Ariel's Post Summary: We introduce a phenomenon called Pandarization, an ever-present feature of human development. In essence, pandarization is the effect of fluctuating dominance among economically prevalent cultures. This dominance is reflected in the way in which global business gravitates and caters towards one of them because of the culture's lucrative economic prospects. When the balance of economic power shifts from one culture to another, businesses follow with a more or less pronounced cultural adaptation that invariably takes toll on the adherents of the formerly dominant cultural space.
The Phenomenon of Pandarization
The story goes as follows. It's late 2011 and Blizzard Entertainment, the studio developing World of Warcraft, announces a new game expansion. This time around, its main subject doesn't rely on the Western, Norse mythology as the game traditionally did before.
Instead, the developers introduce a new race of Pandaren, fuzzy panda-like bipeds that live in a secluded misty land (just like the lowlands of inner China for example), have far East Asian names, live in houses with East Asian architecture (reminiscent of that of traditional Chinese) and sub-tropical vegetation (just like the one in the aforementioned part of China). The new land even has its own myths and legends (also much like the Chinese ones). It's spot on to say that Pandaria, the land of these fuzzy pandas, has a culture just like that of the traditional Chinese dynasties.
Upon the announcement, the Western World of Warcraft users rebel and wreak havoc and proclaim their hatred for the developers while some find it an interesting change. But most of all, the plummeting subscription numbers will speak for themselves.
The question that arises is: Why? Why did Blizzard do that? And why did users react the way they did?
Pandas: A Sign of the Changing Times
Blizzard Entertainment has always had a history of controversy when it came to its World of Warcraft expansions. One common denominator of every new course is that they did whatever enabled more room for expansion, no matter how much it skewed the original story.
But this time, the new direction and the reaction to it were immense compared to the previous one.
While one could argue that perhaps users just can't take fuzzy monochromatic animals seriously in a game where the objective is to complete quests and wage war, the players have so far swallowed more ludicrous science fiction elements in previous expansions (see Draenei) without much hesitation.
In addition, the game already toyed with the idea in the past and introduced an in-game Lunar Festival which corresponds to the Chinese New Year.
Instead, the developers introduce a new race of Pandaren, fuzzy panda-like bipeds that live in a secluded misty land (just like the lowlands of inner China for example), have far East Asian names, live in houses with East Asian architecture (reminiscent of that of traditional Chinese) and sub-tropical vegetation (just like the one in the aforementioned part of China). The new land even has its own myths and legends (also much like the Chinese ones). It's spot on to say that Pandaria, the land of these fuzzy pandas, has a culture just like that of the traditional Chinese dynasties.
Upon the announcement, the Western World of Warcraft users rebel and wreak havoc and proclaim their hatred for the developers while some find it an interesting change. But most of all, the plummeting subscription numbers will speak for themselves.
The question that arises is: Why? Why did Blizzard do that? And why did users react the way they did?
Pandas: A Sign of the Changing Times
Blizzard Entertainment has always had a history of controversy when it came to its World of Warcraft expansions. One common denominator of every new course is that they did whatever enabled more room for expansion, no matter how much it skewed the original story.
But this time, the new direction and the reaction to it were immense compared to the previous one.
While one could argue that perhaps users just can't take fuzzy monochromatic animals seriously in a game where the objective is to complete quests and wage war, the players have so far swallowed more ludicrous science fiction elements in previous expansions (see Draenei) without much hesitation.
In addition, the game already toyed with the idea in the past and introduced an in-game Lunar Festival which corresponds to the Chinese New Year.
The real reason is that revenue growth from subscriptions has been slowly declining in the West. A combination of factors like market saturation and poor economic conditions prevented further growth of the franchise.
When the north pole loses its magnetic force, where does the compass needle turn? Simple, to the next big thing: China.
Localization's Breaking Point
My claim is the following: Companies will, in order to cater to the colossal Chinese market, change the product/service experience to cater more to the Chinese consumer at the expense of a Western one. The more radical the change, the more alienated the Western consumer will feel after the transition.
When the north pole loses its magnetic force, where does the compass needle turn? Simple, to the next big thing: China.
Localization's Breaking Point
My claim is the following: Companies will, in order to cater to the colossal Chinese market, change the product/service experience to cater more to the Chinese consumer at the expense of a Western one. The more radical the change, the more alienated the Western consumer will feel after the transition.
