RoleplayNovel Chapter 73 The New King's Coronation
Chapter 73 The New King's Coronation
At Harbin University, Feng Jian carried four meals and pushed open the door to enter the dormitory.
As soon as I entered, I heard the eldest brother, Zhao Ming, having a passionate live stream conversation with someone.
"A critical hit is a critical hit, and acceleration is acceleration. If you say that being together will make your heart race, then there's something wrong with your attributes."
I said we'd raid on Friday, and you said you'd go on a date—you either know how to raid or you don't, what do you mean by "date"? PVP is PVP, what do you mean by saying you know how to tank (TvT)? My team only needs one tank, after you two finish your match, send me your stats so I can see who to choose.
Feng Jian handed the food he brought to his roommate, then teased Zhao Ming with a dark expression, "Boss, you're the most ruthless when it comes to gaming."
Zhao Ming took the food, opened it, and took a bite without even looking up. His tone was filled with a sense of entitlement and pride: "Don't you all know how ruthless I am at games? Which game am I not invincible in?"
The second oldest chimed in quietly, "Indeed, only the oldest in our class has reached Platinum in Rainbow Six Siege."
His tone carried three parts admiration, three parts bitterness, and the remaining four parts were "How did this person do it? It's unscientific."
Feng Jian broke his chopsticks in half and casually asked, "By the way, boss, is Overwatch fun?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Ming stopped eating altogether, put his chopsticks on his lunchbox, jumped up from his chair, his eyes shining, and looked like he had just recruited a new member at a pyramid scheme.
"Hey dandies, let me tell you, there are plenty of guys with two arms these days who need to be sharp. I can grab them one by one with Winston and electrify them until they lose their bearings."
"I recommend you all try it out. It's an absolutely top-tier FPS game. Once you finish one round, you'll want to start another. It's like eating a whole pack of gum – you just can't stop!"
At this moment, the fourth brother, who was munching on roast duck, chimed in: "Boss, you need to understand one fact—Overwatch isn't cheap for us."
He wiped his mouth with a tissue and added, "It's already more than a tenth of my living expenses. I should check out more reviews before deciding whether to buy it."
The dormitory was quiet for a moment.
Zhao Ming was stunned for a moment. Only then did he realize why his roommates hadn't bought the game and played with him right away.
Rainbow Six Siege is an option because there's a cheap, high-spending version available for as low as 28 RMB. Overwatch, on the other hand, starts at 198 RMB, making it difficult to buy without hesitation.
The fourth child only has 1,500 yuan for living expenses; it would be a miracle if he bought things without thinking.
He felt a little uncomfortable watching the fourth brother discuss the matter so openly, but he also felt that it wouldn't be good to just say "I'll give you a ride" directly, it would be too deliberate, like he was giving alms.
Zhao Ming's eyes darted around, and he suddenly remembered something—he seemed to still have more than 50,000 yuan in his Qunfeng gaming platform balance.
Last year, when "Arad's Wrath" was shut down, Zhao Ming received a full 110,000 yuan in compensation.
He basically bought all the games on the Qunfeng Games platform, and still has more than 50,000 yuan left, which he can't possibly spend.
Zhao Ming's lips curled up slightly.
The Qunfeng platform seems to have a game gifting feature, right? Using that as an excuse would make it seem less deliberate.
He got right to work. Forgetting about his meal, he turned to the computer and started typing furiously, clicking the mouse at lightning speed.
One minute later.
The fourth brother was munching on roast duck while planting sunflowers when an email notification suddenly popped up in the lower right corner of the screen.
Your friend "Whisper" has gifted you a game – Overwatch.
The fourth brother paused in his chewing, turned to look at Zhao Ming, his lips slowly curving upwards, and his eyes brightening.
"Boss, isn't this a bit too much?" He shook the mouse, his tone a mix of surprise and embarrassment. "This game is quite expensive."
Zhao Ming had already prepared his explanation, leaning back in his chair with a calm and composed expression.
"What's the big deal? I have so much money on the Qunfeng platform that I can hardly spend it all."
He paused, a hint of genuine emotion in his voice:
"President Yang is a real man. He actually gave us the compensation for the service shutdown. He didn't just give us a bunch of useless vouchers, but real platform currency."
"Those games from Tencent, before shutting down their servers, they always have to do a 'return of rare items' to squeeze another wave of money out of players. These two are worlds apart."
He waved his hand, his tone resolute: "Anyway, I've already played 'Arad's Wrath,' so even if they release a mobile version of Dungeon Fighter Online—I'm not planning to play it."
The second brother added quietly from the side, "But I saw on QQ that you just participated in the pre-naming event for the Dungeon Fighter Online mobile game last month."
