Zhoudao Shanghai 2020

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2020年的春节档期，因为新冠肺炎疫情的影响，餐饮、影院、旅游等一众线下娱乐行业都经历了一场堪比“速冻”级别的严寒。与之相对的是，以游戏行业为代表的线上娱乐业却逆势上扬，迎来了一个小阳春。
In the spring of 2020, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, various offline entertainment industries such as catering, cinemas, and tourism experienced a severe downturn akin to a "deep freeze." In contrast, the online entertainment industry, represented by the gaming sector, thrived against the odds and ushered in a small springtime.

以表现格外耀眼的手游行业为例，根据伽马数据近期发布的《2020年一月移动游戏报告》，2020年春节期间（7天），中国移动游戏市场规模比2019年的春节假期增加了32.9%。
Taking the booming mobile gaming industry as an example, according to the "January 2020 Mobile Games Report" recently released by Gamma Data, the Chinese mobile gaming market during the Spring Festival period (7 days) witnessed a 32.9% increase in scale compared to the previous year's Spring Festival holiday.

在报告中的多份春节期间游戏流水榜单中，作为上海土生土长的互联网公司，上海米哈游网络科技股份有限公司（以下简称“米哈游”）旗下的主力产品《崩坏3》多次上榜，并在“春节期间流水较1月初流水增长率TOP10”榜单中位列第一。
Among the various gaming revenue charts in the report, Shanghai-based internet company miHoYo, under its flagship product *Honkai Impact 3rd*, made multiple appearances and topped the list of "Top 10 Games with Revenue Growth Rate During the Spring Festival Compared to Early January."

在周到记者对米哈游总裁刘伟的专访中，刘伟直言，疫情确实给游戏行业带来了一定的利好，但这种利好只是短期的。
In an interview with Shanghai Morning Post, miHoYo's president Liu Wei candidly expressed that the pandemic did bring some short-term benefits to the gaming industry.

从中期看，游戏公司的研发节奏已经因疫情影响推迟了一个月以上。而如果把眼光放长远，游戏行业必然跟整体的国民经济以及民众消费信心捆绑在一起，“覆巢之下，安有完卵？”
However, from a mid-term perspective, the development pace of game companies has been delayed by more than a month due to the impact of the pandemic. Looking further ahead, the gaming industry is inevitably intertwined with the overall national economy and public consumer confidence. As the saying goes, "How can there be unbroken eggs in a toppled nest?"

## The Epidemic Did Bring Short-Term Benefits

3月13日下午，节后复工已近一个月，米哈游的复工率也达到了九成以上。为了追赶被疫情推迟的进度，大大小小的协调会从早到晚从未间断。
On the afternoon of March 13th, nearly a month after the resumption of work following the Chinese New Year holiday, the work resumption rate at miHoYo had reached over 90%. In order to catch up on the progress delayed by the epidemic, coordination meetings of various sizes were held non-stop from morning till night.

公司里的十几个会议室成了员工们的必争之地，每个会议室门口的记事板上都写着预约人的姓名和预约时间。
The company's dozen or so meeting rooms became the battleground for employees, with the name and reservation time of each appointment written on the whiteboards outside the meeting rooms.

作为米哈游的总裁，刘伟并没有独立的办公室，他的工位就在开放的办公大厅的一角。为了给采访腾出一间会议室，他协调了好一阵子，最后只能在一间只有半小时空档期的会议室“先聊上一会儿，之后再换地方”。
As the president of miHoYo, Liu Wei didn't have a separate office. His workstation was located in a corner of the open office space. In order to make room for the interview, he had to coordinate for quite some time. Finally, he could only say, "Let's talk for a while in this meeting room, and then we can move to another place," as there was only a half-hour gap available.

谈起旗下产品《崩坏3》在春节期间取得的耀眼成绩，刘伟平静地表示，基本都在预期范围内。
When asked about the remarkable achievements of their flagship product, *Honkai Impact 3rd*, during the Chinese New Year period, Liu Wei calmly stated that it was within their expectations.

