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“Black Myth: Wukong” is a hit. Will China produce more?
《黑神话：悟空》之后，中国会制造更多爆款游戏吗？
You are thrust into the heat of battle—a clash so violent it has “disturbed heaven and Earth” and “alarmed both demons and gods”. Playing as Sun Wukong, aka the Monkey King, you wield the jin gu bang (a fabled staff weighing eight tonnes) and face down Erlang, a three-eyed warrior-god.
你被卷入了激烈的战斗中——这场战斗如此激烈，以至于“震撼了天地”，“惊动了鬼神”。你扮演孙悟空（也就是美猴王），挥舞着金箍棒（传说中重达八吨的棍子），与二郎神（有三只眼睛的战神）对峙。
“Journey to the West” has been adapted many times: it is the most famous novel in Chinese literature and among the country’s most successful cultural exports. But “Black Myth: Wukong”, released on August 20th, is special.
《西游记》已被多次改编：这是中国文学中最著名的小说，也是中国最成功的文化输出之一。但在8月20日发布的《黑神话：悟空》却很特别。
The video game is the first blockbuster release from a Chinese studio. In industry lingo, “Black Myth” is a “AAA” game—a label that denotes big budgets and high production values.
这个视频游戏是第一款由中国工作室发布的重磅巨作。用行业术语说，《黑神话》是一款3A游戏——这个标签意味着高预算和高水准制作。
Many Chinese have bemoaned their country’s inability to produce a video game as thrilling as “Grand Theft Auto” or “World of Warcraft”. They are hoping “Black Myth” marks the arrival of a new player in the AAA arena.
许多中国人都曾为自己的国家无法制作出像《侠盗猎车手》或《魔兽世界》那样令人兴奋的视频游戏而感到惋惜。他们希望《黑神话：悟空》标志着在3A游戏领域出现了一个新玩家。
Why has China been so late to log on? One reason is that the country has been focused on winning the mobile game war. China made four of the ten highest-grossing mobile games of 2023, including the top entry, “Honour of Kings”.
为什么中国进入游戏领域这么晚？一个原因是中国一直专注于赢得手游战争。2023年十大最赚钱的手游中，有四款是中国制作的，包括排名第一的《王者荣耀》。
Mobile games “monetise much faster”, explains one game producer in China, which counts against designers who want to spend time and money on something more expansive.
中国的一位游戏制作人解释道，手游“变现速度快得多”，这对那些想在规模更大的游戏上投入时间和资金的设计师来说是不利条件。
Perhaps the biggest reason for the lag is that Chinese gamers are not in the habit of paying to play. China is richer now, but with the rise of mobile games—which are typically free-to-play and make their money from selling in-game benefits—the habit has stuck.
也许滞后的最大原因是中国玩家没有付费玩游戏的习惯。中国现在更富裕了，但随着手游的兴起——这些游戏通常是免费玩的，通过出售游戏内的福利来赚钱——这种习惯继续存留。
Some Chinese netizens were nonplussed when the pricing for “Black Myth” was announced at 268 yuan ($38). GameScience, the maker of “Black Myth”, based in Hangzhou, is hoping to reboot that attitude.
当《黑神话：悟空》的定价公布为268元（合38美元）时，一些中国网民惊呆了。《黑神话》的制造商游戏科学公司（总部位于杭州）希望重塑这种态度。
Feng Ji, its boss, abides by the motto “Move oneself first, then find alignment with the market.” GameScience studied the best titles and historical material to create a game world that would feel true to “Journey to the West”.
游戏科学的老板冯骥遵循着这样的座右铭：“先打动自己，再与市场对齐。”游戏科学公司研究了最好的书和历史材料，以创造一个观感与《西游记》高度相似的游戏世界。
The game’s success proves the viability of blockbuster games in China and encourages other developers to think big. Mr Feng asserts that “There will be more Chinese games that can vie with those overseas.”
《黑神话》的成功证明了大制作游戏在中国的可行性，并鼓励了其他开发者要敢想敢做。冯骥断言：“将会有更多的中国游戏能够与海外游戏相媲美。”
That will come as good news to those who like to monkey around on gaming consoles.
对于那些喜欢玩游戏机的人来说，这是个好消息。
