Chapter 389 - 187: Explosive Success: 9 Million Daily Active Users in 3 Days

Chapter 389: Chapter 187: Explosive Success: 9 Million Daily Active Users in 3 Days

Everyone thought Xu Xiyue was far too confident, completely ignoring the consequences of the project failing.

Some were even looking forward to seeing Xu Xiyue get publicly humiliated.

After a bit of discussion, they couldn’t resist clicking the link Xu Xiyue had shared to try the mini-game for themselves.

First, they quickly got the hang of the gameplay.

Once they saw how simple the gameplay was, they immediately thought the game had a low chance of success.

They felt no sense of accomplishment after breezing through the first level.

But once they reached the second level, they were quickly put in their place.

No matter what they tried, the fruit tray filled up in an instant, and they couldn’t clear a single thing.

They saw the options for getting power-ups. Some chose to watch an ad, while others shared the game link in the group chat.

But even after watching an ad to get another try, they were still humbled by the second level’s hellish difficulty.

It was simply impossible to beat the second level.

"I bet this game is going to flop. The gameplay is too simple. It’s a game for kids."

"What is this garbage? Level one is for toddlers, and level two is hell-mode?"

"Has anyone beaten the second level yet?"

"Same here. I’ve used three retries and still haven’t beaten level two."

"This game isn’t fun at all. The replay value is rock bottom. It’s safe to say Xu Xiyue’s investment is a failure."

"Exactly. Level one and level two feel like completely different games. It’s not fun to play, the core mechanic is too basic, and I don’t see any potential."

"She was so confident dropping the link in the chat. I thought the game would be amazing, but... this is it?"

"Now that she’s left Sky Dome Capital, her true skills are showing. All her previous successful investments were just because of the platform."

"Exactly. Now that she’s at Panshi Venture Capital, she’s backing bizarre projects like this..."

"..."

For a while, the group chat was filled with people sharing their experiences with the game.

Many felt the game had zero replay value. A first-grader could pass level one, but level two immediately jumped to a hellish difficulty.

Besides, the core mechanic was too simple: just matching three identical fruits.

They couldn’t see any long-term sustainability or potential.

Of course, mocking Xu Xiyue was an essential part of the conversation.

They couldn’t believe she had the gall to share a game like this for everyone to try.

They felt that after leaving Sky Dome Capital, she had shown her true colors, and this was a reflection of her actual investment skills.

"Am I the only one who thinks this game is actually kind of fun?"

"+1. The more hellish level two is, the more I want to beat it."

"This model of watching ads and sharing links for retries is great. It’s a perfect method for monetization and distribution."

"Yeah, I’ve already watched a few ads and shared the link in several group chats and on my Friends Circle."

"The harder level two is, the more ads people will watch and the more links they’ll share. The viral spread is going to be explosive."

"The gameplay is simple, but it’s still engaging. I also saw there’s a regional leaderboard. That will spark a sense of collective honor and increase player engagement and retention."

"You’re right, I didn’t even notice. I just checked, and Modu is way in the lead right now."

"It automatically defaults to your IP location, but you can also set it to your hometown. You can’t change it after it’s set, though."

"Done. I’m setting it to my hometown. Time to fight for my hometown!"

"You got it! Sichuan and Chongqing will be number one!"

"This is Modu! If you’re not contributing points to Modu, get the hell out!"

"..."

But soon, as more people got deeper into the game, they started having completely different feelings and thoughts than the initial detractors.

They realized that even though the gameplay was simple, a simple game could still be fun.

The stark difference in difficulty between the first and second levels was a novel experience that, contrary to their expectations, drew them in.

The harder a level was to beat, the more it compelled them to keep trying.

Since everyone was stuck on the second level, being the first one to pass it would bring an incredible sense of accomplishment.

And as they repeatedly watched ads and shared links, their professional instincts as venture capitalists kicked in, and they immediately recognized the brilliance of this model.

It was ostensibly free, yet it had players watching ads and racking up ad-view time for the company.

At the same time, it had players spontaneously promoting the game, bombarding their own social circles with it.

The viral effect of this promotion method was absolutely insane.

Let’s say one player has 50 people in their Friends Circle, and only 10 of them see it and decide to play the game.

Then, after those 10 people play, they share it to their own Friends Circles.

If each of those 10 people also has 50 people in their Friends Circle, that’s a reach of 500 people.

Even if only a fifth of them are converted, that’s 100 new players.

After those 100 people start playing, they then share the link to their Friends Circles...

A single player could attract 100 new players after just two rounds of shares.

The growth was exponential—an absolutely staggering rate of diffusion.

This was especially true when some noticed the game also had a regional leaderboard, with the option to represent either your current IP location or your hometown.

When they saw Modu was ranked number one, they immediately understood the powerful effect this leaderboard would have.

It could significantly increase player stickiness, motivating players to log on every day to beat levels and earn points.

It would also ignite players’ sense of collective honor, especially if they saw their region’s ranking slip or get surpassed by another.