The calculation is simple: the population of China is two times the size of the West by population, its market is very much in development and the opportunities there seem infinite.
Sometimes, localization is all that is needed to enter a market. But in most cases, localizing an already global product is simply not enough to conquer a market.
Sometimes, localization is all that is needed to enter a market. But in most cases, localizing an already global product is simply not enough to conquer a market.
Up to some point, every product or service can be localized. For some industries, localization enough to make them successful. McDonald's franchises adapt everything from their language, menu selection and parts of its brand identity like the staple logo (for example, they add a little maple leaf in the Canadian franchises, logograms to the Chinese ones etc.).
Even World of Warcraft was able to do the same to an outstanding extent.
The game has a textbook case of a localization story: first localizing the language, the community, the support, adapting to the local regulations, tailoring the marketing, customizing and tweaking the experience. It's anything any other successful corporation does to adapt to the local market.
However, World of Warcraft went a crucial step further, it made conscious effort to start developing the whole gaming experience in a way that pleases primarily the Chinese local users. Limited molding of the experience to localize it simply wasn't enough.
The game has a textbook case of a localization story: first localizing the language, the community, the support, adapting to the local regulations, tailoring the marketing, customizing and tweaking the experience. It's anything any other successful corporation does to adapt to the local market.
However, World of Warcraft went a crucial step further, it made conscious effort to start developing the whole gaming experience in a way that pleases primarily the Chinese local users. Limited molding of the experience to localize it simply wasn't enough.
The introduction of the Pandaren race therefore represents a breaking point. The level at which the localized user experience changed went from the local level to the core of the game's development, sending a very visible message about its new business priority: winning over the Chinese market.
To make it work, replacement of the very ideas that constitute the World of Warcraft brand was a necessity.
It's All Around You Already
Pandarization is nothing new, however. Though it is an ever-present part of reality of the market, its effect really becomes apparent with the modern forming of a single global market.
If you haven't noticed, the same process has lately been going on in the U.S. direction. Especially in the fast-paced software sector, the United States (and Europe to a smaller extent) is now the North Pole towards which all the compasses of product development are turned.
While you may not be aware of it, it is the Western culture that is having its cultural needs addressed through pandarization right now. Everything from the notions about brands, ideas and stories behind them, to the actual problems and the ways they address them, it's all done in a way that satisfies (or perhaps panders to) a member of the Western cultural sphere.
Now think of all the culture-specific opportunities around the world that nobody will grab because they are not worth pursuing (yet).
If the magnetic force turns eastward - and in some cases it already has begun doing that - the two questions you should be trying to answer are:
- How not to alienate your customers in the West as Blizzard did while doing the monumental shift?*
- What does it take to appeal to the consumers in a different cultural sphere?
In The Real World
To apply the issue of pandarization to the real world: who to turn your product towards in a transitory time like ours? And how to go about doing it? It is worth giving it a good thought, especially when you consider the possibility of Samuel Huntington's multipolar world coming into being.
So what happens in Huntington's world of six distinct co-dominant civilisations of which one is economically dominant? And what if two or more are on par in economic terms? It's a life-saving question since we seem to be headed exactly in that direction. The stage is open for debate.
But whatever the reality will be, being aware of the pitfalls and opportunities that simultaneously arise from replanting a product from one cultural environment into another is crucial.
Perhaps World of Warcraft developers made the right decision to "abandon" their Western audience and focus their efforts on the Chinese market. It is a sound suggestion for other companies battling in their own saturated niches.
However, it could also turn out to be a wrong decision if approached with insufficient rigor.
Perhaps the outcome of this will be a different, uncompromising way of building brands, products and services. A way that takes into account several cultural spheres - the civilisations whose markets it wants to thrive in.
* Bear in mind that a similar, closely related process can be virtually invisible. The users don't notice any changes because they aren't visible on the surface. But taking a peek below it, one soon realizes on which end of the pandarization stick they are at: Looking at where companies are cutting down on service and product quality makes you realize whether you are getting the full product deal or a cheaper compromise despite both of them having an identical look and packaging. In this case, the economically stronger market gets better treatment by association: more buying power - more demanding customer.

















