Chapter 68: Game Launch!

Lily Emerson looked at her account's top cards with some reluctance.

"I've thought of a serious question. Should we spend money when the official release happens?" Lily asked.

Paul Wilder grinned, "What? Spend money? Even with the manager giving me money, I couldn't get good cards. Spending my own money would be a waste."

Lily rolled her eyes, "Get lost, you unlucky guy."

Jessica Thompson said, "Spend money? Uh, I can't afford it. It costs thousands to tens of thousands. How much would we need to spend to play at this level in the official release?"

Lily shook her head, "It's not about reaching this level. Look, even spending 1, 10, or 100 dollars will upgrade your VIP level and provide rewards, giving you an edge over non-paying players."

Jessica pondered and nodded, "Hmm, so you're saying we should spend a little, maybe 100 dollars? But it still feels expensive."

Lily said, "But think about it, over half the players might not spend any money. If you spend 100 dollars, you'd be better off than most. Think about the rewards for ranking in the arena and getting boxes from advancing through levels early."

Jessica nodded, "Yeah, it seems like it would give you an edge."

Lily said, "Exactly. So, we should spend at least a little. The game itself is free, so even spending 10 dollars wouldn't be a loss."

Lily started to carefully study how much to spend to maximize her benefits while maintaining cost-effectiveness.

Alex Parker interjected, "Hey, the money you spend drawing a card could buy a 'Big Sister' card."

Lily rolled her eyes, "What do you mean, stingy manager? Are you eyeing my artwork money? No way!"

Alex chuckled.

His biggest worry wasn't that the anime wouldn't be popular or that the game wouldn't have players, but that players wouldn't be willing to spend money.

Players' spending habits are hard to change. If most players don't want to buy premium services, and there aren't enough big spenders to stimulate others, the game's monthly revenue would be hard to increase.

However, seeing Lily's reaction, Alex was confident in the game's profitability.

After experiencing the thrill of spending, most players would find it hard to resist making a second purchase. Those who don't spend would also be tempted to try a small purchase after seeing the benefits.

As long as these two types of players make up a significant portion of the total player base, the profitability of the "I Am MT" mobile game can be ensured.

As the game's launch approached, Generation Entertainment also ramped up promotion for "Sacred Spring Guardians."

The scale wasn't overwhelming; they gave it a few key recommendation spots on their platform and arranged for some game media to write previews and soft articles.

After all, this was just a mobile game. Generation Entertainment had a rough estimate of its profitability and wouldn't spend unlimited money on promotion, as promotion also costs money.

Even the recommendation spots on their platform aren't free. Giving them to other better games could earn more money. It's a trade-off.

Therefore, Generation Entertainment didn't go all out on promoting "Sacred Spring Guardians," only giving it a few good spots.

But in the eyes of Generation Entertainment's executives, these spots were enough to crush the unknown designer Alex Parker.

Ben Quinn had some guesses about Alex's strategy, thinking it was nothing more than using the anime to boost the game's popularity, achieving indirect promotion.

However, Ben was confident that "I Am MT" anime wasn't a phenomenon-level work yet. If Alex's new game used a buyout system, the conversion rate from anime to game wouldn't be very high.

Moreover, could Alex's new game recreate the vast background of the anime? Ben doubted it. If the game didn't do well, its rating would drop, affecting its sales.

No matter how he thought about it, Ben felt Alex was being delusional and self-destructive.

"Forget it; let's wait until the game goes live."

Ben made a final check of the official "Sacred Spring Guardians" version and uploaded it to the app store.

"I Am MT" and "Sacred Spring Guardians" both launched on the official app store simultaneously!

These two games, starting from the bet, had attracted a lot of attention. After four months of constant buildup, the moment of destiny finally arrived!

Besides launching on the official app store, "Sacred Spring Guardians" also launched on Generation Entertainment's platform. With its recommendation spots and powerful channels, the first-day sales soared!

"Sacred Spring Guardians" was priced the same as "Plants vs. Zombies," at 10 dollars. Ben didn't dare to set it higher, as "Sacred Spring Guardians" didn't make revolutionary changes compared to "Plants vs. Zombies." Setting it at 20 dollars might reduce downloads, affecting monthly revenue.

Soon, the first-hour download volume for "Sacred Spring Guardians" was out, 1,290!

Seeing this data, Ben breathed a sigh of relief.

Ben's assistant, who was also monitoring the data, smiled and said, "Great results. Congratulations."

Ben smiled but said, "Don't get complacent. Has Alex's new game been downloaded? Let me see."

The assistant said, "Oh, not yet. I'll download it now."

Ben waved, "Forget it. I'll download it myself."

Ben opened the app store and started searching for Alex's new game.

The assistant said, "You don't have to worry so much. Your performance is worthy of those recommendation spots. This data is nearly double that of 'Plants vs. Zombies'."

Ben nodded, "I know, but this doesn't guarantee victory."

The assistant smiled, "Not guaranteed? You're too modest. Even if you give Alex wings, he can't reach the level of monthly revenue in the millions."

Just based on the first-hour sales, it had exceeded Ben's expectations.

If the game could reach twice the "Plants vs. Zombies sales," the first-month sales should be around a million, and the monthly revenue would be in the millions.

(Monthly revenue refers to the total income generated on the user end before any division.)

A monthly revenue in the millions would already make it a blockbuster game, likely topping various category charts and even challenging the overall bestseller chart.