Chapter 477: Printing Press? Printing Plant! |
So, what exactly is Dark Souls?
[Perhaps it's the astonishment of first encountering the Ashen Adjudicator Gudda, the shock of being immobilized under the five consecutive attacks of the Lord of Ashes. With the unique physics destruction engine and visual enhancements of the Golden Engine, Dark Souls undoubtedly stands as the world's most top-tier wolf-type game—Player Campfire (9.8/10)]
[Perhaps it's Golden Wind's unique narrative approach and peak fragmented hidden storytelling. The obscure yet grand story is broken down into gentle narration between the lines, elevating the game's explorability and depth to unprecedented heights. Although produced by the same studio as Sekiro, its world's grandeur and richness of side stories far surpass Sekiro—SLGamers (9.9/10)]
[Perhaps it's the encounters filled with hope and regretful endings. Life is never perfect; to save the world, one must first save oneself. This might be Golden Wind's unique charm—while everyone tells you to become useful to the world, Golden Wind reminds you not to forget yourself. True courage is facing life with optimism—Daily Gaming News (9.9/10)]
[Perhaps it's Golden Wind's attitude toward games. From Cat Mario to Dark Souls, their progress over four years is evident to all. They're like the Ashen One pursuing the flame, walking through this originally desolate gaming world, helping travelers complete their missions while continuously advancing toward the throne of the Game King. The only difference from Dark Souls is that today's Golden Wind walks in the fireless Age of Deep Sea, and the faintly kindled sparks of light are precisely what they seek—SNG (10/10)]
[...]
Comprehensive media average score: 9.9!
Overwhelmingly positive player reviews on both platforms!
As the second "wolf-type" work following Sekiro, and also the beginning of a series.
If the Ashen Adjudicator Gudda in the demo was enough to shock you, then when you ascend Ancient Dragon Peak to battle the Nameless King, the unparalleled pale lightning and the majestic aura of dragon combat in the wild will completely conquer you.
If the elite Bugatti Veyron in the demo was enough to make you feel challenged, then when you encounter the Ice Knight, the utterly torturing frostbite and elusive movements will completely shatter your confidence.
More stunning than the demo's impact, more painful than the demo's suffering.
More touching than the demo's emotion, more profound than the demo's depth.
Grand story background complemented by obscure narrative techniques.
Plus the high-difficulty game settings unique to wolf-type games, and the unparalleled sense of achievement from improving player skills.
For a time, discussions about Dark Souls emerged endlessly.
Some players discuss quests.
After all, typically in initial playthroughs, players can hardly complete all side quests in the game. The casual first-experience approach makes many players miss quite a bit of story, with some not even reaching Ancient Dragon Peak.
Some players discuss items.
Like Sekiro, many things in Dark Souls are hidden in strange corners. The difficulty of full collection in a first playthrough isn't just high—it's practically impossible. Yet this very aspect stimulates players' collecting obsession, so players share item collection tips from obscure corners, even if it's just a worthless Skull Lantern.
Some players discuss weapon stat allocation.
Compared to Sekiro, Dark Souls offers diverse weapon choices. Players can choose to become balanced knights, hammer-wielding tough guys, noble mages, or even acrobats specializing in elite and boss-drop trinkets.
Of course, some discuss the story.
Lore enthusiasts intensely curious about the background story dig into the world's origin behind fragmented narratives, the game between various factions, the struggle between flame-kindling and flame-extinguishing factions, even the origins and backgrounds of NPCs. An atmosphere of scholarly research citing classics has emerged, giving birth to many "Souls scholars."
Multi-layered game design fills this game with replay value, igniting players' passion for game research.
And at this very moment!
Regarding this game, there's someone even more passionate than the players—
...
Huaguo.
Golden Wind.
Chairman's Office.
Shen Miaomiao sat in her executive chair, her long legs crossed and propped on the desk, body half-reclining, a lollipop in her mouth, looking completely relaxed and carefree.
The computer before her displayed the backend data statistics page of China Digital Entertainment Association.
In the blink of an eye, the game had been on sale for four weeks.
If this were normal times, at such a critical juncture, Shen Miaomiao would definitely be focused intently, staring fixedly at the screen, secretly burning incense and praying for the sales data to stop growing.
But now.
She appeared completely at ease, clearly holding all the cards.
You ask why I'm suddenly so relaxed and not panicking at all?
Ha.
Because there's simply no need for me to panic!
After all, this investment is guaranteed profit!
And right at this moment!
