Internet cafes, which were popular all over the country, are disappearing with our youth.

“What disappears with Internet cafes is also our youth.”

Let me tell you good news. The "2020 China Game Industry Report" was released. The data shows that the actual situation of the Chinese game market Sales revenue was 278.687 billion yuan, the number of domestic Internet users reached 989 million, and the number of domestic game users reached 665 million.

Let me tell you another unfortunate news. Data from Tianyancha shows that in 2020, 3,638 Internet cafe-related companies were revoked, 9,250 were cancelled, and 12,888 companies went bankrupt. As of February 2021, the total number of existing companies nationwide is 124,818. In other words, on average, one out of every 10 Internet cafes or Internet cafes will fail in 2020.

Conclusion: The gaming industry still has promising prospects, but there is no such thing as Internet cafes.

12,888 stores closed down in one year. It has been 25 years since the birth of China’s first Internet cafe. We have to face the fact that Internet cafes, which have witnessed the youth of two generations, may really be disappearing soon.

On September 1, 1994, the world's first Internet cafe was born in London. It was also in this year that China was allowed to join the Internet. In September 1995, the General Administration of Telecommunications of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications opened two 64K dedicated lines in Beijing and Shanghai through the US Sprint Company. At this point, China became the 77th country to truly have a fully functional Internet.

China's first Internet cafe, which is currently the most recognized in the industry, is called "Weigate", which was born in Shanghai in 1996. At that time, it was also called "computer room" and "study room". Ordinary people work for a month and only have enough time to play all night. After working for an hour, they lose about 10 kilograms of pork in an instant.

This Internet cafe has 50 computers and costs 40 yuan for an hour. Most people just watch a lonely picture or the fun. The Internet cafe uses a 128K network dedicated line. It is said that it takes 5 minutes to boot up, 20 minutes to open a BBS forum, and 10 minutes to load pictures. When the pictures come out, half an hour is gone.

The golden age of Internet cafes has begun like a fantasy! One person must be mentioned among them: Wang Yuesheng, the owner of Feiyu Internet Cafe.

In October 1997, Wang Yuesheng, a Shanxi boss who had never been admitted to Peking University after re-study for three years and had no connection with Peking University, opened a restaurant at the south gate of Peking University with 800,000 earned from the coal business. Feiyu Internet Cafe.

The 25 computers in the Internet cafe cost more than 400,000 yuan, and the Internet cost 15 yuan an hour, and the opening was very limited. Only 7 or 8 people come in every day to "have sex for free". When I inquired about it, it turns out that none of them know how to use the Internet. Wang Yuesheng specially hired people to provide free online guidance. Seeing that college students had no money, he set up tiered prices, free in the early morning and reduced in the early morning.

In this way, college students abandoned their armor one after another and willingly handed over the little living expenses they had.

Feiyu Internet Cafe recovered its capital within eight months. Wang Yuesheng counted the money until he was too weak, and then started the crazy road of opening a store. In three years, he successfully opened "Feiyu Internet Cafe Street" on the latest version of the Beijing urban map. At its peak, there were 18 Feiyu Internet cafes in the entire street, with 1,800 computers running around the clock, more computers than the entire Peking University campus.

Then, he sold breakfast drinks in an Internet cafe, opened Feiyu Online School to teach web design, assemble and repair computers, and opened more than 300 chain stores across the country in one year.

In the next few years, the Internet will still be an "alternative" in society. There is no control, no restricted areas, and no order. Of course, its contribution to the economy is negligible.

In 1999, QQ was born, and Ma Huateng played a girl and chatted with male netizens

What really brought the Internet into the eyes of ordinary people again and allowed Internet cafes to take root everywhere was actually a few games and this industry The legendary figure who cannot be beaten with eight poles: Shi Yuzhu.

At the end of 2001, NetEase took the lead in launching the first self-developed large-scale online game "Westward Journey Online". The following year, it launched the official operating fee of "Westward Journey II", which quickly brought NetEase huge financial resources.

In 2001, Shanda Network operated "Legend of Legend" as an agent. Netizens seemed to have discovered a new world and joined the army of legends one after another.

The release of CS (Counter-Strike) in 2003 and the birth of Warcraft in 2004 made Internet cafes the most profitable business in society.

In 2004, a group of people in an Internet cafe screamed "Legend" to conquer the city and successfully made 31-year-old Chen Tianqiao the richest man. The 42-year-old Shi Yuzhu stayed up all night playing the game and unknowingly became a hardcore player. So he recruited a team that was abandoned by Chen Tianqiao, and named an unpopular 2D game with almost no technical advantages "Zhengtu".

Shi Yuzhu’s disruption once again completely subverted the online game model. He claimed that "Zhengtu" is a free game, and players only need to pay when they need to purchase "equipment." He once again copied the brainwashing advertising model of Melatonin and Golden Partner. Subsequently, "Zhengtu" appeared overwhelmingly in various domestic newspapers and periodicals. He spent hundreds of millions of yuan on CCTV to place game advertisements, and even claimed that "You can earn wages by playing games." ".

