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Chapter 190 0187 [Entering the Top 10 of the Monthly Ranking in Three Kingdoms Kill]

In his previous life, the leader Qu Guohao was tasked by Chen Guiliang with the "Three Kingdoms Kill College League".

Originally, there was no mention of "national" in the title; the first edition was held only in Beijing and Shanghai!
However, Qu Guohao reported that fans of the Three Kingdoms Kill game in other regions were very dissatisfied with the fact that teams were only selected in Beijing and Shanghai.

So he offered another solution.

Qu Guohao divided the national league into two major regions, north and south, using the Yangtze River as the dividing line.

Furthermore, adjustments were made to the division of provinces spanning both sides of the Yangtze River based on the number of universities in each province. For example, Anhui Province was designated as the Northern Division, while Jiangsu Province was designated as the Southern Division.

The online game "Sanguosha" should also cooperate by creating 1V1 and 3V3 competition modes.

Then, it was divided into three stages: preliminary rounds, regional competitions, and the finals.

Universities with board game clubs or Three Kingdoms Kill clubs can qualify for the preliminary competition by providing proof of their club affiliation. They organize the competition on campus, determine the list of players representing their school, and form a team to represent their school in the competition.

The selection process within the school involves face-to-face matches using physical cards.

Next is the online group stage: the representative teams from each university are divided into groups in their respective competition areas. Eight teams form a group and play a round-robin within the group. The top two teams from each group can advance. (If a group has fewer than eight teams during the random assignment, only the first-place team from that group can advance.)

All the advancing teams will compete in an online knockout tournament to determine the top eight teams from the South and the top eight teams from the North.

The above is the schedule for the qualifying rounds.

Next comes the regional competition, which consists of online round-robin matches and offline knockout matches, ultimately determining the top four teams nationwide.

The top four teams will compete in the national finals.

……

Due to technological and cost limitations, none of the online games at that time had a spectator mode.

Take Warcraft III as an example: a replay file can only be generated 5 minutes after the game ends for broadcasting or downloading.

The online qualifier for the card game "Three Kingdoms Kill," which started on October 1st, also generates replay files after each match. Those with good internet speeds can download the replays, while those with slower connections can simply view the text and image reposts.

There are posts with pictures and text on Renren.com, the Sanguosha forum, the board game forum, and 17173.com, posted by Game Science staff.

Board game clubs in various universities broadcast their games on BBS forums.

Highlights of the matches will be cut out and uploaded to video websites such as Tudou.com.

"The first round of the 1v1 match has ended. Guizhou University of Finance and Economics defeated Guangdong University of Technology. The match recording is being generated..."

The preliminary rounds for universities across the country are being held online simultaneously.

Chen Guiliang stood behind the text and image broadcaster, watching the game recording with him.

Qu Guohao said to Chen Guiliang, "Sanguosha is applying to join CEG. But they can only apply for casual games, like Go, chess, and Dou Dizhu."

"It doesn't matter whether I get in or not," Chen Guiliang said.

CEG, also known as the National Esports Games, is organized by the All-China Sports Federation.

However, last year, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television banned television and online gaming programs, stopping CCTV5's "Electronic Sports World." Satellite-based television stations are also prohibited from broadcasting this kind of content.

Without satellite connectivity, CEG's development will be difficult.

Qu Guohao said, "It's still useful to get in; it allows 'Three Kingdoms Kill' to be publicly displayed in many places."

“What about Game Storm?” Chen Guiliang asked.

Qu Guohao said, "I have to pay first. I'm currently negotiating the price."

Chen Guiliang said, "Asking the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press for sponsorship fees will help them sell cards."

"I'll give it a try," Qu Guohao said.

Qu Guohao has already done a great job; he managed to secure Motorola's naming rights fee without making a sound.

Therefore, this competition should be called the "Motorola Cup First National College League of Three Kingdoms Kill".

However, the sponsorship fee was very low, only a mere 50 yuan. In addition, each player from the champion and runner-up teams received a Motorola mobile phone as a prize.

Just then, an employee shouted: "17173's September rankings are out! Not only did 'Three Kingdoms Kill' make it into the top ten, but it ranked ninth!"

"yeah!"

"Long live!"

Many employees stopped what they were doing and cheered and shouted in celebration.

"Three Kingdoms Kill" has been on the monthly game charts before, but not on 17173's monthly charts.

Currently, only the 17173 monthly ranking is the most authoritative because it is a comprehensive ranking and is less affected by the operations of game companies.

This ranking is based on metrics such as site search volume, special zone visits, player votes, and editor ratings.

The top ten games in September are: World of Warcraft, Fantasy Westward Journey, Legend of Mir, Audition Online, JX Online, Westward Journey Online II, MapleStory, Legend of Mir 2, Three Kingdoms Kill, and Bubble Fighter.

Although Three Kingdoms Kill ranks ninth, it does not mean that its profitability is also ninth.

This is determined by the game type and the charging model.

The ninth-ranked game on the monthly charts, "Three Kingdoms Kill," certainly doesn't generate as much profit as "Lineage 2," which ranks twelfth. Chen Guiliang looked closely at the charts and was surprised to see Boss Shi's "Conquer Online."

