Qiu Hong sighed softly and continued: "The closed and unique operating system that comes with home consoles is a powerful protection for the copyright of stand-alone game games. Although it will be cracked, this line of defense has become a guarantee for foreign game manufacturers to make profits."

"No matter how online games develop, overseas, the market share of stand-alone games is more than 60%, exceeding online games; and in our domestic market around 2001, this proportion was about zero."

"The lack of home consoles has caused the spread of piracy, and the booming piracy has destroyed the stand-alone game market."

"People who have never experienced that era have no idea of ​​the tragic level of the stand-alone game market at that time. Simply put, the stand-alone game is so tragic that even if the price is reduced to 15 yuan per copy, players will still choose pirated versions of 6 yuan."

"The domestic games were just in their infancy at that time. Due to cultural barriers, they could basically not be sold overseas, so they could only fight the domestic market."

"Before that, many domestic stand-alone games were sold at a price of a few dozen yuan, and the profit was good; but in just one or two years, genuine games had to fight price wars with pirated games. In order to fight piracy, "Four Seas Wind and Cloud Meeting" reduced the retail price of 18 yuan, and even gave a batch with the magazine, but it still didn't help."

"The reduction in the game price did not achieve the effect of small profits but quick turnover. Instead, it greatly reduced revenue. Revenue was reduced, and production costs could only be reduced, and the game quality was reduced accordingly."

"In addition, some garbage companies have developed many garbage games and seriously overdrawn the enthusiasm of a small number of genuine game supporters, which eventually turned into a dead cycle, and domestic stand-alone games are equated with inferior quality."

"When the genuine game that costs 18 yuan still cannot beat the pirated game that costs 6 yuan, all this is destined, and no matter how hard it is, it will be useless. The tide of online games has given game producers like me a way out, allowing me to do online games and continue to stay in the game industry. Otherwise, I might have gone to an Internet company and become a product manager."

"So, on the contrary, stand-alone players do not die from online games, but from piracy. Online games are instead a life-saving straw for these manufacturers."

Pei Qian was silent for a long time and said, "But if the product is good enough, someone will still pay the bill? I heard that there are 3A masterpieces abroad, but there are no anti-pirated measures."

Qiu Hong nodded: "Yes, Mr. Ma, you are right, that's it, it's completely correct."

“The only question is, what is the standard of ‘good enough’?”

"Can you achieve the same level as the 3A game as a major foreign manufacturer? Or, among domestic manufacturers, be one of the best?"

"That means that only by reaching the top 1% of the entire industry can it be considered good enough, and there will be enough people who are impressed by you and pay for you."

"Some people say that piracy will expand potential market share. First, this sentence is nonsense, and secondly, even if it is established, it will only have a little effect on the top 1% of the industry."

"If you can achieve a monopoly position like a computer operating system, then perhaps piracy can help you attack competitors and maintain market share."

"However, how many companies can achieve the top 1%? How many companies can achieve monopoly?"

"Which company is born as a big company and a monopoly company?"

"Will they die for the remaining 99%?"

"It makes no sense to discuss the top 1% of an industry. How many people can achieve the top 1% in their own field? If someone tells you now that in the industry you are in, only the top 1% can be recognized and can survive, and the remaining 99% can only starve to death, will you stay in this industry?"

"A industry tycoon like He An has made many successful stand-alone games, but hasn't he switched to online games? When the foundation of the tower disappears, the entire market will shrink completely. How can one or two companies on the top of the tower change the entire market?"

"So, a healthy industry should be like a pyramid or an iceberg. The spire of the tower or the part of the iceberg floating on the sea is the top 1% of glory, and the base of the tower or the iceberg under the water are the cornerstones of the existence of an industry."

"When the foundation no longer exists, how can the spire exist?"

"So, whether the top 1% lives well or not will not determine how the industry is. What really determines the life and death of this industry is the bottom and middle classes, and whether they can survive."

"This is in a dead cycle:"

"Manufacturer: I need you to buy the genuine version to better develop the game!"

"Player: Then you give us the best experience first! If you become the best, we will give up pirated versions and buy the genuine version!"

"Manufacturer: But you must refuse piracy first, and we will have money to provide a better experience!"

"Player: Then you have to give us the best experience first before we will refuse to pirated copies!"

"So the manufacturers had to do online games."

"This is the market, and it is the choice for players to vote with their feet. Players say that as long as we accept online games, we only accept pirated single-player, and not genuine single-player. Therefore, as everyone wants, genuine single-player will be dead."

