When asked in the Pokeni market survey, players said:
"The monsters in Diablo are better than the NPCs. I still haven't been able to remember the names of a few NPCs and key characters, such as what the Archbishop is called.
But as for the monsters in the game, they are very unforgettable.
Moreover, the monsters are exceptionally agile, giving people a feeling that—
These guys must have lived in this land for a long Time.
Otherwise, how could they be so familiar with the land and always pick our weaknesses, hiding in unseen places to shoot cold arrows?"
"The game Diablo is really well made. There are many small details in the game that are quite intriguing.
For example, there are non-monster [Rats] in the labyrinth.
When these rats run, they make sounds.
And when they step on bones, there's a terrifying crackling sound.
Can you understand that feeling?
In a quiet, dark, and oppressive underground palace, the sound of rats can directly scare you off your chair.
I've had two experiences of throwing my controller away.
Even at night, hearing the sound of rats at home would make me jump up from the bed.
This level of detail and atmosphere is truly amazing. So far, I have never played such a powerful game."
"I really like the real-Time performance of monsters in the game scene, especially when encountering the Skeleton King Leoric, you can hear him constantly calling out Leoric's name.
I am a father with a child myself, and when I saw that scene, tears just kept flowing down my face.
This feeling, the feeling of losing a child, is really too painful.
At the same Time, while you are afraid of him becoming a BOSS, you are also filled with endless sympathy for him.
On this point, Diablo deeply moved me."
The reason why players felt that [monsters are very flexible] and [monsters are very vivid] was largely due to Aoki Haruhi's requirements for monster AI.
The programmers also put in a lot of effort for this.
Of course, the final results were quite good.
Of course, Aoki Haruhi felt very honored and extremely happy that players noticed and spoke about this.
There were also quite a few things that players didn't mention—
For example, the monster's birth animation: skeleton soldiers initially appear as fragments on the ground, but when players approach, these fragments automatically piece together to form a complete skeleton.
It's possible that when you pick up a sword stuck in the ground, you might trigger a mechanism, and then several skeleton soldiers will fall from the sky…
Such instances are countless.
Compared to the diablo 1 of the previous life, the version made by Aoki Haruhi made too many improvements in details and character AI.
Each of these things, if taken out for separate discussion, would be a topic that could make industry peers talk for three days and three nights, admiring and learning from them.
…
Counting carefully, plus the previous two onmyoji, this is already the third Time Pokeni has had a game selected for the platinum hall of fame.
In the game world, being able to achieve such high achievements in the early stages of a company's development is truly a very difficult thing.
From this point of view, Pokeni is indeed a very powerful company.
…
The sales of Diablo were quite good.
First week sales broke 70,000 copies.
This has already tied Pokeni's previous record for "Mermaid Heart".
Second week sales reached an astonishing 120,000 copies.
If this momentum continues, breaking 300,000 copies should not be a problem.
Especially since this game is completely different from the previous GALGAMEs, yet still achieved this step, basically attracting a relatively niche group of game players.
It can only be said that Diablo is strong in terms of game playability.
…
For sales performance, distributors are the most sensitive and direct, as all data is compiled and sent back to Pokeni through their sales records.
Torun's initial pre-order of 10,000 copies of "Diablo" had long been sold out, and they had restocked twice since then.
The sales momentum has not fully slowed down yet, which means that the sales of Diablo should continue to climb.
Upon learning this news, Hattori Hiroyuki's face directly broke into a wide smile.
"Pokeni is truly an unfathomable company, and Aoki Haruhi is too interesting, isn't he?"
Perhaps Pokeni has hope of becoming the next Square.
It certainly can't compare to Nintendo, but surpassing Square is just around the corner. As long as a few more platinum hall of fame-level works are released, Hattori Hiroyuki believes that one day Pokeni will have a game that reaches the million-level.
"Yes," Secretary Fujiki nodded with a smile, "It shows how unique your vision is, President. I admire you more and more. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to make such a big bet on Pokeni's game."
What Fujiki said was true. If the game released by Pokeni this Time were a galgame, she would not doubt that the game would sell well.
After all, they had already proven their strength in developing GALGAMEs through excellent game such as onmyoji and Mermaid Heart.
Whether it's Producer Furuhara Tsubaki, or script Authors Gen Urobuchi and Ishino Mika, they are all very famous figures in the gal circle now.
But this new game, "Diablo," is a completely different action RPG game, with an even more terrifying art style—
It's a realistic Europe and America and America style, completely inconsistent with the aesthetic of the Neon people. If such a game were given to Fujiki to judge, she would think the sales would be very poor.
If it were her, she would not have the courage of Hattori Hiroyuki to sign a large order of 10,000 copies in the first pre-order.
The inventory of the famous academy from last Time still hasn't been cleared.