“春节假期，对于游戏行业而言，本来就是一个传统的旺季。很多游戏都会在剧情、角色、玩法、消费内容等方面推出重磅的更新，这是游戏行业在春节期间高增长的基础。”据他介绍，《崩坏3》也在春节期间推出了中国水墨风的新角色，并深受用户喜爱，所以他们对流水的增长并不意外。
"During the Chinese New Year holiday, it is traditionally a peak season for the gaming industry. Many games release significant updates in terms of storylines, characters, gameplay, and in-game content, which forms the foundation for the high growth of the gaming industry during this period," he explained. According to him, *Honkai Impact 3rd* also introduced new characters with a Chinese ink painting style during the Chinese New Year, which was well-received by users. Therefore, the increase in revenue was not unexpected.

至于疫情是否对游戏行业带来了利好，刘伟坦言：“在今年春节阶段，疫情对游戏行业确实有一定的推动作用，核心是把假期延长了，传统的假期只有7天，今年至少延长到了14天。”
Regarding whether the epidemic brought benefits to the gaming industry, Liu Wei admitted, "During this year's Chinese New Year period, the epidemic did have a certain promotional effect on the gaming industry. The main factor was the extension of the holiday. Normally, the holiday only lasts for 7 days, but this year it was extended to at least 14 days."

他进一步表示，在往年，7天假期一结束，游戏的在线数据和用户消费都会出现断崖式下降，基本就只有假期水平的一半。而今年因为假期的延长，各项数据的下降都放缓了很多。
He further explained that in previous years, as soon as the seven-day holiday ended, online game data and user spending would experience a steep decline, dropping to about half of the holiday level. However, this year, due to the extended holiday, the decline in various data indicators was significantly slowed down.

“有一种观点认为，因为线下娱乐项目的全面停滞，很多人只能被迫在线上消磨时间，所以在原本的春节7天假期阶段，游戏行业也因为疫情获得了很大的增益。”刘伟表示，从米哈游自身的情况来看，这种观点并不成立，“在7天假期的阶段，我们的流水跟往年比并没有明显的变化。”
"Some argue that due to the complete stagnation of offline entertainment projects, many people were forced to spend time online. Therefore, during the traditional seven-day Chinese New Year holiday period, the gaming industry gained substantial benefits due to the epidemic," Liu Wei stated. However, from miHoYo's perspective, this viewpoint does not hold true. "During the seven-day holiday period, our revenue did not show significant changes compared to previous years."

他说，如果用折线图来直观反映米哈游在春节期间的流水，今年和去年相比，折线能触及到的峰值差异并不大，只是下降的坡度要缓和很多。“我们吃到的红利主要是春节效应随着假期的延长而有所递延。”
He mentioned that if a line graph were used to visually represent miHoYo's revenue during the Chinese New Year period, the peak values touched by the lines this year and last year would not differ significantly, but the decline in revenue would be much more gradual. "The dividends we enjoyed mainly resulted from the extension of the Chinese New Year effect due to the extended holiday period."

“但是，不排除像《王者荣耀》这种带有社交属性的头部游戏，在整个春节假期都能够把疫情造成的影响变成自身的增益，”刘伟补充说，“线下娱乐停滞确实使得人们把更多的时间放在了线上，但能够吃到这一红利的，基本也就那几个现象级的游戏。”
"However, we cannot exclude the few phenomenon-level games like *Honor of Kings*, which have social attributes and can turn the impact caused by the epidemic into their own gains throughout the entire Chinese New Year holiday," Liu Wei added. He further stated, "The stagnation of offline entertainment indeed led people to spend more time online, but only a few of these phenomenon-level games were able to reap this dividend."

## Gaming Companies Cannot Work from Home

当头部游戏在这次春节假期赚得盆满钵满的同时，也有大量处于初创阶段的小微游戏企业面临着生存危机。
During this year's Spring Festival holiday, while top games were making a fortune, a large number of small and micro game companies in their early stages were facing a survival crisis.

