Chereads / Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo / Chapter 478 - A prototype for ongoing game operations

Chapter 478 - A prototype for ongoing game operations

The trailer for this high-quality game was very popular and quickly won the hearts of every player present.

However, satisfying the players' appetite again seemed to pose some difficulties.

Could it be a mistake in the scheduling of the trailer by Gamestar Entertainment?

Or could it be... they have an even bigger trick up their sleeve?

Myron Case didn't understand games much, but it didn't prevent him from knowing some well-known game series.

When Final Fantasy was released, just the young people in their company had so many people taking leave from work because of it, and he had no way to handle it.

This was enough to show how hot this game was.

The young man beside him was also very excited. He had been completely captivated by the all-new Final Fantasy adventure story.

Although the trailer didn't say anything, it was just a few game action scenes.

"Is this game great?" Myron Case asked.

The young man nodded vigorously. "Of course, this is the best game!"

"Huh? I thought your favorite game was Pokémon."

"Pokémon is also the best, both are the best."

"Shouldn't there only be one best?"

"Who said that? Here, there can be many bests, there's no room for choice at all, all the games are super fun!"

Obviously, the young man was thoroughly immersed, completely accepting the games without reservation.

Using Final Fantasy VIII as the opening also fully stirred up the players' emotions.

After the trailer ended, the players below burst into excitement, and Takayuki stood on the stage with a smile.

"How about that? Are you all very excited?"

"Of course, very excited!"

"Very good, this is actually just the appetizer. I believe when this game is truly released, even the most picky players will be satisfied. Next, we will show trailers for other games."

This time, Takayuki followed the usual rhythm of Gamestar Entertainment's game promotion, jumping straight into showing trailers one after another, various game trailers directly hitting the audience.

After the Final Fantasy trailer, it was about the new content provided for Starcraft.

"Starcraft? Oh, I remember, this is a game released by Gamestar Entertainment on computers."

At this moment, Hayakawa, who was watching the livestream, suddenly remembered this game.

However, this game didn't have much to do with him.

This game was released on computers and was not available on any console platform, which meant that this game only had a PC audience.

The competition between Surui Electronics and Gamestar Entertainment was based on console platforms. Even if Gamestar Entertainment's games sold well on the PC platform, it wouldn't affect the competition on the console end.

Actually, Hayakawa Ujitou didn't quite understand Takayuki's approach. It would be more advantageous for them to release games on their own platform at home. But they had to release some games on computers. Were they not afraid that computers would take over the console market?

"President, I think this game shouldn't pose any threat. It's probably just a transitional promotion in the middle of Final Fantasy VIII," said a confident manager under Hayakawa Ujitou.

Hayakawa Ujitou shook his head. "You're half right. This game indeed poses little threat to us, but it's not a transitional promotion for Final Fantasy VIII. Do you know how many users Starcraft has?"

"Huh? How many?"

This manager was a bit bewildered. He didn't know much about computer products.

Their Surui Electronics had not been primarily focused on this area before, so they had done little research.

But as the president, Hayakawa Ujitou's vision naturally had to be broader than his subordinates'.

"Starcraft now has at least tens of millions of recorded users, and this number is still increasing. Do you know what that concept means?"

The manager said uncertainly, "Does that mean that personal computers also have a certain gaming market?"

"That's obvious. I mean something less apparent."

The manager thought about it seriously, but in the end, he could only shake his head helplessly. "I don't know."

"It's about the steady increase in user base. The sales volume of a typical electronic game usually decreases slowly over time. Generally, after a game has been on sale for more than six months, its popularity has already declined significantly, and there are far fewer players willing to buy it. By that time, the sales volume is basically determined."

Hayakawa Ujitou's subordinate nodded. He understood this very well. Their games were like this, and the decline rate was even faster.

Usually, the sales of Surui Electronics games could only last for two or three months before plummeting, and then the game's ability to generate revenue was basically gone.

The value of this game would basically be in the second-hand market afterward.

And the second-hand market had almost nothing to do with Surui Electronics; it was the exchange of interests between players and some second-hand stores.

Many executives of Surui Electronics were very troubled by this.