With the gradual popularization of the Internet, Internet fees have dropped from the original sky-high price of 40 yuan to a few yuan per hour.

In the era of rapid development, two problems also appeared at the same time. The first is safety hazards, and the second is suppression by public opinion.

The May 5 Internet cafe bombing in Hefei, the June 12 Internet cafe murder case in Changsha, the Yibin Express Lane Internet Cafe incident, and the "Lan Jisu Internet Cafe Arson Case" all occurred during this period.

In 2002, four students in Beijing set fire to the "Lanjisu" Internet cafe. The unlicensed owner even locked the door to prevent customers from escaping. In the end, 25 people died, half of them students. Relevant regulatory authorities struck hard, and 14 ministries and commissions including the Ministry of Culture jointly issued a notice prohibiting the approval of new Internet cafes in various places. This incident caused Internet cafes to be severely controlled in China for ten years.

The birth of Internet cafes seems to carry a dirty original sin. People who cannot find an outlet for their emotions directly regard Internet cafes as the culprit of Internet addiction. The news that the public is exposed to is almost all negative.

The well-known writer Bi Shumin has taken the lead in writing many articles to denounce the poison of online games to children, saying that the Internet is "electronic heroin" and "electronic opium." Words such as addiction, sudden death, pornography, violence, minors surfing the Internet, and "mental addiction" have appeared on the front pages of major media.

No matter whether it is the suppression of national policies, the criticism of newspapers and public opinion, or the resistance of teachers and parents, they have not been able to stop the rapid development of the Internet cafe industry. There was a loud slogan at that time called Potian - "If you want to make a fortune, open an Internet cafe."

An Internet franchise license can be sold for as little as 300,000-400,000 yuan, or as much as one million yuan. Some people took shortcuts and gradually moved Internet cafes to small towns in the 18th tier. A large number of black Internet cafes sprung up in streets, alleys, urban villages, and residential buildings.

In addition to the 1997 financial crisis, Internet cafe practitioners are accustomed to describing 2007 as a turning year. That year, Jobs held a press conference, and the first-generation iPhone stunned the world. Many people have discovered that they can surf the Internet without a network cable! You can log in to QQ to make friends and chat with your mobile phone, and the browser puts the world at your fingertips.

2G to 3G, text to picture, 3G to 4G, picture to video. You can chat on WeChat, check Weibo, post selfies, watch videos, and play games with just one mobile phone. Mobile phones are replacing computers at lightning speed.

Smartphones are constantly being reduced in price and performance optimized, and Internet cafes are also rapidly upgrading, creating an "arms race." From Internet cafes to Internet cafes and now e-sports hotels, configurable upgrades have not brought an explosion of customer traffic to Internet cafes.

In 2009, the first "Internet cafe" was also born in Shanghai. Internet cafes and coffee shops were combined, and Internet cafes became Internet cafes 2.0. Even Jay Chou, who loves League of Legends, spent 18 million yuan to open an Internet cafe in Shenzhen.

On September 30, 2016, the Ministry of Education announced 13 supplementary majors, among which "e-sports major" will become part of formal education. Unfortunately, the e-sports major has not been able to revitalize Internet cafes.

Last year, “Internet cafe + hotel” Internet cafe 3.0, which was higher-end than Internet cafes, quietly appeared. Internet cafe owners regard service as a breakthrough point and launch "accompanying" services one after another.

Professional gaming chairs, mechanical keyboards, and gaming monitors are the minimum standard equipment. Some Internet cafes even have their own teams. They often hold competitions, train their own teams, and maintain close communication with many game merchants.

In the hotel with the theme of "eating chicken + playing black games", the computer is in the room, and there is also KTV, food and accommodation are included, you can take a shower, fall asleep when you are sleepy, and continue playing when you wake up.

However, no matter how rich the Internet cafe model is, it cannot conceal the reality that its glory days have passed. The younger generation, especially those born in 2000, have a mobile phone in their hand, and each mobile phone is an online world. They have already fully developed The habit of playing mobile games.

Some people say that the decline of Internet cafes began with the launch of the national anti-smoking campaign. Non-smokers still think it's full of smoke, smokers think it's forbidden to smoke, and Internet cafe owners think their equipment isn't good enough.

Some people also say that it is because no new game has reached national popularity, new users are out of touch with old users, and homogeneous competition has intensified, which naturally leads to a major reshuffle in the Internet cafe industry.

What more people recognize is that Internet cafes are still there. We just moved it into our homes and into our phones.

The 2020 epidemic is the last straw for Internet cafes, and the color of "sunrise industry" is fading. Some netizens joked: "Internet cafe owners are either borrowing money, going bankrupt, or running away, or they are selling their monitors, hosts, keyboards and mice."

They have done nothing wrong. If you can't beat this era, you will see yourself losing to your mobile phone.

Heroes don’t ask for a way out. Internet cafes are just a river and lake. There is no distinction between high and low. This is the place where class consolidation is minimal.

