Restart life

Chapter 258 0255 [Currently ranked third in the Chinese online game market?]

Riding the wave of popularity, Youke released the news that the peak concurrent online users of Three Kingdoms Kill had exceeded 50!
The industry was shocked.

It was truly shocking.

Even though Audition Online was so popular this year, its peak concurrent online users were only 40.

How could "Three Kingdoms Kill" surpass "Audition Online"?
Sigh, although there are many players, the revenue is incomparable.

Female players make up over 60% of the players in Audition Online, and those cool outfits sell very well. Whether it's players competing with each other or opposite sexes exchanging items, there's hormones stimulating consumption.

With a peak concurrent user count of 40, Audition Online can generate monthly revenue of 5000 million yuan, even more than pay-to-win games like The Emperor.

Of course, the revenue of "The Emperor's Reign" is still steadily increasing.

In comparison, KartRider, with a peak concurrent user count of 30, only generates a mere 300 million yuan in monthly revenue. Even at its peak next year, its monthly revenue will barely reach 1000 million yuan.

Compared to Audition Online and KartRider, it still takes women to stimulate consumption.

If we compare the paid subscription rate of *Three Kingdoms Kill* with that of *KartRider*, *Three Kingdoms Kill* is actually significantly higher. With the same number of online players, *Three Kingdoms Kill*'s revenue is more than three times that of *KartRider*!
Upon receiving the information from Youke, the editors of 17173 even wrote an article.

This list compiles the highest concurrent user counts for online games in mainland China over the past few years.

《梦幻西游》131万。《泡泡堂》80万。《QQ幻想》68万。《热血传奇》67万。《大话西游2》65万。《魔兽世界》60万。《热血江湖》52万。《三国杀》50万。《冒险岛》50万……

Some games on this list are practically dead. For example, *Yulgang*.

Some games experience a surge in price followed by a sharp drop. For example, QQ Fantasy.

It's surprising that "Three Kingdoms Kill" is tied for eighth place with "MapleStory".

However, Audition Online and KartRider Rush+ haven't fully unleashed their potential yet; at their peak, these two games could achieve millions of concurrent online users.

"The Emperor's Reign", "Conquer Online", and "Magic Domain" are also experiencing continuous growth.

Regardless, with Youke releasing its data, the industry can no longer underestimate it.

Based on current real-time data, the peak PCU of "Three Kingdoms Kill" has reached third place.

Second only to Fantasy Westward Journey and World of Warcraft!
The editor of *Home Computer & Games* wrote an article praising it: "I am a seasoned gamer, but I rarely play online games. I played Famicom and arcade games when I was a child, and later I played PC single-player games. *Three Kingdoms Kill* is the online game I've played the longest; to be precise, it's a board game..."

"It's quite unexpected that a board game could achieve a peak concurrent user count exceeding 50. The underlying data is terrifying; the monthly active users are estimated to be two to three million. This estimate is based on an interview with Chen Guiliang, who stated that 'Three Kingdoms Kill' has a very high monthly active user ratio, far exceeding that of ordinary online games..."

"Admittedly, this success was fueled by the buzz surrounding the 'News Broadcast,' with other newspapers joining the debate. But if 'Three Kingdoms Kill' can retain new players, it will be a landmark event for the Chinese gaming industry..."

"In the current era of MMO online games, casual online games like 'Three Kingdoms Kill' are very precious and deserve to be cherished by all casual players... Moreover, Chen Guiliang also revealed at the CJ exhibition that Youke is about to develop a single-player game. This is what I'm most looking forward to."

"Currently, Game Science has fewer than 200 employees, and I've heard they're recently expanding their recruitment, but it's still considered a mid-sized game company. Given time, I believe Game Science can grow into a major game company..."

Chen Guiliang knew more detailed information than the reporters and editors.

Two weeks later, after the public outcry had completely subsided, Chen Guiliang finally received a detailed report:

"As media coverage and public opinion grew, and with our cooperation in promotional activities, the peak PCU of 'Three Kingdoms Kill' continued to rise to 53. The next day it dropped to less than 50, the third day it fell to 46, and the fourth day it fell to 41... It's clear that many new players were just there to join the fun after seeing the news."

"But on Friday night, it rose back to 45. Saturday saw 47, and Sunday 46. The data is very stable. It's currently summer vacation, and the fact that it rebounded and remained stable over the weekend indicates that most of the new users are working professionals."

"The second week. On Monday, it plummeted to 31, and then hovered around 33. Over the weekend, it was around 42 at night. This data represents the period after the public outcry subsided and things stabilized..."

"This publicity, which originated from the CCTV Evening News, actually increased the peak PCU of 'Three Kingdoms Kill' by 15. The increase reached 83%."

"We've made a killing this time!"

After hearing these figures, Chen Guiliang muttered to himself, "CCTV is awesome!"

The figures mentioned here represent the highest number of concurrent online players per day; the actual increase in players is far greater than these figures.

Moreover, the proportions of various data points in "Three Kingdoms Kill"—registered users, monthly active users, daily active users, and peak PCU—are unique among all online games.

If analyzed according to conventional industry experience, it would leave even the executives of major game companies completely baffled.

Regardless, this wave of profits was truly enormous.

With a large influx of new users purchasing card packs and items, the revenue for "Three Kingdoms Kill" this month is likely to approach 2000 million yuan. The champion skin is still in production and will not be officially released until next month. Therefore, next month's revenue may remain at or exceed 2000 million yuan.

