Chapter 71: Player Base Expansion

As days went by, the one-month mark was drawing closer.

The sales growth of "Holy Spring Guardians" had significantly slowed down. Especially after two weeks, the daily increase rate dropped by about 15%.

Ben Quinn was prepared for this, as "Holy Spring Guardians" had risen entirely due to the push from Generation Entertainment's platform. Its creativity and gameplay borrowed from "Plants vs. Zombies," and for many players, it was no longer that novel.

Even though quality could compensate somewhat, it ultimately couldn't match the first-mover advantage of "Plants vs. Zombies."

If both games had no channel support, could "Holy Spring Guardians" reach the sales of "Plants vs. Zombies"? The answer was likely no.

Leveraging the powerful channels to push the sales of "Holy Spring Guardians" to nearly double that of "Plants vs. Zombies" was already a great achievement for Ben Quinn.

As for "I Am MT," its downloads were still skyrocketing, with tens of thousands of new downloads every day.

This surge in downloads made Ben Quinn uneasy.

"Tens of thousands of new downloads every day? Why?" Ben Quinn was puzzled.

His assistant said, "Well... it's a free game, so this isn't real sales. There's no need to worry."

Ben Quinn shook his head, "But with more players, the number of players purchasing value-added services will also increase. At this rate, his first-month player count will reach three million!"

The assistant said nothing, unsure of how to address the situation. If Alex Parker really managed to get three million players in the first month, it would be overwhelming. The estimated player count for "Holy Spring Guardians" was only around 800,000, which was almost four times less.

But "I Am MT" is a free game, so a high download count is understandable, right?

The assistant thought for a moment and said, "Don't worry too much. I think the download count could be artificially boosted since his game is free. It wouldn't cost much to inflate those numbers, right?"

"Moreover, even with three million players, only about 10% would likely pay. Even if each spends 20 yuan, that's only 60 million yuan in monthly revenue, which is still far off."

Ben Quinn nodded, acknowledging the reasoning. It was possible Alex Parker might have inflated the download numbers for hype.

"No rush, let's keep watching." Ben Quinn, still uneasy, reinstalled "I Am MT," which he had previously deleted.

...

In the subway.

Two guys were about to take the subway across half of the capital to return to their school.

A bespectacled guy yawned, took out his phone, and started playing "I Am MT."

The other guy asked, "What game are you playing?"

"I Am MT, haven't you played it?"

"No, isn't it an anime? There's a game too?"

"Of course, it's a newly released mobile game."

"Newly released? Is it fun?"

"Well, it's alright, good for passing time."

"How much does it cost?"

"Nothing, it's free."

"Free? How do they make money?"

"In-app purchases, it's optional."

"So, it's a single-player game?"

"No, it's an online game. You can play together. Why don't you download it and try it? It's free anyway."

"Alright, I'll download it when we get back."

"You can download it now; it's less than 200MB. It won't use much data."

"Okay, I'll download it now."

...

In a university dormitory.

Four roommates were lying on their beds playing "I Am MT."

"Hey, Zhang, why did you change your team leader? It used to be Ai Mu Ti; now it's Wild Druid Shinzo?"

"This one's powerful. It was a reward for recharging. I tried it, and its skills are super strong!"

"Really? How strong?"

"It can tank and heal. With it as your leader, you can fill the rest of your team with DPS."

"Damn, that sounds awesome."

"You guys should try it. Use it in the friend support slot and see how it works."

"I'll give it a shot. Wow, it's really powerful! It tanks better than my Ai Mu Ti! And its normal attack heals too. This is insane!"

"Damn, I need to spend some money too!"

"... Calm down, everyone!"

"By the way, I saw another super strong card the other day, even stronger than this one."

"Who?"

"Big Sister."

"Oh, you mean the Guild Leader's sister? Is she that strong?"

"Unbelievably strong... I couldn't pass a level, but with that card, the pro player cleared it for me effortlessly."

"Really? How do you get Big Sister?"

"Not sure, let me check the guide. Uh... seems like it's a recharge reward."

"How much do you need to recharge?"

"Uh, looks like 2000?"

"2000 ingots? That's 200 yuan. Quite expensive..."

"No, it's 2000 yuan, 20000 ingots..."

"..."

A brief silence.

"What the hell! Spending 2000 yuan on a card? That's insane!"

"Just goes to show we don't understand the world of the rich..."

"None of my friends have Big Sister."

"Of course not, these rich players are rare..."

"Hey, I found someone with Big Sister in my friend support! I'll send a friend request, so I can rely on them when I hit a wall."

"Damn! Friend request limit reached!"

"... Rich players are really popular, huh?"

"Looking for friends with Big Sister!"

...

At a company during lunch break.

Two employees were playing "I Am MT."

"Damn! The opponent in the arena is a monster, with Big Sister! I got crushed!"

"What's there to be upset about? They have money..."

"Seriously, this game has no basic fairness! It's just a money grab!"

"... Didn't you know that the moment you started playing?"

"No way, I'm leaving a bad review! This game ruined my youth and wasted my money!"

"... You spent 200 yuan and got crushed by someone who spent 2000. Isn't that normal?"

"I don't care; I'm leaving a bad review! Stupid game!"

"If you stop playing, can I have your account?"

"Who said I'm quitting? I spent over 200 yuan on it! No way you're tricking me out of my account!"

"You're quite imaginative, aren't you!"

...

The player base of "I Am MT" continued to expand.

It must be said, the friend system in "I Am MT" is a classic feature, as iconic as the alliance member help in COK for construction speed-ups.

Using the simplest design method to achieve the best effect.

"I Am MT" itself doesn't actually have a co-op battle feature because its combat system doesn't support it. However, the friend system in "I Am MT" solves this problem perfectly.

By adding friends, players can send each other stamina. Though not much, it's enough to incentivize players to add friends for stamina.