Tokyo Video Game Tycoon.

dead.

dead.

dead.

Each time, this professional gamer would suddenly die in an unexpected way.

The more this happened, the gloomier the professional player's expression became.

However, because he was live streaming, he had to suppress his emotions.

"This guy is so bad. How can someone like this become a professional gamer?"

"Yeah, if someone like that can become a professional gamer, I think maybe I can too?"

"Don't joke around, this professional gamer has won a world championship. It's just that he used to play racing e-sports games. How could someone who plays racing games easily understand Sekiro from the start?"

"That's true. I doubt many people besides the official staff can truly understand this game."

The players in the discussion forum were very aggressive, which made the streamer even more silent.

At this moment, Bart could only feel amusement watching the streamer's series of ridiculous actions.

Isn't this just like me back then?

I felt just as desperate as I did when facing the Red Demon back then, and this streamer feels the same way now.

But now, as an observer, he feels more amusement than anything else, though there's another feeling too.

That's an unparalleled sense of accomplishment.

See? Even professional players are this bad, but through continuous effort, I can surpass them.

Suddenly, he had an impulse to replay Sekiro, record the scene of defeating the Red Oni, and then post it online.

One's achievements should not be seen by only oneself.

And now there are actually many people who share the same thoughts as him.

This game has been out for over a week now, and there are bound to be some players who have stuck with it and have already finished it.

Meanwhile, videos about Sekiro are increasing exponentially on Facebook's video platform.

It seems that... Sekiro's popularity began to rebound gradually a week after the game's release, and the rebound was quite strong...

Chapter 918 Reaction

918

Bart has discovered that he's recently developed a particular fondness for doing something.

That is, watching videos on Facebook where people get brutally beaten by the bosses in Sekiro.

Previously, out of boredom, he went to a professional gamer's live stream and saw the professional gamer being brutally defeated, which gave him a sense of satisfaction outside of the game.

See? The monster that tormented me countless times also tormented others terribly. Now I can easily turn the tables and defeat the BOSS. Seeing videos of others being tormented gives me a great sense of accomplishment.

At the same time, he restarted the game and posted the video of himself defeating the Red Oni BOSS on the Facebook video website.

Once published, it immediately garnered over 100,000 views.

This level of clicks is usually only achievable by popular online celebrities, but he did it with just one video.

Seeing the effusive praise in the comments below the video, with many people calling him a pro gamer, motivated him even more to defeat other bosses.

At this moment, he no longer sees each failure as a source of frustration, but rather as a sign of his indomitable spirit in getting back up after each setback.

More and more people are sharing the same feeling as Bart lately.

Most of them were because after watching the official Sekiro playthrough livestream, they felt that the game actually seemed quite interesting.

When they exclaimed in the live stream how amazing the official staff were at playing the game, they would also repurchase the game, download it again, and try to play it once more.

As a result, Sekiro's sales increased by more than two million in just one week.

This sales volume has already clearly and easily recouped the costs, and the word-of-mouth is spreading faster and faster.

Because gradually, those players who persisted in playing the game finally discovered where the real enjoyment of the game lay.

It was the feeling of accomplishment after each failure, getting back up again and again, and finally seeing the once invincible BOSS fall at your feet. It was truly unparalleled.

That was the exhilarating feeling that comes from real growth.

However, this feeling of exhilaration often requires extreme suppression beforehand.

But when this repression is released, the resulting pleasure is also the most intense.

In the past, games mostly provided players with short-term dopamine release, which is one of the reasons why players like video games.

Because this provides the fastest and most direct stimulation.

Before the rise of short videos, video games were the most stimulating cultural and entertainment products.

In the two decades since the rise of video games, many scholars have conducted research on them.

They also believe that the success of video games as a new form of entertainment is due to the short-term dopamine release they induce.

For a video game to be successful, short-term dopamine secretion is one indicator.

Many game developers strive to provide players with the most short-term stimulation possible in a game.

Initially, they imitated games like Super Mario, and then followed the pace of game development at Yusei Electronic Entertainment.

Later, they gradually figured out other ways to play the game, which is the so-called "pay-to-win" approach.

