Recently, in the game industry, cases of reinvesting profits from games into concerts, animations, communication programs, and merchandise to provide new enjoyment to gamers and expand IP have begun to appear one by one.
Among them, Hoyo Bus’ representative game ‘Wonshin’ stands out. In addition to game updates, Wonshin, who celebrated the 2nd anniversary of global service, made an active appearance in various cultural content and fan service events.
Recently, the Sebitseom offline festival was held to give Korean fans different memories, and the orchestra concert was provided online for free, making the ears ecstatic. That’s why Wonshin is called a model for reinvestment in the game industry.
Representative examples of Wonshin’s reinvestment activities include concerts, offline festivals, and merchandise. It’s an activity that can easily be seen in other games, but in Wonshin’s case, it’s established as a fixed routine. Square Enix’s online game ‘Final Fantasy 14’ was one of the forerunners of online and offline events, but there are no fixed customs other than fan festivals and live letters, so the general opinion is that Wonshin surpassed this.
■ Wave of emotion ‘Online Orchestra Concert’
– Wonshin 2022 online concert
Wonshin’s music concert ‘Melodies of an Endless Journey’ will be held online as it is a global simultaneous service game. There is a distinct difference between listening to music via a live soundtrack online and online. This is because, no matter how much effort is put into the sound field, the sound quality is different depending on the hardware including individual speakers, and there is no emotion that can be felt only in the offline field .
To compensate for this, Wonshin provided the best possible sound quality with the best audio technology. To impress you in the middle, the game screen matching the music was shown to remind you of memories. It takes advantage of the uniqueness of the game, where memories of laughing, crying and happy are left one by one through direct play.
As a result, the Wonshin 2021 online concert received rave reviews. That impression continued through the 2022 online concert held on the 2nd. Above all, we did not lose the details of the arrangement method and arrangement of the song so that users who watched the concert last year were not bored.
Fans said, “It’s sad that it’s online, but the emotion is alive”, “My heart is touched when I see the ending credits”, “It seems that you put a lot of effort into giving it a different feel from the 1st anniversary. performance”, “Thank you so much for showing a great performance for free”, “I’m looking forward to next year too,” expressing thanks and expectation towards Hoyo Bus.
■ ‘Offline Fan Event’ to build memories together
– Genshin Alps Lighting Event
Wonshin’s offline event, which drew attention with a unique event called ‘Alps Mountain Warp Point Lighting Ceremony’, left a deep impression on Korea through the 2022 Sebitseom Summer Festival held on July 28, near Banpo Hangang Park in Seoul. Around 30,000 visitors flocked to the event, which included small events using original content, creative booths, cosplay and souvenir shops where game users participated.
The event attracted more spectators than originally expected by the organizers. The long queues along Banpo Bridge endangered the bridge connecting Sebit Island and became a hot topic in the online community. At that time, the event hall was temporarily closed at 4 pm on the 29th as security issues unique to artificial castles arose due to the large number of queues at the time.
As a result, restrictions were implemented that did not originally exist, allowing 300 people to enter and only 20 minutes of use at a time. In addition, the Costpe Parade, in which more than 100 people participated every day, shows that Wonshin’s popularity is great in Korea as well.
Regarding the plan for a large-scale offline event in the future, Hoyo Bus said, “Based on the opinions of the summer festival participants, we intend to experience the world view of the original god more immersively and continue to look for opportunities for members of the community to share precious memories with each other.”
■ ‘Goods’ that are together in real life
Commodities are nothing less than concerts and events. As a gamer, it’s natural to want an external object related to the game you like. Therefore, events where various game goods are offered as prizes attract a large number of participants, boast fierce competition, and are sold out in an instant when a special goods shop is opened.
Wonshin introduces various products regularly and regularly. Some products are provided as in-game events, but products sold on the market are also released in different ways. Above all, merchandise products that consider popularity actively take advantage of the fact that they can affect people who have not enjoyed Genshin with fans.
A typical example is the Nendoroid Company of Good Smile. Nendoroid is a compound word from the Japanese word ‘Nendo’, which means clay, and the word ‘Android’, which means a robot with a human-like shape. As the signature figure of Good Smile Company, first introduced at a Japanese festival in 2006, it has become synonymous with cute SD design and has attracted many fans.
In the past, Nexon’s popular game ‘Dungeon & Fighter’ also released a limited edition Nendoroid with the release of Seraphim. Of course, the ability to get special appearance items by purchasing this product also affected the purchase rate, but the Nendoroid itself is popular enough to be traded at a high price in the used market.
In the case of Wonshin, the Nendoroids of the travelers ‘Lumine’ and ‘Aiter’, the main characters, have been released on the market, and the popular character ‘Venti’ is expected to be released between November and December 2022. In addition, as the production of Raiden Shogun, Palm, So, and Keia Nendoroids were confirmed, fans’ expectations were raised.
■ ‘Long term project’ beyond games such as animation
– Concept of starting a long term project in Wonshin
Wonshin, which builds trust and thickens the user base with diverse cultural content, surprised fans by announcing the surprising news that Wonshin IP animation with Yupotable, a famous Japanese animation developer, has been produced.
Euphotable, which produced a number of IP animations that can only be identified by their names, such as the Fate series, ball barrier, and blade of destruction, received the best evaluation in the world for its drawing and directing quality. One of the best games at the moment, as there are many opinions that Genshin also suits the animation well, the combination of these can only be expected from the fans’ point of view.
Meanwhile, while focusing on non-game content, he did not neglect game content updates. On September 28th, version 3.1 was released which includes various updates including the Sumerian desert terrain, raising the enthusiasm of fans to play.
In version 3.1, three characters such as Nilu, Cyno, and Candice, as well as the vast desert land, and a lively autumn story, mini-games, and events in the Monde area have been added. In the middle of the wild Sumerian desert, a mysterious scene is full of puzzles, devices, and machines that have never been seen before, driven by the technology of ancient civilizations.
In addition, five new events, such as wind investigation and journey to find a star, have been added, and in Spiral Unexplored, you can get a full 4-star attribute cola by clearing room 3 on the 4th floor. In addition, various events such as cumulative login events and special access rewards were provided, and the users were warmly welcomed.
A source from Hoyo Bus said, “Wonshin, which was first released in September 2020, is celebrating its third year with fans from all over the world.
Won-bin Moon, Reporter at Hankyung.com Game Talk
