Chapter 826 - 826: Are You Sure It’s the Players Who Are Happy!?

A lounge at Nebula Games headquarters.

Lucas sipped his tea while looking at related data.

"Boss Lucas, the Final Fantasy merchandise is selling incredibly fast."

Hector beside him remarked with a hint of emotion.

"That's to be expected. For one, it's a new game project with a lot of current buzz."

"And the character designs are really excellent."

Lucas said with a smile.

You could say that besides the story, character design was a very important part of this game.

This was because the characters in the game were all quite beautiful.

No matter which installment, you could criticize its gameplay or its story.

But when it came to art and character design, Final Fantasy was impeccable.

Characters like Sephiroth, Zack, and Cloud were just incredibly striking.

And if you looked closely, you'd notice that Sephiroth, Cloud, and Zack each had their own distinct personalities.

Cool and aloof, sunny, introverted – they had it all!

"It feels like the profit from subsequent merchandise could even rival that of the game itself!"

Marcus nearby also couldn't help but express his amazement.

"That's normal, it's because there are more types of items."

Lucas chuckled at Marcus's words.

Merchandise was a completely different ballgame.

Figurines were actually the least profitable products.

Small items like phone cases, keychains, mousepads, and various collaborations – these low-priced collaborations were the real money-makers.

"The only disappointing thing is how stingy these players are!?"

Lucas, leaning back on the sofa, shook his head and sighed as he looked at the online discussions by players.

Why had he brought up that conversation before?

Of course, it was to distract the players.

But he never expected these players to know him so well, like they could read his mind.

Instead of quenching that topic, they fanned the flames even hotter.

"Boss Lucas, your reputation precedes you, players don't even have to think about it!" Rachel on the side quipped.

"Exactly! In the past, Boss Lucas, you would at least try to struggle a bit, but now, struggling is useless." Anna, holding a cup of milk tea, also sat down and chimed in.

In the past, when Lucas hit players with sadness, it was like giving them a candy before a stab, and then pretending to have reformed, hoping to change their impression.

That approach was indeed very effective a couple of years ago, fooling a lot of players.

But as time went on, the games Nebula Games had released over the years basically meant one thing: We've shown our hand, we're not pretending anymore, we're out to get you!

"It's like resistance. Players' resistance started at 0, and then Boss Lucas, you piled on that resistance until it reached 100%!" Anna summarized.

"That's right, that's right. And in the past couple of years, other game developers have been leaning more towards creating perfect, happy endings. That's also thanks to Boss Lucas!" Rachel added.

Although games are products, excellent games are also an artistic expression. Many thoughtful designers often create content with depth.

Dark and grim themes have too small an audience and could potentially affect sales, so more designers choose to deliver tragedies to players.

However, under Nebula Games, if you randomly picked a game, seven out of ten were full of tragedy.

This had made players' psychological resilience grow stronger. If they happened to encounter a game from Nebula Games that leaned towards tragedy, players would unconsciously compare. If their characters' tragedies weren't as impactful as Nebula Games', and if the story played a significant role, then their efforts would be largely wasted.

But it's different with happy endings. The tears players shed and regrets they felt from Nebula Games could be compensated for by other games!

They might lack depth, but their sales look good!

After Final Fantasy ended, a large number of happy games were released, and they sold quite well.

"Don't talk about me like I'm some terrible villain. Look, even though players curse me, the money in their wallets never stops coming in. What does that tell you? They say one thing but mean another!" Lucas said with a smile to Anna and Rachel.

Hearing Lucas's words, the two sitting on the sofa pouted.

"By the way, Boss Lucas, for our older games, should we continue to remake them?" Hector said, as if an idea struck him.

Game remakes were currently a trend in the industry.

The main catalyst for this was a movement started by overseas company Atari.

Despite their several new game projects not losing money, they didn't achieve much popularity. Thus, Atari changed its strategy and turned its attention to its own old IPs.

Their original intention was to cash in on player nostalgia, but unexpectedly, they sold incredibly well, with remade versions even outselling the originals.

This single-handedly sparked a remake craze in the industry.

Some classic games from Nebula Games were also brought up by players.

For example, players had proposed remake plans for older Nebula Games titles like "Monster Hunter: World" and "Dark Souls," which were among the first games Nebula Games released on PC back then.

Although these games had also been ported to the VR platform by Nebula Games.

However, they were the earliest VR versions, lacking the latest technology. Even during the platform wars between Zeus and Cosmos a few years ago, these games hadn't received next-gen versions.

And now that both the Cosmos and Zeus platforms had released pro versions with higher configurations, the graphical performance of these older Nebula Games titles could no longer be considered top-tier.

Even "Red Dead Redemption: Redemption," which had stunned the industry back then, could only be said to perform adequately, and titles like "Uncharted" were no longer industry benchmarks.

"Remakes? There's no need. The graphics aren't really at a stage where they're unplayable." Lucas shook his head, indicating it wasn't necessary.

The graphics were indeed quite outdated, but in reality, even without official remakes, there had always been plenty of graphical enhancement mods made by players.