They thought that these second-hand transactions had cost them a lot of money. Many top executives were pressuring Hayakawa Ujitou to solve the problem of second-hand sales. If possible, they preferred to bind a game to a game console once it was inserted, forcing more players to spend more money.

But in the end, Hayakawa Ujitou persisted against all odds.

He was a very good learner.

And the object of his learning was Takayuki.

If you asked what the most prosperous game in the second-hand market was, it would definitely be a game from Gamestar Entertainment's house.

But so far, Takayuki hadn't had any obvious response to the second-hand market. He even subtly supported and encouraged the second-hand market. Takayuki would actively put some recycled old cartridges on the secondary market and sell them at a cheaper price.

Previously, in the American market, Takayuki had beaten those crazy imitators with this trick.

Compared to the quality and scale of the game, Gamestar Entertainment had never feared anyone.

Even though there were countless pirated and plagiarized games, they couldn't withstand the massive attacks from Gamestar Entertainment, the regular army.

Since Takayuki had never had a very obvious reaction to the second-hand market, Hayakawa Ujitou believed that he shouldn't rashly adjust the rules until he had captured the throne of the market.

At least for now, it could still be profitable. What if there were any mistakes if he made changes?

Hayakawa Ujitou was walking on thin ice in this regard.

At this moment, Hayakawa Ujitou continued to explain, "The life cycle of a game is about half a year, but so far, I have discovered a few exceptions."

Hayakawa Ujitou held up one finger and said, "The first one I discovered that could continue to bring stable cash flow is Brown Entertainment's Dragon's Treasure. They moved role-playing to the computer platform and continued to bring players new game story content through stable network connections on the computer platform. And they would make money through time charges. So far, the estimated profit this game brings in every year is about fifty to sixty million dollars, and it's increasing every year."

This manager was a bit restless.

Stable profits of fifty to sixty million every year meant that there would be a steady sales volume of millions every day, which was indeed worth paying attention to.

"And the second one." Hayakawa Ujitou held up his second finger. "Is Starcraft. This game doesn't use time charges like the former, but it makes players very willing to spend money on this game through the form of esports. The growth rate of users far exceeds that of Dragon's Treasure."

Hayakawa Ujitou said frankly, "I think this is a new way for both games to continue to profit. Recently, I have also been considering whether to launch similar games, but both of these games are based on the personal computer platform, and I'm not sure if I can replicate the same success on the console platform. After all, Gamestar Entertainment has never done this."

Gamestar Entertainment was like a guiding light. Hayakawa Ujitou didn't dare to venture into uncharted territory without Takayuki's lead.

He didn't dare to rashly enter the new game field now.

It wasn't easy to have the current market.

He felt that he hadn't accumulated enough yet and needed to wait for the right time.

Hayakawa Ujitou's subordinate manager had understood: "So, President, about this..."

Before this manager could ask anything else, Hayakawa Ujitou had already focused his attention on the TV.

Because the trailer for Starcraft's new expansion had just ended.

This time, Starcraft announced a brand-new expansion.

The term "expansion" was very fresh.

This had hardly appeared in previous game releases.

Some game companies had tried to release more content for their games, but most of them were aimed at developing sequels. Few had thought about adding more paid content on top of the original game.

Because those who had tried this before hadn't been very successful.

But now, Takayuki officially announced the release of a brand-new expansion for Starcraft.

And if players wanted to experience the battle content of this new expansion, they would need to pay extra.

Of course, it would be much cheaper than the base game, and the content wouldn't be much less either. It seemed really cost-effective.

Players who didn't pay extra wouldn't be empty-handed either.

They could experience new units in online battle mode without worrying about not being able to play the new version of online battles with other players because they hadn't purchased the new expansion.

At this moment, Hayakawa Ujitou's heart beat suddenly a few times.

Suddenly, he seemed to have a clearer understanding.

It seemed that electronic games had found a new way to profit.

Continuously releasing more story content based on the original material of a game.

There was a huge advantage in building on the original game. About seventy to eighty percent of the material could be reused, which could also squeeze out the value of the game once again.

However, according to the style of Gamestar Entertainment, they would definitely disdain to squeeze a series like this. The only reason Takayuki did this should be that this story indeed had a lot of things to tell.