There is still a long way to go before catching up with Audition Online, but a solid step has already been taken.

"Announce it," Chen Guiliang said.

On that day, the game "Three Kingdoms Kill" released an official announcement:
From now on, one new general will be released every month, instead of accumulating them into new card packs (each pack contains 10 generals). Within three months of a new general's release, they cannot be synthesized using general soul fragments; they must be purchased directly with real money.

However, each new general has a 7-day free trial period, and free-to-play players can also enjoy it for a week.

The number of new generals has been increased to 10, and they will be made into physical card packs for sale.

In addition, special generals will be released from time to time. For example, "SP Sun Shangxiang" will be released during this year's National Day holiday.

The editor who wrote the game announcement also kindly reminded everyone: SP Sun Shangxiang is a Shu Kingdom general who is married.

Most players expressed their support after reading the announcement.

After waiting a full six months, ten new generals were suddenly released. This is different from releasing one new general every month, which only yields six in six months. People prefer the latter because there's something new every month!
Who the hell is going to wait for you for half a year? What's more, they release special generals from time to time.

As for the new generals only being available for purchase with real money for the first three months, free-to-play players don't seem to care. After all, they don't have enough general soul fragments anyway, and some generals require so many fragments that they could bankrupt free-to-play players!

Moreover, you can try it for free for seven days, which makes freeloaders especially happy.

"SP Sun Shangxiang is actually from the Shu faction. Does Xiangxiang not want her father and brothers anymore?"

"A married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl; the Shu faction's Sun Shangxiang is particularly realistic."

"Who can guess what SP Sun Shangxiang's skills are?"

"It's hard to guess. Who knows how Chen Shiyi designed it? Speaking of which, could the special generals be designed by someone else? It's impossible that Chen Shiyi designed all the cards in Three Kingdoms Kill, right?"

"It seems that Youke's Three Kingdoms Kill team currently doesn't have any general designers. The so-called designers are all responsible for designing card appearances and skins."

"Haha, Mr. Chen has been collecting design drafts from players. But he also said that he will not adopt player suggestions for the time being, and will wait until he has exhausted his own ideas."

"I really admire Chen Shiyi for this. Damn, he runs two companies, studies, and writes 'Those Things of the Ming Dynasty' in his spare time. And he still has time to design so many military officer cards."

"It's really awesome."

Are the fourth and fifth volumes of "Those Things About the Ming Dynasty" going to be published soon?

"Dangdang.com has already started pre-sales on the 20th of this month."

"Wow, you guys need to check out the new skins after the game update! The characters are glowing!"

"Really? I'll go check it out."

"..."

It was impossible to launch a dynamic skin in 2006.

With current technology, the cost of creating a dynamic skin would be around 50,000 to 60,000 yuan.

Furthermore, once it's released, some players' computers and internet speeds simply can't handle it. If someone in the room has bought the dynamic skin, players with slow computers and slow internet speeds will experience severe lag.

What you consider a very ordinary dynamic skin was a groundbreaking product in 2006.

It's like installing an LCD screen on a steam engine!

However, as a second-best option, you can add special effects to the skin, such as making it sparkle.

Players already find this kind of shimmering skin very cool.

Sales will definitely be better than before.

Just as the new skin for "Three Kingdoms Kill" was released, Chen Guiliang unexpectedly received a call from Chen Xiaoxu.

He had almost forgotten about Lin Daiyu.

"Hello, Sister Xiaoxu," Chen Guiliang said.

Chen Xiaoxu said, "Hello. I recently saw some newspapers criticizing you. I hope this doesn't affect you?"

Sister, the public outcry has already died down, and you're only now showing concern?
Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "The impact is huge. The number of players of 'Three Kingdoms Kill' has surged, and the number of users on the domestic and international networks has also increased significantly."

"Huh?" Chen Xiaoxu was very surprised.

Chen Guiliang asked, "How is your illness being treated?"

Chen Xiaoxu said, "It's been three weeks since the surgery. Because I also had breast reconstruction surgery, the doctor said it will take at least six weeks before I can resume my daily activities."

"Congratulations." Chen Guiliang was also very happy, after all, it was a human life.

Chen Xiaoxu said, "I've been wanting to thank you in person, but it's not convenient right now. By the end of next month, when I've recovered enough, my husband and I would like to invite you to our home for dinner."

Chen Guiliang said, "Anytime is fine."

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Chen Xiaoxu asked.

"No," Chen Guiliang casually reminded, "It's best to avoid contact with that monk named Jingkong in the future."

Chen Xiaoxu said, "I understand."

Jingkong was later banned from entering China, not because of Chen Xiaoxu, but because of his political remarks and promotion of heresies.

Chen Xiaoxu had already been swindled out of a considerable amount of money by the monk. If Chen Guiliang hadn't intervened earlier, Chen Xiaoxu's savings would have been completely swindled away by the monk before her death. Some say it was 50 million yuan, while others say it was over 100 million yuan, all of which was donated to the temple under the guise of charity.

We chatted for a few more minutes, then hung up.

Chen Guiliang also needs to get a new, stylish haircut, as he's going to sign books tomorrow.

Li Xunhuan was good at seizing the right moment to promote his work. When the media was buzzing about the game "Three Kingdoms Kill," he used all his skills to promote the latest two volumes of "Those Things of the Ming Dynasty."

The publicity was very effective, and bookstores in various places actively cooperated because everyone made money from the good sales.

(End of this chapter)