Chapter 1006: Triple the Joy
The explosive popularity of GTA caught both players and gaming media off guard. Many people never even imagined that the game would have so many cloud players!
Yes, everyone knew GTA was a big move Chen Mo had been saving up this year, and even before the game’s release, Chen Mo himself had heavily praised it, showing just how special this game was.
But some still weren’t too optimistic about it, for a simple reason: the platform.
The Matrix Game Pod cost 300,000, and production capacity was limited. So far, the number of Matrix Game Pods couldn’t compare to PCs, let alone traditional game pods.
Domestically, there were over 100 million traditional VR users. But due to price and production constraints, the Matrix Game Pod had only sold about 10 million units worldwide so far.
Based on Chen Mu’s experience from his previous life, selling 10 million units of a new gaming device was already an astonishing figure. But in this parallel world, the situation was different—the Matrix Game Pod’s sales were boosted by other factors.
The reason phone and PC sales far exceeded dedicated gaming consoles was that these two devices played irreplaceable roles in daily life. Phones were carried everywhere for socializing, internet access, and various life apps, while PCs handled important office functions. For both devices, gaming was just one feature among many—they were deeply integrated into every aspect of players’ lives.
Dedicated gaming consoles, on the other hand, were products aimed solely at hardcore gamers, so their sales naturally couldn’t compare to phones or PCs.
As for the Matrix Game Pod, its significance went beyond gaming and entertainment. It carried some of the functions of phones, PCs, or Matrix Glasses, revolutionizing daily life and profoundly changing how players lived.
So, in the long run, people in this world were very optimistic about the Matrix Game Pod, and sales were expected to keep rising.
Earlier, traditional VR game pods had already paved the way for the Matrix Game Pod. Players in this world were very accepting of game pods. Currently, there were over 100 million traditional VR users domestically and about 800 million worldwide—all of whom could be considered potential users of the Matrix Game Pod.
By that standard, the Matrix Game Pod’s nearly 10 million sales were still in a developmental stage compared to the traditional VR industry.
No wonder many people hadn’t held high expectations for GTA at first. After all, leaving the traditional VR platform for an exclusive release on the new Matrix Game Pod meant sales and influence were almost inevitably limited.
Chen Mo’s previous games had easily sold millions or tens of millions of copies. Phenomenal VR games like *PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds* had broken 40 million copies, even approaching 50 million. Single-player games focused on story or gameplay, like *The Last of Us* and *The Legend of Zelda*, had also surpassed 10 million sales. This showed Chen Mo’s success in the traditional VR field.
But with the Matrix Game Pod having sold less than 10 million units, could they really expect every Matrix Game Pod user to buy GTA? No matter how good the game was, it still depended on player preferences and tastes.
Yet when the game launched, those naysayers were stunned. Judging by the popularity on major streaming and video sites, this game was even hotter than many previous phenomenon-level VR games!
It was impossible that all the players paying attention to GTA had bought a Matrix Game Pod and the game. That meant most of these people—likely over half, or even 90%—were cloud players.
Flooding streaming sites, video platforms, gaming forums, trending on Weibo and Q&A sites… GTA-related elements were everywhere in gaming circles.
For a game to become this popular solely through the support of cloud players was almost unbelievable.
Keep in mind, a key selling point of the Matrix Game Pod’s next-gen VR was immersion. Players truly soul-transferred into the game, personally performing actions like walking, shooting, driving, and piloting. This was one of the game’s major appeals.
But cloud players couldn’t experience this at all. They could only watch streamers dominate the game, like watching a traditional game, completely missing out on that immersion.
Yet even so, GTA was still wildly embraced by countless cloud players. This showed the game wasn’t just about “selling an experience”—it also had rich gameplay and deep meaning. In other words, even if GTA weren’t a next-gen VR game but just a traditional PC or even handheld game, it would still have the qualities to become a massive hit.
So why did this game become so popular?
In the eyes of players, GTA was an all-in-one game. Different players could find different kinds of fun in it.
First, it was a story-driven, crime-themed single-player game.
Set in a modern Lighthouse City urban backdrop, it used a multi-protagonist POV narrative. The story was rich and tense, filled with dark humor, wild ideas, and merciless satire of modern society’s various ills.
Not to mention the three main characters, look at the colorful supporting cast: thugs, drug lords, investors, celebrities, corrupt officials, hackers, film producers, strippers, office workers, scientists, psychiatrists, fitness trainers… Creating so many characters in a single-player game showed the effort put into building the world.
In this regard, GTA was no different from previous AAA titles—and even surpassed them.
Second, it was a skill-showcasing game that allowed players to explore infinite possibilities.
Just as players could show off their king-level plays in *League of Legends* or *PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds*, GTA also let players pull off things others couldn’t. And with the help of next-gen VR, players could perform almost any theoretically possible action in this virtual world. This attracted a huge number of performers and viewers, making its popularity on streaming and video platforms no surprise.
Finally, it was a driving simulation game featuring cars, planes, and boats, set against the backdrop of a modern city.
Bicycles, motorcycles, sports cars, trucks, helicopters, propeller planes, fighter jets, speedboats… Almost every vehicle players could think of could be bought or stolen in GTA, and they could personally drive it through Los Santos.
The game was also filled with related content, like racing, stunt flying, skydiving, diving, etc. The experience even surpassed many large-scale racing games.
Even if players weren’t good at driving, they could constantly hone their skills in GTA, going from a reckless newbie who crashed at every turn to a seasoned driver taking corners through drainage ditches. With the boost of next-gen VR technology, this driving experience was unprecedented.
Many wealthy people spent millions modifying sports cars just to get that thrill of extreme speed. But for them, money was plentiful, while life was only one. Driving at over 200 or even 300 km/h in real life meant survival chances were almost zero with the slightest collision. But in GTA, there was no need to worry, and they could get almost the exact same driving experience as in reality.