On December 25th, "The Origin of Everything" was officially launched worldwide today.

In the morning, Julio arrived at the Gamestop chain in the city center, one of the world's largest retail giants of video games and entertainment software, headquartered in Texas, which now has more than 6,000 offline stores in several regions around the world, including this one in the center of Copastcristi.

It's about 20 kilometers from Julio's house, which is less than 20 minutes by car due to the city's traffic. Julio came single-handedly, and today the purpose is simple: a set of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, for which he sells tortilla soup and bay shrimp spring cakes for a week at his uncle's small restaurant, whose family is all Hispanic, and many people in the city keep up their Mexican traditions.

At $10 a day, although the working hours are three or four hours, it is simply cheap labor, but fortunately, there is no need for an interview, you can come and go.

Coupled with his previous meager savings, he now has a huge amount of $100 on him, and in addition to the one he has in mind, he should be able to buy two more CDs, or one.

Entering the store, looking at the dazzling array of games, just looking at it is satisfying, "Metal Gear Solid 4", which has been on sale for half a year, is still in a very conspicuous place, this PS3 exclusive game that has been on the market for half a year, has sold more than 2 million units worldwide, and it is obvious that it is going to the title of the PS3 exclusive game with the highest sales of "Gran Turismo 5: Prologue".

After all, it is IGN and Gamespot double 10/10 perfect scores, the eighth game ever rated 40/40 by Famitsu magazine in Japan, and producer Hideo Kojima also said early that this will be the end of the entire Metal Gear Solid series, and it is also the last step in his MGS series...... Of course, at this time, everyone still believes in him, so the expectation itself has reached its peak. In addition, the game's prior publicity is also shocking, and the appearance of Snake, who has entered old age early because of premature aging, makes people see the hero of the curtain call. So it's no surprise that sales are excellent.

Julio didn't hesitate to drag a copy of Metal Gear Solid 4 into his hand, although he wanted to go back immediately and stuff the disc into the PS3, but now that he had it, he was not in such a hurry.

It's like a bento box, where the best two pieces of chicken breast aren't rushed, and the rice and other side dishes are cleaned before they are treated.

The clerk, Javi Fernandez, walked over, saw the "Metal Gear Solid 4" in Julio's hand, and smiled: "Julio! You've finally bought a PS3, congratulations. The tone is sincere and sarcastic.

Julio had come here several times before to stare at the game, looking and looking, touching and touching, and the possession was overflowing. At that time, Harvey also recommended it to him, and when he asked, he found out that this kid didn't have a PS3, so he could only love it.

"Thank you." Julio didn't want to talk too much about the PS3, and finally getting a console that was released two years ago wasn't something to be proud of. Many of my classmates in school have been playing for two years, and sometimes when they talk about PS3 exclusive games, Julio has a hard time interjecting and can only quietly pull the conversation to the games on the XBOX, sometimes useful, sometimes in vain.

"Mr. Fernandez, do you have any latest games to recommend?"

"Need a PS3 exclusive?" Fernandez thought that people who had just gotten their hands on consoles would be crazy about buying a wave of exclusive games first.

"NOT NECESSARILY, BOTH PS AND XBOX ARE FINE." His obsession with PS3 is just a "Metal Gear Solid 4".

Fernández walked to a shelf, and in the most conspicuous place hung "Prince of Persia 4: Rebirth", he took it down and handed it to Julio: "How about this one?" A new work in the "Prince of Persia" series, a new work that just came out this month. ”

Of course, Julio has played the "Prince of Persia" series, and in the Sands of Time trilogy, he was amazed by the smooth combat system, exquisite levels, and especially the design of time and space travel between ancient and modern two different scenes.

But the cover of this sequel, the style of painting seems to be different from the previous one, huh?

"Is this a genuine sequel? Is it related to the first three? ”

"No, it's a new series, a different protagonist, and a new story."

"Is the protagonist no longer Prince Dastan?"

"No, but it's still a prince, otherwise it wouldn't be called [Prince of Persia]."

But the cover looks more like a jobless vagrant...... The protagonist is dressed in tatters, and the whole person is still a little frivolous and cynical, which makes Julio a little behind and difficult to accept for a while.

"But why does this cover look cartoon......"

