My game is depressing worldwide.

Chapter 98: The Crazy Surge in Pre-orders

Lincheng at night.

Zheng Yanbin did not go home for the Chinese New Year this year.

There's no other way; I still have to stand guard until the very end.

With the game's release imminent and the countdown underway, he, as the producer, is indispensable.

As a result, the vast majority of the production team stayed to work overtime.

The resentment in the studio could feed a hundred evil sword immortals.

Inside the office.

Zheng Yanbin: "How's the appointment situation? I mean, the mental hospital's work room."

Wu Xun, who was in charge of publicity, immediately began to report: "There is news that a playable demo of Dark Souls will be released. This is Chen Xuan's usual tactic, using demos to generate hype."

Zheng Yanbin frowned and said, "Who asked you that? Can a buy-out single-player game be considered our competitor?"

"But... Honkai Impact 3rd has only launched a pre-registration page so far, and I haven't seen any special actions?"

No?

Zheng Yanbin couldn't understand this sentence.

What kind of operation is this? It shouldn't be happening.

Based on past experience, shouldn't this be the time when Chen Xuan is most active?

Various underhanded tactics are constantly emerging, utilizing any available resources.

Looks like we're really out of options this time?

Zheng Yanbin smiled smugly.

Tian Shuo had his eye on the mental hospital studio and even considered acquiring it; he knew this.

Anyone with a brain knows this: they're abandoning him, their key advisor, and want to cultivate a new star producer.

But old ginger is still spicier!

See? Chen Xuan is out of ideas now.

Youthful arrogance, huh.

They rejected Tianshuo, the largest publisher, and also failed to reach a cooperation agreement with the site.

Isn't that just asking for death?

Do you really think you can turn the rotten into the miraculous at any time?

If "Starry Night" can outperform "Honkai Impact 3" in terms of revenue, it will break the backbone of this producer who is widely regarded as a genius.

The mental hospital studio was forced to close due to a broken funding chain and was subsequently acquired.

Well, then I can retire gracefully after achieving my goal.

Even if I can't become a top-tier producer and lead some flagship projects, I should be fine with some promising smaller projects.

However, the prerequisite is to defeat Honkai Impact 3rd in terms of revenue and completely destroy it.

"By the way, how many pre-registrations does Honkai Impact 3rd have?"

Wu Xun glanced at the data in his hand and said, "As of this morning, the number of pre-registrations for Honkai Impact 3rd is 78, and the number of pre-registrations for the preview livestream is 3."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yanbin almost burst out laughing.

"That's it? That's too pathetic. It doesn't do justice to his WGA award."

Wu Xun said with a hint of flattery, "Of course, WGA at most gives some support to the Dark Souls project. Honkai Impact 3 is a second game, with a completely different target audience."

"In comparison, our 'Starry Night' has 213 million pre-registrations and 7 pre-registrations for the live stream, which is a complete crushing victory in terms of data."

"Not only that, we also have the advantage in terms of community discussion and activity. However, there is also a reason for this, because Honkai Impact 3 has not yet fully revealed its gameplay, which has led some players to wait and see."

Zheng Yanbin waved his hand dismissively: "It's hopeless. The artwork for 'Starry Night' is top-notch, the card quality is excellent, and it features innovative turn-based gameplay. What can 'Honkai Impact 3' possibly use to compete with us?"

"That's right, Chen Xuan can only use some petty tricks to scheme against people."

"Alright, you go ahead and get busy. I'll check the community discussions."

"OK."

After saying that, Zheng Yanbin opened the website and casually clicked on the most popular posts.

Unsurprisingly, today's gaming section, which is usually neither the best nor the worst, didn't have any videos worth paying attention to.

but....

Doesn't the animation section take up too much space?

What kind of anime is "Dumpling Family"?

Moreover, he even witnessed a truly magical scene.

The same content creator posted two videos with completely opposite viewpoints.

"The most disgusting episode for viewers: 'Dumpling Family' is the product of a psychopathic screenwriter!"

Next video title.

A masterpiece! Please allow me to offer my utmost apology to the divine work, "The Great Family of Dumplings".

"Heh, in our gaming industry, this is called 'buying a deal,' or 'getting confused.'"

Zheng Yanbin muttered a complaint to himself.

Return to the homepage.

He doesn't watch anime, but the site is, after all, a website with a strong anime/manga vibe.

Even if you don't watch it, it will occasionally recommend an animation-related video.

ACG (Anime, Comics, and Games) are inseparable.

The title of one of the videos caught his attention.

I pre-registered for this second-generation game because of an anime?

Ok?

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yanbin immediately became interested.

Just yesterday, "Starry Night" released a preview of its world-building animation.

The content creator is a nobody with only 1 followers, whose ID is "Angry Game Guy".

However, judging from his collaboration with another creator, he is Lao Wei, who is quite well-known in the gaming section.

Zheng Yanbin was somewhat displeased upon seeing this name.

Old Wei has a distinct "madhouse studio" label. He was the culprit who initially made iwanna popular, and he also gained the most fans by following Chen Xuan's games.

However... if they abandon darkness and embrace the light, that would be a good thing.

Click to play.

I thought I would hear rave reviews about "The Promise of the Stars".

Unexpectedly, the video opened with a roar.

"Everyone go watch 'Dumpling Family'!! Right now!! It's a masterpiece, an undisputed masterpiece!!"

The shout startled Zheng Yanbin and also made Wu Xun, who was about to step out of the office, pause and turn around in surprise.

Before Zheng Yanbin could even feel embarrassed, a second roar followed.

