For games in general, especially stand-alone games.
When it's most popular, it's basically the first week and the following week.
Then the popularity of the game will become less and less, especially the game that was heavily promoted in the early stage.
This is also a common phenomenon in the gaming industry.
After all, for many players in stand-alone games, after clearing the level, apart from collecting and playing the game twice, not many players will play it a second time.
Since I’ve seen everything about the plot, unless it’s about the gameplay, it’s hard to have the desire to watch it for a second time.
In addition, subsequent game manufacturers will not continue to increase the promotion of the game, and the popularity will naturally decrease.
But "Dark Souls" is completely uncharacteristic.
The popularity is rising steadily.
Especially as more and more players complete the game and are exposed to the more detailed content in Dark Souls.
The game's rating has slowly climbed from 8.3 at the beginning to 9.3, and it seems to have the potential to continue to rise.
This also made countless game designers in the industry feel incredible.
'Why is the reputation of "Dark Souls" getting higher and higher? It’s puzzling! '
'The main reason is that the score of "Dark Soul" was indeed underestimated before, and now it has rebounded. But what puzzles me the most is that it has been almost a month since "Dark Soul" was launched, right? Why is the heat even higher? '
'yes! Video platforms and live streaming platforms were almost all destroyed by "Dark Souls"! '
'I can only say that Chen Xu and his Nebula game are poisonous! '
'However, looking at the sales statistics of third-party statistics, although "Dark Soul" is popular, the sales volume does not seem to be that explosive? The sales volume in the first month is estimated to be 4 million. '
'Is that just because the popularity of "Dark Souls" is so explosive? Sales of 4 million in the first month of a masterpiece are very low? It will only be a matter of time before you enter the tens of millions club with subsequent discount activities. '
'I feel that the design of "Dark Souls" is completely contrary to previous aprg games! Why is it so successful? '
With the popularity of "Dark Soul", the game industry is constantly discussing this phenomenal game.
Major game manufacturers and game designers are also studying "Dark Soul" in turn.
After all, in the past, the game industry felt that Chen Xu had lost his temper.
There is no mini map, the game is too difficult, and the death penalty is too severe. All of these are the points that made "Dark Soul" complained by players in the early days.
But why do these points become the advantages of "Dark Soul" as time goes by
It’s puzzling!
Countless game designers look at the high popularity of "Dark Soul" and feel a little doubtful about life.
This simply subverted their cognition.
Of course, there are those who are more doubtful about life.
Those are some of the game manufacturers and designers who were ready to cut the thorns and pick the peaches when the reputation of "Dark Soul" collapsed in the early stages of its release.
Now everyone is dumbfounded.
Inside Eagle Falcon Entertainment, Li Xiang felt that his blood pressure was a little high, and in a trance, stars seemed to appear in front of his eyes.
He thought about it a lot, but he never expected that a game that didn't seem to have a good online reputation could be flipped without any content changes in the game itself.
There are no problems with the game, but there are problems with the players, and the players have to adapt to the game.
This is a joke among many game designers.
Basically, even experienced practitioners won’t believe it.
But he never expected that the game "Dark Soul" would actually fit this sentence a little bit.
The more critical point is that the popularity of "Dark Souls" has not cooled down at all.
Now they, Eagle Falcon Entertainment, are facing a rather embarrassing situation.
Will the new game be released or not
If you want to go online, you have to deal with the output of "Dark Souls", and there are also the threats of two VR masterpieces from Tenghua and NetDragon.
If not, the publicity and warm-up has already been done.
In the office, he saw a group of subordinates looking at him. After a moment of silence, Li Xiang found a step for them.
"I think there is still room for improvement in the plot and gameplay settings of the game. In order to give players a better experience, I think we should choose to delay the release. After all, no one will remember those garbage games that were released on time. The game will be delayed. The purpose of voting is to present players with a game that better meets their expectations, everything is for the players!”
Looking at the team, he thought of what Chen Xu said at the gameplay exhibition, and Li Xiang copied it perfectly.
Not to mention that this sentence is really useful.
Why the ticket bounced
It’s not that we’re afraid of losing sales due to competitors, it’s all for the sake of the players!
Like Li Xiang, a large number of previously promoted games all chose to have their tickets delayed.
Of course, there are one or two games among them, which are still selected to be launched according to the original plan.
But they are not RPG type games.
… … …
Regarding the impact of "Dark Soul" on the industry, Chen Xu didn't pay much attention.
At this time, he was more concerned about the overseas version of "Dark Soul".
Although it represents many games from Nebula Games, the main focus of the target software is on "Dark Soul".
Translation is done in multiple languages at the same time, but dubbing is only adapted to English.
