Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 526 Pressure
Apple Inc., circular headquarters.

Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, is staring at the huge display screen in front of him.

The screen displays the latest quarterly user data analysis report, and in one inconspicuous corner, an anomaly is highlighted in red.

"The proportion of teenagers choosing the Android platform for their first mobile phone purchase increased by 1.7% year-on-year."

1.7%
From a numerical perspective, it is a number that can be almost ignored.

In business, fluctuations of this magnitude are generally not analyzed in detail.

After all, this is very likely a spontaneous change in the market. Considering that Apple's market share in the United States has fluctuated over the years, there is even less to note about this change.

but
Behind this numerical change, data analysts used more detailed charts to explain the reasons for this unusual growth.

One pie chart stood out, with an option called "Starry Sky Tap Exclusive Benefits" taking up nearly 32% of the "Reasons for Choosing the Android Platform".

The so-called exclusive benefits for Starry Sky Tap are actually a general term.

As mentioned earlier, the Star Tap app is currently available in the Apple App Store, but it doesn't allow you to directly purchase games or access game rankings. You can only watch Star Tap's self-produced variety shows and the Star Tap game discussion forum.

If you want to buy the game, you can only go back to the Apple Store to search after reading the introduction, and all the Starry Night games in the Apple Store are priced at $2.9.

Most importantly, there are no promotions on the Apple App Store.

Whenever a new Starry Night $2.9 mini-game is released, Android users can claim it for free, while Apple users have to pay to play it.

When this product was finally launched on Apple's shelves at the beginning of last year, Apple was initially indifferent.

Because Apple believes they have won this war.

After TapTap became a hit in 16, Apple finally "forced" TapTap to accept their agreement in early 17, removing the app rankings, app recommendations, and app download redirects from the Apple client.

At the time, not only Apple, but also other companies and players generally believed that StarCraft had "lost".

Some so-called industry bigwigs and tech media outlets couldn't wait to jump out, marveling at Apple's power and offering their "insights," as if trying to prove their foresight and wisdom.

One of the articles, titled "Frontiers of Technology: Like a Mantis Trying to Stop a Chariot, the Platform Dream of Stars Shattered," circulated widely at the time.

The author, in the tone of a senior lecturing a junior, analyzed the "disastrous defeat" of the stars in a lengthy and detailed manner.

"...Any attempt to challenge Apple's closed ecosystem is tantamount to a mantis trying to stop a chariot. StarCraft is an excellent game company, but its founders clearly lack the most basic respect for modern business rules."

"The commercial barriers that Apple built over a decade cannot be shaken by a few small games and a momentary surge in user enthusiasm. This compromise is the inevitable price Xingchen has to pay for its youth and arrogance, and also a priceless business lesson..."

Although these articles seem offensive to Starry Sky's supporters.

But at the time, no one could refute it.

However, things took a turn for the better after a year.

As StarCraft's influence in the United States grows, and as StarCraft inexplicably continues to release hit mini-games.

Apple executives also sensed that it seemed, it appeared, that some users actually chose Android phones because they couldn't claim the $2.9 game.
Although from a business perspective, this reason is actually quite absurd.

Phil Schiller rubbed his temples.

"So, I need someone to explain this to me."

"Would anyone really choose Android just because of a so-called $2.9 benefit?" Apple today is more accustomed to using sophisticated models and massive amounts of data to think about problems.

Phil Schiller, for example, believes that the core of a user's decision-making process for a high-end consumer electronics product priced at seven or eight hundred dollars should revolve around grand narratives such as hardware performance, system smoothness, and ecosystem integrity.

It's not about whether or not you can claim a $2.9 mini-game.

“From a purely economic point of view, this does indeed make no sense,” a market analyst said, forcing a smile. “But the problem is not the $2.9, but the sense of ‘unfairness’.”

He pulled up another report, which contained in-depth follow-up interviews with these lost users.

In absolute terms, most Apple users were indeed unaffected by the stars.

However, if the market is focused on users who enjoy games, the situation changes.

At the beginning, many games were only available for Android. Now, although StarCraft will be available for iOS, Apple players cannot claim it for free because StarCraft Tap does not have a synchronized event.

This continuous 'differential treatment' has created a very peculiar effect.

"What's worse is that other phone manufacturers are taking advantage of this."

"Those Chinese companies have been very aggressive in the US market this year. Their promotional slogans include 'Starry Sky Games, the best gaming experience platform' when Google promotes the Android system."

Using game optimization and adaptation as a selling point would have sounded like a joke two years ago.

But now, nobody can laugh.

Especially Apple, and in the past two years, Chinese mobile phone brands led by Huawei have been impacting the global market with unprecedented force, which can be described as a fierce attack.

On this timeline.

The impact was even greater than in the previous life. The global version of the Huawei Mate 10, co-branded with Starry Sky, sold quite well in Europe and the United States.

Even though Huawei's market share in the United States was less than 2% throughout 17, it had already reached a 20% market share in Europe, on par with Apple.

In Japan, Android phones are also growing rapidly.

It is said that Sony and Starry Sky will soon launch a co-branded high-end version of the phone.

StarCraft, a game company that no one initially saw as a threat, unexpectedly became a "psychological crowbar" for the Android camp to leverage its influence over Apple users.

“Our brand loyalty among young people is being eroded.”

"The reason why a sixteen-year-old would give up his iPhone might seem absurd, perhaps it's just because his friends are talking about what new games they can get for free next month."

Phil Schiller sighed.

"This is a calculated move by Xingchen."

At Schiller's level, it's immediately obvious that StarCraft is deliberately selling at a normal price in the Apple market.

Ultimately, if Starry Sky really wants to hold an event, why not just release it for free? Then take down the free version after a month and release a paid version instead.

The lack of a purchase function on the Apple version of Star Tap makes it impossible to sell virtual currency, which is clearly a way to coerce players and put pressure on Apple.

(End of this chapter)