JD.com Plans to Indulge in Gaming Products Space

JD.com, the Beijing-based e-commerce company, plans to indulge in the manufacturing and retail of gaming equipment. Unlike its rival companies like Tencent and Netease that focus on designing games, one of the biggest B2B online retailers JD.com has decided to create a hub for gaming-related goods. The best route possible for the firm is to nurture partnerships with electronic manufacturers to steer growth in the right direction.

At the recent gaming conferences held in Shanghai, called the China Joy, JD.com assembled a giant rendition of JD’s mascot dog Joy and called upon gamers to participate in competitions therein.

Last year, JD had declared its ongoing operations to collaborate with firms such as computer-manufacturing Lenovo and Chinese multinational Tencent, to design gaming-friendly smartphones. This venture will allow JD to sell its devices through its online retail business and target gamers around the world. Since a large number of customers on JD’s platform can provide feedback to the company, the company can work diligently around the feedback, and share the results with its partners in due course of time.

The company, which is also a member of Fortune Global 500, plans to indulge in e-sports or competitive video gaming. In 2017, JD inaugurated its e-sports team called JD Gaming, followed by a mobile gaming team called JD Esports last year. While still at a nascent stage in the world of e-sports, JD is anticipated to have better results in the upcoming years, with its involvement enabling the company to get into the consumer’s mindset.

According to Daniel Tan, president of JD Mobile Devices, JD.com currently can potentially revolutionize the entire ecosystem. Elaborating on the company’s plans for gaming, Tan said that eventually, they want to create a place where everything related to gaming can be made available. He believes that the whole gaming industry is at an incubation stage and that it is necessary to first create value in the system, and then find ways to generate revenue out of it. He also stated that the company was not quite looking for a business plan at the present stage.

While rival firms like Tencent and NetEase are investing large sums of money in producing and designing games and were seen publicly acquiring gaming studios, JD is not planning to follow the same model. However, Tan explains that the probability of co-investing in gaming firms is not out of question.

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