With the approval materials from various countries and online channel promotion operations, Target Software can be said to be quite optimistic about the performance of "Dark Soul" overseas.
After the game was successfully reviewed, promotional videos for "Dark Soul" began to be released in various countries.
The main promotion methods are also based on trailers, promotional videos and live action videos.
Although the momentum is not big, it is obviously still noticed by domestic gamers.
News about this soon spread in the industry.
"Have you heard the news? "Dark Souls" is going to be released overseas!"
"real or fake?"
"Just go to several well-known overseas game communities and forums and check them out. There are advertisements related to "Dark Souls"."
"Actually, it's something to be expected, right? After all, it's so popular in China, and it's a fantasy-themed game."
"It's not a surprise. In fact, I think the independent games developed by Nebula Games before have not performed too badly overseas, especially the game "Braveheart: World War". After all, it is based on the European game." A war.”
"Yes, it's just that the main direction of Nebula games was domestically, but then again, can "Dark Soul" become popular abroad?"
"Who can say whether it will be popular or not? But I feel there is a relatively high chance, mainly because there seem to be no competitive masterpieces in the overseas market during this period."
Many players are also discussing it on domestic official blogs and game community forums.
"I heard that "Dark Souls" is going to have an overseas version!"
"The overseas version is just the overseas version, it has nothing to do with us."
"I wonder if an overseas version of the server will be opened in the future. I kind of want to invade foreigners."
"Damn it, isn't this bullying? But please take me with you!"
"Pull them down one by one! Look at your shameful game time. You haven't even finished a week and you still want to beat foreigners. Don't get abused in turn."
And when domestic players are actively discussing it.
The promotion of overseas target software has also begun to show results.
Because the budget for publicity and promotion is still relatively limited.
Therefore, large-scale advertising is obviously still difficult.
The target software uses the most common and direct method in the gaming circle.
That is the media's advance evaluation.
In China, Chen Xu does not do anything like media evaluation.
It takes the same time for the media and players to get their hands on it.
However, due to the unique game attributes of "Dark Soul", some large domestic media did not dare to speak nonsense for a while.
Some small media have reviewed the game on the first day, but basically there is no depth at all. Whether they praise or criticize, it is completely pointless. When players get to know the game "Dark Soul" later, they can He said that all the previous comments were deleted due to being trolled.
Some of the more authoritative big media that focus on word of mouth will wait until they understand the game "Dark Souls".
Basically, most players who have been paying attention know what this game is like.
It can only be regarded as one that was added later.
As for overseas, considering the quality of "Dark Soul" here, plus how to attract the attention of overseas players as quickly as possible, media rating is obviously the fastest way to achieve results, and it is also the most economical way. .
Gamespot, a well-known overseas media, gave a score of "Dark Soul" on the eve of the overseas version being launched.
'This is a fantasy-themed arpg brought by a Chinese game company from across the ocean. '
'Before commenting on the game, I want to express my shock. The unique map design, unique combat system, and unique gameplay ideas clearly opened up a new path for later arpg games. '
'Even here we can boldly predict that this type of gameplay in "Dark Soul" is likely to become a unique branch in the field of arpg games in the future. '
'Extremely hard-core, yet painful and joyful. Death is a good friend who stays with the player for a long time during the game. '
'In terms of plot, unlike previous ARPGs, a thrilling and gripping story is directly presented in front of you; "Dark Soul" chooses to wrap happiness in layers of pain. '
'If you want to savor it carefully, you need to fight repeatedly, become more courageous as you fight, and finally surpass yourself, and this will also give you an unprecedented sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. This is a quite bold attempt. If they are not careful, they will fall to pieces. '
'But I have to say they succeeded. This game is so damn tempting, with perfect level design and boss design. It's not difficult just for the sake of being difficult, but rather reasonable. Every time you pass a level's scene map It is equivalent to a decryption. Every time I conquer a seemingly invincible boss, I feel that my blood seems to be boiling. '
'In addition, there are many NPC branch lines in the game, but there are no clear guidelines. Instead, players need to constantly explore, and players may even kill these NPCs. As a result, in the first week, this content line Completely broken. '
'In addition, the game's art style and map design are even more fascinating. Taking the high wall of Lothric at the beginning as an example, there are various exploration routes and guide players to carefully walk through every corner of the map. '
'And the location of enemy distribution and patrol routes on the map are extremely particular, so that walking along or reversing most of the routes can actually bring players a completely different experience. '
'The rich selection of weapons also enriches the combat system of the entire game, making it no longer boring.
'Rating 9.5 points, review recommendation: If you can accept and endure the temporary pain, then "Dark Soul" is definitely worth your experience. '
After gamespot gave it a high score of 9.5, some well-known overseas media also gave corresponding high scores.