Chapter 12: C12: Mirror Sales
Compared to my conversation with Yang Xin, I've been paying close attention to the performance of "Magic Mirror."
In fact, many people have noticed the game "Magic Mirror." Even though it's on an overseas platform, it's still a niche game with its own astounding rating and sales.
The sales numbers are there for everyone to see. While the official platform hasn't released the exact figures, based on various statistics, analytics tools, and industry insights, it's easy to estimate that the sales volume is quite impressive.
Sure, there might be some discrepancies, but nothing too extreme.
Although "Magic Mirror" hasn't been featured on any major sales platform, it has dominated the top spot on the praise list with an unbelievable performance. (So many gentlemen are hidden within our world)
An 18R game climbing to the top of the praise list? I have to admit, it caught many game designers off guard.
A lot of people are now curious to see what makes this game so special, especially in the comments section. This section is indeed harmonious and quite colourful, which can be described as an art in itself.
Many players' reviews are vastly different from what you'd expect from a typical "gentleman's game." Some of them are even hard for me and everyone to comprehend. (Well, we all lack the experience and it has its own value)
"A very good match-three game!"
"Ladies, step aside! Let me focus on my match-3 game!"
ᕕ༼⌐■-■༽ᕗ
"At first, I wasn't sure if this was a match-three game or a gal game, but one thing's for sure—my brother is pleased."
ʕʘ̅͜ʘ̅ʔ
"I thought this was just another run-of-the-mill gentleman's game, but I was wrong. This is an indie and individual gem!"
"As a professional critic, the only thing I can complain about is this—why is a gentleman's game so well-crafted and heartfelt?"
⊂(￣(ｴ)￣)⊃
"Ten minutes in, I should've been done and closed the game. But why am I still playing this match-3? It's so fun!"
~~ What do you mean by being done in 10 minutes? ~~
"This game made me see the good, evil, beauty, and ugliness of human nature. It's different from any other game."
"When a gentleman's game moves me this much, does it really matter if I rush or not?"
"I opened the game with excitement, but when I left, it wasn't relief I felt—it was disappointment.
٩( ᗒᗨᗕ )۶ "
Reading these comments left many people reading more and scratching their scalp bald. Did they open the wrong game?
Of course, along with the flood of glowing reviews, there were also those who, after a certain satisfaction, began to critique it harshly with their critical eyes after their third leg had some relief. (a betrayal)
Unlike those early forum posts sponsored by 20,000 yuan, now it's just pure gold and word-of-mouth among gentlemen.
So for Chen Xu, all that's left is to sit back and watch the money roll in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well, the first fund is available, and the next step is to lease the workplace and register a company."
"In addition, I have to plan for my future development path as well and get some more points along the way."
In my rental house, I was leaning on the bed, making my next plan.
I also found out about the points.
Although there is an increase, it is still relatively limited, and it is just enough for 2 single draws for now.
While I was thinking about it, the phone on the side rang. I picked it up and saw that the caller was sister Ruan Ningxue.
"Hey, Sister Ruan, what's the matter?" I answered.
"It's nothing, I just want to congratulate you. I thought..." Ruan Ningxue on the other end of the phone was a little embarrassed.
But I probably knew what Ruan Ningxue wanted to say and smiled at that moment: "It's normal, sister, but I'm actually a little surprised by the sales of 'Magic Mirror.'"
This statement was half true and half false. If it was false, the success of "Magic Mirror" was completely within my expectations.
Whether it was the quality of the game itself, the follow-up publicity plan, or even the decision to use "Magic Mirror" as the first game, I investigated it in advance and then planned it out.
As for the truth, the popularity of "Magic Mirror" was indeed a bit beyond my imagination. (The drought for the Gentlemen game has been severe)
Although it is the official overseas version of the platform, it is still a great platform for games. In fact, the main audience is still domestic players.
But even so, the sales performance of "Magic Mirror" surprised me.
At the same time, this also reminded me once again that the game industry in this world is far more prosperous compared to my previous life.
"By the way, Chen Xu, do you have time in the evening? I'll give you a celebration banquet, and I have a friend who wants to get to know you," Ruan Ningxue on the other end of the phone asked.
"No problem, in fact, I also want to invite you to have a meal. After all, without your help before, the development of 'Magic Mirror' would not have been so easy and fast," I said sincerely.
Afterward, we chatted casually for a while before she hung up the phone.
