Unfortunately, given the national situation at the time, the entire market only had a few million players.
This means that catering to the so-called "high-end market" is likely to result in significant financial losses.
Many developers who are highly praised by players actually teeter on the edge of danger with every game they release. If they are not careful, one game might not be profitable, and they might never release another one.
They struggled to survive, relying entirely on the support of a conscientious production team.
Their wages are far below market value, and they have almost no rest time—which has made the company notorious in the job market.
It's all because we don't have enough money. Each piece doesn't sell for much, so we have to keep cutting costs.
Several highly acclaimed domestic series were all made with only a fraction of the funding of AAA titles, or even a tenth of it, and were sustained solely by a passion for the craft.
The conflict between dreams and reality is just that cruel.
If you were given the accolades of being a "high-end player," but were left over forty years old, struggling to make ends meet, unable to afford a house or have children, and forced to work overtime every day doing unprofitable work, would you be willing to accept that?
On the other hand, since they are also catering to players, why not simply pander to the low-end market?
There are many people in this world who don't care about the gaming industry at all. They might be white-collar workers who have been busy all day, farmers on trains during the Spring Festival travel rush, or ordinary people who only have a few minutes of entertainment time.
Their group is much, much larger than the so-called "hardcore gamers," and their requirements are much lower.
Giving them a moment of pleasure and laughter is enough.
Moreover, they understand the hardships of laborers, and they don't know anything about piracy; they are willing to pay for their own enjoyment.
These small fees are what support the livelihoods of the industry's employees.
Compared to those keyboard warriors who only know how to give orders, they are the truly great people.
Both bring laughter to people.
Why should works that diligently serve the general public necessarily be inferior to those AAA masterpieces that serve the high-end market?
Wang Guowei said: The size of a place may vary, but this does not determine its superiority or inferiority.
"Fine rain brings out the fish, a gentle breeze makes the swallows slant," how can it not be better than "The setting sun shines on the great banner, horses neigh and the wind whistles"?
As the saying goes: We're all making money, there's no need to put on a show. We just need to cater to whichever type of player we want and make the corresponding products. Nobody needs to look down on anyone else.
Based on his experience, if he wanted to make this kind of game, he would definitely succeed on his first try.
These are all formulaic approaches.
Just set a clear price; you can enjoy as much pleasure as you're willing to pay!
Nothing else, just two words: fairness!
I'm not going to argue with you about European or African, black or white, or any of that nonsense!
Just one month after its release, the reputation of "The Heaven-Defying Technique" plummeted.
Startled, A called Mingyan several times in a row, trying to discuss how to salvage some of the rating.
Instead of offering earnest advice, Mingyan simply asked, "Have you made any money? How's the paid subscription rate?"
Company A was stunned and said, "We made a profit... Our first month's revenue exceeded 100 million..."
"That's not enough!" Ming said. "'The Dragon-Slaying Saber' still has 20 million in its account. We'll use it all to buy distribution channels and promote it!"
The person in charge of Company A was terrified and said, "The game's rating has already dropped below 5 points! This game has no future! It's really not worth spending so much money on advertising!"
Mingyan was very domineering, saying, "What is a rating? You can just stick a piece of paper there and never have to look at it again."
"ah?"
"Based on the current conversion rate, if 5 out of every 100 players we bring in are willing to spend 1 yuan, that's enough to maintain the ecosystem's balance. As long as we keep the number of new players at the bottom, our profits can grow indefinitely," Mingyan declared confidently. "Keep expanding! I want our ads everywhere! Every player who sees them needs to be able to recite our slogans: 'If you're a brother, come play the Heaven-Defying Technique' and 'One hit for 999, every hit brings a surprise.' OK?"
This domineering aura almost made the other side roll their eyes in fright.
But it's their money, they can spend it however they want, what can he do about it?
In the second month since its release, the reputation of "The Heaven-Defying Technique" has plummeted to an unbearable level.
People from Company A have already voluntarily stopped talking about "player ratings" and "positive/negative reviews".
Every time the person in charge makes a phone call, they excitedly shout, "Boss! We've surpassed 500 million! Monthly revenue has exceeded 500 million! My God!"
Of course he was excited, because the contract he negotiated with Mingyan at the time was for 20%!
What does this mean? It means that the profits that Company A can receive have exceeded ten million, and his personal bonus has exceeded five hundred thousand!
His colleagues, who looked at him with mockery last month, are now eager to call him "teacher" and are eager to learn his "judging game" skills by serving him tea and water.
God knows, he had no real talent; he was just incredibly lucky to be the first one Mingyan chose.
I still remember the phone call Mingyan made at the time. He said, "It doesn't matter. It's just a 20% C-level contract anyway. Anyone is fine with it."
Then his boss just randomly picked someone...
The person in charge has already regarded Mingyan as a god of wealth, and a domineering one at that, without any explanation.
What's a few tens of millions spent on advertising? He could even use that money to feed fish, there must be a reason for it.
The God of Wealth is always right, and everything he says will bring you profits.
According to the person in charge: How could a small game with a cost of no more than 10 million yuan generate over 500 million yuan in revenue in the second month at the cost of its reputation? It's as if they made a deal with the devil!