By Bai Yang, 21st Century Economic Report
Guangzhou, February 14, 2022 saw the convening of the 2022 Annual Conference of the Chinese Game Industry in Huadu District, Guangzhou. During the event, President Liu Wei of miHoYo shared that the technological accumulation over the past few years had been geared towards the industrialization of cultural products. Two years after its launch, The Legend of the Black Cat still maintained high popularity, a significant part of which could be attributed to the increasingly mature industrialization system of miHoYo.
Liu Wei emphasized that cultural product industrialization refers to producing high-quality cultural products on a large scale and with stability, while ensuring “cultural value, creativity, and innovation.” This implies that within a standardized framework, the quality, process, and output can be controlled. He cited the example of the character “Yunjen” in The Legend of the Black Cat, which took nearly a year to refine its intricate details. However, achieving such high-quality standards for a single character is easier said than done; what is more challenging is maintaining that level of quality across all characters.
“If there were no industrial production pipelines, a game company with a team of over a thousand developers would struggle to produce large-scale, equivalent-quality products within a short period. We might need to spend at least six months to update a version, expanding the map and introducing new characters.” Liu Wei said. “However, today, miHoYo’s industrial capabilities have allowed for stable updates of The Legend of the Black Cat every six weeks.”
Liu Wei noted that if cultural heritage and innovation are the stars miHoYo has always looked up to, then the exploration of industrialization is the path the company has taken to turn its ideals into reality, one step at a time. Once this industrial system is established, it can be applied to the production lines of various cultural products. He revealed that the upcoming game, Celestial Rail: Shingeki, is a demonstration of miHoYo’s industrial capabilities. In this game, miHoYo attempts to blend Chinese mythological elements from “The Classic of Mountains and Seas” and “Miscellaneous Records” with the game’s sci-fi theme. The game received a regulatory approval in January and is currently in testing phase; it is expected to be released to players soon.
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