A few days after its launch, it was firmly in the top 3 of the best-selling list, and the SLG track added another fierce general.

Source: Diandian Data

"Three Kingdoms: Plotting the World" (hereinafter referred to as "Three Schemes") not only made a good start for itself, but also continued to take a bite for the B station behind it.

As of today's close, the share price of Station B rose by more than 19%, and its market value increased by about HK $7 billion, hitting a new high in the past 10 months. On the news side, the international investment bank JPMorgan Chase upgraded Station B to overweight.

JPMorgan Chase expects that with the support of strong game performance such as SLG mobile games such as "Three Kingdoms: Conquering the World" and "Blazing Sky", there is room for an upward revision of Bilibili's performance forecast for the second and third quarters of 2024. BOCOM International expects that the turnover of "Three Schemes" in the first month (estimated by 30 days) will reach 500 million to 800 million yuan.

Who would have thought that the product that took off the hat of "mobile game graveyard" for station B was actually an SLG. And under the strong performance of the online few days, Gyro also wants to talk seriously about how much "Three Schemes" has broken the industry's cognition.

The first cognition: young people really don't reject SLG

Before the launch of "Three Schemes", I don't know how many people regarded "the first SLG for young people" as a joke.

At least in the previous cognition of Gyro, it is difficult for young people who like two-dimensional to be equated with SLG. However, "Three Schemes" did teach me a lesson, many friends around me (heavy users of station B) have actively tried this product, some have been filtered out by SLG's gameplay, and some have survived.

I asked, "What did "Three Schemes" use to keep you?" The answer they gave was a social atmosphere. Friend A shared a screenshot of his alliance with me and told me, "There are a lot of two-dimensional people in the group, and recently "Star Iron" has opened a new pool, and everyone is chatting. ”

Truth be told, it can be hard to see this kind of naming style alliance in a long-established SLG product

Friend B said that in the community of "Three Schemes", he felt a long-lost peace. "Not only do they have common topics, but it's rare to quarrel inexplicably", I think it's too friendly compared to the discussion environment of "fairy scuffle" in other categories (second game, otome, etc.); He also likes the feeling of "fighting cool", and he will fight wherever the big brother of the alliance points out.

Looking at "Three Schemes" carefully, you can feel that it intends to cater to the habits of young people in the small design, such as the use of the same emoji pack of station B:

And from the player's public screen chat, you can also understand that everyone's ability to throw and pick up stalks is quite strong, and it is very energetic for this generation of young people.

The Three Kingdoms has always been a high-frequency theme in game creation, and it is not surprising that it is widely accepted and loved by users of different circles and ages. However, it should be noted that the theme of the Three Kingdoms has its unique cultural genes in Station B, a community where young people gather.

The 94 version of the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" TV series has received 560 million views on station B, and more than 8 million barrages - no matter when you click in, someone will "watch it together" with you.

A large audience is basic. In addition, the content created by Bilibili users based on "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" for many years has also made it a widely circulated cultural meme. Derivative directions include, but are not limited to: drama interpretation, fandom letters, ghost animal training, character mixing, behind-the-scenes footage...... Whether serious or entertaining, official history or miscellaneous talk, there are representatives in various subdivisions.

At station B, the famous lines of the characters in the play are like a kind of universal social key, even if the user has not read the original book/original drama in its entirety, he can also match a few "codes" when communicating. The publicity and operation of "Three Schemes" make appropriate use of this ecology:

It is undeniable that the core two-dimensional audience may not eat this set, and the young people at station B may not all be "standard two-dimensional". But in today's market context, everything is generalized. At this moment when the boundaries of labels are becoming more and more blurred, young users have hooked up with SLG with the theme of the Three Kingdoms as the medium, and it seems that they are also expected to take on the task of saving the game business of Station B.

As for these newcomers who have been pulled into SLG, how much turnover can they contribute to the category? It's hard to judge at this time (after all, the results of the Open Beta of "Three Schemes" have to be considered from many aspects), but at least one thing is certain:

The new force that the SLG track has always wanted has been realized in "Three Schemes" and at Station B.

