CATDOLL: Tencent Cheng Wu first proposed the concept of the two-dimensional economy and called for the wind to take off

"Today, a force from the ACG world is sweeping across China. With the mobile Internet and pan-entertainment boom, China is also on the eve of the rise of ACG culture. At such an industry turning point or outlet, what kind of business model do we need?" Cheng Wu, vice president of Tencent Group and CEO of Tencent Pictures, said at the Tencent Animation Industry Cooperation Conference on November 19, "This is the 'ACG economy' that we are going to focus on today."

This is the first strategic conference for the entire industry since the establishment of Tencent Animation. The conference brought together core representatives from all fields of the entire animation industry chain, providing important reference for decision-making by relevant parties in the animation field at a time when China's animation business is developing rapidly and the industry is facing a turning point. At the conference, Cheng Wu proposed a new industry concept: the two-dimensional economy.

In recent years, the ACG world has become a very interesting concept. It not only has a large number of users and the number is increasing, but also enterprises and media are becoming more and more interested in the ACG world. Cheng Wu said that the ACG world is a kind of surreal imagination, aesthetics and interest based on animation IP. As for the ACG economy, Tencent's understanding is that it is based on the Internet and mobile Internet, open co-creation and cultivation of star IP, and through the symbiosis of multiple content forms, it has built a ACG cultural consumption form with mass influence. "In simple terms, it is to gather the power of all industries present, jointly incubate high-quality animation IP, and make it become games, film and television, literature and various peripheral derivatives, and finally become popular culture that enters the public. This is the core of the ACG economy business." Cheng Wu said that as a new business model, the ACG economy is becoming a new topic in the industry. He believes that it is not difficult to talk about the model, but how to really seize the opportunity. The strategy of Tencent Animation can be summarized in four words-open co-creation, hoping that everyone can contribute and everyone will benefit.

At the meeting, Cheng Wu also proposed three trends in the era of the two-dimensional economy.

The first trend is that the ACG world will move from heavy users to light users, from core users to mass users, and from niche subculture to mainstream trend culture. This is the development path of many popular cultural phenomena in the past, but in today's era, mobile Internet and pan-entertainment trends will play a key role in promoting it.

The second trend is that the ACG world is breaking the boundaries between 2D and 3D, and between reality and virtuality. Anime IP can be turned into excellent live-action movies, games, home dances and cosplay, peripheral products, and other forms of presentation.

The third trend is that the driving force of social interaction will become increasingly important. Tencent has the two largest social platforms in China, WeChat and QQ. The two-dimensional world has a strong circle culture and social attributes, and social interaction can in turn promote the production of two-dimensional content. The user behavior of the two-dimensional world, such as the language, is becoming part of the content.

“Come and be our partner!” At the end of his speech, Cheng Wu quoted Luffy’s famous saying from the classic Japanese anime “One Piece”, hoping to work together with industry partners to build China’s two-dimensional economy and promote the continued development of China’s animation industry.

The following is the original text of Cheng Wu’s speech:

Good morning, everyone! I welcome everyone to the Tencent Animation Cooperation Conference today, and I welcome everyone to the world of the second dimension. In fact, it may be difficult for you to imagine what kind of pressure it is for an old man like me to talk about the second dimension on stage with a group of friends in the animation circle. A few days ago, when I was still hesitating whether to go on stage, a member of my team told me that you didn’t have much contact with the entertainment industry before, but now you are also working in Tencent Pictures, right? Since you want to do pan-entertainment, you should also try to become a man of the second dimension. When I thought about it, I simply couldn’t refute it.

In recent years, a popular word in the Internet industry is "the wind outlet". Today, I hope to work hard with you and fly together in the wind outlet of the second dimension.

A long time ago, I asked the team, what exactly is the ACG? A colleague told me that a thousand people would have a thousand different answers. I asked him, if we try to define the ACG, will it be criticized? He told me with certainty: Yes! But to talk about the ACG economy, we must first talk about what the ACG is. Even if it is criticized. The word "Tucao" seems to come from the concept of the ACG.

We believe that in essence, the two-dimensional world is a kind of surreal imagination, aesthetics and fun based on anime IP. When the decoration of a "pain car" conforms to the aesthetics of anime works, it is the two-dimensional world; when the movements and costumes of an otaku dance reflect the fun of anime, it is also the two-dimensional world; when the mobile game of "Naruto" restores the imagination of the original anime, it is also the two-dimensional world.

In fact, in the United States and Japan, the two-dimensional world can be said to be the mainstream culture of society. The comic-based Marvel Universe has become popular all over the world through movies and TV series, becoming a very iconic cultural card of the United States. In the kingdom of animation, Japan, it can be said that everything can be two-dimensional. Recently, I learned that there is a cute creature called KUMAMON Bear, which is sought after all over the world. In fact, it is an animation spokesperson in Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. In today's China, everyone here may have felt that a force from the two-dimensional world is sweeping in. This year, an animated film "The Return of the Great Sage" became a box office dark horse, and many people think that this has given the animation industry a shot in the arm. On the Internet, like Tencent Animation's "My Name is Bai Xiaofei", the total number of clicks on comics and animations has exceeded 8.3 billion times. The capital market is also active, and a large amount of investment is pouring in.