"I don't know, but I'm sure Yubi and their development team have their own ideas, and you can rest assured that the development team of this game is still mainly the veterans of the first three installments, including Christopher Güyo, the creative director of the entire Prince of Persia series."

"Forget it...... Are there any others? “

To put it bluntly, the most critical point is the initial price of $60...... Julio simply can't afford it.

Fernandez shrugged his shoulders, walked to another shelf, and pulled out another "Gundam Warriors 2" from the bottom: "A new game that has just been released for a week, you can tell by looking at the name that it was made by Dark Glory, continuing their usual style, another Musou series, are you interested in robots?" $50, available for both PS3 and XBOX360 versions. ”

"Not very interested...... Robots: I only know Optimus Prime and Megatron......"

Fernández found another one: "Guitar Hero 3? The game that was released last month, if you like music games, trust me, this is the best choice. ”

"I'm a music idiot......"

"Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 was also released last month. What about sports games? A lad your age should like it the most. "Phase Breaking Boxing", fighting, or "Lightning Dog", adapted from the movie of the same name, if you have seen the movie, it is the best, do you have a dog at home? ”

There are many things to do for the poor, and it is so difficult to serve the poor. Fernandez, of course, loves his customers, but he also feels a little tired of love at this time.

Julio could only tell the truth: "Mr. Fernández, I mean...... Is there a cheaper one? ”

Fernandez had already seen that the young man's problem was still a lack of budget, so he was waiting for him to say it himself: "How much money do you have?" After buying Metal Gear Solid 4? ”

"$35 ......" Julio was a little embarrassed.

"In that case, there is no new blockbuster to choose from."

"It doesn't have to be the latest hit, or a more casual piece is fine."

You see, wouldn't it be much easier to say it earlier?

"This one, "The Origin of Everything", is priced at $25, PC/PS3/XBOX360/II is available simultaneously, it was made by a Chinese company, this is the first time that a game developed by a Chinese company has appeared in this store, and I should give them a medal."

Julio looked at the small figures, buildings and the whole world made up of squares on the cover of the disc, and said strangely: "This is a Chinese game?" ”

"Yes, if it is fake, there is also a Chinese language option on the official website."

"I thought Chinese games were supposed to be martial arts? Kung fu? Julio also gestured twice, a bit of a shadow of Brother Cheng Long.

"Hey, be careful, don't knock over the shelves."

"Oh...... I'm sorry. ”

"This isn't a kung fu class, it should be a simulation class."

"Simulated construction?"

"But it's not entirety, I don't know how to describe it to you, I've never seen a game like this myself, there is no set goal, you can do whatever you want in the game."

"It looks a little childish, like a Lego toy."

"Believe me, I'm playing the game myself, and I don't think it will get a low rating, as if there is a special ...... The magic of murder time, I also play with it only to realize that two hours have passed. Mainly its price, which meets your needs very well. Fernandez was blunt.

Julio took a serious look at the cover of the game, it looks a little younger, and the "E10+" game rating given by ESRB in the lower left corner, that is, "Everyone 10+", contains more cartoons, fantasies, and slight violence or sexual ~ hints, suitable for everyone over 10 years old.

After hesitating for a moment, he chose to refuse: "I'm going to be 18 years old soon, and I want to play games that are more suitable for my age......"

"OK, no problem, and these ......"

Fernandez continued to introduce the games in the store, and Julio didn't choose "The Origin of Everything" in the end, and left Gamestop with a "Metal Gear Solid 4" and two last year's magic RPGs, which are sword magic, fight and kill.

The $100 budget had 5 cents left in the end, and as he left, he searched around again, planning his options for the next visit, and once again swept his gaze over "The Origin of Everything" in an inconspicuous place, looked at it with some curiosity, still skimmed it, and left.

……

……

"The Origin of Everything" has a total of 250,000 sets of world premieres, including 100,000 sets in North America, which is a decent number, as a game without any accumulation of popularity of the previous generation, and the company itself Qingyu Network is a platform, their most well-known stand-alone game is "Survival", a PC game exclusive to the FG platform (so far, the PS3 version has not been launched), then its users or fan groups will also be on the PC side, more likely to choose to buy the digital version.

The price of the physical version is: $25.99 / €18.99 / £17.99 / JPY2349.

The digital version is a bit cheaper: $20.99 / €14.99 / £13.99 / ¥1899 and ...... 49 RMB.

