Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 485 Everyone has a bright future

While Tencent's domestic WEGAME platform may be slightly inferior in terms of its lineup of AAA titles, it still manages to thrive thanks to its large user base and the advantage of domestically produced games, and its discounts are quite generous.

Even established games like DNF, LOL, and CS have benefited from the Christmas and New Year's special offers for "single-player games".

As for the overseas XGAME platform, although it has been affected by the "group strategy" and no new games have been added in the past two months, the games that have already been agreed upon are given a subsidy.

Engaging in a price war and joining in the fun is perfectly acceptable.

As for the stars.

That would be even more "generous".

In early December, they made a high-profile announcement of their $8 million Super Bowl ad booking, which was simultaneously placed on large screens in Times Square, New York, and several other major American cities.

They've all put up ads for Starry Night Games' Christmas special offers.

Although these advertisements don't have much influence offline, the videos from those offline events, when uploaded to the internet, can generate a significant buzz.

Especially the Super Bowl ads.

This is the first time in Chinese history that a game company has appeared in the Super Bowl, which has naturally attracted a lot of coverage from foreign media. It should be noted that these foreign media are not only from Europe and the United States, but also from Southeast Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea.

Looking at it this way, the $800 million was actually well spent.

In addition to its promotional campaign targeting the European and American markets, Star Classic has once again launched its new user acquisition and incentive campaign.

As the three platforms launched their battle, players spread the news across various gaming forums and social media, creating an atmosphere comparable to the Lunar New Year.

This lively phenomenon became even more intense as the discounts officially began.

~~~
At Wilford headquarters, Jason looked at the data reports pouring in from the back office, and the fatigue on his face vanished.

The proportion of concurrent users on Steam from the China region has surged at an unprecedented rate.

"Mark, our strategy worked."

"Sales growth in the China region exceeded our most optimistic expectations."

Mark adjusted his glasses; his eyes behind the lenses didn't reveal much emotion, but the slight upturn of his lips betrayed his feelings.

In their view, Steam won this battle.

Although Starry Sky has invested heavily in advertising in the European and American markets and used subsidies to attract many users, they have also successfully opened the door to the Chinese market and planted their flag on this land with unlimited potential.

This wave is somewhat similar to a base swap.

The problem is that Steam has been deeply rooted in the European and American markets for many years, and its growth has become very sluggish; it is definitely a "saturated market".

China, on the other hand, represents a completely new "growth market".

Even if you switch to another company, you still win; this deal is a win-win.

~~~
On the other side, the Tencent Building.

The atmosphere in the meeting room wasn't as relaxed as at Valve, but it was by no means tense either.

"According to data feedback, Steam's offensive is mainly focused on overseas AAA titles, and its impact on our core user base is limited."

"The holiday events for games like LOL and DNF have been very well received, and the sales of domestically produced games on the WEGAME platform have maintained steady growth. XGAME's user base is also increasing, and we have successfully maintained our core customer base."

"The newly launched Monster Hunter Arena is also selling very well, having already sold 30 copies." In this Christmas and New Year's promotional campaign, Tencent focused its single-player game efforts on Monster Hunter, while simultaneously continuing to promote the unreleased Monster Hunter: World.

On the other hand, they revived the already shut-down Monster Hunter Online and created a so-called Monster Hunter Arena.

In reality, Monster Hunter Online is a version of Monster Hunter Online that has removed all elements and only retained the arena boss battles. This "abnormal product" born from the impact of the StarCraft single-player game market actually sold quite well.

Although the price is cheap, it also shows that many Chinese players have never really eaten anything good.

After listening to Zhao Ming's report, Leng Zefeng nodded. This time, Tencent failed to dominate the market as usual, and it could even be said that Steam and StarCraft stole a lot of the limelight.

However, maintaining the status quo is victory in itself.

Being able to hold one's ground and avoid a large-scale loss of users amidst the attack from the two "giants" is already considered a success.

They are like the Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period.

Although powerless to launch a northern expedition to the Central Plains, he remained the undisputed hegemon in his own Jiangdong territory.

Therefore, Tencent felt that it had not lost, and this sudden attack from the other party could also help it ask for more funding from higher authorities. Since October, Leng Zefeng had been planning how to get the higher-ups to pay attention to the game market again.

Now, Steam's offensive has given him an excuse; this time, next year's budget should be much easier to secure.

~~~
Steam was very satisfied, and Tencent was also very satisfied. For a time, the entire industry presented a wonderful "win-win" situation.

The media were overjoyed and wrote articles until their hands were sore.

This morning they were praising "Gabe Newell's (GabeN) Open Strategy: Using Profits to Open the Door to a Billion-Dollar Market," and this afternoon it's become "Tencent's Moat: The Solid Empire Under the Social Media Dominance."

In the evening, the focus shifted, and the author began analyzing "Starry Sky's Global Ambitions: The Deeper Meaning Behind the Super Bowl Ads".

As if overnight, the Chinese game market was full of heroes, and everyone was a winner.

For players, this is an even bigger celebration.

"Me too. I used to think that selling a game for 100 or 200 yuan was robbery, but now when I see The Witcher 3 for 59 yuan, it feels like it's free. I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn't buy it."

"That's right, PUBG is only 69 yuan after using coupons on the Starry Sky Games platform, that's ridiculously outrageous."

"By the way, have you guys noticed that there are so many games on sale this year, and the discounts are really good? We've never had such good deals before."

"It's all thanks to Xingchen that these giants were all involved. It's like gods fighting, and mortals are just watching the show. How exciting!"

With the hype from numerous media outlets, the live-streaming sales by countless streamers, and the "buying guides" from numerous Bilibili content creators, anyone with even a slight understanding of the gaming market will be able to easily access information about it.

It's impossible for anyone not to know about this "Three Kingdoms Discount War"

In this atmosphere, many "outsiders" who originally only played mobile and online games were also drawn in.

In conclusion, the current Chinese single-player game market is thriving and thriving.

Everyone's offering discounts, gamers' spending is in full swing, and the media's hype is overflowing—it's like a grand feast where everyone's feasting to their heart's content. The three game companies even seem to have reached a tacit agreement.

For example, when it comes to core flagship products, neither side dares to provoke the other.

Steam promotes its own AAA games, Tencent focuses on classic online games, and StarCraft mainly focuses on PUBG.

(End of this chapter)