Zhao Ming blushed and said, "I'm just afraid you'll play games. If you've all played games, do you think I'd isolate all of you?"
"Hurry up and eat. I also brought you some. After you eat, let's play Overwatch together."
"Alright, Godfather! Let's start downloading."
The four of us in the dorm couldn't stop playing Overwatch once we started.
Game after game, if you lose, you win the next one, and if you win, you want to have another round of fun.
Time seemed to have been stolen away; by the time they realized it, it was already 11 p.m.
"Holy crap, it's eleven o'clock? I have an early class tomorrow!" Feng Jian was the first to notice, his voice even changing tone.
Several people hurriedly shut down their computers, washed up, went to bed, and turned off the lights.
The dormitory was plunged into darkness, with only the faint light from the cell phones on each bed remaining.
It's time for our daily bedtime chat.
Everyone was chatting about games when Zhao Ming suddenly let out a long sigh and began to lament.
"Next semester I'll be doing internships and writing my thesis," Zhao Ming said, his voice carrying a sadness that was unusual for him. "Will we still have time to play games together?"
He paused for a moment.
"Or rather, are we still able to get together for a meal?"
The dormitory was quiet.
This topic is too heavy.
The atmosphere was so heavy that no one wanted to speak, not because they didn't know the answer, but because they didn't want to say it.
It's like saying it's really a countdown.
The silence lasted for about ten seconds before the second brother spoke first, his tone deliberately relaxed: "Hey, why think so far ahead? Let's just finish this semester first."
"Exactly," Feng Jian chimed in, "graduation is still a long way off."
That's what they said, but everyone could tell it was a diversion.
At this moment, the fourth brother, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up:
"I'd like to try my luck at interning at a bee colony."
The dormitory fell silent for a moment.
The fourth brother continued, speaking a little faster than usual, as if trying to bolster his courage:
"I've heard that among all internet and gaming companies, Hive offers the best benefits. Seven types of insurance and two types of housing funds, 9-to-6 work hours, free cafeteria, and even a snack area..."
He knew these details like the back of his hand, as if he had memorized them many times.
Feng Jian sighed, his tone carrying a sense of helplessness, as if to say, "I don't mean to discourage you, but reality is just that cruel." He continued, "The Hive is currently a rising star in the gaming industry. Would they really want someone with our qualifications? They'd be picking and choosing from all sorts of 985 and 211 graduates."
This is a blunt statement, but it is the truth.
The fourth student didn't respond. The dormitory fell silent again.
Zhao Ming turned over, facing the direction of Lao Si's bed, and said encouragingly.
"Don't listen to the third brother."
"How will you know if you can accept a bee colony if you don't try?"
He paused, sat up in bed, looked at the fourth brother in the darkness, and made up his mind.
"I've also been wanting to see what kind of company developed Rainbow Six Siege and Overwatch. I'll work with you to figure it out next semester."
There was a two-second silence on the fourth brother's end, followed by a nasal "hmm".
Okay, let's work hard together and cheer each other on.
The voice was a little muffled, but stronger than before.
Then the dormitory became completely quiet...
------
The next morning, Yang Yi couldn't stop smiling as she looked at the tablet Xia He handed her.
Overwatch is incredibly popular. A month of pre-launch hype has kept players on the edge of their seats. Even though the standard edition is priced at 198 RMB, which isn't cheap, players are still rushing in like it's free.
Including pre-sales, sales on the first day reached nearly 500 million units.
500 million, in one night!
The deluxe version alone accounted for a quarter of them.
Our platform has no commission from distributors; every penny, except for taxes, is ours.
杨仪脑子里飞速换算了一下——198乘以380万加上368乘以120万，将近十二亿，去掉税都有9个多亿。
And then consider the development costs? Less than 5 million. On the first day alone, the development costs nearly increased fivefold.
And this doesn't even include the 50% premium in high-priced overseas regions.
The sales volume in one night was equivalent to the sales volume of Rainbow Six Siege in a week, and the unit price of the game was much higher.
They've made a fortune!
Xia He stood to the side, adding expressionlessly, "This data hasn't been released to the public yet. Major media outlets and netizens can only see the total sales figures, not the version ratios."
Yang Yi nodded. If the media knew the version ratio, and that a quarter of the people bought the deluxe version, they'd probably be hyped up to the skies.
"Alright, have operations keep an eye on the server. Traffic will definitely be high these days, so make sure it doesn't crash."
"It's all arranged," Xia He said, then turned and left.
Yang Yi leaned back in his chair, stared at the ceiling, and let out a long sigh.
More than 9 million yuan, in one night, with zero commission taken by their own platform.
