This article reflects information as of 2021. For the latest details, please contact us.
Written by: Qian Yunwen, Director / PR, tentus inc.
Hello, everyone! Good evening!
This is Qian, visiting my parents' place in Shanghai.
Recently, watching my mom play mahjong and card games on her tablet at home, I suddenly got interested in gambling-style games and started playing them myself. There was some really fun content, so today I'd like to talk about China's mobile game market as seen through the country's mahjong game apps.
China's Mobile Game Market
Judging by the commercials that often air on TV and the app store rankings, I think idle games and battle games are popular in Japan. But in China, where esports is big, online competitive games are hugely popular — starting with League of Legends and including plenty of domestically made Chinese titles.
Incidentally, at this year's League of Legends world championship, Worlds 2021, a Chinese team called EDG broke the back-to-back reign of the famous Korean team DK. Their years of training finally paid off and they became champions, which has stoked the Chinese people's passion for esports even further.
There's also a genre called "2D games," and games using hot IPs such as Harry Potter, ONE PIECE, and Onmyoji are quite popular too.
(Harry Potter: Magic Awakened (哈利波特：魔法觉醒), a mobile game made by Chinese gaming giant NetEase with Warner Bros. under the Harry Potter IP)
(航海王热血航线, a mobile game under the ONE PIECE IP made by Beijing Zhaoxiguangnian Information Technology Co.)
Among these lavishly funded games, several gambling-style games — which don't look like they cost much on the art side — have also made it into the top 20!
China's Mahjong Game Apps
(Mom absorbed in a card game on the bus)
Before introducing the mahjong game apps, I have to introduce China's most popular card game, "Dou Dizhu" (斗地主). It's a type of card game where you compete to empty your hand first, and it apparently got its name — which means "fight the landlord" — from the way three "peasants" gang up on one "landlord."
When my mom gets tired of mahjong, playing Dou Dizhu has become part of her routine.
(Mom absorbed in a mahjong game on the bus)
The reason I'm introducing this card game is that Chinese mahjong has different rules in each region — Shanghai people play Shanghai mahjong, Sichuan people play Sichuan mahjong, Guangdong people play Guangdong mahjong. I've never counted, but there are probably dozens of variations.
The rules of Dou Dizhu, however, are pretty much the same everywhere.
That's why China's gambling-style games always include Dou Dizhu content, which anyone can play. On top of that, they often include dozens of mahjong variations and other simple board games too.
Mahjong Apps Differ by Region and Generation
(A gambling-style app for Shanghai people called "哈灵麻将")
I've never done a detailed survey, but the mahjong app my mom plays is called "哈灵麻将." "哈灵" means "really good" in the Shanghai dialect, so this app is a mahjong app aimed at people in the Shanghai region.
The most interesting bit of content: if you play and earn 10,000 "yuanbao," you get a month's worth of your phone bill covered. *In China, you top up your phone every month.
For retirees, this little perk that you can earn while killing time is pretty appealing, I think.
(A gambling-style app made by Tencent called "欢乐麻将全集")
A friend in his twenties from Sichuan plays a gambling-style app made by Tencent called "欢乐麻将全集." Even just from the screen you can tell it's quite lively, with lots more content.
There's a shop too, with all kinds of content — changing outfits, collars, decorating your mahjong table — clearly a gambling-style game aimed at younger people. As a major player, Tencent has clearly put a lot of effort into the art.
This app's default mahjong rules are Sichuan mahjong, and the most intense rule is "Xueliu (blood-flow) mahjong," where anyone can win over and over until the tiles run out. Sichuan really is a mahjong powerhouse!
Here, it's fine if you drop off, but I really want you to watch the strongest mahjong parlor to emerge in Sichuan! It's in Chinese though… lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLJcjd2q7A0
Japanese Mahjong Is Hot Among Young People Too
*("雀姫," a Japanese-mahjong-only app made by the Chinese video site bilibili. It apparently added Sichuan rules recently too.)
For otaku who get excited by both 2D and gambling, this is a gambling-style app to love. A friend who plays it also plays a gambling-style app called "雀魂" (Mahjong Soul), whose content and keywords are similar to "雀姫."
For a detailed comparison, see this person's article!
https://anime-merci.com/cute-mahjong-app/
Finally
What did you think?
Esports, IP, gambling… maybe mahjong will become an esport someday too. And if they could use the IP of Nobuyuki Fukumoto, famous for his gambling manga, that would be absolutely wild and fun!