"Haha, not at all," Hattori Hiroyuki said with a laugh, feeling like he was flying after receiving his secretary's praise, "I have a natural nose for game. Sometimes it's hard to say why I signed it."
But then again…
Hattori Hiroyuki thought to himself, the good performance of Diablo probably has little to do with Pokeni itself.
But because—
He threw the game cartridge into the trash can.
Thinking of this, Hattori Hiroyuki looked down at his palms.
My hands!
Possess the super ability to control the life and death of game!
Just kidding!
Although there was this idea subconsciously, and Neon people are indeed very superstitious, Hattori Hiroyuki's journey to this point was not entirely based on luck.
Reason ultimately triumphed over superstition.
Hattori Hiroyuki gave a wry smile, having to admit that Aoki Haruhi was indeed quite capable.
…
"Eh, from galgame to ARPG, what happened to Pokeni?" Kobayashi Shigeru, the President of Blue-wings, completely couldn't understand Pokeni's move.
Galgame is a beautiful girl romance game, and Pokeni had previously followed a beautiful and fresh path. But with Diablo, the style took a complete 180-degree turn.
This is like someone who always dressed in a beautiful and ladylike style, but one day suddenly went crazy and shaved their head, starting to wear cyberpunk clothes covered in rivets. It's completely unacceptable, isn't it?
Moreover, Kobayashi Shigeru hasn't been in the game industry for long, and he truly doesn't understand what kind of company Pokeni is anymore.
President Aoki Haruhi is even more confusing.
However, the results are understandable.
Since Mizutani Takashi left Pokeni, the company's performance has been getting better day by day.
Every game has its own characteristics, whether it's a galgame or now an ARPG, they can all become very classic game.
The sales are truly enviable.
So—
Aoki Haruhi is not at all as incompetent as Mizutani described, with all that talk about [originally an artist, doesn't understand game at all] and [Aoki Haruhi will definitely lead Pokeni astray].
It was all lies told by Mizutani Takashi.
If anything, Kobayashi Shigeru felt that Mizutani was the real good-for-nothing.
It was clearly he who didn't understand game, yet he blamed others.
To this day, Kobayashi Shigeru regrets more and more having poached Mizutani Takashi to his side.
Although Mizutani has already been transferred to the Philippines, ever since Mizutani came to Blue-wings, the company's performance and operating conditions have also been deteriorating.
Alas.
As soon as he thought of this, Kobayashi Shigeru couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
…
Industry peers in the game industry also expressed great shock when they saw Diablo.
"So game can be made like this? This game's design is too clever, isn't it?"
"Even though I still haven't fully grasped the specific game mechanics and numerical composition, my intuition tells me that the diablo game system will definitely bring earth-shattering changes to the game industry."
… …
diablo, perhaps players don't feel it as obviously, but people in the industry know it as soon as they play it. This game is simply a treasure trove, whether in its numerical system, system design, or even combat and AI, it's a huge asset.
It's not an exaggeration to say it's a textbook-level game.
Its appearance will greatly subvert the current RPG game market, which is dominated by turn-based combat.
It might even usher in a new Time.
… …
At the same Time.
Tokyo.
Nintendo Headquarters.
Thump.
President Yamauchi Hiroshi finished reading the latest issue of Famitsu and slammed it directly onto the table.
His eyes revealed a hint of indignation.
This startled Satoru Iwata, who was beside him. He looked up and saw that the old man's face was not very happy.
"The editors of Famitsu are becoming more and more short-sighted," Yamauchi Hiroshi snorted. "What kind of game was selected for the platinum hall of fame this Time? Especially this one called "Diablo", its art style is very strange, and it's not a game that brings happiness to children at all.
Yet it's praised to the heavens and can even be selected for the platinum hall of fame. I sincerely suspect they've taken money from others."
That being said, Yamauchi Hiroshi and Satoru Iwata knew very well in their hearts—
Famitsu was originally Nintendo's backyard. The idea of taking money to enter the platinum hall of fame was impossible.
Satoru Iwata walked over, picked up the magazine, and read it for a while.
He couldn't help but smile to himself—
It turned out that the President just didn't like the game development company.
Ever since Aoki Haruhi cursed President Yamauchi to his face, saying, "You must live a long life, and you will repay it twofold in the future," the old man has treated Pokeni as a thorn in his side.
Especially since this company also teamed up with Sega and Sony to develop a new handheld console, it made the old man extremely angry.
If it were him, he wouldn't know if he could objectively and neutrally view the game released by Pokeni.
"Indeed," Satoru Iwata said, following his lead, "the game style is really not pleasing at all, the graphics are also very dark, and the sense of fear is too strong."
It's not a game that brings happiness to children, Satoru Iwata strongly agreed.
However, whether it's "not a good game" is still hard to say.
From its initial positioning, this game was not for children. Its target audience was exactly the same as Sega's—
Both target young and mature people, providing them with more stimulation and an unusual life experience.