Don't think about it, the country won't release a physical version at all, who will play it, who will buy it.

And the price of 49 yuan is also quite abrupt...... Converted to about 7.8 US dollars, it is more than half cheaper than non-Chinese regions, and it is almost a third, which is really a difficult and embarrassing price.

If you want to treat everyone equally in the world, China will get more than 130 yuan, don't think about it, it's impossible, no player may accept it, the collector's version is about the same, you have to think about it. Even the price of 49 yuan is already on par with the price of the digital version of some domestic masterpieces above, which is already a decision that fully considers the national conditions.

The only good thing may be that when you see that foreign countries are so much more expensive than at home, you feel comfortable.

The most difficult thing is that on the other hand, this is undoubtedly the lowest price in the world, of course, foreign players will not be happy, and the herring fish network can only try its best to publicize it, eliminate the spread of these news, and then lock the region.

This is unavoidable at this stage, and even for a long time in the future, foreign IPs will not be able to buy games in China, and they will be judged when logging in to the game.

In fact, it's just for the international area, the Chinese region is simply a pure land, you want to change to an international VPN to buy it at the original price, Qingyu Network will naturally not care about you, change back to the domestic IP, and you can still play normally.

This is a problem that the platform must face after entering globalization, otherwise everyone knows that the price in China is so much lower than theirs, so if you switch VPN to buy it in China, then the price set overseas is all useless, who will buy it?

On the other hand, China will still be a server of its own, unable to search for international friends outside the wall, because of the notoriously special policy restrictions.

Objectively speaking, in fact, this is a good thing for players in the world, if you are cheaper, you will be cheaper, but you still come to play with us, dangling in front of you, are you annoying?

You buy it cheaper than others, and then you have to show off in front of others, how aggrieved that person is.

Of course, it is not impossible for Chinese players to play games on the international server, just hang up the VPN to play.

……

On the first day of the official launch of "The Origin of Everything" in the world, a total of 71,300 units were sold, and the country was almost negligible, only 3,000 sets, you must know that at this time, there were 200,000 paid users of the FG platform who had spent money to buy the game.

3000 sets, of which only 1.5% bought the game.

Obviously, if Chinese players spend money, the vast majority of them will only spend on cost-effective games, 3A masterpieces, emotional masterpieces, or some independent games that have spread by word of mouth are also willing to support a few pieces of a dozen pieces, rather than "The Origin of Everything".

This is also what Ye Shenxi expected.

The global digital version sold 42,000 units, the vast majority of which were in North America, and the original "Survival" players were optimistic about the company and had confidence in their follow-up titles.

The physical version is 26,300 sets, which is 0.63 times that of the digital version, and the distribution is North America/Europe/Japan, accounting for 41%/37%/22% respectively.

According to more general statistics at this time, the sales of the global physical version are generally about 3 times that of the digital version, especially the game that is launched simultaneously on this PC console platform.

And "The Origin of Everything" is only 0.63 times, which shows that the release of the physical version of the game has not given a satisfactory answer at all.

According to Activision's previous expectations, if the physical version sales will eventually reach 1 million within 18 months, 400,000 sales should be needed in the first month, and if "The Origin of Everything" is a long-term game, then 300,000 should be there, and about 60,000 on the first day to meet expectations on the mathematical model curve they built based on the sales of many of their games.

Maybe Smith himself has a high opinion of this game with the emotional color of the director, he likes this game very much, but 40,000 is still needed.

But now there are only 26,300 ...... Not a rosy number.

After the game was released, Smith had not yet exchanged opinions with Ye Shenxi on the phone, and he did not want to put pressure on the Qingyu Network.

It's just 26,300, which makes the faces of the relevant responsible persons within Activision and Qingyu not look good.

The COO of Blue Fish Network North America is a middle-aged man of Brazilian descent named Gabriel Barbossa, who initially worked in the giant hard headquarters, and later entered the game industry, and has also done a number of series of game publishing in EA, with rich experience in game operations.

He also looks anxious now, according to the judgment of traditional Chinese medicine, he should be a little angry, but his skin is dark, and he can't see the acne clearly.

He looked at the two bosses in an orderly manner, and he didn't know if he was heartless, or if he was really in his chest.

"Don't worry, Barbossa, wait a minute." Boss Xia Qingyu said to him.