I Just Want Players to Save Money, They Insist on Giving Me!
Chapter 420 - 149: Mr. Ke, Sweating Buckets, Aren’t You?_1

Chapter 420: Chapter 149: Mr. Ke, Sweating Buckets, Aren’t You?_1

The methods SE used are nothing unusual in the modern world of myriad exploitative monetization strategies in games.

But in that era, when the entire gaming industry was focused on ’making more entertaining games’ and ’selling more handheld consoles,’

SE took the lead in breaking away from the pack, initiating a wave of massive profiteering through the sale of ’DLC.’

Of course, this DLC was not like others.

The handheld consoles had an additional port into which a separate miniature cartridge could be inserted.

This cartridge, when inserted into the handheld console alongside the main ’Electronic Pet’ cartridge,

would add numerous interactive features to ’Electronic Pet.’

But here’s the catch.

This cartridge wasn’t sold directly.

Players had to go to offline pachinko parlors and play pachinko.

They would have to collect a certain number of small steel balls to exchange for a ’DLC’ cartridge.

According to subsequent data, the average cost to obtain one of these ’Electronic Pet’ add-on cartridges was about 100,000 yen.

In terms of the 1980s Huaxia Nation, that would be roughly equivalent to "1000 units."

What did that amount mean?

Back then, pork cost about a little more than one unit per pound.

"1000 units" could nearly buy two or three pigs!

Of course, 100,000 yen didn’t have the same purchasing power in Neon itself, but it was definitely not considered a small amount.

Back then, the original handheld consoles typically fluctuated in price between 5,000 and 15,000 yen.

In other words, the average cost to acquire an additional cartridge was enough to buy a dozen or more handheld consoles.

If you just listed this price upfront and sold it to players, they were sure to curse you out.

But what is pachinko?

Put simply, it’s a variety of glitzy slot machines.

These devices offer a slim chance to win big with a small bet.

So, despite the existence of players who’ve lost 200,000 yen with nothing to show for it,

there are also those who hit the jackpot on their first try.

Themes like ’I won the ’Electronic Pet’ DLC at pachinko yesterday in one go’ tend to attract more attention than ’I spent tens of thousands of yen and got nothing.’

Everyone prefers to think of themselves as lucky rather than jinxed.

Hence, most people tend to overlook the unreasonableness of exorbitant prices, focusing instead on the few lucky winners amidst the survivorship bias.

What if I get lucky?

What if I strike it rich on my first try?

And once the cartridge was given this gambling attribute,

swaths of electronic gamblers began to emerge.

Moreover, as a tangible item, cartridges could be traded, which created a market.

I just scored a fresh cartridge, so don’t gamble anymore. You might not win it even with 100,000, but I can sell it to you for just 30 to 50 thousand, isn’t that great?

Thus, a complete chain of interests was established.

More and more players joined in.

SE also underwent a stunning transformation.

With a price ’almost impossible for players to accept’ if sold directly, the company made a dramatic leap ahead, leading to explosive revenue growth!

This dealt a devastating blow to other game manufacturers of the same period.

More and more manufacturers noticed this.

Oops, it seems I don’t have to painstakingly make good games, nor do I need to upgrade my handheld console performance.

I just need to add gambling elements and collaborate with pachinko to make money?

Fine, fine, that’s how you play it!

I’ll join in too!

Thus, the wheels of fate started to turn.

The shift from handheld gaming devices to consoles, PCs, and other more advanced tools wasn’t due to manufacturers having an epiphany.

It was because they realized that collaborating with pachinko meant sharing profits with them.

How absurd!

Wouldn’t keeping everything to myself be much better?

Then came the era of scratch card-like features, point card systems, and with the advent of the internet, online payments.

The potential for profit grew ever larger, and the path taken by game manufacturers grew increasingly twisted.

And when the major factories did this, it affected one small factory after another.

If all manufacturers acted this way, it would also impact one generation of players after another in their definition of games.

Some of these players became game developers as they grew up.

Their mindset, as if branded with an iron stamp, was unchangeable.

Because it had always been so, growing up with consecutive pay-to-win games.

Now you’re telling me to make fun games instead of pay-to-win ones?

I’d just ask you, ’Isn’t gacha fun?’

"Could it really be so similar?" After learning about this life’s SE history, Ke Jin couldn’t help but sigh.

This company wasn’t well-regarded in his previous life, despite having produced popular IP series like ’Final Fantasy.’

But the consumption system in the mobile gaming field was also pioneered by this company in his previous life.

As the world’s first pay-to-win game—’Diffusion Million King Arthur’ was launched,

its explosive revenue shocked every game manufacturer on Earth.

Eventually, it led many of them astray.

This life’s SE was even more outrageous.

Starting from the 1980s, it veered Blue Star’s game development off course for 30 years.

While many other big-name manufacturers also made ’indelible’ contributions during this process,

the root of all evil was still SE.

After closing the webpage on SE’s history of success, Ke Jin became concerned about Silver Brilliance’s new mobile game ’Bursting Cuteness.’

If SE was the largest shareholder behind Silver Brilliance...

Ke Jin already had a good idea of what ’Bursting Cuteness’ would be like.

After some research, he learned

’Bursting Cuteness’ is currently at the end of its second beta, scheduled for official release in a month.