“事实上，只有那些已经有成熟线上产品的游戏公司，才有机会吃到今年假期延长的红利。”刘伟说，对于那些产品尚在研发阶段，或者已经研发出来，但还没来得及推广的小微游戏公司而言，疫情带给它们的只有负面影响。
"In fact, only those game companies that already have mature online products have the opportunity to benefit from the extended holiday period this year," said Liu Wei. For small and micro game companies that are still in the research and development stage or have developed products but haven't had a chance to promote them, the impact of the epidemic has been negative.

不同于餐饮、影院等纯线下娱乐业的全面停滞，游戏行业在这次疫情中之所以能够一定程度的幸免于难，是因为它们的业务在线上展开。“但是，”刘伟强调说，“业务背后的人同样需要在线下工作。”
Unlike the complete stagnation of purely offline entertainment industries such as catering and cinemas, the game industry was able to partially avoid the difficulties of the epidemic because their business operations take place online. "However," emphasized Liu Wei, "the people behind the business also need to work offline."

“在复工这一点上，疫情是怎么影响其他行业的，就怎么影响游戏行业。”他表示，对于初创阶段的游戏公司而言，疫情影响了它的复工、招聘、推广乃至融资，最终可能会决定它的生死存亡。
"On the aspect of resumption of work, the epidemic has affected the game industry in the same way it has impacted other industries," he stated. For game companies in their early stages, the epidemic has affected their resumption of work, recruitment, promotion, and even financing, ultimately determining their survival or demise.

像米哈游这样有成熟产品的规模企业，有一定的抗压能力，疫情对它的直接影响是由于复工时间的推迟和复工后无法高效运转，产品的整体进度都受到了极大影响。
For companies like miHoYo with mature products, they have a certain level of resilience. The direct impact of the epidemic on them is mainly due to the delayed resumption of work and the inability to operate efficiently afterward, greatly affecting the overall progress of their products.

“对于整个游戏行业而言，疫情带来的假期红利只是暂时的，结合小微企业的困境以及疫情对公司工作节奏的影响，就很难说疫情是利好游戏行业了。”刘伟说。
"For the entire game industry, the holiday dividends brought by the epidemic are only temporary. Considering the plight of small and micro enterprises and the impact of the epidemic on the company's work rhythm, it is difficult to say that the epidemic has been favorable for the game industry," said Liu Wei.

很多人都认为游戏公司作为互联网企业，即使在疫情期间，也可以通过在家办公的方式开展工作。听到这种观点，刘伟无奈地摇了摇头。
Many people believe that game companies, as internet enterprises, can work remotely even during the epidemic. Hearing this viewpoint, Liu Wei shook his head helplessly.

“已上线游戏的维护和运营受疫情的影响不大，但这只是公司业务很小的一部分，研发才是游戏公司占比最大的业务。事实上，这部分工作很难通过远程办公实现。”他说。“在我们公司，研发的很多环节都涉及到美术素材，包括3D模型、动画等，这些工作只有在公司内部的平台上才能进行。”
"The maintenance and operation of games that have already been launched are not significantly affected by the epidemic, but this is only a small part of the company's business. Research and development are the largest proportion of the game company's business. In reality, this work is difficult to achieve through remote work," he said. "In our company, many aspects of development involve artistic materials, including 3D models, animations, etc., and these tasks can only be performed on the company's internal platforms."

这些工作一方面对电脑配置有极高的要求，一方面需要用到公司内部的游戏引擎去检验效果，更重要的是，大量涉及到知识产权的保密内容只能在公司的设备上运行。“对很多同事来说，到公司办公是开始工作的必要条件，在家办公几乎没有可能。”
These tasks require high computer specifications and the use of the company's internal game engine to test the effects. Moreover, a significant amount of confidential content related to intellectual property can only run on company devices. "For many colleagues, coming to the office is a necessary condition to start working. Working from home is almost impossible."

2月10日刚复工的时候，米哈游的很多员工因为外地返沪或身体不适需要居家隔离14天，真正到岗办公的员工人数不到三分之一，而整个公司的工作效率连这个比例都没有达到。
When the company resumed work on February 10th, many miHoYo employees had to self-quarantine for 14 days due to returning from other places or feeling unwell. The number of employees actually present in the office was less than one-third, and the company's efficiency did not even reach this ratio.