Here, there are three religions and nine schools, as well as immortal masters from all walks of life. Some are learning, some are playing, some are reborn, some have fallen, and some have risen again.

How many people have escaped the "pursuit" of teachers, and despite the pressure of "violent beatings" from their parents, they still sneak into Internet cafes regardless of their safety. Spending the breakfast money saved by a hungry stomach, my fingers quickly hit the keyboard, and the scene seemed like it was yesterday.

Those who have the feeling of "daring to go to an Internet cafe to break their legs" are probably from the same Chinese father. I still remember the pleasure of jumping over the wall with my hands and feet. It was for no other reason than that I felt that I was more agile than the "experienced".

The once popular "censorship guy?"

Many people have moved their reports, PPTs, and homework to Internet cafes. There are middle-aged people who come to modify engineering drawings at two o'clock in the morning. , there are college students who come to write reports, and there are also media workers who work all night long. Some people learned PS, Word and other software in Internet cafes that cost one yuan an hour, and thus had a new career choice. How many people directly called them in Internet cafes? The work efficiency is surprisingly high.

The first batch of Internet writers were born in Internet cafes.

In 2017 and 2018, he was selected into the "Top 100 Gods of Internet Articles". "Heart is Wandering" (real name: Xu Yi), an online writer, wrote his first book in an Internet cafe.

The fresh and refined girl is doing her homework?

And there were girls who were playing games and catching up on homework in Internet cafes?

The first Shamat and Sanhe masters were also born here. Afros were fashionable at that time?

They are not recognized and appreciated in life and society. Only in Internet cafes can they enjoy the time to breathe freely. Meeting by chance is like a stranger from a foreign land. Meeting in an Internet cafe can supplement the warmth and respect that life lacks.

Perhaps only "Internet cafe people" can understand their feelings and self-movement, as well as their helplessness and sadness.

Of course, those "gods" who have one-stop accommodation and food are indispensable.

This comrade has brought all the "pots, pans, firewood, rice, oil and salt"?

This elder brother pays great attention to personal hygiene, knows how to combine work and rest, and does not forget to soak his feet and brush his teeth. Fallen?

This hard-core young man fell into the line of fire with minor injuries. How many people envy his girlfriend who lifted up the sky for him?

He broke his leg and was wearing a cast and was on crutches. There are many people who want to come to the Internet cafe even though they are wrapped in gauze?

Are they too persistent, with water covering their crotches, but they still stand firm?

There are grooms who come out to surf the Internet on their wedding day. ?

There is also the grand occasion of brides "finishing the game" before going to the wedding venue?

In addition to playing games and watching movies, Internet cafes are also indispensable for those "clear streams". .

Are there any social guys who eat spicy noodles, drink foreign wine and watch Pleasant Goat?

Are there any handsome guys who eat snacks in a fancy way?

There are people watching the news broadcast inside. Is this the real clear stream?

Internet cafes have many ordinary stories of ordinary people, some are joyful and some are tragic, some are helpless or sad. This is a place with a human touch.

It allows dreamers to have cheap accommodation and frustrated people to have a short rest.

The young couple, unable to afford the rent increase by their landlord, had no choice but to move to an Internet cafe with their 10-month-old daughter for more than half a month. ?

Internet cafes are also a temporary habitat for many people. When they first arrive in the city, they are not familiar with the place, and they don’t have any extra money, so they can only take a short break in the Internet cafes.

Young people in small towns chasing dreams, "sleeping" in Internet cafes?

After falling out of love, having a career setback, or being fired, the most empathetic thing is hiding in an Internet cafe. Sometimes you just want to temporarily forget the helplessness and bitterness in real life through the joy of the virtual world. No matter how incompetent you are, the moment the computer is turned on, you are the hero in your own world.

For many people, Internet cafes are not only a place to surf the Internet, but also a safe haven when their souls have nowhere to rest. These few hours are your own time, uninterrupted by life and work; these few hours can bring you back to a youth where your ambitions are unrealized and your ambitions are unrealized.

The game is not important, what is important is the atmosphere. The black team that could be gathered casually in the past no longer exists. Everyone is struggling or struggling in their own lives, and it is naturally boring to be alone.

I won’t be afraid of making fun of you if I tell you this. It was my dream when I was young - to be a network administrator! It's a pity that this profession has disappeared.

As the site of a generation’s youthful memories, Internet cafes have disappeared from people’s sight piecemeal and silently. That glorious but short-lived era of Internet cafes has been gradually eliminated and forgotten. .

Just as we are being forgotten and eliminated by the times, that glorious but short-lived youth is only an empty shell of memories. A generation will eventually grow old, but there are always people who are young.

Finally, let’s end the article with this sentence:

In every era and period, people make excuses for their failures. 40 years ago, it was "martial arts novels", 35 years ago, it was a Hong Kong movie, 30 years ago, it was called idol worship, 25 years ago, it was puppy love, 20 years ago, it was called video games, 15 years ago, it was It was called an Internet cafe. Now, it's called a mobile phone.