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Computer Animations and Games: Nurturing Golden Goose

Estimates indicate that the computer animation and game industry in Beijing is growing at an annual rate of 50 percent and that it will likely generate 4 billion yuan (US$520 million) in annual product value by 2010.

This rosy forecast is based on the expected emergence of industry leaders, backed by governmental support, including policy, tax and other preferences.

At the Animation & Game Development Forum during the Second China (Beijing) International Cultural & Creative Industry Expo (ICCIE), developers of computer animations and games discussed industry developments, the industry’s potential and the challenges facing it as it strives to create a comprehensive industrial framework and complete value chain.

In June 2006, National Online Game & Animation Industry (Beijing) Development Bases, including Haidian Park, Shijingshan Park and Yonghe Park, were created to promote the growth of the cultural and creative  industry in Beijing.

In 2006, revenues of Beijing’s online game companies grew by 30 percent to 690 million yuan (US$89.7 million), giving it a 7 percent share of the national market, even as Beijing-produced mobile-phone games occupied up to 15 percent of the national market, according to Pang Wei, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Press and Publication.

Animated publications have also grown steadily and rapidly to 151 million yuan (US$19.6 million) in value in 2006, an increase of 69.7 percent in a year that saw the production of 8,240 minutes of cartoons.

But the industry is also doing well elsewhere: “Animation and online game products are also getting a growing share of the overseas market. Industrial zones have been established and a complete industrial chain integrating production, publication, operation and distribution has been formed. Beijing has become a centre of animation and game industrial development in the country,” said Pang.

According to Qian Guangpei, president of the Beijing Council for Chinese Culture Promotion, the development of Beijing’s animation and game industry has many salient features.

Although Beijing was a late-comer to the business, it bloomed rapidly with the aid of favourable governmental policies and the creation of special industrial zones. However, the scale of the industry is still small, which means there are few large companies. In Shijingshan Park, the overall investment of 30 projects is only 120 million yuan (US$15.6 million) and only ten companies have output revenue in excess of 10 million yuan (US$1.3 million).

In the next few years, the industry in Beijing is expected to continue to rely on two pillars: the exploration of new animation elements that can be integrated with other industries to create new consumer products and the retention of traditional, classical themes and figures that can be used to create popular consumer brands.

Sources said the industry must also escape the conventional mindset that animations are for children only: products for adults and senior citizens must also be developed.

The establishment of industrial bases has also contributed to a rapid growth of young companies; however, there are problems, said Liu Qiang, chief of the Animation Division of the Market Department of the Ministry of Culture.

Many industrial bases are relying on similar models without the advantages that come with operating under a unified plan. This has led to disorder in competition among bases. As a result, a lot of companies from outside the animation and games industry have been allowed to take advantage of the favourable policies for the industry in the absence of proper management, said Liu.

“These problems are eroding the healthy growth of the animation and game industry,” said Liu.

A new trend in the industry is cooperation with other industrial sectors, according to Li Hongming, vice-president of Perfect World Network Technology Company, Limited. One is represented by cooperation among related industries, such as among game, telecommunications and Internet firms or even media and publications companies. Another is between un-related industries, such as cooperation with the automobile and food industries, as with the popular World of Warcraft and Coca Cola.

“In the future, there will be more and deeper collaborations between the animation and games industry and other sectors as people are drawn more to entertaining elements,” said Li. “They can tap a topic they are all interested in and develop various kinds of products: movies, TV programmes, games, toys.”

China Cartoon Century, another leading company in the sector, is also active in this regard.

As China’s first institutional animation specialist, China Cartoon Century has focused on the systematic development of animation resources by establishing a complete industrial chain featuring a multi-channel operations system.

China Cartoon Century has signed contracts with a national animation and games base in Changzhou to help scout for content and to help bring these resources to the market. “We will maximize the value of animation resources by exploring multiple channels including TV programmes, publications as well as derivatives,” said Wei Lai, chairman of China Cartoon Century.

