Chapter 274: The Cooperation Between Imperial Dynasty and Divine Illusion
The development progress of *The Stanley Parable* and *ICEY* was very smooth. After the official development was completed, Chen Mo released both games on the Thunder Game Platform.
This time, Chen Mo didn’t spend too much effort on promotion. Since the games he developed himself had a dedicated section on the Thunder Game Platform, they already enjoyed the equivalent of a major channel recommendation. Moreover, with the reputation of his previous works, there was no need to waste words on excessive advertising.
For Chen Mo, these two games were very special types of games, but they weren’t earth-shattering. He brought them out merely to fill the game library and enrich the variety of games on the platform.
As Chen Mo had anticipated, players quickly discovered the unique aspects of these two games and became immersed in them. These two quintessential meta games soon sparked a trend among the player community. Everyone was buzzing about the content in the games, especially enjoying the act of “teasing the narrator.”
“Wow, *The Stanley Parable* is so fun! Chen Mo is pulling off these weird games again. Even though I feel like he’s a bit off track, I have to say, Chen Mo is a damn genius!”
“I think *ICEY* is more fun! At first, I thought it was just a regular side-scrolling action game, but halfway through, I realized the core of the game is teasing the narrator!”
“Yeah, during that scripted death scene, I thought my computer had a virus!”
“And the narrator can be teased! I kept jumping into pits, and he would mock me, saying, ‘Are you so weak that you can’t even jump over a few pits?’ It’s like he’s alive!”
“The funniest part is when the narrator, reading the script, gets calls from finance, the designer, and the art department, all saying they want to quit. It’s hilarious!”
“So fun! Chen Mo is amazing! It feels like he’s moved beyond just making money and is starting to experiment with all kinds of fun games?”
“Yeah, it’s a good sign! Support Chen Mo!”
……
On the Thunder Game Platform, both games received high praise. *The Stanley Parable* scored 9.1, and *ICEY* scored 8.8.
Both games were priced at 30 yuan, with a first-week discount bringing the price down to 21 yuan, which significantly boosted players’ purchasing enthusiasm in the first week.
The first-week sales performance for both games was excellent. *The Stanley Parable* sold 78,000 copies in its first week, while *ICEY* sold 103,000 copies.
*The Stanley Parable* excelled more in its meta elements and had greater depth in its narrative, so its overall rating was higher. However, as a pure meta game, it was relatively niche, so its sales were lower than *ICEY*.
*ICEY*, on the other hand, had action game elements and more satisfying combat, so its sales were better. But because its meta elements and story had some flaws, its rating was slightly lower.
Regardless, both games were very successful. In terms of both sales and reviews, they completely overshadowed other single-player games in the same price range.
Players were full of praise for Chen Mo’s latest attempt, and this further increased his personal fan base, even helping the development of the Thunder Game Platform.
……
……
Imperial Dynasty Interactive Entertainment, CEO’s Office.
The atmosphere in the spacious office was somewhat oppressive. Lin Chaoxu stood by the window, studying a potted plant that was as tall as a person. No one knew what he was thinking.
On the sofa in the office sat another figure of great importance in the domestic gaming circle: Ding Xing, the president of the Divine Illusion Game Platform.
Speaking of Ding Xing, he was something of a legend in the domestic gaming circle. His most notable trait was that he knew absolutely nothing about game design.
People like Lin Chaoxu, the CEO of Imperial Dynasty Interactive Entertainment, and Liu Yuanfeng, the CEO of Zen Interactive Entertainment, were originally among the best game designers in the country. After expanding and building giants like Imperial Dynasty and Zen, they gradually stepped away from the front lines of development, leaving the task of making games to their designers.
Of course, if they wanted to, they could intervene in specific game development matters at any time.
But Ding Xing was different. He wasn’t a game designer at all and had never used an editor. His identity was that of an entrepreneur and a gamer.
Perhaps it was precisely because Ding Xing always approached problems from the perspective of an entrepreneur or a gamer, and because he loved to meddle in the specifics of game development, that Divine Illusion’s game development efforts were a complete failure—almost every game they made flopped.
Having the second-largest game distribution channel in the country but failing to produce any hit games—it sounded almost ironic.
However, Ding Xing had his strengths. He was a businessman with a very sharp sense of smell, decisive in his actions, and had a good grasp of the future trends in the gaming market.
As the two largest channel providers in the country, the Imperial Dynasty Game Platform and the Divine Illusion Game Platform were originally bitter rivals. But now, due to Chen Mo’s sudden rise, their relationship had taken a subtle turn.
Ding Xing tapped the table with a gloomy expression, as sharp as a knife, exuding an aggressive aura.
“These terms require too many concessions from me, President Lin. This doesn’t seem like the attitude for negotiations, does it?”
Lin Chaoxu smiled, completely unaffected by Ding Xing’s demeanor. He said calmly, “The fact that I’m willing to talk to you at all is already the biggest concession.”
Ding Xing’s expression grew even darker, as if he might slam the table and leave at any moment.
Lin Chaoxu continued unhurriedly, “In fact, Chen Mo’s launch of the Thunder Game Platform has hit your Divine Illusion Game Platform the hardest. As for Imperial Dynasty, even if we lower our channel commission to thirty percent as well, it doesn’t matter because we still have our development business. But what about you? If your channel profits take a nosedive, your financial reports will be hard to look at, won’t they?”
Ding Xing said coldly, “So, you just want to laugh at my misfortune and not negotiate?”
Lin Chaoxu shook his head. “Of course not. Don’t misunderstand. I just want you to understand your current situation. Since we’re discussing cooperation, let’s skip the tricks. No matter how aggressive you act, you need to realize that Imperial Dynasty holds the upper hand now.”
He paused and then continued, “As for cooperation, Imperial Dynasty certainly wants it, because cooperation is a win-win. In fact, I also believe we should cooperate. Chen Mo is an idealist, or maybe just a madman. He can afford to ignore money, but we are both pragmatic businessmen. We can’t let a madman smash our rice bowls, don’t you agree?”
Ding Xing nodded. “You’re right. Fine, let’s drop the pretense and talk about cooperation. Chen Mo’s game platform is a major threat to all domestic channel providers. We have to find a way.”
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