The second cognition: SLG can also be used as a side game

The most unpredictable thing about "Three Schemes" for the industry and SLG veteran players is that it can really move an SLG product closer to the positioning of "side game".

SLG has always belonged to a more traditional and more liver game category, and the core concept of its cultivation has never changed since the beginning of the terminal game, that is, players continue to exchange for more growth resources by consuming time, complete the construction of the city and obtain all aspects of the value improvement, and further improve the efficiency of obtaining resources.

Based on this kind of game loop and feedback, the "time-consuming and laborious" of SLG for a long time (especially in the wasteland development stage) has become the default tradition and rule of the category. Whether it's building upgrades, paving roads, or assembling sieges, a series of actions are often designed to require players to wait patiently, perform frequent manual operations, and even step on points at regular intervals to maximize the benefits. The time cost required can be imagined.

Although the core gameplay of this type of SLG game is fun, playing "more tiring than going to work" has once become a slot for many players, and naturally dissuades many players.

For example, when I first returned to the fast launch, I once recommended the experience to a friend, it integrates RTS+SLG, the high degree of freedom of real-time strategy operation is very refreshing, and he also thought it was very fun at first, but he soon couldn't bear it, and he laughed at 996's social animals not worthy of playing this kind of SLG, so he gave up and continued to experience. Of course, the issue of return is not only in the liver, so I will not extend the discussion here.

Speaking of "Three Schemes", in the fast-paced era of watching TV variety shows and emphasizing double speed, reading articles directly to "saving stream" comments, and playing games to pursue the distinction between main and secondary games, while old players fade out of an SLG product in the natural cycle, it is indeed difficult for more new players, especially young players who are particularly sensitive to the cost of investing game time.

The result of the sluggish addition of new users is the soaring cost of SLG products and the crazy involution in art and other aspects.

The art style is different, but the dynamic vertical painting of some military generals in "Three Schemes" is still very distinctive

At this time, "Three Schemes" appeared as a side game SLG, which will inevitably refresh the cognition of the industry and old players - even a few "996 social animals" friends who usually can't spare time say that they finally have enough spare energy to play.

The question is, how did "Three Schemes" make itself an SLG "side game"? The itchy changes will not be able to retain players who are well-informed about the routines, and a drastic and comprehensive adjustment based on the product framework can make users feel the difference in the game.

In Gyro's view, the changes to reduce the burden are mainly reflected in two aspects. One is to reduce the hard need for time investment, and the other is to reduce the soft need for repetitive operations.

First of all, one of the things that players can intuitively feel in "Three Schemes" is that it greatly reduces the rigid need for time and cost investment, which is reflected in all aspects of the game's "clothing, food, housing and transportation".

For example, during the wasteland period, in terms of "clothing", every week the generals can replace the experience level without damage, players can draw a suitable new card to avoid a lot of leveling time, and the secondary teams with lower levels can also use the training ground to quickly upgrade; In terms of "food", the fixed plots in the city can obtain rapid tuntian several times a day, and obtain a large amount of resources in a short period of time; In terms of "housing and transportation", there is no need to wait for building upgrades and technology research and development to be completed with one click, and the team's march is designed to move faster than usual, and it only takes 5 minutes to return to the city no matter how far away.

Tuntian income

Sicang's career design is also very helpful in clearing the wasteland

This design is varied, and it spreads throughout the game experience, bringing players a refreshing feeling - it turns out that SLGs are not necessarily black holes that devour time. In the current player reviews of "Three Schemes", the most talked about is the better wasteland opening experience and the reduction of the rigid demand for time.

On the other hand, it is the soft need to reduce a large number of repetitive operations. For example, one of the two most publicized points of "Three Plots" is the automatic paving of the ground, players do not need to manually walk the grid to play advanced plots, and the system will automatically select the designated route of the adjacent plots to complete; The other point is to reserve a siege, players only need to choose a team one hour before the siege, and the system will automatically assemble to participate in the siege.

