158 A Popular Game (2/2)
”I can see that you have been killing monsters for a while now, don't you find that boring?” Tian Zhongjie noticed that he had only been killing monsters after watching him play for a long time. Sure, the fighting scene and graphics were great, but wouldn't it be too boring to be hacking monsters constantly?
”Would you still feel bored if there's money involved?” Chen Hong responded to him as though he was talking to an idiot.
”Money?”
”RMB, you know that, don't you?” he added, sighing.
”What the fu*k, the in-game currency can be exchanged for RMB?” Gao Fei asked in disbelief, his eyes almost popping out.
”The game operator doesn't exchange gold coins, but they offer a platform similar to 'Diablo 3's' auction house. Players are free to price and sell gold coins on a consignment basis. This system is somewhat similar to the stock price, where the lower price is given preference. The game operator will only collect 5% commission fee, and they only take 10% commission for the equipment auction.”
While speaking, Chen Hong's eyes were burning with passion like crazy.
”During beta testing, Future 1.0 distributed a high amount of activation code to VIP members. There's quite a number of wealthy players playing this game according to the official data collected during the beta phase.”
”That's to say, there is a high probability that RMB players would beat your sorry ass.” Gao Fei said in derision.
”That's how an average person would think.” Chen Hong cast him a haughty look. ”'New Era' didn't create an item mall. The purchased points can only be used to expand the warehouse or purchase skins that don't affect the balance of the game.”
”In other words, it's s similar to LOL's store?” Tian Zhongjie's eyes lit up, and he suddenly felt an urge to download and play the game.
Chen Hong ignored his friend's question and muttered, ”Do you remember what I said before? There are many ways to play this game. You can be an adventurer, a lord and so on.”
”Does it has anything to do with those RMB players?” Gao Fei asked, frowning.
”Of course!” Chen Hong's eyes were practically indistinguishable from gold coins. He licked his cracked lips before continuing, ”The condition to become a lord is one has to buy a city lease for 100,000 gold coins and then get the city qualification. Imagine if you were a rich player, would you rather hunt monsters like what I'm doing, or would you rather become the lord of a city with countless followers?”
”That's nonsense!” Gao Fei scoffed, but he seemed to have suddenly thought of something as his eyes widened, ”Wait, if the city lease costs 100,000 gold, the auction house...”
”That's right, if you play the game normally, it would be impossible to obtain 100,000 gold coins in such a short amount time. Killing a single boar would only drop 2 silver coins and killing 50 would barely give you 1 gold coin. So to become a lord, the only way to acquire gold coins is through the auction house!”
”But would there be that many people willing to buy a city lease?” Tian Zhongjie asked.
”Let me give you a straightforward data. At present, the price of a single gold coin in the auction house is set to 5 RMB. So for every 10 boars I kill, I would make 1 RMB.” The more Chen Hong talked, the more motivated he became.
”What the fu*k, a land lease will cost half a million RMB? That is insane!” Gao Fei uttered in disbelief.
”You noob, there are rich people who are not afraid to squander 1 million while playing 'Plants vs. Zombies'. Don't you know building a territory is similar to ”farming”? Moreover, through taxation, production of materials and other ways to earn money, would you still be worried about not making a return?”
”I'll tell you a rumor that I heard from one of my friends. Have you heard about Blood Sea guild of 'Sword 4'? Because of the popularity of 'New Era', they are planning to switch to this game. They are also currently raising funds in preparation for something big. Not only wealthy people, a lot of game workshops are also eyeing this city lease, so you can just imagine the future of this game.”
”Isn't 'Sword 4' a PC game?” Tian Zhongjie could not help but ask out loud.
”If the mobile game is more fun than PC game, would you rather play a PC or a mobile game? The future belongs to the mobile platform!” Chen Hong himself was becoming passionate about the future.
”Not only that, it can also be said that city building is the biggest feature of the game. The sandbox-like settings would allow the players to design their city based on their own preference. The city can be built anywhere from a certain distance from another city. And depending on the terrain and the map itself, the established city will receive a corresponding reward that would allow recruitment of special NPCs to attract other solo players.
”Do you know what this means? This means the earlier the city is established, the higher your advantage will be! You can get mines that produce iron ore, coastal areas fit for ships to dock, as well as unique NPCs roaming on the map...All major guilds are buying gold coins in order to seize those good spots!
”My plan right now is to kill monsters to gain gold coins and then sell the gold for money. Once I leveled up, I will explore the deeper parts of the continents. It'll be great if I can trigger some hidden mission. That would be really crazy!” An ambitious expression appeared on Chen Hong's face.
”But wouldn't the value of gold depreciate after a while if everyone purchased the city lease?” Gao Fei asked anxiously.
The reason why he was asking was because he suddenly had the idea of making money from the game. Just killing ten monsters would earn him 1 RMB. This was something really enticing for someone who doesn't have much pocket money.
”You're overthinking it. Wouldn't you need to build establishments after building a city? Wall, city hall, residential buildings, farm, ect., all of which cost money. In addition to city lords, there are sea explorers! Although putting up a shop would not cost 100,000 gold, a small shop would at least be 500. As for the mega vessel, it costs 1,000 gold and above.”
The auction house wouldn't interfere with game content, and the difference between the demand for gold and RMB would prompt frequent trading between the players. As long as the operator continued to push new game contents which would prevent the value of gold from depreciating, the game would continue to survive.
Considering the impeccable game quality, the number of users, as well as the continued growth of Future 1.0...
Gao Fei's eyes turned brighter and brighter the more he thought about it.
”Four eyes, I have an idea. Why don't we, of dorm 101, start a game workshop...”
(1) RMB players: the equivalent of pay to win players.
Translator's Thoughts
_Min_ _Min_
There should be another chapter later tonight, if not, tomorrow morning.