Even for single-player games, many that were completed within one or two years and then stopped receiving updates, had new bugs discovered. Players would typically release corresponding patches, and Nebula Games would find out about them through the community forums, compiling them into an official bug fix all at once.

In such a situation, merely doing a graphical remake didn't have much meaning.

"However, I have noticed one thing: players are still very attached to high-difficulty games!" Lucas remarked with a sigh.

Everyone: ?????

"Boss Lucas, how did you notice that?" Hector seemed a bit bewildered. When he spoke earlier, he felt like Lucas wasn't aware of the remake topic.

"Didn't you tell me? 'Dark Souls,' 'Monster Hunter: World' – how much more obvious can it get!" Lucas said with a straight face.

You could interpret it that way?

Anna and Rachel beside him were astonished.

"However, now that you mention it, I think that direction is quite good! We haven't made a high-difficulty game in many years. The last one we made was 'Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.'"

Hearing Lucas's words, everyone thought of something, and Hector's voice trembled slightly: "So, Boss Lucas...?"

"Didn't the players say 'Final Fantasy' was too upsetting and they didn't want to see tragedies? This time, we'll find some fun for the players. Hmm, the next project will be a Soulslike!" Lucas said with a slight smile.

Rachel, Anna, and the others: ...

Are you sure it's to find fun for the players, and not for yourself?

Everyone was numb.

.........

The hype for "Final Fantasy" had indeed started to decline day by day. After all, it was just a story-driven single-player game with not much replayability. Unless you were a hardcore player, a second playthrough wasn't even necessary.

However, the popularity of the characters in the game had not decreased at all. Major video platforms were filled with compilations of strikingly attractive characters like Sephiroth, Zack, Aerith, Cloud, and Tifa, as well as various fan-made works. It truly made players marvel at how much a good appearance could impress.

And at this moment, a piece of news that would blow up many players' minds appeared.

Nebula Games announced on their official Weibo a news release: they would be holding an online launch event for a new project, and Boss Lucas would personally introduce the type of the new project.

Instantly, countless players were shocked!

Isn't it soon after "Final Fantasy" was released?

According to usual practice, wouldn't Nebula Games take a break?

Why are they so prolific this time?

'Holy crap, Boss Lucas is releasing a new game again? Did she give birth to a pig?'

'This frequency is insane! I just want to know, was this project established before or after 'Final Fantasy!?'

'I wonder what type of game it is!'

'An online launch event? Holy crap, how many years has it been? Boss Lucas is personally holding an online launch event!?'

Players were extremely confused, and even the game media in the industry was stunned.

Although Nebula Games held launch events for its new games, it was different from the old days. Lucas no longer personally participated.

But this time, Lucas himself was making an appearance!

This was big news!

However, what frustrated many game media outlets was that interviews were completely rejected, even from media like GameSpot and GamesIndustry.biz, which had always maintained close cooperation with Nebula Games.

On the day of the online launch event, Lucas's livestream was filled with countless players from all over the world.

Due to the sheer number of viewers, the official team had to limit comment posting to one every five minutes. But even then, the comments scrolled by like a waterfall, and it was impossible to see the livestream content with the comments turned on.

'Holy crap! Why hasn't it started yet!?'

'Every second feels like an eternity! It's been over a century, and Boss Lucas hasn't started yet!'

'I wonder what type of game it is!'

'Why even ask? It's definitely going to be big news!'

Amidst the overwhelming anticipation of countless players, Lucas's image soon appeared on the livestream.

However, much to the players' surprise, what was on the screen was a white piece of paper with "Zack" written on it.

At this moment, Lucas's voice came through.

"I believe countless players are curious about what new project we want to announce at today's online launch event."

"First, let's understand the type of this unknown game. It will be an open-world game with a massive map!"

As Lucas finished speaking, countless comments began to flood the screen.

'Holy crap! Here it comes, open-world again!'

'Zelda? Red Dead? Elder Scrolls? Witcher?'

Countless players who loved open-world games became excited!

Lucas's voice continued.

"It will be a game with ARPG elements!"

Players who liked "Red Dead Redemption: Redemption" visibly deflated.

"The game will feature some puzzle-solving elements, a diverse weapon system, and side quests that require players to explore diligently."

Devoted fans of "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" let out a sigh.

And players of "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" and "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" felt a tremor run through them, because these were exactly their criteria!

"Finally, the theme of this game is an epic fantasy masterpiece!"

As Lucas's words fell, the comments exploded in a frenzy.

'Awesome! Dragonborn! Awesome!'

'Long live the Empire!'

'Long live the Stormcloaks!'

'Invincible! Dragonborn is invincible!'

Countless fans of "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" cheered in front of their computers.

But the next moment, the sound coming from their headphones and speakers froze their expressions.

"Yes! That's right, the name of this game is — Elden Ring!"

Successfully challenging the Valkyrie without using spirit ashes or the "old leg" shortcut proved the mastery of souls-like games. Additionally, I unlocked all endings except for the Dung Eater's. It's undeniable that Elden Ring is a culmination of the Dark Souls series. If I had to point out a personal flaw, it's the annoying "mud car" enemies in the dungeons!

(End of this chapter)