I put the phone aside and took another look at the sales of "Magic Mirror" in the background.
A total of 33,121 copies were sold in 6 days.
Its growth line was completely explosive growth. Obviously, the fighting power of the gentlemen was extraordinary, as well as their wallet.
And in terms of the current potential of "Magic Mirror," this was just the beginning.
You have to know some third-party platforms, which are just on the way.
When I was looking at the data of "Magic Mirror," I was delighted.
The indie game world is not so peaceful any more.
The media who also noticed this game also began to count the relevant data of this game for the hype.
After all, with the theme of 18R, it has rushed to the praise list, which is astounding. After all, which 18R game doesn't deserve a scolding by most of the media and some of those conservative practitioners.
At the same time, the related topics of "Magic Mirror" also quickly began to ferment.
Relevant sales data is difficult to count for ordinary players.
The media and some practitioners who paid attention at the beginning may think that there will be 18,000 or 23,000 people.
But the announcement of a third-party statistical agency, made people who paid attention to this game feel incredible for a while.
Because the data given by the third-party organization turned out to be 28,457.
Compared with the original sales volume, it is actually 4,600 lower, but even so, this data still surprised many designers.
In particular, some designers also make gentlemanly games. It felt that their world-view had been subverted, while the time for them to rise had arrived.
A gentleman's game can sell so many copies? What a surprise!
Is this number high? Yes, isn't it for a no-marketing R18 indie game. Isn't it.
Yes, it is but not high, the sales of top masterpieces can reach hundreds of thousands on the day of their debut, and some overseas world-renowned masterpieces can even reach multi-millions of sales on the day of their debut.
Of course, these games can't be compared to "Magic Mirror." cough... cough.. I mean, "magic mirror" can't be compared to them.
As an 18R game that is not recommended by the platform, and it is still an independent producer's game, it shouldn't be mentioned furthermore it was made by a non-game designer.
This data is simply bursting!
It has even been regarded as breaking the record of the new indie gentleman's game.
Not to mention that there are no newcomers, but at least it is unprecedented. Before this, there was no gentleman's game that had such explosive results as "Magic Mirror."
And this is just the beginning.
Many designers of Gentleman Games have a hunch that they are about to witness history! Although, they don't want to miss the chance to be the part of this story. So we are likely going to see a tsunami of R18 games on the platform for some time. (Who doesn't want money? LOL)
It doesn't matter how big this moment in history will be, and it doesn't matter whether "Magic Mirror" will be the supreme gentleman's game or not, what matters is what my journey will lead to.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
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Chapter 11: C11: Who can empathize with such a person?
A certain neighbourhood in the certain capital, again.
"Xiaoxue, you don't want to join my games company? Are you sure?" I asked while I leaned back on the sofa, my legs casually resting on the coffee table in front of me. I turned to Ruan Ningxue, who was focusing on colouring her manuscript.
"Sister Xin, your boat is already leaking and flooding," Ohhh. Ruan Ningxue shot back, rolling her eyes as she put down her paintbrush.
I coughed awkwardly. "That's just a temporary setback. Besides, I still have three employees in my office! Look at your studio, Xiaoxue. Can you call it a studio when you're all by yourself?"
"Well, at least I'm making a profit by saving some money!" she replied smugly.
"And didn't you have eight employees just three months ago?" she retorted again.
I felt a little embarrassed but tried to brush it off. "People have their aspirations and difficulties, right? My employees wanted to pursue their dreams, so of course, I had to let them go. I am a generous employer. You know, and by the way, how's your apprentice's game coming along?"
Ruan Ningxue shook her head gently. "I haven't paid much attention to it. The results are probably not great."
"Does that mean your studio will soon have two people?" I asked curiously while twitching my eyes, knowing about the agreement between her and Chen Xu.
"It seems like it, but I imagine Chen Xu isn't in the best mood right now. He hasn't called me yet." She sighed, her voice filled with a mix of concern and resignation.
But she also hadn't contacted Chen Xu since the end of the project, feeling unsure about how things had gone. After all, she had given him a heads-up that she wasn't optimistic about his chances.
Even though sister Xin had run into financial troubles herself after creating three games, she gained valuable experience in the industry and her insights are noteworthy.
During her month working with Chen Xu on his game, Ruan Ningxue sensed his passion and drive. She could also feel the joy of watching the game evolve from the storyboard to a real thing on the screen, especially being part of the process as it inched closer to completion.