That's the power of controlling distribution channels!
He picked up his phone and sent Shen Xiao a message: "Let's drive to Shantou for a nice meal tonight, it's on me!"
Shen Xiao replied instantly: "When don't you invite me?"
Yang Yi stared at the reply, paused for a second, and then smiled.
Also.
------
Even if the media didn't know the paid ratio of the two versions, they still hyped Overwatch up.
Although the media doesn't know exactly how much money Beehive made, they can see the total sales volume from the Beehive platform.
With 5 million units sold in 12 hours, even if they were all the regular versions, that would still be 1 billion.
To put that into perspective, if all of them were 100-yuan bills, that would amount to 11.5 tons!
[Big Black Box: 5 Million Sales in 12 Hours, FPS Genre Welcomes a New King]
From Rainbow Six Siege to Overwatch, Swarm has redefined the boundaries of shooting games with these two titles. The former represents the pinnacle of hardcore tactical gameplay, while the latter sets a new benchmark for mass-market competitive gaming. 5 million views in 12 hours—and this is just the beginning.
[4DM: Yang Yi achieves legendary status once again; Overwatch is rewriting the rules of the FPS market—]
A year ago, some people said Rainbow Six Siege was a coincidence; six months ago, some people said Plants vs. Zombies was luck.
Now, Overwatch has silenced all doubters with 500 million sales in just twelve hours. This isn't accidental, nor is it luck; it's because Yang Yi's understanding of the game's essence is on a completely different level from his peers.
[Shepherd's Sky: From Rainbow Six Siege to Overwatch, the Swarm is Dominating the FPS Track]
While XunTeng was still debating the hardcore nature of Tactical Special Forces, and Thunder Games was still offering only superficial changes to Thunder Fortress 7, BeeSwarm had already dominated both the hardcore and mass-market segments with two drastically different games. This wasn't competition; it was a devastating blow.
[Youyanshe: The Industry Earthquake Behind 500 Million Sales]
Overwatch's 500 million copies sold isn't just a success story for the swarm; it's a warning to the entire industry—players don't lack money, they lack good games. When a game priced at 198 can sell 500 million copies in twelve hours, those publishers still using the free-to-play + in-app purchase model to exploit players need to wake up.
Last year's Rainbow Six Siege was already a milestone for domestic AAA games, and this year's Overwatch is even better.
This time, bees have truly become the saviors of domestically produced games!
To the players' dismay, there is currently no news about any single-player AAA titles from Hive.
They can't win arguments with foreign netizens, but even so, the players are already quite satisfied. At least now they have something to argue about, whereas before it was just something to do on the sidelines.
What excited players even more than the media hype was what Yang Yi posted on her private account—
500 million? That's pretty exciting. But what I'm more curious about is when we'll break that number ourselves.
So arrogant! So confident!
But players like it, and that's Yang Yi's current status in the domestic gaming industry.
Before the game ends in failure, he is undoubtedly the savior!
This is enough to shake the position of those established gaming giants.
But this wasn't enough for Yang Yi; his ideal was to rival Nintendo + T2 in the gaming realm.
There is still a long way to go and a heavy responsibility to be undertaken.
Yang Yi thought it wouldn't work, but other domestic game companies thought he was very capable.
In the temporary conference room of XunTeng Games Department, Li Xiaoguang and the newly appointed president Zhang Dong stared at the news breaking on the trending topics, remaining silent for a long time.
After a long silence, Li Xiaoguang finally spoke with difficulty: "This battle is unwinnable!"
Zhang Dong pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Then let's not fight. Let's compete in a different area."
"Our focus next year will be on other game genres."
Li Xiaoguang: "Of the three major categories—vehicles, guns, and sports—we are most familiar with guns. What else can we develop if not guns?"
This question stumped Zhang Dong. Indeed, once they leave their comfort zone, what else can XunTeng develop?
Everyone thought XunTeng was hiding its technology, but as the head of the game department, how could Zhang Dong not know what was going on inside his own company?
XunTeng has a lot of technical expertise, but once it leaves its comfort zone of shooting games, XunTeng struggles to develop even a basic AAA game.
XunTeng doesn't dare to compete, but small and medium-sized game companies do.
The market has already been established by Beehive Daddy; all you need to do is blindly follow suit. The first batch of people who jumped on the bandwagon and made tower defense games have already made a fortune.
As long as there's a gimmick, there will be players. They don't even need to make a fortune; they'll be content if they can recoup their investment by a few million.
In just one day, games such as "Overwatch", "Unstoppable", and "Vampire Watchers" were officially launched.
We're going to suck the blood of the bees!!!