Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 150 The Giants Have No Time for This Trivial Matter
"We must do this before public opinion takes hold. Also, this is a notification, not a negotiation."

"As for when the hype dies down and StarTap does actually release other games, we'll see then."

In the current climate of public opinion, whether Startap will directly conflict with them in terms of profits is no longer important; what manufacturers want is the present.

then.

A very strange phenomenon has emerged on the Chinese internet.

Less than three hours after Xiaomi's official Weibo post, Huajia App Market's official Weibo account posted a message: "#Startap#, welcome to Huajia App Market. Good apps should not be buried."

Ten minutes later, the official Weibo account of Vocaloid followed up: "Let's play something fun together! Vocaloid app store is now available with #Startap#, download it now and discover more fun."

Following suit, OPPO couldn't sit still any longer: "Interesting souls will eventually meet. #StarryTap#, OPPO App Store, waiting for you."

Then, a group of other mobile phone manufacturers began to follow suit.

Even Samsung, which was already on the verge of collapse, seemed to have taken the wrong medicine and posted a Weibo message.

And with the entry of these domestic mobile phone manufacturers...

The controversy surrounding Apple's removal of Startap from the App Store is escalating.

~~~
11 p.m. that night

Liu Yue, the operations director of the public relations department at Apple China, had just returned home after drinking with friends at a bar and was about to wash up when he learned this "interesting anecdote" from his wife.

"What do you mean I don't work overtime? I leave work on time, and you're still not happy?"

At first, he was somewhat dismissive of what his wife told him. As Apple's public relations manager, he had handled at least eighty or a hundred public opinion incidents.

What about "antenna gate" and "speed reduction gate"? Aren't they all bigger scandals than the removal of an unknown small app from app stores?
But when Liu Yue's gaze swept over the blood-red trending search terms on the screen, the composure on his face instantly froze.

The effects of the alcohol wore off immediately.

I quickly logged into Apple's public opinion monitoring software, and sure enough, on the Chinese internet, the mention rate of negative keywords such as "arrogant," "domineering," and "disgusting" surged by 8,000%.

What alarmed him even more was the section on competitor activities.

Hua, Mi, O, V
Almost all official accounts of domestic mobile phone manufacturers are participating in this frenzy, whether openly or secretly.

"Get me connected to David immediately! I need to speak to headquarters! Right now!"

Liu Yue blurted out those words subconsciously, then quickly realized that this wasn't the office, and his wife wasn't his assistant.

So he had to use his personal cell phone to make the call.

A few minutes later, the transoceanic call was connected.

"Hi, Tony."

David's relaxed voice came from the other end of the phone, carrying the languid quality unique to the California sunshine.

"Is something urgent? I was just about to go surfing."

"David, we're in big trouble."

Liu Yue forced himself to calm down and described everything that was happening in the most concise language.

"The App Store has removed an app called 'Star Tap,' which has had a ripple effect in Greater China and created a significant public opinion crisis!"

To be fair, Liu Yue is indeed capable. In just a few minutes, he was able to clearly explain the cause of the incident, its escalation, the involvement of competitors, and the terrifying trend of public opinion.

"Moreover, I just checked, and this isn't natural public opinion. Our competitors are already using this public opinion to launch a targeted brand attack against us!"

“David, we’ve missed the best window of opportunity for public relations. Every minute we delay now will cost us more to clean up this mess later! I need authorization from headquarters to issue a statement immediately, or to temporarily reinstate the app!”

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment.

Liu Yue could imagine that David was probably frowning at this moment, thinking that he was making a mountain out of a molehill, which was how people at headquarters always were.

Sure enough, David's voice rang out again, carrying a businesslike detachment. "Tony, I understand your concerns."

"However, we have already discussed this matter, and similar public opinion has emerged in other regions."

"However, the App Store's review policy is globally consistent, and we cannot easily break the principles just because of the sentiment on social media in a certain region. That would set a very bad precedent."

"precedent?"

"David, this is public opinion, not media sentiment. We need to handle it according to the public relations crisis plan!"

"Calm down, Tony."

David's tone remained calm.

"The legal and marketing teams at headquarters will meet this afternoon to assess the impact of this incident and discuss follow-up responses. Do not take any unnecessary actions before the official strategy is released."

"."

A chill ran from the soles of Liu Yue's feet straight up to the top of his head.

Here it comes again! The feeling of the antenna gate and speed reduction gate from before is back. By the time you finish your meeting, it will be too late! He already had a premonition that he would be working high-intensity overtime for at least half a month.

All of this could have been avoided.

He wanted to argue further, but David didn't give him the chance.

"That's it, Tony. It's still nighttime where you are, right? Enjoy your night and don't be too anxious."

"Beep...beep...beep..."

"Fuck you!"

Liu Yue threw his phone onto the bed, but that was all he could do.

For a giant like Apple...

Even the biggest problem isn't a big deal.

~~~
There are many disturbances from the outside world.

The Star Game, at the center of the vortex, was unusually calm.

Although the people at Startap are working overtime, their overtime is not to compete with Apple for influence, nor is it for traffic.

Chu Chen understood perfectly.

Game companies, game companies, in the end it all comes down to the games themselves.

Just like the Apple incident this time, the reason why it has evolved into the current situation where Startap has a "perfect" start is ultimately due to the quality of the game.

However, given the current traffic of Star Tap, is it safe to say that it's secured?
Actually, no.

After all, according to the plan, in the next two days, after Xingchen Tap gained popularity with its mini-games, it was going to quickly attract more than a dozen mid-tier manufacturers to join the platform.

Then came NetEase, and finally Tencent.

But now... this first step of acquiring traffic is going very smoothly, even more smoothly than expected. If nothing unexpected happens, Xingchen Tap's global daily active users will reach 20 million in the next day or two.

However, the second step, which was to take advantage of the momentum to attract a large number of manufacturers, did not go very smoothly.

Besides anime-style game developers, the Hardcore Alliance has not relaxed its suppression of Star Tap, even now that Star Tap is available on various app stores.

However, StarTap is only in a "can be searched" state.

Moreover, while the platform's own traffic is certainly valuable, the case of Tencent App Store has already shown everyone that traffic does not equal success.

(End of this chapter)