It was an exhilarating feeling, and she understood why Chen Xu wanted to develop games so badly. She could see the drive to succeed within him. But she hadn't asked about the game's outcome, particularly after he promised to pay her once he secured some funding.
She didn't care about the money, but she didn't want to bring it up with Chen Xu, especially when it was his business, not hers. Besides, she had her hands full of her comic work and hadn't had much time to keep up with the game's progress on the platform. (It just takes a few clicks... Lazy girl)
I had planned to give him some space to sort things out before checking in again. She mused.
Xin sighed internally, feeling bad for her friend. "I understand how it is. Many newbies think making 18+ games is easy, and the boat will sail up, but game development is never that simple, 95% of them sink under the waves of new games on the platform. By the way, Xiaoxue, what's your apprentice's game called? I'll have a look."
Memories of her failures came flooding back, they are still painful~ but it is not a sin to fail~ But sin is to sink into the failure. She hadn't met Chen Xu yet, but she couldn't help but feel an invisible connection to him. He was probably pouring everything he had into the project, just like I did in the beginning. A comradeship has thus been formed between them.
I knew how crushing it was to fail after working so hard day and night on a game. I felt sympathy for him, imagining the heartbreak he must be experiencing. If I hadn't lost so much of the company's funds, I would've asked Xiaoxue to introduce him to me—I could use someone with that kind of passion for games.
"Don't worry," I reassured her, patting her shoulder.
"When you meet up with Chen Xu, use me as a cautionary and enlightening tale to console him. He can learn from my mistakes and seek to improve and try again." (So Sister Xin wants to be an example... I mean a role model.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The is not the end of the world. I can understand the pain of this failure." she cheered...
"Thank you, Sister Xin. The name of the game is 'Magic Mirror,' and it is on the online platform of the overseas version," Xue said to me.
Although she didn't ask Chen Xu about the game's launch, she had secretly paid attention to it. However, when she checked, the ratings hadn't lifted, and she still didn't know how it performed.
"'Magic Mirror'? Why does this game sound a little familiar?"
"It feels like I've heard of it before..."
"Wait... this game!"
I muttered as I got the name of the game from Ruan Ningxue and opened the official game platform to search. For some reason, the name sounded familiar to me, and It is like an alarm in my ears.
I opened the overseas version of the platform, entered the name, and searched.
Then I fell into silence, turning my head to stare at Ruan Ningxue. My eyes are as innocent as panda. Feeling a little betrayed. I blurted out...
"Are you kidding me, Xiaoxue!? You said the game ratings weren't good! What is this? Come here~
As I remembered~
Why did it sound so familiar!?
I remember hanging out on a game forum before and seeing someone mention this game.
Then I looked at the product interface with the Xue.
Rating: 9.4, Number of Ratings: 1,324.
I became restless.
Sympathy? Empathy? Connection?
Who could feel the same way about someone like this?
Not me right?
Who would sympathize with someone like this?
Not me right? I don't even know how to sympathize with someone like this.
A 9.4 rating, and so many reviews!
In just a couple of days, over 1,300 Ratings?
I'd never felt this way before! How does it feel? Wahhh...
"So, Chen Xu's game was a success?" Ruan Ningxue asked me.
A success? Why are you so calm, Xue? Don't you see the rating out of 10 and the number of ratings? It is huge for a first-time Indie developer. I mused secretly.
"It's not just a success; it's a great success! You must know this is an 18R game! And it's only been a few days, with such a high rating and so many reviews. The follow-up sales will probably surpass my previous three games together. Your work is going to skyrocket both in fame and value!" I said to Ruan Ningxue, envy written all over my face.
Looking at the number of reviews under the game store interface, I felt uneasy and envy bloomed within me.
Especially when I remembered what I had just said to Ruan Ningxue, using myself as a negative example to comfort her.
Good grief, this time I became the negative example!
But soon, I pushed the embarrassment aside, grabbed Ruan Ningxue's arm, and got up.
"Xiaoxue, Please make sure to introduce me to this person!"
"Let me learn from him!"
As they say, it's easier to get to the moon when you're close to the water.
Hmm, that might sound a little weird, but it is fine if it works.
If I couldn't be the superstar, I could at least find someone who could be. Why can't I hold on to them and eat the leftovers?
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
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