As the Steam platform grows stronger, so does the conflict between the platform and the developer. The Steam platform has become the number one digital platform today, and it is unique in terms of the number of users.

It is never a good thing for a family to be dominant, and people will instinctively be wary of an overly powerful being and look for ways to fight it.

After the steam platform reached the peak of life, the cooperation between game manufacturers and the steam platform became more and more contradictory, and the core of the contradiction was naturally the somewhat domineering sharing system of the steam platform.

It's unacceptable for game manufacturers to have the platform directly share 30% of sales. Game manufacturers have repeatedly negotiated with Steam platforms about game distribution, trying to change this sharing method or reduce the sharing ratio, but the results have not been good.

Since last year, some major companies have begun to find ways to break away from the shackles of the steam platform, Activision has opted for Battle.net exclusivity, UBI has vigorously promoted its own UPLAY, and other companies have begun to cooperate with other platforms or develop their own digital platforms.

Wang Qidong asked: "If you don't cooperate with the steam platform, what is the biggest concern?" ”

Wang Qidong actually has a certain understanding and knowledge of this issue, but now he wants to hear Su Li and the future Oasis' views on this issue.

Su Li said calmly: "The biggest problem is naturally the way and proportion of sharing. A digital platform directly divides 30% of sales, which is too difficult to accept. Especially for developers whose games sell well, it's hard to accept such a figure. ”

The way the steam platform is divided into sales is simple and crude, rather than profit or other calculations, which many manufacturers are unwilling to accept.

Nowadays, the development of triple-A titles is becoming more expensive and risky, and in this situation, game developers must seek new distribution channels. No developer wants to be split by such a large number of distribution channels, even if the platform has a large user base.

"The Oasis platform is an attempt for us to get rid of third-party clamping, and in fact it works pretty well. Although there has been a decline in sales, our decision is undoubtedly the right one in the long run. ”

It's an obvious answer, but Wang Qidong wanted something deeper, so he asked, "Are you criticizing the royalty system?" ”

The royalty system in the game industry was first promoted by Nintendo on FC. At that time, the royalty system was very harsh, and developers who made games on FC not only needed to share with Nintendo, but Nintendo also had to review the game, and even the production and distribution of the game had to be completed by Nintendo, and the production cost and deposit had to be paid in advance, and the intellectual property rights had to be shared in the most excessive cases.

With the exception of some companies that can get relatively favorable terms, the rest of the developers have to accept these extremely harsh terms.

FC was a dominant player in the home console field at the time, and Nintendo's appearance was a little ugly. Nintendo, which controls the production and distribution links, can easily decide whether to launch the game, and the prepaid production costs have brought huge financial pressure to developers, and Nintendo, which has the right to decide on listing, can complete a power rent-seeking in this link. Not to mention the clause that later went so far as to share half of the intellectual property rights.

At that time, Nintendo's partners also chose to defect because of these harsh terms, and chose to help develop PS.

THE TERMS OF THE CURRENT ROYALTY SYSTEM ARE MUCH MORE RELAXED THAN AT THAT TIME, AND THE CORE IS STILL THAT DEVELOPERS HAVE TO PAY ROYALTIES TO THE PLATFORM, INCLUDING THE CURRENT APPSTORE, WHICH IS ALSO A CONTINUATION OF THE ROYALTY SYSTEM.

Su Li replied: "The most important problem is that the core of the royalty system in the game industry was that software vendors paid royalties to hardware vendors. Hardware vendors are responsible for the promotion of game hardware, thus forming a certain market size. The problem with the Steam platform is that it is not tied to hardware, it is purely a digital platform, and there is no irreplaceability. ”

This is indeed where many game developers are indignant now, in the game field, the royalty system was first applied in the field of home consoles, and it is bound to hardware. Now those companies that develop game consoles, the game consoles themselves are not expensive, and it can be said that they don't make money by selling consoles at all, in order to be able to sell more consoles and expand the market scale.

But the steam platform is only a digital platform, which can be replaced, and in such a situation, it becomes a difficult thing to accept if you want developers to willingly hand over a high share.

Wang Qidong then asked: "Then what kind of scenario do you think the future of the game publishing platform will present?" ”

Su Li said: "For small developers or independent producers, the steam platform is still the best choice that cannot be replaced. In the case of lack of fame and insufficient distribution channels in hand, the channel of the steam platform is their best choice. ”

"But for the big game companies, unless the Steam platform makes huge concessions in terms of profit distribution, it will become their inevitable choice to promote their own platform or support another platform. Their own fame gave them the confidence to abandon the steam platform and stand on their own. ”

"The Oasis platform and the Oasis community play an important role in our strategic planning, and all future games of Oasis will only be released on this platform."

Su Li gave a clear answer to this question, and the promotion of the Oasis platform is actually risky. After all, many players are afraid of trouble, and it is best to be able to play all the games on one platform. If you want to play one game and then the next platform, many players will be less eager to buy.

However, Su Li felt that instead of waiting for the conflict to break out before finding a way, it was better to take precautions and directly find a way to pave the way for the Oasis platform and slowly accumulate users.

When this topic came to an end, Wang Qidong looked at the interview outline he had written and asked the last question.

"What are the considerations for the future Oasis that the current game theme does not choose the martial arts fairy tale theme or traditional culture-related themes with high domestic acceptance?"

For this question, Su Li has long been prepared.

"In the future, Oasis's choice of theme is based on the gameplay of the game. In fact, we're now trying to figure out the core gameplay of a game first, and then choose the relevant genre. ”

"For example, in "Shadow Secrets", we wanted to make an RPG game with a high degree of freedom plot and an open-ended ending, so choosing the current theme is the most suitable theme."

"Here's a small reveal, in our plan, the next work of the future Oasis will choose the theme of traditional culture."

"Oh?" Wang Qidong looked very interested and asked, "Can you reveal the relevant plans?" ”

Su Li shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, I have nothing to say." ”