In real life, many young people around me go to AB Station every day to watch the barrage, and also say all kinds of two-dimensional names and jokes that people of my age don’t understand, such as the recently popular "head growing grass". We recently cooperated with Jay Chou, and everyone saw Jay Chou and Kun Ling also playing "head growing grass" online. Everyone can see that this subculture is expanding rapidly.

It was precisely because of foreseeing this kind of power that Tencent Interactive Entertainment began to quietly develop its animation business in 2012. Today, we can welcome with you the moment when the two-dimensional world rises in China.

Why is the ACG world on the rise? I study physics and I like to watch the American TV series The Big Bang Theory. There is a very famous character in the show, Sheldon, whom we call "Sheldon". Scientists like Sheldon cosplay as their favorite anime characters and argue about anime plots every day. They are typical ACG people.

I think that Sheldon, who has such a high IQ, likes the ACG world because he, like many people, pursues free imagination and likes virtual life. In fact, young people of every era will make their own cultural choices, which is the essence of the rise of the ACG world. Whether it is the drama craze in the early 20th century, the rock craze in the 1970s and 1980s, or the game culture that emerged in the 1990s, they all reflect the youth's desire for new culture and new life.

Therefore, whether Kuso is a spoof, non-mainstream, or emoticon, it is becoming the theme of entertainment and life for the younger generation. This is the trend of the times, the power of the times, and the opportunity given by the times.

We can see that whether it is Marvel in the United States or Deen in Japan, there is a mature business model behind the rise of the two-dimensional culture. Today, with the tide of mobile Internet and pan-entertainment, China has also come to the eve of the rise of the two-dimensional culture. At such an industry turning point or outlet, what kind of business model do we need?

This is the "ACG economy" that we are going to focus on today. What is the ACG economy? Our understanding is that it is based on the Internet and mobile Internet, openly co-creates and cultivates celebrity IPs, and through the symbiosis of multiple content forms, it builds a ACG cultural consumption form with mass influence. In simple terms, it is to gather the power of all industries present here, jointly incubate high-quality animation IPs, and make it become games, movies, literature and various peripheral derivatives, and finally become popular culture that enters the public. This is the core of the ACG economy business.

Some friends may say that Marvel has already done this. There are many similarities. However, the difference from the Marvel model is that the ACG economy is based on the Internet and mobile Internet, and requires the participation and interaction of every user. The instantaneous cultural explosion effect brought about by the extended space will bring huge opportunities to the Chinese animation industry.

Therefore, friends who are familiar with Tencent Interactive Entertainment and Tencent Animation should understand that the ACG economy is not an isolated business model, but a vertical and sophisticated expansion of the pan-entertainment strategy in the animation field. Vertically, we hope to aggregate animation authors, comic fans, pan-animation users, and industry partners through the ACG economy to build popular ACG animation content; horizontally, with animation star IP as the core, we will work together with film, television, literature, games and other content forms to build a "pan-entertainment" ecosystem.

We hope to bring more possibilities to this industry with this kind of thinking. Facing the future, I should be able to clearly see three trends: First, the ACG world will move from heavy users to light users, from core users to mass users, and from niche subculture to mainstream trend culture. This is also the development path of many popular cultural phenomena in the past, but in this era, mobile Internet and pan-entertainment trends will play a key role in promoting it.

The second trend is that the ACG world is breaking the boundaries between 2D and 3D, and between reality and virtuality. Anime IP can be turned into excellent live-action movies, games, home dances and cosplay, peripheral products, and other forms of presentation.

In fact, at the Tencent Film Press Conference on September 17 this year, we also announced the film and television adaptation plans of Tencent Animation's three works, "Fox Spirit Matchmaker", "My Name is Bai Xiaofei" and "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", which is also the beginning of our hope to break through the dimensional wall.

Another trend is that the driving force of social interaction will become increasingly important. Tencent has the two largest social platforms in China, WeChat and QQ. The second dimension has a strong circle culture and social attributes, and social interaction can in turn promote the production of second dimension content. Second dimension language and other user behaviors are becoming part of the content. I would like to summarize Tencent Animation in four words: open and co-creation.

The specific details will be introduced in detail by Zou Zhengyu, the business director of Tencent Animation. On behalf of Tencent and Tencent Interactive Entertainment, I sincerely invite all friends present to join the two-dimensional world of Tencent Animation and the entire Tencent Interactive Entertainment ecosystem to jointly create star animation IPs. In this process, we hope that everyone can contribute and everyone will benefit.

Having said so much, it feels like I am talking about a very unfamiliar industry topic, but in fact, the two-dimensional world is very cute, exciting and interesting. What we most hope to do is to turn all imaginations into experiences that are within the reach of users.

To this end, Tencent will continue to attach importance to the animation business, and coordinate games, literature, film and television and other businesses to support Tencent Animation's two-dimensional economic layout. Finally, as Luffy often said, "Be my partner", let us work together to build China's two-dimensional and promote the continued development of China's animation industry. Thank you all for participating today.