Game Development Giant

At that time, EA, Panasonic, AT\u0026T, Time Warner and a series of other giant companies, especially the later ones, were greedy for the huge market and profits of video games, so under EA's president, Tripp Hawking Together with Sri Lanka, a game company called 3do was established. It can be said that there was another console competitor in the original 16-bit machine market.

The 3do host is also somewhat famous in Europe and the United States.

However, now that Jester has monopolized the trust through this association, 3do, which was originally going to be born in more than a year, has little chance of success in this era.

You know, according to the history that Jester knows, Naughty Dog has always been holding ea's lap in the early days of its creation.

Their first games were all released through EA.

When Tripp Hawkins formed 3do and launched the 3do console, he wanted to ask Naughty Dog to make a game for them. Then the two founders of Naughty Dog thought about it and agreed, and they After some research, the final choice was to make a fighting game.

You know, Naughty Dog had never had fighting game production experience before.

In fact, the two founders don’t even like playing fighting games.

There is only one reason for them to make such a choice, and that is, whether it is on Sega's MD or Nintendo's SFC, there is no shortage of fighting games, but only on the 3do console, there are no fighting games.

In fact, there is a game that domestic players are familiar with that is produced by 3do, and that is the "Magic and Magic" series, the last piece of the three major American RPGs.

“You always have a better chance of doing something where it’s lacking than where it’s plentiful.”

This is how the founder of Naughty Dog was interviewed later. he told reporters.

Therefore, the type of independent games must be niche.

Only in this way can we win the favor of players and further gain a chance to survive. Maybe the word survival is a bit cruel, but the video game market is so cruel and ruthless.

Jester thought about this speech for several days and revised it several times.

The sales of the game "Planet Requiem" have also been rising in the past few days, during the three days it was rented out. The sales volume turned out to be higher day by day. After the sales volume on the first day reached 330,000 units, which was beyond everyone's expectations, the sales volume hit a new high on the second day, with the single-day sales volume reaching 390,000 units. On the third day, it directly increased to 500,000 units!

It reached the peak of single-day sales for this game.

Later, after an investigation by Fengxing Entertainment, we found out that the reason for the huge sales blowout on the third day was because the game had gone through fermentation in the first two days. Finally the fermentation is completed.

On the fourth day, sales dropped significantly compared to the third day, but still exceeded 400,000 units.

From the time it was released on Christmas to January 4, 1991, it was a full nine days. The single-day sales volume of "Foreign Requiem" exceeded 300,000.

Moreover, all four million game cartridges and floppy disks prepared previously were sold out.

This really surprised Jester.

Because before that. He didn't expect that an American RPG with a small audience would sell so many copies. In his imagination, the sales volume of this game may be relatively high in the first day or two of its launch. However, after the content of this game spreads, many players may not accept it because the game is too hard-core.

However, the reality was completely inconsistent with Jester's expectations.

Although "Planescape: Torment" is not close to the people, although "Planescape: Torment" is not easy to play, although "Planescape: Torment" is not the kind of game that should be released during the Christmas period, it can bring people a year The kind of game that is fun and can at the same time eliminate the fatigue caused by a year of hard work.

However, this is a game that you can play with the mentality of making a cup of coffee, drinking it slowly all night long, and savoring it like a work of art.

Even, after playing a part of the story, take a look at the sunlight coming through the window.

At this time, you may inadvertently notice that you have been so late all night without knowing anything about it. Moreover, your mind is full of the plot in the game, and you are not even tired at all. You can't wait to continue playing. Talk about a perfect clearance of the game.

This is the state in which many people play Planescape: Torment.

When this game state spreads through various methods, more players are attracted. You must know that people have a herd effect and a blind obedience effect.

When everyone is saying that this game is so fun and a masterpiece, and the average person hears several people around him saying this, he will subconsciously think that everyone is saying that he I will think, why has everyone played it, but why haven’t I played it? In addition, people around me speak highly of this game. As long as you like playing games, you will probably choose to buy a copy and give it a try.

So, just like that, the sales of this game have been rising like they are now.

For a very high-quality game, it often has such an effect, just like the Mario series in Jester’s memory, such as “The Last of Us”. During Jester’s time, many people he knew, Anyone who has never played this game in the PS3 era will choose to buy a copy of this game after buying a PS4. After all, this is the PS4 masterpiece that everyone around is talking about.

It's all the same.

Time passed quickly. When Jester handed the speech he had prepared to the organizing committee for review, the first GDC Global Game Developers Conference officially began.

In Jester’s memory, GDC at the beginning was a real gamer development conference, a place where various games, various ideas, and various new technologies were discussed, but In the end, it seems that this kind of communication is no longer the mainstream of GDC, and GDC's annual game awards have become the most concerned thing among the gaming industry and those players.

Now is no exception.

Players don't care about what is going to be discussed at this Game Developers Conference. What they care about is which game will win the final Best of the Year this year, and who will win the other smaller categories.

Who will be the recipient of the most important Lifetime Achievement Award?

Questions like that.

In fact, this is understandable. In fact, in his era, when Jester first learned about GDC, he only paid attention to the selection of these awards.

Many interviews were about the major awards this time. For example, in terms of game of the year, the most popular one was Jester's "Planescape Torment". This game, which has been on the market for less than a month, has been praised for its unparalleled The sales volume swept the entire game market at the end of the year, and the reputation has never been better. Especially the European and American media praised this game with their own praise.

Other categories of awards have their own supporters, and there is no game of the year, such as "Forescape Torment", which is so powerful that other games cannot compete at all.

Then, there’s the Lifetime Achievement Award.

You know, just like the Oscar's Lifetime Achievement Award, this award will only be awarded to those who have made outstanding contributions in the field of game development. Except for double tennis, the world's first true game In addition to video games, the founders of Atari, Jester, Junpei Yokoi, etc. are also among the candidates.

Of course, the loudest voice is William Higginbotham, the producer of "Tennis for Two", followed by the founder of Atari, Bushnell, and Jester in third place. , but his winning rate predicted by players is far lower than the top two.

After all, Jester is too young. In the nascent industry of video games, Jester's contribution is undoubted, but he is not one of the true veterans.

"Jace, I've read your speech."

When Ken Kutaragi came from Japan to attend the GDC Global Game Developers Conference, Ken Kutaragi made an appointment with Jester. As soon as they met, he mentioned the theme that Jester was going to write at the opening ceremony of GDC. Regarding the speech, it can be seen from Kutaragi Ken's expression that he is also very interested in the plan proposed by Jester.

"What? Mr. Kutaragi, are you also interested in my crowdfunding plan?"

Jester didn't take it seriously at all. The more companies participating in this plan, the better. It would be difficult to accomplish such a grand undertaking by yourself.

"Yes."

Ken Kutaragi didn't hide anything. After Jester asked, he bluntly stated his thoughts: "To be honest, Jace, I really didn't expect that you would support those small studios like this. Developed because of industry giants like you..." Although Kutaragi Ken didn't finish his last words, Jester also understood what he meant.

Then, Jester smiled and said.

"Mr. Kutaragi, maybe you are a little unhappy when I say this, but I just heard you say that, and I think it is necessary for me to say it. I entered the game industry without hesitation after the Atari attack. From the beginning, I was a true independent game producer with no money, no channels, not even technology, nothing."

"I experienced it from that time." (To be continued...)