Chapter 266 News from Tianba Mansion (Happy New Year to everyone)
Tianba Studio owns many games, and these games are all very popular. The popular characters in the games are naturally well-loved.
But when it comes to game derivatives, Tianba Studios isn’t doing particularly well…
Chen Ba knew this very well.
The protagonist of "Mountain Village Past", Hu Xi, and his peripheral derivative products are highly loved and sought after by players. This is not the first time that this has happened.
Before this, Huang Qing had mentioned to him that the game IP under the studio had high derivative value, but they did not make use of it.
Take "Divine Grace Continent" as an example.
After this game became popular, many NPCs also became popular, and there are many fan-made derivative works on the Internet.
For example, the king, who is nicknamed "Old Father-in-law" by players, is a frequent visitor to the secondary creation videos! Unfortunately, Tianba Studio did not use the popularity of the game to open up new ways of making money for the studio. For Huang Qing, this is undoubtedly a waste of resources.
actually……
Tianba Studio is also involved in game peripherals. In addition to selling digital hardware such as graphics cards, CPUs, and memory sticks, Xianyu Digital also sells some official game peripherals.
But those were just minor incidents.
Key chains, refrigerator magnets, pillows, mouse pads, etc., although these peripherals are very good, they cannot satisfy Huang Qing.
"Figures, dolls, models..."
Huang Qing said a lot and felt that studios should pay attention to this aspect and not waste the heat and popularity of major game IPs.
Chen Ba didn't take it seriously at first.
He still had the old idea that these things were just a side job and that they couldn't make much money. After all, how many players would be willing to pay for action figures? It wasn't until this time that the protagonist Hu Xi of "Mountain Village Past" became popular all over the Internet and all kinds of peripheral derivatives sold well that he changed his mind.
This thing seems to have a big market? Chen Ba admitted that he had indeed underestimated this market. Most importantly, he did not expect Hu Xi to be so popular and sought after by players.
But it’s not a big problem…
It is never too late to mend the fence after the sheep have been lost! Although he did not pay attention to this aspect at the beginning, which led to the loss of many good opportunities, now that he has paid attention to it, he will not make the same mistake again.
The first batch of game peripheral derivatives that were authorized for OEM production were probably something no one had expected.
That’s right!
The target is the old ox in "Study Simulator" that has accompanied the protagonist for many years and has formed a deep "friendship" with the players! This old ox is the first batch of products developed and designed by Tianba Studio after it paid attention to the market of game peripherals.
The product was made into a display.
As a game peripheral, the price is actually more expensive than the game itself, and it is limited to 10,000 copies!
Chen Ba's move was intended to test the players' spending power and their level of recognition of game-related derivatives.
But he never expected that the old ox ornaments, which were limited to 10,000 pieces and priced at 99 yuan, would be sold out by the lurking followers of the Cowherd Cult within just a few hours of being on the market.
【This product is sold out! 】
Looking at the conspicuous warning words on the screen, even though Chen Ba had made sufficient mental preparation, he still felt shocked at this moment.
"no……"
"Are there still so many followers of the Cowherd Sect now?" He looked at Huang Qing and asked the doubts in his heart.
Selling out is not a problem.
If it was during the time when "Study Simulator" was at its most popular, let alone a limited edition of 10,000 copies, even if it was 100,000 copies, it would probably have been sold out in an instant by enthusiastic players.
But the problem is...
How many years ago was "Study Hard Simulator" an old game? Is it still so popular today? Are there still so many active players and followers of the Cowherd Cult? "That's not true."
Huang Qing shook his head and explained: "What do you mean by the followers of the Cowherd Cult? Are they the players who have been playing the game "Han Chuang Ku Du Simulator"? "
If we count the number of players who have been playing this game, there are definitely less than 10,000 people by now, probably only about 2,000 to 3,000.
Even if all of these players bought peripherals, it would be impossible for them to buy out all the 10,000 scalper ornaments! Moreover, it would not happen that everyone would buy peripherals! Among the players who are still playing the game, only about one in ten people participated in this rush to buy, and participation is one thing, whether they bought it or not is another matter.
"The limited edition of 10,000 scalper ornaments was sold out in a flash, and the main buyers were old players who had already given up."
Huang Qing explained: "This is also what I said. Although most people don't play "Han Chuang Ku Du Simulator" anymore, there are still many people in the Cowherd Sect."
joke!
