Chapter 14

Chapter 14

There was no doubt that Mirror was on fire.

Of course, it was impossible for it to reach the heights of those high-budget, triple A games.

However, with how it was trending, It would likely cause a shift in the genre, and influence the way future developers would approach this type of game. This happened with Mirror in his previous life as well.

For a period of time, a wave of erotic games were released using the Match 3 + Gal game formula.

Of course, as with all trend chasers, some were of decent quality, while others were just trashy clones.

Everyone, including players and developers, felt that the quality of 18R games was always going to be low.

Apart from the main content, there wasnt much to write home about.

But Mirror is different.

Match-3 gameplay was nothing new, but with a bit of innovation, Mirrors interesting gameplay loop was born.

Theres combat, theres resources to earn, there are upgrades and gear to collect.

But there was more. High-quality illustrations, touching voice acting, and even thought-provoking storylines. All this in an 18-rated game, it was unthinkable!

As the games sales increased, so did its scores fluctuate. After a while, however, it stabilized at an impressive 9.2 out of 10.

This was a testament to the popularity of the game.

This version of Mirror doesnt have a long running story, and it only has a few characters compared to the version in Chen Xus past life.

So it is still possible for curious window shoppers to simply download the game, play for a while and then apply for a refund within the available period.

But Mirror players rarely get refunds.

It could have something to do with the game costing only 10 yuan, though

But regardless, Mirror is picking up steam.

Although its unique nature made it impossible for the mainstream media to cover, it was undoubtedly the brightest star in the realm of cultured gamers.

In the niche community of erotic game designers, Mirror was causing many to view their line of work in a new light.

So an erotic game could actually be made in this way? So the sales of an erotic game can actually reach these heights? Such thoughts ran through many minds.

The appearance of Mirror shone at them like a beam of knowledge from the vast darkness of the universe. Like an oasis appearing in a dreadful desert.

Day by day, sales were increasing. And the purchasing power of erotic gamers was on full display. Finally, such a neglected market had something worth buying.

It sold 70,000 copies in its first week and 160,000 in its second.

Two weeks after launch, Mirror had generated an estimated 230,000 units sold, according to third party trackers.

An incredible achievement in the world of erotic games.

Even within the scope of excellent indie games, these numbers were impressive.

In that case forget it, he could understand.

Chen Xu sat back and stared idly at the dashboard statistics, his mind wandering. It was time to start picking a direction for the immediate future.

And in his plans, he would still be focusing on single player games.

On one hand, it was a good avenue to build up the brand of his person and studio. And on the other hand, it was a good way to sharpen his skills.

As for why he did not choose a more profitable decision like a free-to-play game with microtransactions, the reason is simple.

Its not that he was afraid of tarnishing his reputation. In fact, if he really wanted to, there were many microtransaction heavy mobile games which were well received in his previous life.

But after careful consideration, Chen Xu decided not to.

The gaming environment of this world was still pure and unsuitable for these tactics.

In his previous life, mobile gaming grew massively widespread and free-to-play games with in-game purchases became the norm.

But here, buy-to-play and pay-to-play was still the vast majority.

This world wasnt ready for the horrors of mobile gacha gaming.

Besides, mobile microtransaction games had some glaring limitations as well.

For example, card games using this system had to go through several sweeping iterations before finding a working formula.

First came I am MT, Big Boss and Million Arthur, kicking off the mobile card game genre. Then came Soul Hunters, revolutionizing the genre and bringing the world into the era of action card games.

Then The King of Fighters 98 Ultimate Match Online managed to bring SNK back from the brink of death, and even managed to turn a profit large enough to increase their financial statements by 6 times, triggering a wave of other IP-based card games.

At the same time, this is also the stage where mobile card games truly diversified.

Shao San (TL: couldnt find anything about this game), which followed the traditional solitaire route, the high-quality Onmyoji, and the IP-based Fate/Grand Order, etc. were all good examples.

As far as this world was concerned, Chen Xu had also carefully studied the current mobile card games.

At present, the trend is between high-quality products and IP-based products.

A stable industrial scale chain has been established.

So for his company, which he has named Nebula Games, entering this field would not be as good as creating new standalone titles.

There are still two reasons: a lack of money and channels.

The game can be developed, but if there is not enough money to promote it, it is difficult for it to become an instant hit after launch. In the worst case, it might even be used for the benefit of other game designers.

After all, card games are very different from other games.

Their gameplay and numerical simulations are easy to replicate.

If the concept of mobile card games in this world is not mature at all, then Chen Xu would be able to take advantage of it.

But now? There are too many uncertainties.