gradually what we saw was that some small and medium-sized CPs also joined the trend of recharge and rebates with great fanfare. Now, when browsing the list and recharging rebates are the primary promotion methods, behind the entry of channels among the middle and lower CPs, there is the strong resistance of the big CPs. On the one hand, there is a story of exhaustion, and on the other hand, there is a statement of sustainable development.

Channel Prisoner's Dilemma

At the end of July this year, we heard a tone in various forums. Major channel merchants including UC stepped forward and talked about recharge rebates, and expressed their determination to resist recharge rebates.

The reason why the form of recharge rebates appears, UC President Lin Yongsong concluded:

"The disappearance of the demographic dividend is the biggest reason."

According to relevant data, as of June 2015, the number of mobile games users in China reached 365 million, while the number of mobile phone users in China was 557 million, and the coverage of mobile game users has reached about 65%.

It is foreseeable that the growth of new mobile users in the future will be very slow, and this will directly lead to pressure on major channels. Channels will gradually shift from a new theme to a need to ensure that their users are not stolen away by competitors. We must also ensure a certain amount of growth.

To this end, the recharge and rebate model has gradually become popular, attracting users in the form of rebates. Every new user is added, it means that competitors lose one old user. For this reason, channel merchants have either had no choice but to take the initiative to follow up on this model, and the rebate ratio has soared from the initial 10%-15%, to nearly 50% now.

In order to attract users, channels are fighting a price war. The reason behind this is to attract higher-quality CPs and higher-quality content. After all, mobile games in China have gone through the earliest stage, from channels to king, gradually evolving into content to king. The scarcity of good products in the market requires the channel to have enough imagination space.

Therefore, we can also understand why there are channels to stand up to resist rebates, but such resistance is pale because of the Prisoner's Dilemma. When no one does it, as long as one does it, it means that the market will break the balance, and we are competing. When we are competing, we always treat competitors with guilt.

If we say that the channel is for competition and promotes the situation of rebates, what we should note is that the most intuitive interests of the CPs have not actually been harmed, and rebates are just unilateral subsidies from the channel.

However, now we are gradually seeing that some small and medium-sized CPs themselves are also vigorously promoting the recharge and rebate model.

The reason why the helpless actions of small and medium-sized CPs

have occurred in this way is inseparable from the following reasons:

First, when capital is cold

, we all know that the capital environment in the mobile game market has gradually become late. According to data, this year Nearly half of CPs have died. In this big environment, the living environment of small and medium-sized CPs has become increasingly difficult. In order to survive the cold winter, small and medium-sized CPs sometimes have to use the recharge and rebate model to achieve rapid return of funds and ensure the company's funds. Health.

In addition, it is to rush up the flow rate in the short term, create false prosperity, and use a beautiful account to attract capital parties when capital is cold. After all, although the capital's mobile game craze has passed, there is still a certain demand for capital in the end. Mobile games, small and medium-sized CPs are competing for this already good export in the form of recharge rebates.

Second, the importance the channel side attaches to small and medium-sized CPs

. As I mentioned above, the channel makes a lot of recharge rebates. This is nothing more than to attract high-quality CPs and high-quality content. However, this big background does not exist for small and medium-sized CPs.

It is not that Game Watch belittles small and medium-sized CPs, because the cost of high-quality mobile games is beyond the reach of small and medium-sized CPs. Some products exclude some external factors such as IP, and the pure R & D cost has exceeded 10 million. Creativity and speed that do not require heavy assets may be important in the early stages of the mobile game industry, but after mobile games enter the later stages, hard power is the foundation.

Therefore, the causality of channel recharge rebates determines that the channel party's only seemingly "benefits" to CPs sometimes do not exist for small and medium-sized CPs. Small and medium-sized CPs have to lower their attitude and work with the channel party. Make recharge rebates together, and even bear all the expenses of the rebate in the recharge rebates themselves, without counting the total amount of the share.

Why do big CPs oppose recharge rebates?

Small and medium-sized CPs are doing it, channel operators are doing it, and even channel operators are willing to subsidize themselves and help big CPs do it. Against this background, we see that big CPs are still opposed to recharge rebates. Because the drawbacks of recharge rebates are too big!

First of all, for those old players who have not enjoyed recharge rebates, recharge rebates are undoubtedly like the devaluation of currency, which is unfair to them;

secondly, users who gain them in the form of recharge rebates will lose at a much faster rate than ordinary users;

finally, recharge rebates will cause mobile games that have a short life cycle to die more quickly.

It can be said that recharge rebates are like stimulants. At that time, you may gain explosive power, but this is at the expense of your health. This is naturally something that the big CPs don't want to see, because for them, they are the best on the field and they definitely hope that everyone will compete in a normal manner.

Moreover, compared with small and medium-sized CPs, as vested interests in this market, large CPs pay more attention to the sustainable development of this market. Therefore, it is understandable that big CPs are unwilling to make recharge rebates. Just like the reason why Duke Wen of Jin rewarded Yongji heavily was because the State of Jin was at its strongest national strength at that time. Duke Wen of Jin understood the principle of fishing with all its strength and focused not on temporary benefits but on a century-old plan. Moreover, compared with the prisoner's dilemma where channels knew this truth but had to do it, we have to admit that even without recharge rebates, the quality of these big CP's products is enough to attract users. In the top 10 best-selling lists in China on the AppStore list, Tencent holds 6 seats and Netease holds 2 seats, which is already a good proof.

Editor: yvonne