This game is only half-finished and won't be released for another six months, yet they're already spending money on pre-launch hype. First, they're spending money to create a dedicated section on 17173, releasing a large amount of game information. Then, they're hiring online trolls to increase the section's activity, frantically voting for the game, searching for it, and promoting its free-to-play model everywhere…

They managed to push an unfinished game down to 13th place on the most authoritative game charts for the month.

Chen Guiliang couldn't help but sigh: "Being rich means you can do whatever you want!"
The phone rang; it was Tao Chenggang calling.

On the other end of the phone, Tao Chenggang's excited voice came through: "The novel 'The Emperor's Reign' has entered the 17173 monthly chart!"

"The Reign of Power" is the game that Gang Ge plays; this terrible name was chosen by netizens through a vote.

First, 20 random game names were selected as candidates. Then, voting continued, with 20 advancing to 10, 10 to 7, 7 to 5, and so on. Coinciding with the popularity of "Super Girl," this format became extremely popular, and netizens were very enthusiastic about voting.

Subsequently, Tao Chenggang partnered with 17173 to create a dedicated section for the game "The Reign of Power". All the netizens who participated in the final rounds of the game name voting went crazy voting for this game on 17173.

Moreover, people come here every day to check in, post, and even offer their suggestions for the game.

In just 23 days since its launch, the special zone has soared to 18th place on the 17173 monthly ranking.

Its first two are "Swordsman Online" and "Water Margin Q", and its last two are "Hope Online" and "EVE".

Chen Guiliang returned to his office and read the comments from the 17173 editor.

The editor's review of "Three Kingdoms Kill" is: "A unique card game. Although it references the core rules of 'BANG!', it has forged its own path and is a completely different game from 'BANG!'. Its online version is even more innovative, and its charging model can serve as a model for similar games. Since entering the rankings, it has steadily climbed from 18th place, and finally broke into the top 10 in September."

The editor's comment on "Zhengtu" is: "A game that is still in development has entered the top 15 on its first appearance on the list. It can be called the strongest dark horse."

The editor's review of "Reign of Power" is: "This game is very special. As far as I know, the developers sold eight internet cafes and a car, and are already preparing to sell their house. Fortunately, they secured investment. Players watched it grow from nothing, and even the game's name was decided by a vote among netizens. Many people, including myself, were looking forward to its birth."

Chen Guiliang switched to the 17173 section of the Three Kingdoms Kill game, and it's incredibly popular today.

"Fellow players, a historic moment has arrived! Thanks to everyone's efforts, we have finally broken into the top ten of the monthly rankings for Three Kingdoms Kill."

"Haha, I'm excited too. I come here every day to search, post, and vote. It's all to increase the search volume, clicks, and votes for Three Kingdoms Kill."

"Everyone needs to keep going. We're only 9th on the monthly list now. Let's try to break into the top five next month."

"Forget about the top five, they're all freaks."

"I think we can take down 'Legend of Mir.' 'Legend of Mir' dropped off the charts a long time ago. The reason it's back in third place this time is because it updated the game and held an anniversary event. The problem is that the updated version is not the official Korean version at all. It's a mess that Shanda made themselves. Monsters are copied, maps are stitched together, and now the game is full of people cursing."

"Yes, Legend will definitely drop off the charts."

"MapleStory can also be beaten. This game ranks highest during summer and winter vacations, but its ranking drops as soon as school starts. 9th or 10th place is its normal ranking."

Chen Guiliang wanted to laugh, because that's exactly how it is in Adventure Island.

This summer, MapleStory once climbed to 6th place, but after the start of the school year, it continued to decline, and if it continues, it may even fall out of the top ten.

Once you break into the top ten in "Three Kingdoms Kill", you're unlikely to fall out of it.

Looking at the annual rankings is even more terrifying. Another version of "Three Kingdoms Kill" has been in the top 10 of online popularity for over a decade. Although it's difficult for it to break into the top 5, other games have come and gone, and even "World of Warcraft" has dropped off the list, but "Three Kingdoms Kill" has stuck there like a stubborn leech.

Too many die-hard fans!
"Who among you signed up for the Three Kingdoms Kill College League?"

"I've graduated, so I'm not eligible to apply."

"Haha, I was eliminated during the school's selection process. But my buddy got selected and joined our school's representative team. They just won two consecutive round-robin matches."

"The guy upstairs is awesome. Sigh, our school's team lost all their matches today, they probably won't even make it to the knockout stage."

"I heard that there are prizes for making it into the top four in the country, and each person will be awarded a Motorola."

"That's nothing, I heard they also gave away a champion-exclusive skin."

"Envious."

"I really want to go to university soon so I can participate in the Three Kingdoms Kill competition."

"Is the little boy upstairs in high school?"

"I'm a junior in high school, and I really want to go to university."

"Go do your homework!"

"Screw writing, I'm going to play the competition mode."

"..."

Along with the college league, 1V1 and 3V3 game modes were also launched.

The game "Three Kingdoms Kill" is incredibly popular today, with daily active players exceeding 30. Even the classic eight-player mode is sparsely populated, with many players flocking to try the tournament mode.

The number of members making recharges and purchasing items has also increased significantly.

These are all effects brought about by the college league and the launch of the new model.

In less than 24 hours, the new recharge amount has reached 73 yuan.

(End of this chapter)