"At the same time, everyone go and pre-register for Honkai Impact 3rd!! I swear this is the best sequel you've ever seen—!!!"

Wait a minute?!

"What the heck??" Zheng Yanbin's eyes widened. "Reserve what?"

Wu Xun's lips twitched, knowing that he couldn't leave, so he obediently went back to his office and sat down.

"Manager Zheng, what happened?"

Zheng Yanbin's expression was not good. He turned the computer screen, pointed at the video, and asked, "Explain to me, what is this?"

What is this?

I don't know?

Wu Xun looked confused.

What could an anime possibly have to do with Honkai Impact 3?

Seeing those clear eyes, I knew it would be pointless to ask.

Zheng Yanbin cursed "useless," saying he might as well have searched it himself.

I simply clicked play and continued watching.

"Hey bro, have you guys watched 'Danko Daikazoku,' the new anime that premiered in January and is being streamed globally? It's a masterpiece, an absolute masterpiece! I know some of you who didn't see the ending will be going to criticize me."

"You're right to say this animation is full of twists and turns and the writers are inhuman, but don't rush to criticize me. I want to share a new discovery with you."

"The Great Family of Dumplings" is adapted from the novel of the same name on Qihang Chinese Website, and the original author is Chen Xuan. Does that name sound familiar?

It was Chen Xuan, the genius producer who brought back China's first WGA trophy!

Zheng Yanbin's face darkened.

Good grief, so this is what they were waiting for me all along.

No, what does a game developer have to do with animation?

Are you bored out of your mind?

I was just wondering what kind of crazy trick Chen Xuan was going to pull this time... but I never expected it.

It is impossible to guard against it!

It was clear that many people in the live chat had just learned about this or the name.

[Holy crap, it was him! No wonder then.]

[My wife is pure and innocent... Sorry for switching channels.]

[This so-called "psychology guru"—I seriously suspect he's mentally unstable.]

[It must be said that Chen Xuan has a knack for crafting compelling storylines; he's a Nobel laureate in literature whose talent was wasted on being a producer.]

Keep watching.

"Would a genius who can write stories like 'To the Moon' and 'The Invisible Guardian' deliberately write something disgusting? Even if he's mentally unstable, are the investors, Strange Cat, also idiots?"

"The truth is, this genius played a joke on us with this animation... a genius move that broke the fourth wall!"

Wait, what is all this?

Zheng Yanbin felt dizzy.

You can analyze so much from just one animation?

Are you going to take the postgraduate entrance exam?

Xie Yuan's voice continued to come through.

"The production of this animation is a complete success, flawless in every way! The negative reviews mainly focus on the plot."

"All of this is because of the unreasonable abrupt endings in the animation, which ended at two incredibly frustrating points."

This left viewers with a lot of frustration but nowhere to vent it, and some even thought the anime was really over.

"Because it involves spoilers, I can't say for sure. But I can tell you that after the most controversial episode 21, there really is a 22nd episode! It's also the final episode with a perfect ending!"

"This brings us to the method for unlocking this perfect ending—collecting Light Orbs!"

"Each character has a luminous orb representing their happiness; there are 13 orbs in total. The first one appears at the 13-minute mark of episode 7... the second one..."

"After collecting everything, you will see Shio sleeping under the tree, which means you have successfully unlocked the perfect ending."

At this moment, some viewers who had seen the animation became excited in the comments section.

[Huh?! Oh my god, I thought that 22-episode claim was a lie.]

[I thought it was a follow-up OVA or a special episode]

[Log in!! Find the Light Orb!! Save my Nagisa!]

No, it's just an animation, why are you making such a fuss?

Zheng Yanbin stared blankly at the screen. Although he couldn't see his own expression, he could guess what it was.

I imagine there's an emoji that looks a lot like him right now.

Elderly people using cell phones on the subway.jpg

It sounds impressive but I don't understand it.

But Zheng Yanbin also realized that things were going badly.

Because of this drama, "The Great Family of Dumplings," it seems to be very popular, extremely popular.

Even someone like him who never watches website animations can still find countless related content.

If the production quality is top-notch and the script is excellent, and then some off-screen controversies arise...

This animation is likely to become a hit.

Breaking out of the niche is a very mysterious thing; not every high-quality animation can break out of the niche. It requires the right timing, location, and people.

It's easy to imagine how many viewers will watch the animation out of curiosity.

It is clearly written at the end of each episode of the animation.

The new game "Honkai Impact 3" by the same screenwriter is now open for pre-registration!

How's the animation?

Like it?

Why don't you come and check out the game?

The animation and derivative works fields are vertically integrated.

Every viewer has the potential to become a player, which is far more efficient than simply buying traffic.

Zheng Yanbin was dizzy.

No, how much work do you actually have?!

"You just said the pre-registration data for Honkai Impact 3rd was from this morning? It's evening now, where's the new data?"

Wu Xun broke out in a cold sweat: "I...I haven't collected any information yet! I'll go get it right now!"

"Never mind, I'll do it myself."

Zheng Yanbin couldn't wait any longer and went directly to the official website of "Honkai Impact 3" which was already online.

Upon seeing that number, my vision went black.

The number of game pre-registrations surged from 78 to 134 million, and the number of pre-registrations for the preview live stream rose from 3 to 5.

No.

Isn't this data a bit outrageous?!

It almost doubled in a day?!

Then surpassing "The Promise of the Stars" will be a piece of cake, right?

I've heard of making animations and selling toys.

It's quite rare to see an animation that causes a game to fail.

No way, how the hell do you defend against this?

what?