Chapter 1070: An MMO That’s Already Been Buried?
What exactly does 20 million Matrix Game Pods mean?
At least for now, it’s still a pretty distant goal.
On the surface, Chen Mo’s statement seems pretty shady—have you ever seen a designer who rehashes old content and still bargains with players?
But the thing is, this rehash is just too tempting!
Actually, players don’t really feel any resentment about it. Strictly speaking, *World of Warcraft* isn’t a rehash at all; it’s going to be a brand-new project.
After all, the Azeroth universe IP has always been around, but fans have wildly different opinions on how it should be executed. The key is still Chen Mo’s decision.
If he’s making an MMORPG, that means *World of Warcraft* is completely different from almost all the games Chen Mo has made before. There’s no comparison, so naturally, it can’t be called a rehash.
Besides, many people know that the Matrix Game Pod is currently being sold at a loss.
And after this Weibo post, Thunder Entertainment and Lehui both announced another price drop for the new Matrix Game Pod, bringing it down to around 150,000. That’s already on par with the mid-range version of traditional VR game pods.
Moreover, when *World of Warcraft* officially launches, all players who already own a Matrix Game Pod will receive a certain amount of in-game playtime, as well as special mini-pets, mounts, and so on, right from the start.
These details were also disclosed later. In other words, those 20 million players will get a special identity tag, officially recognized as “veteran players” by the company.
In addition, the price drop of the Matrix Game Pod also came with some “emotional” compensation for players who bought it at a higher price earlier—things like extra recharge tokens, game discounts and freebies, and hardware configuration upgrades.
After all, when the Matrix Game Pod first came out, it cost 300,000. In less than a year, it’s dropped to 150,000—that’s a pretty significant decline.
For Chen Mo, after the initial trial and promotion phase, it’s now time to mass-produce and quickly capture the market, even if it means subsidizing the cost himself. This is an inevitable step in the development of the Matrix Game Pod.
But for those players who shelled out a lot of money at the start, it might sting a little.
Of course, it’s impossible to fully compensate them for the price difference. As the saying goes, “Buy early, enjoy early,” and tech products depreciate quickly. Still, considering these people are loyal players of Thunder Entertainment and die-hard fans of Chen Mo, their feelings need to be taken into account.
A little special discount, a commemorative sports car gifted in *Oasis*, and some token refunds—that should be enough to smooth things over.
Of course, the further price drop of the Matrix Game Pod is definitely something for players to celebrate. In fact, every price cut attracts a large number of previously hesitant players to finally take the plunge.
And this time, the prelude to *World of Warcraft* gives players a very compelling reason. With all these factors combined, Chen Mo’s goal of 20 million might actually be achievable.
After all this groundwork, the Matrix Game Pod has gained market recognition. There are enough games on it, and the price has come down. If you don’t buy it now, are you waiting for Chen Mo to give it away for free someday?
The appeal of next-gen VR is hard to resist.
So, shortly after this series of announcements, as soon as the Matrix Game Pod’s price dropped, it was immediately snapped up like crazy.
All major shopping sites showed “out of stock.” Everyone was shouting: This time, let’s make Chen Mo go bankrupt!
Players didn’t see anything wrong with the 20 million target; instead, they all worked together, hoping to help Chen Mo achieve it.
…
Some people also wondered, what does the Matrix Game Pod selling 20 million units have to do with *World of Warcraft*?
Could it be that this game absolutely needs 20 million players to get off the ground?
That’s obviously nonsense. No matter how awesome an online game is, it can’t support 20 million players on the same server—that’s just ridiculous, right?
Of course, they wouldn’t know that this isn’t Chen Mo’s requirement at all, but the system’s…
Then there’s another group of people questioning the game type of *World of Warcraft*.
An MMORPG? Can it really work?
In the parallel world, this game genre has been in steady decline, going from its peak to almost becoming a fringe genre.
Both domestically and internationally, many classic MMORPGs that once achieved glory are getting worse day by day. Active player counts and revenue are dropping every day. Some games honestly reported their active player data at first, but later just stopped.
But not reporting doesn’t fool anyone. The increasingly frequent server merges, friends going AFK one after another, and social lists full of grayed-out names all point to the fact that this genre is on a downward spiral, becoming a sunset industry.
As for the new MMORPGs that claim to be big-budget productions using new technology, they’re even worse off. They generate a lot of hype before launch, but once that initial buzz fades, they’re completely ignored.
So, why is it so bad?
Isn’t it because Chen Mo, with one cut after another, has stabbed this once-mighty genre into a state of paralysis?
Back in the day, *Oracle of the Moon*, *Righteous Slash of the Three Kingdoms*, and *Sword Legend* were incredibly popular in China. But look at the games Chen Mo has been throwing out one after another:
*League of Legends*.
*Overwatch*.
*PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds*.
What’s that called? Killing someone and then destroying their soul.
Not to mention the VR side—he even gave the decline of PMORPGs a gentle push.
In the end, the decline of this genre isn’t because Chen Mo is too formidable, but because it was destined to decline. Players just don’t have the time anymore.
Other game companies have also figured this out. Fewer and fewer are making MMORPGs; instead, they’re focusing on games that fit into fragmented time slots.
And now, Chen Mo himself wants to dig up the genre he personally buried and covered with dirt, and make it himself?
Blind trust is definitely out of the question, because this goes against the basic laws of game development.
Even if the *World of Warcraft* he creates is of the highest quality, he can’t magically conjure up more playtime for players, right?
As long as this key issue of time isn’t solved, even if players want to support him, it’s going to be very difficult.
If the game is sold at a fixed price, how much should it be?
If it’s time-based, with everyone’s time so precious, how much can you earn if players can’t spend a lot of time in the game?
Forced monthly subscription? Or just throw in pay-to-win elements?
That definitely wouldn’t be something Serent would do. At this stage, with the Matrix Game Pod being sold at a loss, why would he risk his reputation for a few measly coins?
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