It is these differentiations that have allowed Pokeni to come this far.
If they were to directly confront Nintendo head-on, Satoru Iwata believed that no company in this world would be their opponent.
In a sense, he greatly trusted the judgment of the Famitsu editors.
Famitsu's game evaluations are very strict, which is also the fundamental reason why they can become the number one game magazine in the hearts of players.
After careful reading, Satoru Iwata roughly understood the reason.
If it's truly as described in this magazine, Diablo is indeed a very interesting game.
… …
Of course, not all evaluations of Diablo are positive.
In the player survey, many people still expressed their doubts and described the shortcomings of this game.
[I haven't played the game Diablo. I've heard of it, and many friends who like to play game are discussing it.
However, I'm a first-impression player. I really like Pokeni's previous game styles, especially onmyoji, which has a beautiful, moving, fresh, and healing feeling.
The first Time I saw diablo, I knew this game wasn't for me.
Because the graphics are too dark, and it seems to tell a story of Western demons and humans, I'm not very interested in any of that.]
[diablo is a good game, that's for sure. It's just that the graphics are very dark and the atmosphere is depressing. Of course, there's nothing wrong with that, because immersion is brought about by these details.
It's just that I don't really like the game's art style; it's a bit too realistic. I prefer Japanese manga style.]
[The game is too difficult. The first Time I played, I don't know how many Times I died in the dungeon. One Time I opened a chest, and a lightning trap came out. Not only did it zap away most of my health, but I was also killed by a small monster lurking in the corner.
I felt very bad and extremely frustrated. If my friends hadn't said this game was fun, I wouldn't have been able to stick with it.]
[This game is good in every way, except that it's too easy to die, which makes me have a misconception—
Who exactly is the monster?
I am clearly a great hero and savior who came to save the world, but I can easily be instantly killed by small monsters.
If I'm not careful and don't notice an archer from a corner or a shadow, it could lead to death.
Honestly, the entire process of playing the game is heart-pounding.
If you have heart disease or high blood pressure, you really can't play this game.]
Aoki Haruhi frowned as he flipped through the survey questionnaires.
No wonder only 120,000 copies were sold.
"Hmm. This sales volume is too dismal, isn't it?" Aoki Haruhi muttered to himself.
Xiao HR's shocked and disdainful gaze came from beside him.
"President! Are you still not satisfied with a score of 120,000 copies in two weeks?"
"Of course I'm not satisfied," Aoki Haruhi frowned. "How could I be satisfied? You know, this is "Diablo"!"
Diablo should have aimed for millions in sales, right?
First-class game-play, first-class story, first-class experience, a great work that ushered in the real-Time era, how can it only have 120,000 sales?!
He's floating, he's floating.
The President is completely floating.
Ayase Akane covered her forehead, really wanting to slap his face twice to make this guy sober up.
Unfortunately, she didn't have the guts.
"President, I believe the next work will definitely be better," Ayase Akane said with a smile, clenching her fist, encouraging him, "Everyone is gaining more and more confidence now, and the game are getting better and better.
Breaking a million is only a matter of Time.
It might even be the next one."
What was the next work?
Ayase Akane frowned.
Thought for two seconds.
Oh, right, "reverse degree person" led by Urobuchi.
Oh dear, I have a bad feeling.
Urobuchi seems to be going further and further down the 'depressing' path. Ayase Akane cried her eyes out after reading the script.
"I understand!"
Just then, Aoki Haruhi's voice startled Ayase Akane.
He suddenly thought of something very important.
… …
"Huh? Make a full English version?"
Chief programmer Akanishi Ken was stunned when he heard Aoki Haruhi's words, but he quickly understood the key to the problem.
"Yes, I just said something felt off, it seems we chose the wrong track," Akanishi Ken said.
If "Diablo" were released in Europe and America and America, it might achieve an even greater breakthrough.
"Well, strategically, only releasing it in Japan is definitely not enough," Aoki Haruhi said. "From the game style and theme, this game is more suitable for players in Europe and America and America."
Both the game theme itself and the Diablo production team in the previous life were from Europe and America and America. They would naturally be better at understanding the psychology of local players.
The reason diablo became popular and a world-class game was primarily due to its excellent game-play.
But in essence, it's definitely more suitable for the West.
Moreover—
More importantly, in the Europe and America and America market, Sega's MD console market share is showing a subtle trend of surpassing Nintendo. So far, there are roughly over 16 million units.
This market is clearly larger than Japan's.
If Diablo sells well, it might even boost the growth of MD units.
Nakayama Hayao will definitely be happy with Aoki Haruhi's proposal.
"The New Year is coming soon," Akanishi Ken asked cautiously, "Are we starting production now?"
"It's not too late to start now," Aoki Haruhi said. "It's fine, just follow the normal work schedule. We can release it in Europe and America and America after it's done after the New Year."
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