“For players, the idea of ​​‘paying for something good enough’ is no problem in itself and should not be criticized, but only if it is a healthy and orderly market.”

"If this market itself is full of unfair competition, then 'paying for good enough' means that except for 1% of top content producers, the remaining 99% of ordinary content producers will be killed by unfair competition and people who break market rules."

"Just now, many video writers work hard to make videos for three days, and are stolen directly by some people. You need three days, and they only need one second. What do you use to compete with them? If the audience does not have this awareness, they all think that it is the same content anyway, and I watch it the same thing when I watch the videos. Who cares about your original author? Then do you think that except for the top part of people, how many video writers can really stay?"

"So, thanks to the establishment of the official ESRO platform in 2006, if it were not available, then until now, the domestic stand-alone game market will still be a desert, and no grass will grow."

"Even if there are only one or two seedlings, they are just a flash in the pan and will never grow into towering trees."

"Because no one really cares about this."

Qiu Hong took a sip of coffee and looked sad.

Pei Qian was silent for a moment and asked, "Then... Since the living environment of domestic stand-alone players improved again in 2006, why don't you stick to your dreams and continue to come back to play stand-alone games?"

Qiu Hong smiled with some self-deprecating smile: "Because I gave up my dream."

"Do you still remember what I said at the beginning? Persistence in dreams is the biggest failure factor."

"When I first entered the industry, I made a stand-alone game and developed it for nearly two years. I persisted for more than two months without a salary. In the end, no one even knew its name."

"So I gave up my dream and made an online game of Krypton gold with fairy tale theme. This game allowed me to get a project bonus of 1 million yuan a year, which can be said to be a success."

"So, what is my dream? Is it still important? Does anyone care? Who am I sticking to this dream? If I stick to my dream, I can only drink cold water and chew instant noodles every day, and give up my dreams to live a life of food and clothing, and gain the attention of tens of thousands of players, why should I persist?"

"So from that time on, I made up my mind and only made krypton gold games. My goal was to make more money. As for the great mission of revitalizing stand-alone games? What does it have to do with me? Even the players themselves don't care, who am I for?"

"In fact, which of the game makers who entered the industry at that pioneering stage at the same time as me had never had a dream?"

"But these people who are at the same time as me, those who insist on their dreams have left this industry. Only those who give up their dreams like me can survive."

"Mr. Ma, you may think that my experience does not apply to this era."

"Because domestic stand-alone games are getting better and better, there are no pirated versions now, and more and more people are paying for domestic stand-alone games."

"But the truth remains unchanged. There are only a few people who can get both between dreams and reality. And the vast majority of people can only make a cruel choice: either give up their dreams or be taught to be a human being by reality."

"Mr. Ma, this is my last heart."

"It's not for everyone, maybe right, maybe not right. But no matter what, I hope it can give you some inspiration."

Pei Qian took a sip of coffee and didn't speak for a long time.

Because this topic is indeed a bit heavy.

Pei Qian really doesn't know the relationship between the extinction of ESRO official platform and the normal development of stand-alone games in this world. Now he knows that it is because of the establishment of the ESRO official platform and the strict control of piracy that the domestic stand-alone game market has saved and made this world different from the world in his memory.

A slight difference is a world of difference.

Qiu Hong said that if there was no official ESRO platform, then until today, domestic games would be a desert.

Pei Qian knew very well that what he was right.

Because all this has been truly staged in my memory.

But it is precisely because of this that Pei Qian feels that he should say something.

The current environment can be said to be heaven. The reason why Qiu Hong feels that he is in hell is simply because he has never seen the real hell.

Pei Qian thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Qiu, I know that people cannot truly empathize with each other. Many people can be open-minded because they do not experience that kind of pain. Therefore, it is often a matter of persuading others to be generous, which is easy to be struck by lightning."

"But I still want to say a few words to you, okay?"

Qiu Hong nodded: "Of course, Mr. Ma, we are two of us, but you can say it's okay."

Pei Qian said seriously: "I know that it feels painful to give but not get the rewards due. Everyone will feel angry when his efforts are plagiarized. The world is full of unfairness. Sometimes you can't even distinguish who is right and who is wrong. Not every disaster can find a responsible person."

"There is a life creed that not everyone can stick to, but everyone knows it is right. This sentence is called: Do good things and don't ask about the future."

"Mr. Qiu, don't let the tragedy of the times become your personal tragedy."

Qiu Hong repeatedly savored the last sentence, silently silent.

After a long time, he raised his head: "Mr. Ma, it's really good that you can think like this."

"Thanks."
Chapter completed!