Other game companies will inevitably get involved in pay-to-win games sooner or later for their own benefit and development. However, perhaps because Youxing Electronic Entertainment promotes its games quickly and extensively, the environment for pay-to-win games is not so broad. Instead, they mostly learn from Youxing Electronic Entertainment's Dead or Alive and sell skins and other similar methods.

The thrill of spending money, similar to gacha pulls, is the most intense for players.

But just when industry professionals believed that only short-term stimuli could motivate players to buy, Sekiro appeared.

This is a very typical game that goes against the grain.

The early stages put immense pressure on players.

But the emotional release is also the most intense once the BOSS is defeated.

Then Sekiro began to spread by word of mouth.

In the third week, sales of Ghost of Tsushima were slowing to around two or three hundred thousand units per week.

Sekiro, however, continued to maintain sales of two million units per week.

Just when everyone was watching Yusei Electronics Entertainment's first game development project flop, Sekiro quietly and suddenly rose to prominence again.

"Have you figured out exactly what makes this game so appealing? Why did it become so popular with players later on?"

Hayakawa Ueto frowned as he looked at the latest Sekiro sales figures.

can not understand.

I really don't understand it.

Sekiro is widely recognized as a rather unconventional game. The satisfying moments unfold slowly, and the initial difficulty is too high, discouraging players. No matter how you look at it, it doesn't seem to have any qualities that would make it a hit.

But how did sales suddenly rebound?

Industry insiders all assumed that Yusei Electronics Entertainment had treated this game as a test, and perhaps Yusei Electronics Entertainment originally intended it to be a side game to another game: Ghost of Tsushima.

By using Sekiro's high difficulty to discourage players, and then conversely making them think Ghost of Tsushima is a better game, the sales of the more expensive game are boosted.

This tactic was hailed as a remarkably effective marketing strategy by marketing managers at several game companies.

They've already started considering whether or not to use this technique themselves.

But before they could do anything, why did Sekiro suddenly get up again?

"President, to be honest, even we don't understand how this game became so popular, but I want to say... this game really has some unique and enjoyable aspects."

"Unique appeal? Explain it to me in detail, in a way that I can understand."

"Hmm... It's basically this game that pushes players' emotions to the extreme, and then releases them completely after defeating a boss. It's really exhilarating. At least after playing this game seriously recently, I found that the exhilaration it brings is even more intense than other games."

"The pleasure of delay?"

"That's right, that's roughly the idea."

"Then can we make a game like this too?" Hayakawa Ueto asked, staring at the heads of the development department.

“This…” The people in charge immediately shrank back.

"What? What's the technical difficulty? Isn't this just a matter of adjusting the game's difficulty?"

"No... it's not that simple. This game has many unique details, but that's not really important."

Hayakawa Ueto asked, "Then what is important?"

"The important thing is that we can't learn this game mode right now."

Hayakawa Ueto didn't ask why directly, but stared at the several people in charge, waiting for their follow-up.

The executives cautiously explained, "Simply put, Youxing Electronics Entertainment has the resources to create a challenging game to train players, but... if we do this, and do it poorly, it might backfire."

Chapter 919 Good News

919

"Be more specific!" Hayakawa Ueto was getting impatient.

A game manager immediately said, "Yusei Electronics Entertainment holds a very high position in the hearts of players. From the very beginning, players have been very patient with any game produced by Yusei Electronics Entertainment. Many players, even if they are initially discouraged by Sekiro, will still patiently try to continue playing for a while out of trust in Yusei Electronics Entertainment. But we..."

Hayakawa Ueto understood: "I get it. It means that apart from Yusei Electronics Entertainment, no other game company has this kind of status. If we were to develop a game like Sekiro, we would probably only lose money."

"Yes...yes, unless..."

"Unless what? Don't waste my time here."

"Unless there are more games of this type, at least enough to cultivate a group of players who genuinely like this type of game, then we can develop games of this type and have a chance to make money."

Hayakawa Ueto found it extremely ridiculous.

In the past, once a game genre was created, players would welcome it with open arms, and other game companies could immediately follow suit and gain a lot of player support in a short period of time.

But this time it seems different.