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Chapter 126: Rising Popularity
As players became more objective about Dark Souls, discussions in various Dark Souls forums subsided. Simultaneously, the game's ratings began to climb.
Although many players were still buying and then returning their purchases, Alex saw it as a perfectly normal phenomenon. While Dark Souls possessed a unique elemental charm, not all players enjoyed its high difficulty and extreme challenge. For some, Dark Souls was simply not their cup of tea.
However, for those who persevered, after defeating Gundyr, the Judge of Cinder, and crossing the Lothric Wall, the unique aroma of Souls wine fully emanated, leaving them captivated.
Second, in terms of its popularity, Dark Souls was a replica of the original Outlast, even more so. The main reason for this was that no other game had been as unique as Dark Souls. Many players who had tried Dark Souls, with good intentions, recommended the game to their friends and encouraged them to try it.
"Alex's Dark Souls, I highly recommend you try it! What kind of game is it? It's so cool! It's awesome!" "Do you see that greatsword? Do you see that boss? Isn't it cool? Let's play Dark Souls together! I think we can even fight bosses together online later."
"With a shield and a longsword, let's open fire in this hopeless world! Come to Lothric and open fire with me!" "Is the Fire Keeper beautiful? Is this knight handsome? Do you want to open fire?"
Many players went to great lengths to convince their friends to join the cause. Additionally, some players also discovered photos of Alex from trade shows a few months ago and the online press conference.
Along with his phrase "love warrior" in a media interview a year ago, Alex was once again a hot topic among players. Thanks to the creative work of some Photoshop experts, Alex even became an emoji.
The expo photo originally showed Alex holding a microphone, but now it's the Dark Souls logo. Next to it, a message that warmly greets players: "Will you spread the fire?"
In Alex's official blog post announcing the launch of Dark Souls, countless players who had previously posted "I want to spread the fire" and "I must spread this fire" now reiterated their sentiments, saying that anyone who wants to spread the fire can do so; anyway, they can't carry it anymore.
Additionally, in the game, monsters like Gundyr, the Judge of Cinder, common zombies, Lothric Knights, Winged Knights, katana warriors, crystal lizards, and treasure monsters, who have caused suffering to countless players, have their own memes, such as "Do you feel the burning passion of the producer?" and "This is my love for the players!"
The spread of these memes has driven Dark Souls' secondary popularity, further boosting the game's sales. Of course, beneath these flames lies the players' resentment.
As the hype grew, many players began to express skepticism, tagging Alex's personal account on the official blog, expressing their hope that he would lead the "Flame of Legends" movement.
Although it was rumored that Alex had created the impressive promotional video for the online launch, it was, after all, just a rumor, and many players, still eager to see Alex suffer, added fuel to the fire.
Although countless streamers and video creators on major video and live streaming platforms are suffering, different identities generate different levels of emotion!
Nebula Games' office.
"Alex, what are the follow-up plans?" John from the marketing department asked with some uncertainty.
Although he was quite confident in Dark Souls' quality, Alex also understood that a game's success is not determined solely by its quality. Marketing and promotion also play an important role.
In short, the quality of the game itself is more focused on ensuring a minimum sales volume, but to achieve even greater sales and impact, in addition to the game's quality, promotion and generating hype are also crucial.
Previous examples abound, the best known being Titanfall 2. Its quality was incredibly well received. Aside from the short main story in single-player mode, it had few flaws and surpassed its predecessor in every aspect. However, it ultimately failed.
The main problem is that its competitors are too strong. Battlefield 1, Call of Duty 13, and Overwatch are powerful FPS games of the same genre, mainly focused on online multiplayer. Coupled with the lack of promotional resources, it's inevitable that they will fail.
Therefore, despite the mixed online reviews after the launch of Dark Souls, and although the data did not show any major problems, Alex and John discussed some subsequent preparations, including guidance on the game's hottest topics. However, they have not yet taken any action.
The spontaneous online maintenance by players has driven Dark Souls in a positive direction.
"Maintain our official game forum community. The Dark Souls Workshop will also be ready to open in due time. As for operations, apart from advertising, we will suspend them," Alex told John after a moment of thought while sitting in his chair.
Alex then spoke about Dark Souls' peripherals. This mainly refers to the subsequent launch of figures and other products. However, Nebula Games will not participate in this, but will license it and will only be responsible for the subsequent quality review.
After John left the office, Alex sat down in front of his computer and opened Dark Souls. He had noticed all the online messages from players who tagged him on the official blog, and in his free time, he had also noticed them.
As for live streams, he had no plans. So far, most players are still learning to play Dark Souls. So he tried not to interfere too much in that aspect.
But he still had to take advantage of the popularity. If he wasn't planning a live stream, he could record some Dark Souls-related clips. That would be a good opportunity to guide and comfort players.