群贤毕至 共话未来

--记第二届国际（北京）文化创意产业博览会动漫产业发展论坛

文/杜秀萍

2006年6月，国家网络游戏动漫产业（北京）发展基地在中关村正式挂牌成立，基地中的中关村科技园区海淀园、石景山园、雍和园同时挂牌。至此，北京与成都、广州、上海一同成为国家级游戏动漫产业发展基地，并将逐步成为动漫和互联网游戏研发制作交易中心，成为具有重要国际影响的文化名城和创意之都。到2010年，北京动漫和游戏产业将实现年产值40亿元，未来年增长速度将保持在50%左右，可拉动相关行业产值实现400亿元以上的收入。

产业基地发展态势如何？存在什么问题？在2007年11月6日举行的“第二届国际（北京）文化创意产业博览会——动漫产业发展论坛”上，各界专家聚集一堂，共话动漫产业发展未来。

北京市新闻出版局副局长庞微：

北京动漫游戏产业链已基本完备

目前，北京市动漫游戏产业发展迅猛，形势喜人。2006年北京网络游戏企业的运营收入达到6.9亿元（6.9亿仅仅是北京网络游戏的运营收入，不包括手机游戏、动画、漫画的运营收入），增长率达到30%，市场占有率约占全国的7%。北京手机游戏规模一直占据全国15%左右的市场份额。北京动漫出版物市场规模也一直保持着快速的增长，2006年达到1.51亿元，增长率达到69.7%，动画产量达到8240分钟，同比增长了113%，涌现出了一批在全国具有较大影响的动漫游戏企业。

动漫和网络游戏产品已经走出国门，海外市场呈逐年上升趋势，形成了中关村海淀园区、石景山区等产业区，初步形成了包含创作、出版、运营、发行的较为完整的产业链，成为全国动漫游戏产业发展的中心之一。

北京中华文化发展学促进会会长钱光培：

产业特点鲜明  重在开拓市场

北京的动漫游戏产业发展，目前呈现五大特点。

第一点，虽然北京动漫游戏产业起步较晚，但是发展很迅猛。近一段时间内，北京出台了相关的政策，几个动漫产业园区的规划布局已经完成。

第二点，北京动漫企业的总体规模还是比较小，企业的实力还是比较单薄。在石景山园区，产值达到一千万元以上的企业只有10家，30个项目的投资总额只有1.2亿元，因此需要做很大的努力才能形成比较大的规模，形成自己的大品牌。

第三点，在未来几年中，北京的动漫游戏产业发展仍然需要两条腿走路的方针，一条腿是进一步发挥动漫元素的活力，动漫元素就是动漫与其他行业相结合创造出的新的产业形态、营造出的新的消费需求和开拓出的新的消费市场。另一条腿就是比较传统的塑精品、创品牌。

第四点，艺术水准的高效已经越来越明显地成为衡量动漫游戏产品市场竞争力的重要尺度。

第五点，动漫产业的发展还需要突破社会思维的模式，应当搞一些动漫精品，应当开拓成人动漫游戏市场，尤其是老人的游戏市场。

文化部市场司动漫处处长刘强：

成效显著  问题严峻

目前，以游戏为内容的产业基地数量众多，既有中央部门批准命名的，也有各地方政府设立的，这些基地的建立对动漫游戏产业的发展起到了非常积极的作用，特别是在产业聚集、企业孵化、动漫产品外包和国际交流方面成效显著。但是在这些可喜成效的基础上也应该看到，由于各部门、各地区在促进动漫游戏产业的发展角度和利益的不同，动漫游戏产业基地的建设出现了两种现象：

第一个，各自为战，规划不足，同质化的现象非常突出。

第二个，相互攀比，在中国动漫产业发育不足的情况下，一些基地为吸引入驻企业，相互攀比，致使目的不纯的企业以各种手段游走于各基地之间。更有甚者，有些基地偷梁换柱，挂基地之名，做房地产产业。

基地目前存在的问题正在腐蚀着动漫游戏产业基地建设的健康发展，折射出中国动漫产业面临的不可回避的挑战。

完美时空网络技术有限公司副总裁李宏明：

异业合作  商机无限

异业合作是近些年来比较流行的一个元素，异业合作有利于把一些不相关的行业或者不同领域的东西进行一种创新，实现一种新的模式，或者创造一种新的产品模式，从资源上可以进行不同行业的整合和共享，包括渠道、销售方式等等，进行一些互补以实现共赢。

异业合作在近些年发展比较迅速，可以分成两类，一类是相关性行业的异业合作，比如游戏与硬件、电信、网络合作的发展，甚至包括与一些媒体和出版业；另一类是与相关性不强的行业合作，比如汽车、食品等方面的合作，例如“魔兽世界”同“可口可乐”的合作。最近“金山”和“日产”在一些游戏主题上进行的合作，也是属于相关性不是特别强的行业进行统一的合作。

未来，异业合作和对娱乐元素的把握会越来越多，而且会越来越深入，会一起去打造一个题材，这个题材是大家认为可挖掘并且有市场的，同时去做电影、电视、游戏、玩具等等。