Her phone rang!
Time's up!
Dark Souls official version had been on sale for exactly four weeks!
Not a minute more, not a minute less!
Project settlement!
Document unfolding!
[Main Project: Dark Souls]
[Project Investment Amount: 2.02 billion USD]
[Project Settlement Time: 28 days (+0 days)]
[Project Rebate Multiplier: 2x (+0x)]
[Note: According to system regulations, if the host invests in already-established projects through principals, the rebate multiplier will be reduced to 1/5]
[Current Revenue Amount: 648 million USD]
[Project Loss Amount: 1.372 billion USD]
[Project Rebate Amount: 2.744 billion USD]
[Ding! Your debit card account 1118 has received a foreign exchange transfer deposit of 2,744,000,000 USD, balance...]
Payment received!!!
Woo-hoo!!!
With a sudden movement!
Shen Miaomiao excitedly bit through the lollipop in her mouth, waving her hands, practically wanting to raise her arms and cheer!
Fiercely lost 1.412 billion USD! Bloody earned 2.744 billion USD in rebates!
This old system is really amazing!
This can't even be considered picking up money—this is practically printing money!
Money printing machine?
Money printing factory!
Wushang is just for fun, real money printing relies on the system!
When there's rebate, it truly delivers!
Most crucially, with the system's surreal magical technology enhancement, such massive even insane income can all be guaranteed completely legal and compliant, never facing investigation or suspicion due to unexplained sources of huge assets!
One month, 1.8 billion directly becomes 2.7 billion!
Awesome—!!!
Of course!
While exhilarated by the rebate, Shen Miaomiao was also deeply shocked by Old Gu's game's appeal and influence now!
You should know, the reason this rebate document's cost was so high was because she originally spent 1.8 billion USD acquiring 23.22% equity in Phoenix Engine.
This is precisely the fundamental reason why she wasn't worried about rebate failure and was just waiting to collect money.
And if we exclude this portion of investment, total cost 2.02 billion minus 1.8 billion, Dark Souls' actual cost is 220 million USD.
Looking at this investment overall, it's definitely not low.
Although slightly less than Battlefield Storm: Rise's 235 million USD cost.
But don't forget, Battlefield Winds was co-developed by Golden Experience and Melancholy Blues two major studios.
The two studios' labor costs are very high, after all, currently Golden Wind's three major studios and operations department's overall salaries far exceed industry averages, even higher than the highest salary levels in regions like Europe and America.
That is to say, if viewed purely from a "single studio development project cost" perspective, this Dark Souls is their highest development cost project to date.
With 220 million USD cost, excluding 25% platform commission.
To break even, the game's sales need to reach a full 260 million USD.
Seems like a terrifying sales figure difficult to surpass.
But actually...
The system is always so merciful to Old Gu.
Shen Miaomiao silently complained in her heart.
You gave Old Gu a full four weeks of sales time, want to see what his results are?
Six hundred forty-eight million USD!
Calculating at 60 USD per copy.
In just one month.
Dark Souls sold a full 10.8 million copies on Yiyou and Beijixiong dual platforms!
Single-month sales exceeding ten million!
What does this mean?
"This means our industry integration measures are showing initial results..."
Meanwhile.
In the conference room.
Sitting at the head position, Gu Sheng spoke:
"Dark Souls is our first work relying on combined engine technology,"
"And its single-month total sales exceeding ten million copies sufficiently proves the correctness of our path,"
"Industry-integrated game engine comprehensive performance has allowed us unprecedented progress, the speed is astonishing,"
"This is the success of our industry integration measures, and even more our most inspiring phased achievement from Payday to Dark Souls"
With a rustle—
As Gu Sheng's words fell.
Golden Wind's executives present all applauded, everyone's faces filled with joy and inspiration, brimming with fighting spirit and hope.
From Payday to Dark Souls.
Judging from this timeframe, it's not difficult to determine that Gu Sheng refers to developments and achievements since the "Golden Engine" project establishment.
And for Golden Wind, Golden Engine's establishment indeed marked a major turning point sufficient to transform their development path.
Even from certain perspectives, they should thank Vivendi, thank CloudPower.
After all, if not for Vivendi's secret instructions and CloudPower's interference, they wouldn't have been "forced to counterattack," thus creating their current situation.
And amidst the applause, Gu Sheng nodded slightly and continued speaking:
"And this perfectly aligns with our initial vision, giving us ample confidence,"
"Allowing us to continue advancing toward [Golden City]......"