Unless all the players at the beginning die of old age, the Cowherding Cult will never be destroyed. Even if it is suppressed, it can be revived with just a little spark! Don't question the original group of Cowherding Cult believers, their faith loyalty is quite high.
"Is it so outrageous?"
Chen Ba murmured to himself, wondering if Huang Qing was exaggerating too much about the "meme-playing" nature of the Cowherd Sect.
Not that exaggerated, right?
He knew the origin of the Cowherd Cult better than anyone else. It was originally a comedy group formed by a few players who liked to play with memes at the instigation of a man named Wang.
That's right, a comedy group! Chen Ba never took the spontaneously formed organizations of players such as the Cowherd Sect, the Gu Mua Sect, and the Tianshu Holy Land seriously, thinking that they were just joking.
This is just like the "FFF" Inquisition that became popular a few years ago with the broadcast of a Japanese anime series.
At that time, he also followed suit and played with this joke, claiming himself to be an honorary member of "FFF" and often joked about it.
However, he does not think that he truly agrees with the so-called "FFF" heresy inquisition concept and is loyal to this organization or sect.
nonsense!
It's just a joke on the Internet, so no one would really believe it, right? "You are right, but I want to emphasize that when the Cowherd Cult was first established, most of its members were just following the trend..."
Huang Qing did not deny Chen Ba's statement, because it was the fact. The Cowherd Cult was a funny organization from the beginning. No one, including the leader and the high priest, took this organization seriously.
But today is different from the past! As time goes by, the Cowherding Cult has long since changed from a funny organization to a serious sect where a group of "like-minded" people stick together for warmth.
certainly!
No matter how it changes, the organization's inherent funny element still exists, so their program and doctrines are still humorous in the eyes of outsiders.
It’s just that these humorous and funny programs or doctrines were just said jokingly in the past, no one believed them seriously, and no one would consciously abide by and uphold them.
But now it exists! "I've heard of it, but I didn't expect it to be so abstract." Chen Ba frowned.
He actually didn't understand.
If they are just playing with memes for fun, there is nothing wrong with those followers of the Cowherd Cult. After all, they are just looking for fun on the Internet, so they can say and do whatever they want.
But if one truly believes in this and agrees with these doctrines or ideas from the bottom of one's heart, then it would be a bit puzzling.
Why?
Chen Ba has also carefully studied the core doctrine of the Cowherding Sect, which can also be said to be its missionary philosophy. He does not think that the so-called "herding cows is also a form of practice" is anything special.
In other words, he thought this was pure nonsense. Kun Kun was not married at the time, so God knows what was in his brain that he made up such a nonsense.
The key is, does anyone really believe it?
Your leader has admitted that it is a set of doctrines he made up. How can there still be true followers of the Cowherd Sect who don't believe it is fake? "It's not that I don't believe it..."
Yang Dong walked into the office with a cup of coffee and raised his eyebrows and asked, "Is it possible that everyone knows this is fake?"
"Is believing in the Cowherd Religion just a way to find some spiritual comfort for yourself in this fast-paced and high-pressure era?"
Followers of the Cowherding Cult believe that being close to nature can relax the mind, and that the act of herding cattle and cutting grass for pigs is a kind of spiritual practice, bringing people infinitely close to the "pure" state of a newborn.
Every follower of the Cowherd Cult can say this.
It's okay to say it once or twice, but after repeating it hundreds or thousands of times, these people's intention to play with the joke will gradually fade away, and they will start to wonder if this is a real practice. "Stop, stop, stop!"
Chen Ba couldn't listen any longer and quickly stopped the discussion: "Aren't we talking about the 10,000 yellow scalper figurines that sold out in seconds? How come we are suddenly discussing the rationality of the Cowherd Religion's doctrine?"
"I told you, this is the reason!"
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
Huang Qing spread his hands and said, "The teachings of the Cowherd Cult have been recognized by more and more people, which is why 10,000 peripherals were sold out in seconds."
It’s not that complicated!
The Cowherd Sect originated from the game "Study Simulator", but it has now transcended this game and its followers are no longer limited to game players.
To put it bluntly, this group is still very large, so it is not difficult to understand why the limited edition 10,000-piece Old Scalper figurines were sold out in seconds.
“That’s understandable.”
