PixelPioneers: The Birth of a Gaming Empire

Chapter : 70 : What Went Wrong?

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All the people in the game industry who follow "Outlast" showed a surprised expression. It is not surprising that the sales of "Outlast" are too high, but surprised that the sales are a bit low. The sales of "Outlast", which was released a week ago, were officially counted, totaling 600,000 copies, and the sales ranking has fallen out of the top five. This is okay as it is a horror game. After all, even the well-known "Ghost" series, the third sales in the country is only 2.1 million copies.

But it cannot be so simple, after all, the price of the "Ghost" series is higher compared with the price of "Outlast". At the same time, the "Octopath Traveler" developed by John has achieved good results. A data score such as "Outlast," didn't feel like it was true.

"Binding of Isaac" and "Octopath Traveler" are selling one after another, but in the first week of "Outlast," even a million in sales have not been reached, which gives people a feeling that they should not be.

Almost when the sales of "Outlast" were announced on the same day, major game media scrambled to report the news. Among them, some mainstream media such as the game Starry Sky are still objective, but the sales are not as expected, far less than "Octopath Traveler" and "Binding of Isaac" as the title of the article.

But some self-media, and the second and third-tier game media, are all about how the title attracts attention. For a time, titles like "PixelPioneers Studio Falls, 'Outlast' Fails" and "Dark Horse Game Producer Is Exhausted" spread. "Horror Games Cannot Succeed with Confidence." These titles instantly grabbed half of the news in the entire game world.

***
In PixelPioneers Studio.

Evelien, Koch, and others carried out some repairs of the follow-up BUG of "Outlast," while looking at John sitting next to the computer in contemplation. The whole office was very quiet, and even the sound of breathing could be heard. It seemed that everyone controlled it intentionally.

"Okay, the sales are indeed a bit lower than expected, but to say that it is a failure is unfair," John smiled and said aloud, perceiving everyone's eyes.

The total development cost of "Outlast" is about 16 million Dollars, which is not a small project, but it is impossible to lose money. Selling 600,000 copies a week, although this figure is lower than he thought, it is not difficult to break a million in the end. Even after deducting the platform's profits, Social Tap's profits, and taxation, by the way, the game development costs and employees' bonuses are subtracted. "Outlast" can still bring about 30 million to 40 million profits for PixelPioneers Studio. Therefore, the failure of "Outlast" is completely a lie.

What makes John care is why the sales volume is so low. Combined with "Outlast" in his dream memory, John has done a lot of optimization, more realistic modeling, more detailed scenes, and a more flavorful atmosphere.

At the same time, compared to the world of his dream memory, the environment of the game market here is much better, too much better. Otherwise, the miracle of "Octopath Traveler" would be impossible and this has been verified.

But why are the final sales of the game "Outlast" not even as good as in the world of his dream memory? Both the game and its publicity are better than what is shown in the dream memories. Through word of mouth for the game, players and the game media have praised it, but the sales volume is not as high as expected.

This is one of John's most puzzling concerns. Because it is related to his next game, "Resident Evil." Standing on the shoulders of a giant to make a game, polishing it more finely, but failing to achieve the results of the original version, makes John feel very unconvinced.

Price factor? Yes, but it is not the main factor.

***

After the sales of "Outlast" came out, the players in the gaming industry who had been paying attention to it immediately discussed it.

'How can the sales of "Outlast" be so low?'

'Yeah, sales of "Soul Hunter" and "FireWire" have already exceeded the million mark.'

'Horror games aren't usually this low.'

'But it's not that low, the sales of "Ghost 3" have exceeded 2.1 million before, and I've also seen the quality of "Outlast." Online players have applauded it, the game's "Outlast" Special Zone has a player's opinion score of up to 9 points.'

'The market for horror games is shrinking, and the sales of "Ghost 3" are difficult to replicate. At that time, "Ghost 3" was represented by Moondustries and Essence, two giants. Later, "Ghost 4" certainly won't have such high sales.'

In a well-known forum in the game industry, many practitioners are discussing the issue of "Outlast" sales.

***

In the office, the dog lying on the floor below the air conditioner was snoring and sleeping. Next to Luna was looking at a textbook on game development on the computer.

"Failure is normal, don't let your head down," John, who walked into the office, glanced around, and Luna stood up to comfort him.

She also has an understanding of the sales of "Outlast" and some new trends in the industry. The sales are not so ideal.

"Failed?" John looked back and, looking at the comforting Luna, sat on the seat, thinking about what happened with "Outlast." John looked at her oddly.

"The income of 'Outlast' is five times its cost. If it's a failure, then there aren't many successful game makers in the industry," John stood up and stretched with a smile.

"So why the long face?" Hearing John's words, Luna rolled her eyes.

"Fail or not, I was thinking about what went wrong with the game." John shook his head, looking at the computer screen in front of him.

Both the large game market environment and the overall quality of the game are far beyond the games in his dream memory, but why are players not so willing to buy it? This is what makes John confused.