Focus
Board gamer sees bright future ahead
By Shen Jingting (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-07 10:57
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Killers of the Three Kindoms, or Sanguosha in Chinese, is a board game that is popular among Chinese college students and office workers. It began in 2006 and is played, in some estimates, by more than 10 million people across China.
The game's sudden popularity may just be the start of what could become a booming board game industry in the country.
YOKA Games, which has produced the game since 2008, had sold more than 1 million copies of Sanguosha as of May. The game has helped the Beijing-based company grab more than 80 percent of China's board game market.
Du Bin, 29, CEO of YOKA Games, talked with METRO about his ambition of promoting board games across China.
Q: What prompted you to create a company to sell this game?
A: I searched taobao.com (a Chinese online shopping site) in 2006 for board games and I discovered Sanguosha, which was designed by two college students in Beijing. Before that, I hadn't found any Chinese board games. So I bought it immediately.
I have played board games since 2003, when a Swedish friend taught me how to play them. I thought that since they are popular overseas they might also become popular here in China. By 2008, I felt it was time to establish a company, to help produce and sell Sanguosha.
Q: Why did you find Sanguosha interesting?
A: Previously, I had played foreign board games with no Chinese elements. However, Sanguosha is based on the Chinese classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, so it caught my attention.
Q: When did you start producing and selling this game?
A: In January 2008, we officially put 5,000 copies of Sanguosha on sale, for 64 yuan. They were sold out within half a year. In November of 2008, we established YOKA Games and in the following year, the company's revenue reached 10 million yuan.
Q: Who are your target clients?
A: We target office workers and college students. Sanguosha is also popular among Chinese who live overseas.
Q: Why is Sanguosha successful?
A: Its characters and backdrop are adopted from a Chinese classic novel, which people are quite familiar with, so it appeals to Chinese players.
Q: What kind of taste in board games do Chinese people have?
A: Some board games that are popular abroad may not achieve the same success in China, because different cultures breed different preferences. In foreign countries, people like to play tactical games, in which players must think for quite a while before making a move. However, in China, people prefer games with violent competition. They want to beat or kill others during games.
Q: Is it true that Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited (Nasdaq: SNDA) has invested in YOKA Games?
A: Yes. Shanda invested 15 million yuan in our company last December. Many venture capital companies expressed their interest. We chose Shanda was because we think it recognizes board games have big potential in China.
Shanda's financial backing will help YOKA Games grow more quickly. Shanda has already helped us launch an online version of the game.
Q: What's the next step for your company?
A: We want to attract more clients to real life games. My company plans to invest 5 million yuan in the second half of this year, to open two flagship board game bars in Beijing and Shanghai.
Q: Has your company considered importing foreign table games to China?
A: Yes, we have. YOKA has been in contact with several foreign companies about importing their games. We plan to buy the copyrights and produce games locally.
In the second half of this year, we will likely launch three to four imported board games in China, but we can't tell you which ones at this point.
Q: How many employees do you have and how do you design games?
A: We have 70 employees now. Most were born after 1980. Sometimes, we think about hot topics such as the World Cup, and then decide to craft a game based on it. Sometimes, we find inspirations from Chinese culture. I like to add traditional Chinese elements into our games.
Q: How do you fight against pirated copies of your games?
A: We plan to cooperate with the relevant authorities to crack down on pirates in the second half of this year. It is crucial to fight fake producers at the beginning and deter them as much as possible.