Chapter 249: First-Day Sales
Soon, the initial data for *Thousand Prisons* and *Minecraft* came in.
In terms of initial promotion and marketing, the two games were evenly matched. *Thousand Prisons* received massive promotion from Imperial Dynasty Interactive Entertainment and secured the best recommendation slot on the Imperial Dynasty game platform homepage.
Meanwhile, *Minecraft* gained a huge amount of popularity through the two videos of the Forbidden City and the Old Summer Palace. At the same time, the Game Committee arranged a dedicated recommendation spot for *Minecraft* on the official app marketplace.
The 24-hour sales figures: *Thousand Prisons* sold 8,739 copies, while *Minecraft* sold 17,400 copies.
In terms of sales volume, *Minecraft* doubled *Thousand Prisons*, but in terms of revenue, it was far behind, because *Thousand Prisons* was priced at 1,288, ten times that of *Minecraft*.
*Thousand Prisons* had a first-day revenue of 11 million. At this rate, breaking 200 million in the first month was practically a sure thing, and breaking 300 million was also possible.
*Minecraft* had a first-day revenue of 3.47 million. Of that, over 2 million came from sales of the game itself, while the remaining money came from players purchasing value-added services (building blueprints).
Many wealthy players made multiple purchases within the game, with cumulative spending reaching several thousand. They bought all those exquisitely beautiful buildings one by one.
At this rate, *Minecraft*’s first-month revenue should be around 100 million, still a long way from *Thousand Prisons*’ 300 million.
After receiving this data, Yan Zhenyuan let out a long sigh of relief.
Lately, for some reason, ever since Chen Mo finished his new game press conference, he had been feeling a sense of foreboding, as if his eyelids wouldn’t stop twitching.
Maybe it had something to do with Chen Mo hyping him up so much at the press conference?
Yan Zhenyuan dared not underestimate Chen Mo, because he knew very well that the gaming industry was one where miracles could easily happen. No one could predict what might occur.
Small indie games suddenly exploding in popularity and sweeping the globe—such cases were not uncommon.
Moreover, Chen Mo seemed to have already created many such miracles.
Thus, the more successful a designer, the more cautious they became.
But from the current situation, it seemed *Minecraft* was unlikely to shake *Thousand Prisons*’ position.
*Thousand Prisons* should be able to dominate the charts. *Minecraft*’s first-day sales were out, so should they still arrange a celebration banquet? Lin Xiao didn’t know if the store owner was satisfied with the game’s sales. If they followed the usual procedure, it should be arranged,” Lin Xiao asked.
Su Jinyu thought for a moment. “You should ask the store owner directly. I don’t know what he’s thinking either.”
Lin Xiao was a bit conflicted. “It’s precisely because I don’t know what he’s thinking that it’s hard to ask.”
Su Jinyu said, “It’s fine. The store owner has a good mindset. You don’t need to worry too much; just go ask him.”
“Hmm.” Lin Xiao nodded and decided to go ask Chen Mo about the celebration banquet.
Lin Xiao went to the second floor of the experience store and found Chen Mo still buried in studying *Minecraft*’s various data while manually building structures.
Lin Xiao gently knocked on the door. “Store owner?”
Chen Mo looked up at her. “Come in. What’s up?”
Lin Xiao took a couple of steps forward and asked hesitantly, “Store owner, the first-day sales data for *Minecraft* is out. Are we still holding a celebration banquet?”
“Celebration banquet?” Chen Mo thought for a moment. “Yes, let’s do it!”
Lin Xiao nodded. “Okay, then I’ll go arrange it now.”
Chen Mo quickly waved his hand. “No, no, wait. There’s no rush. Wouldn’t it be better to hold it after *Minecraft*’s revenue surpasses *Thousand Prisons*?”
“Huh?” Lin Xiao was a bit stunned. Hold it after surpassing *Thousand Prisons*?
Based on the current first-day revenue, *Minecraft* was nearly three times behind *Thousand Prisons* in earnings. How could it possibly catch up?
Of course, Lin Xiao didn’t dare ask too many questions. She had already reminded the boss, and whether he wanted to hold the celebration banquet now, later, or not at all was none of her concern.
“Okay, then let me know when you plan to hold the celebration banquet, store owner, so I can arrange it in advance.” Lin Xiao turned and left.
Chen Mo continued calmly building structures.
For some games, first-day sales data is extremely important. After a long period of promotion and hype, the players who buy the game on the first day are essentially the target audience. Their feedback is crucial for the designer.
Generally speaking, for a game with particularly thorough promotion, first-day sales, even if not the peak, are still a relatively high figure. Especially when combined with pre-orders, it gives a rough estimate of the game’s total sales range.
But that’s not the case for sandbox games.
When a sandbox game first launches, players are still in the exploratory phase, and the game’s fun is greatly diminished. *Minecraft*’s true charm can only be fully realized after players actively participate and use their ingenuity. Only then will there be a second wave of diffusion and sustained growth.
Although Chen Mo had used many methods to showcase the joy of building in *Minecraft* to players in advance, there was still a layer of separation.
Because Chen Mo was the game developer, when players saw the finished products he displayed, most of them felt it looked too polished and flashy, as if some special effects had been added.
Only when players personally crafted magnificent structures would they truly realize the game’s appeal.
It had only been the first day since launch. Chen Mo was in no hurry at all.