“像大型商业游戏的开发，都是一环扣一环的。比如一个游戏人物的产生，先要有一个人设计出人物角色，在交给下一个环节3D建模，之后再有人做动画特效，而且上下环之间还要不断地进行沟通和调整。”刘伟说，“但凡有一个人不能到岗工作，整个链条就可能处于停滞状态。”
"For the development of large-scale commercial games, it is an interconnected process. For example, the creation of a game character requires one person to design the character, then it is handed over to the next stage for 3D modeling, followed by someone working on animation special effects, and there needs to be constant communication and adjustments between different stages," Liu Wei said. "If even one person cannot work in the chain, the entire process may come to a standstill."

同时，公司的产品都采取大项目制，像《崩坏3》这种主力产品的团队规模将近400人，而像米哈游今年重点推出的新作《原神》的团队更是超过了400人。
At the same time, the company's products are developed as large-scale projects. For example, the team size for flagship products like *Honkai Impact 3rd* is nearly 400 people, and the team for miHoYo's new game *Genshin Impact*, which is their focus this year, exceeds 400 people.

刘伟表示，这些团队的很多工作都需要当面协作，并且各个链条间多有交集。“复工当天只有三分之一的人能到岗，很多链条是断的，公司的效率也只能用支离破碎来形容。”
Liu Wei stated that many of the tasks in these teams require face-to-face collaboration, and there are often overlaps between different stages. "On the day of resumption, only one-third of the people were able to come to work, and many chains were broken. The company's efficiency can only be described as fragmented."

## The Negative Impact of the Epidemic on the Gaming Industry is Fermenting

直到3月中旬，米哈游整个公司的到岗率才恢复到了九成以上。“最近这一周才算是恢复了常规化的工作，而这距离年前的复工计划推迟了一个月以上。”
Until mid-March, the attendance rate of employees at miHoYo had only recovered to over 90%. "It was only in the past week that work returned to normal, which is more than a month later than the original plan for resuming work after the Lunar New Year," said Liu Wei.

与之相对应，公司内大量产品的研发和推广都被推迟了至少一个月。这些影响汇集到具体事件上，就是米哈游近几年最重头产品《原神》的再临测试，从2月中旬推迟到了3月中旬。
In contrast, the development and promotion of many products within the company have been delayed by at least a month. This can be seen in the case of miHoYo's major product in recent years, *Genshin Impact*, which had its retesting phase postponed from mid-February to mid-March.

据刘伟介绍，因为防疫措施采取得较早，和其他公司相比，米哈游受到的影响相对还小一点。
According to Liu Wei, miHoYo was relatively less affected compared to other companies due to implementing early epidemic prevention measures.

“去年12月的时候，我们公司有不少同事被感染了季节性流感，所以我们的警惕性一直都很高。”他说，公司很早就采购了口罩和消毒水等防疫物资，复工后的物资供给始终很充足，前三周到公司办公的同事每人每周能领到15个口罩。
"Back in December last year, many of our colleagues were infected with seasonal flu, so we have been highly alert since then," he said. The company procured epidemic prevention supplies such as masks and disinfectants early on, and there was always an ample supply of these materials after resuming work. During the first three weeks, each colleague who came to the office could receive 15 masks per week.

而且，早在1月20日，米哈游就在全公司范围内发布了防疫措施，“比如劝阻湖北的同事回家过年，如果有同事回家会经停湖北地区，我们都建议大家改签，产生的费用一律由公司承担，当时国家还没有出台退票免费的措施。其中劝下来的湖北同事大约有50人。” "Furthermore, on January 20, miHoYo implemented epidemic prevention measures company-wide. "For example, we advised colleagues from Hubei province not to return home for the Lunar New Year. If any colleagues had to pass through Hubei, we recommended they reschedule their trips, and the company covered all resulting expenses. At that time, the national policy on free ticket refunds had not yet been introduced. We successfully persuaded around 50 colleagues from Hubei not to return home.""

