Liu Yudong: Controlling TV games with a mobile phone sounds great

TV games have a very broad category. They include games in arcades, console games, and Android set-top box games.

Arcade games are self-contained and have their own unique design. Basically, they are one game and one control method. Console games use the standard design of console manufacturers. After long-term research on ergonomics, they basically have the best user experience.

Estimation of domestic video game equipment inventory

The evolution history of console control tells us that it started with a handle and ended up with a handle. Although somatosensory sticks and somatosensory cameras appeared, they supplemented the handle and did not completely replace it.

The controller has always played a dominant role in the control of console games.

At the end of 2014, the stock of domestic Android set-top boxes/devices reached 55 million units, and is growing at a rate of 25 million units per year. It is the largest type of gaming device. However, games targeting this market have not yet exploded, mainly because of the need to solve several major problems in content, control, and payment. Among them, poor control experience is a very important problem.

The control methods provided by domestic Android set-top boxes/machines to users are gradually evolving. At present, all set-top boxes or machines are equipped with remote controls, air mice, and some manufacturers have proposed mobile phone control of TV games.

It sounds great to use a mobile phone to control TV games. However, players need to download a control client on their mobile phones, which increases the user threshold. In addition, the touch of the mobile phone screen is far inferior to that of the game controller. This control method has become a short-lived concept.

According to the survey, among users who have Android set-top boxes or complete devices at home, only 3% are equipped with handles, and the remaining 97% still only have the standard remote control. Other forms of control devices can be ignored.

Current game input devices for Chinese users

From the perspective of user experience, the remote control can provide players with basic services, which is better than nothing.

Since all devices have remote controls, the user threshold is low. The gamepad provides a better user experience for players, but players need to purchase it separately. Others such as motion sticks, mobile phones, and motion cameras are more like experimental products in the laboratory.

In the current situation, if you need more users, you need to provide remote control games, and if you want to provide the best gaming experience, you need to provide handle games.

The hardware processing power of Android set-top boxes is rapidly improving, but the control methods of Android TV games are still in a very primitive state. The control evolution of Android TV games will be from the remote control to the coexistence of the remote control and the controller. The installation volume of the controller will increase rapidly as manufacturers standardize and major games emerge.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.