Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 602 Sichuan Opera Face Changing
Sean spoke passionately, and the flashes of cameras around him were clicking. However, the assistant following behind Sean was desperately keeping his head down, his shoulders trembling slightly, as if he was trying his best to endure something.

Unfortunately, as Sean's assistant, Bailey's brain was almost uncontrollably replaying scenes from a few days ago.

"Foolish! This is the most foolish decision I've ever seen! Giving up the most valuable closing moment of our press conference to a Chinese company to promote their own press conference? What are they trying to do?"

"What do you mean by 'needing to balance the books'? This is a matter of principle!! No amount of money can justify doing this! It would make PlayStation a laughingstock in the entire industry! We are a platform, not an advertising billboard!"

"Those idiots at the Japanese headquarters, are their brains filled with mush? I'll send an email tomorrow, no, I'll call right now! This step has to be removed!"

At the time, he even witnessed Sean angrily throw a proposal on the ground.

If it weren't for the unusually firm stance of the Japanese headquarters, and even the newly appointed CEO Kenichiro Yoshida personally calling, Sean might not have taken on this task.

And now, this man, who just a few hours ago was complaining backstage that "those fifteen seconds will ruin everything," is facing reporters.

Good heavens, that was like a Sichuan opera face-changing act, full of smug satisfaction and eloquent words.

"We believe that great games can transcend language and cultural boundaries,"

Anyone who has ever tried to hold back laughter knows this feeling: the more you try to hold it in, the more you want to laugh. This was exactly what happened to Pelé at that moment. The frequency of his shoulders shaking increased, making it look like he had suddenly developed some kind of acute Parkinson's syndrome.

However, Sean remained unfazed during the interview.

All he wants to do now is give a big red flower to the employee who suggested showing the Starry Night promotional video at the Sony press conference.

why?
It's very simple. It's 2018 now, not the harmonious era of 2025 where everyone can sit down and chat, logging into each other's platforms.

This is the most brutal meat grinder era in the console wars.

With Phil Spencer taking over as head of Microsoft gaming last year, Microsoft has launched a major offensive in the gaming field over the past two years.

Last November, Microsoft launched the Xbox One X, touted as the "most powerful console ever."

In addition, in terms of game lineup, Microsoft has reversed its past decline in first-party games and started a crazy "money power" mode, acquiring well-known studios such as Ninja Theory and Obsidian Entertainment like it's shopping at a market.

It's clear they're trying to address their most fatal weakness: the lack of exclusive games.

Finally, XGP, or Xbox Game Pass subscription service, also caused some concern among Sony executives. Although in the future, it has been proven that subscription services like XGP have a cap on the number of users, and their prices cannot remain low indefinitely.

At this point in time, being able to play most AAA games for just a few dozen dollars a month, and even the latest AAA titles, seems pretty impressive.

This series of actions has caused a huge stir in the European and American markets.

The Xbox One X enjoyed very strong sales in its early days, especially in the UK and North America, to the point that demand exceeded supply.

It is clear that since Phil Spencer took over, Microsoft is indeed winning back those core players who had previously disappointed it.

Is Sony panicking?
Of course I panicked.

At this time, Sony managed to stabilize its position against Microsoft's offensive, thanks to titles such as "God of War 4," "Marvel's Spider-Man," and "Detroit: Become Human."

The problem is, Microsoft's extravagant spending habits seem too intimidating.

Nobody knows what the market will be like given Phil Spencer a few years from now. Sean has been compared to Spencer more than once by the media, of course, mostly by those praising Spencer.
Under such circumstances, the StarCraft Games press conference was like a timely pillow for Sony. Not only for Sony, but also for Sean himself, it was a great opportunity to wash away the "negative" buff.

At this point in time, the recap video of StarCraft's E3 press conference has surpassed Microsoft's in terms of views, becoming the most-viewed pre-show press conference video.

The appearance of Black Myth has amazed many European and American players.

More importantly, while StarCraft's games will be released on PC, these new games will definitely be available on Sony consoles, and may even be Sony exclusives!

what does this mean?
This means any console gamer who was impressed by the staff in Black Myth: Wukong, amazed by the planetary engine in The Wandering Earth, or attracted by the sinkhole in Star Core.

When they want to sit on the sofa in their living room and experience all of this with a controller, they only have one option—PlayStation.

Don't even mention asking Sean to praise Xingchen, you can make him do anything!

That evening, a new tweet appeared on the official PlayStation account.

[@PlayStation: An unparalleled presentation! Congratulations to our friends @StarCraft! From the profound universe of *StarCore*, to the grand epic *The Wandering Earth*, and the world-stunning *Black Myth: Wukong*, each game has thrilled us. We assure all players that these magnificent game worlds will be coming to the PlayStation platform in the future! #StarCraftE3 #BlackMythWukong]

This tweet was explosive enough on its own.

But after this tweet was posted, Sean also replied to it with his own Twitter account.

[P.S. Friends next door, we really don't know if Starry Sky has collaborated with them. Maybe you should ask them yourselves. We also tagged Spencer.]

Good guy.

As the saying goes, you shouldn't hit someone in the face.

This tweet quickly ignited a firestorm, turning what was originally a somewhat official tweet into a heated discussion.

"Sony! My Superman!!"

"Hahaha, that last sentence is absolutely devastating!!"

Xbox players are crying in the bathroom!

"Sony's move was textbook perfect. They rode the wave of popularity, advertised, and even took a jab at their competitors. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!"

It wasn't just American players; even domestic players were laughing their heads off when they saw these news reports being brought back to China.

Sony's fate further propelled this celebration sparked by the stars to new heights.

~~~
Time comes the next day.

Although the Steam pre-show event is just minutes away, global media coverage is still stuck in yesterday's celebratory atmosphere.

For example, the front page of the official website of Famitsu, Japan's largest game review magazine, at that time was titled "[The Black Ship Returns! The Eastern Dragon That Shocked E3!]".

(End of this chapter)