In fact, the laying of the ground and the paving corresponds to the development of the player's own development, and the assembly and siege is related to the participation and presence in the alliance, both of which are the core experience of the game. However, these tasks are repetitive and trivial, and the strategic requirements for players are relatively limited, and it is very easy to burn out of the game if you stick to it for a long time.

It should be emphasized that the burden reduction methods of "Three Schemes" have not yet been bound to the demand for kryptonite, and every player can have the above experience, in order to ensure this, these burden reduction methods are matched with the relaxed requirements of "Three Schemes" in terms of physical consumption. For example, the physical consumption required to fight low-level plots and assemble sieges has been reduced, and the additional source of physical strength has been increased through the addition of the green bag class.

Generally speaking, "Three Schemes" is indeed a product designed with burden reduction as one of its core highlights, and this is undoubtedly an impact on SLG's long-term mainstream product ideas.

Just like someone praising "Three Schemes" for doing a good job in reducing the burden, you will also see some people questioning, everything can be done automatically, everything can be completed in one second, what else do players play?

In fact, whether it's a pair of players or alliances, these fun will not be diminished by the existence of a design to reduce the burden on the liver. However, some SLG users may be concerned about some growth differences that can be separated or made up by other players through tight time planning and allocation, and high-intensity operations.

Supplementary gameplay for "Three Schemes".

It may be difficult for a game to satisfy everyone, but judging from its current position at the top of the list, "Three Schemes", which can be used as a side game, has indeed captured a group of its own audience in the market. Gyro believes that there are not only young new generations, but also the kind of users mentioned by the producers in the tasting session - those many old players who have to leave this category due to the need for life and work.

The third realization: the SLG track is far from the ceiling

I have to admit that in addition to product-level innovation, the biggest shock to the industry brought by the entry of "Three Schemes" is the attraction of new users, and it has once again expanded the SLG user plate, which is undoubtedly the most valuable value to the SLG category.

In fact, it's not just "Three Schemes", now SLG's absorption performance in the mini game track is also eye-catching, in April this year, the SLG genre "Endless Winter" successfully ranked first in the best-selling list of WeChat mini games, and the predecessor of this product, "Frost Apocalypse (Whiteout Survival)" has actually been quite eye-catching overseas since last year, achieving more than 4 million downloads in January and April this year, and more than 46 million downloads since its launch.

Therefore, in addition to the continuous involution at the product level, can our expectations for SLG be higher and broader, and have more expectations and imagination for users?

For a long time, the intuitive user growth strategy of this category has been more reflected in the diversity of subject matter, film and television IP, animal kingdom, Eastern history, Western fantasy, ancient war, modern military, and even two-dimensional ...... Or it is to make deviations in marketing methods, such as the sub-play buying strategy, which are all ways to attract and expand the volume of category users.

Animal-themed SLG "Beast Lords: New World"

Based on these themes or methods, is the idea of "Three Schemes" to reduce liver and krypton worth a try, and can it attract more potential audiences?

In fact, we have seen some changes, and some domestic SLG products under development have seen the ideas of "Three Schemes" and the market's reaction, and have also made corresponding adjustments to themselves. But for the overall trend, the answer to this question will still depend on the long-term performance of "Three Schemes" in the market - it is not easy to change the public's perception, and it will be a long-term battle.

But one thing is very likely to happen, as "Three Schemes" leads new users into the SLG category, users in this track may gradually develop a "three-legged" situation - traditional SLG mobile game enthusiasts who prefer an old-school experience, innovative players who tend to reduce the liver and reduce the burden of "Three Schemes", and another is more suitable for lighter small game users like "Endless Winter".

After such a plate, does the domestic SLG track still look promising? In the past few years, SLG has failed too many new products in this track, which once made its market evaluation even more sluggish, but today, SLG is indeed a category worth continuing to develop and invest in.

At least for me, after experiencing "Three Schemes", I began to look forward to the emergence of the next SLG, which can not only "reduce the liver and krypton", but also have a higher degree of freedom to operate.

This article is from Xinzhi self-media and does not represent the views and positions of Business Xinzhi.If there is any suspicion of infringement, please contact the administrator of the Business News Platform.Contact: system@shangyexinzhi.com