Article 4.1 – Sailing with the Global Trend: AutoWebPay Assists Entertainment Enterprises in Setting Sail Overseas

02 Amidst the Beautiful Scenery Lie Dangerous Waves

As the saying goes: “When one is poor, he becomes innovative, and when one innovates, he finds solutions; once solutions are found, success follows.” Alongside the slowdown and plateauing of domestic internet growth, and the rapid development of overseas internet infrastructure, Chinese internet enterprises have realized that sticking to the domestic market ultimately leads to stagnation. Thus, many have begun to explore overseas markets, with a particular fervor for globalizing entertainment.

Public information indicates that in terms of international expansion, entertainment applications have shown outstanding performance in terms of download volume and user expenditure in recent years. For instance, in 2022, OTT (over-the-top) platforms ranked first globally in both download volume and user expenditure among app categories. Similarly, categories such as dating, short videos, video sharing, music and audio, and online live streaming also ranked among the top ten in global user expenditure. Particularly in the past two years, rapid iterations in digital technology have led to the emergence of new concepts like the metaverse and AIGC (Artificial Intelligence Generated Content), resulting in innovative gameplay and business models colliding with entertainment products.

For example, the game “Far Cry 6” has incorporated Choreograph’s AI tools to generate more natural animations using motion matching technology, enhancing the player experience and attractiveness of the product. This innovation has opened up more avenues for successful globalization in entertainment, creating greater possibilities for its development.

However, amidst the beautiful scenery, there are also dangerous waves. With the development of the overseas internet industry, the boundaries of entertainment scenes are becoming increasingly blurred, exhibiting a trend towards integration and complexity, transitioning from single-scene models to multi-scene business models. Consequently, we see the emergence of live broadcasting in one-on-one paid social scenes, with many customers who previously focused on chat room scenes now exploring one-on-one social models.

Moreover, as more and more entertainment enterprises and teams recognize the immense potential of the market and venture abroad, they face the challenge of diversifying their offerings and expanding their target audiences to cope with the intense competition resulting from the rapid development of the industry.

However, enriching business lines and expanding target audiences overseas is no easy task. Simply replicating domestic products abroad does not guarantee success. To find a breakthrough and avoid cultural mismatches, it’s crucial to understand the market characteristics, policy regulations, user preferences, payment habits, religious cultures, etc., of different regions. Take the Middle East, for example. Countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain, despite their large populations and strong purchasing power, have stringent offline social restrictions but strong online social demands due to religious and cultural factors. However, replicating domestic social product operating models in these regions is challenging due to these constraints.

Therefore, while the prospects of globalizing entertainment may seem promising, the challenges of localizing expansion are formidable. Without careful consideration, one may easily be overturned by the potential “waves.”