"What I really can't understand is that the cattle-herding activities organized by these followers of the Cow-herding Cult seem to be quite popular now?"
Yang Dong scratched his head and said, "I saw a piece of news before. It said that a primary school in a certain place organized a rural visit and experience tour in order to let the children cherish their current happy life."
"And their teacher happened to be a loyal player of "Study Simulator", and arranged for them to herd cattle and cut grass for pigs... After the news came out, it received rave reviews from parents and teachers everywhere!"
“Well-received?”
“Yeah, well received!”
Yang Dong nodded to indicate that he was right, and continued, "Then, for no apparent reason, there was a trend online to take children to the countryside or back to their hometowns to experience herding cattle, cutting grass for pigs, and working in the fields."
This is the good work of the herding sect! Not only do they like to be close to nature and like to herd cattle and cut grass for pigs, they also recommend it to others and let others learn from them.
This is not the point. The point is that some people really believe in the deception of these cowherd cults, especially parents and teachers, who really think this is an excellent way to educate their children.
Chen Ba: “…”
Although he felt it was very abstract, he had to admit that these Cowherd Cult believers did a good job this time and it was not a bad thing.
It is not a bad thing to let those spoiled children living in the city go and experience the life of rural children such as herding cattle and cutting grass for pigs.
But you must pay attention!
In this process, it is enough to realize that a happy life is not easy to come by. Don’t listen to those weird uncles and aunts who think that “herding cattle is a practice”…
What a sin! These followers of the Cowherd Cult probably thought that the game "Study Simulator" was no longer popular and it was difficult for them to attract new comrades from the Internet, so they actually expanded their business to the real world! The most outrageous thing is that the targets of their missionary work are actually primary school students and middle school students?
Damn it!
The more Chen Ba thought about it, the angrier he became. He even felt that this was the reason why the Cowherd Sect had been silent for many years and had not even made any trouble.
I thought they had finally become law-abiding after being suppressed.
Who would have known that these idiots would open up a second battlefield and stir up trouble in reality!
"Wait a minute..."
Chen Ba, who was about to give an order to Tianba Community to round up all the members of the Cowherd Cult and label the Cowherd Cult a "cult", suddenly thought of something.
So, he quickly asked Yang Dong: "If the Cowherd Sect is so capable of causing trouble, what about the Gu Mua Sect, the Tianshu Holy Land, and the Meritorious Monks?"
I almost forgot.
Tianba Community is a game exchange community where good and bad people mix together and demons and monsters run rampant. There are more active player organizations in it than just Fangniujiao.
There are also many groups of players with strange ideas active in the Tianba community. From time to time, they will have conflicts over missionary work and then fight each other, making the forum a mess.
If the Cowherd Cult, whose half body is buried in the ground, can cause so much trouble, then other player groups or organizations will not be able to cause so much trouble as well, right?
"That's not the case!"
Yang Dong shook his head and said, "I haven't heard of any other players organizing trouble, but..."
After hearing the first half of the sentence, Chen Ba's tense nerves relaxed instantly, but he didn't relax for long because he became nervous again when he heard the word "but".
"But what?"
"But there is a rumor. I don't know if it's true or not, but it's pretty scary anyway!"
Yang Dong smiled and said, "It is said that in Jiangcheng, a real estate company developed a new building project. It was very popular in the pre-sale stage, but the developer's capital chain broke down later, and it is suspected that the project has been left unfinished..."
"Um?"
Chen Ba was puzzled. What did this news have to do with the topic they were talking about? Whether it was true or false, it seemed to have nothing to do with Tianba Studio, right?
It’s just an unfinished property, it’s not anything new… ugh!
As if he had thought of something, Chen Ba looked at Yang Dong with a stiff expression and asked word by word: "You are not going to tell me that a player from the Mua faction bought a house in this building?"
“It seems so…”
Yang Dong coughed and explained, "Many players have posted in the community, but the truth is still unclear. Another point is that there is a special reason why these Gu Mua players bought the houses in this building."
"What's the reason?"
"So the name of this real estate project is Tianba Haoyuan!"
Chen Ba: “…”
It’s fine that he used this project to cheat players out of their money in the game, but how come there are people using this project to cheat people out of their money in real life?
Oh no!
Players wouldn't think that this was a building he built, right?
(End of this chapter)