复工之后，米哈游还为员工统一提供午餐和晚餐，并鼓励员工打车上下班，费用由公司报销。
After resuming work, miHoYo provided lunch and dinner for its employees and encouraged them to take taxis to and from work, with the company reimbursing the expenses.

公司的运作基本恢复正常后，疫情的发展依旧牵动着刘伟的神经，“从长期来看，疫情对游戏行业的负面影响会不断发酵。”
With the company's operations basically back to normal, the development of the epidemic still worries Liu Wei. "In the long term, the negative impact of the epidemic on the gaming industry will continue to ferment."

“因为我们对自身的定位是一家原创动漫公司，游戏只是我们基于动漫IP开发的产品之一，所以我们公司的推广策略更偏向于以内容为核心，而不是单纯投放硬广。”据刘伟介绍，基于内容的推广，就需要去跟人接触，向感兴趣的人展现自己的IP故事，所以在米哈游的市场营销比重中，线下推广占了三成。
"Because our company positions itself as an original animation company, with games being just one of the products developed based on our animated IP, our promotion strategy focuses more on content rather than simply advertising," Liu Wei explained. Based on content-driven promotion, it requires interacting with people and showcasing one's IP stories to those interested. Therefore, offline promotion accounts for about 30% of miHoYo's marketing efforts.

而受疫情的影响，线下推广基本处于停滞状态。“像《原神》这种国际化的产品，通过展会出海是关键的一步，但现在随着海外疫情的扩展，上半年的展会基本上全部取消了，包括游戏界最权威的专业大会美国国际游戏开发者大会（GDC）。”
However, due to the epidemic, offline promotion has basically come to a standstill. "For international products like *Genshin Impact*, participating in exhibitions and going global is a crucial step. But now, with the expansion of the overseas epidemic, almost all exhibitions in the first half of the year have been canceled, including the most authoritative professional conference in the gaming industry, the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in the United States."

刘伟进一步表示，展会上有大量的资深玩家和全球的专业媒体，通过展会的渠道，游戏公司既可以使自己的新产品得到有效曝光，也可以高效地跟广告商、KOL等潜在合作伙伴接触。
Liu Wei further stated that exhibitions attract numerous seasoned players and global media professionals, and through these channels, gaming companies can effectively showcase their new products and establish connections with potential partners such as advertisers and key opinion leaders (KOLs).

“因为疫情，展会这一块几乎没有了，我们的推广渠道受到的影响不小。”他不无担忧地指出，“如果海外疫情得不到控制，可能下半年的展会也会受到影响。”
"Due to the epidemic, exhibitions have been almost nonexistent, and our promotional channels have been significantly affected." He pointed out with concern, "If the overseas epidemic remains uncontrolled, it may also affect exhibitions in the second half of the year."

对于疫情利好游戏行业的说法，刘伟觉得提出者的目光有些过于短浅。“先不论疫情在当下已经对游戏行业产生的负面影响，如果把目光稍微放长远一些，疫情长期得不到控制的话，经济起不来，民众消费信心不足，游戏行业不可能独善其身。”
Regarding the claim that the epidemic has benefited the gaming industry, Liu Wei believes that those who put forward such views have a somewhat short-sighted perspective. "Setting aside the negative impact the epidemic has already had on the gaming industry, if we look further into the future, if the epidemic persists without control, the economy will not recover, and consumer confidence will be insufficient. The gaming industry cannot thrive in isolation."

同时，在他看来，游戏行业毕竟是个内容产业，行业的发展最终还是要回归到能做出好的内容，而不是寄希望于外力带来的利好。“像米哈游，如果不能持续开发出有文化属性的游戏产品，再多的利好都好不了。”
At the same time, in his view, the gaming industry is ultimately a content industry, and its development must ultimately return to the ability to create excellent content rather than relying on external factors. "For companies like miHoYo, if they cannot continue to develop culturally significant gaming products, no amount of favorable conditions will help."