Chapter 233: A traitor has appeared among us!
Alex's official blog post reignited the flame of attention from the gaming community.
Countless players and designers were shocked.
While it was just Alex's official post, not an official announcement from Nebula Games, everyone knew that Alex's post on his own blog was equivalent to an official announcement.
As expected, within a minute of Alex's post being published, the official Nebula Games blog directly reposted it.
This immediately caused a frenzy among countless players and designers. Simultaneously, most of the chaotic online discussions instantly vanished.
On one hand, Nebula Games' legal department took action, gathering evidence and filing a lawsuit. A lawyer's letter? It didn't exist; they probably hadn't received it. If they had, it would have been a court summons.
While it wasn't possible to target everyone, taking down a few who stood out was enough to deter them.
Furthermore, compared to smaller organizations, these outspoken individuals are more likely to gather relevant evidence.
Another reason was that there was simply no other way to explain it. Alex had spoken directly to the entire gaming industry, including the players.
While legally, even if Nebula Games went back on its word, it wouldn't be illegal, within the gaming community, Nebula Games' reputation was immediately tarnished.
If Nebula Games were simply trying to gain market share, there would be no need for such a desperate effort. Clearly, Nebula Games was truly desperate.
No, that shouldn't be called desperate. Nebula Games was thriving, and the distribution channel was just a new business. The real victims were the traditional distributors, lacking R&D capabilities.
Countless distributors were stunned. Many initially assumed Nebula Games was using a price war strategy to enter the market.
But who could have imagined that Nebula Games would simply destroy the market?
For countless ordinary game designers, it was like New Year's Eve.
Clearly, the emergence of the Nebula gaming platform offered them a new choice, while also allowing them to cut prices.
As for the major distributors, they could only watch with a blank stare. There was simply no other solution.
Restrict Nebula Games? Would they even go to players' homes and tie their hands and feet to stop them from spending on the Nebula platform?
For now, they could only pray that all the games released on the Nebula platform would fail, or even crash, thus directly damaging the platform's reputation.
However, this was completely impossible.
The sales regulations of the Nebula platform clearly stipulated that games released on the platform must be pre-approved and certified by the Game Department.
Secondly, all games had to comply with a refund policy: an unconditional refund within two weeks for games under two hours. This ensured that even if players played poorly, they could get a refund.
The day after Alex's official blog post, Nebula Games' representatives also announced new news.
First, new works from several independent game designers and studios would debut on the Nebula platform. Alex had already discussed this with Daniel.
Preparations are underway to promote the Nebula Gaming platform.
Furthermore, the most shocking news for the major distributors is that several small domestic distributors have joined Nebula Gaming and partnered with them, transferring some of their high-quality games from their channels to Nebula Gaming as inventory.
They also announced a strategic alliance to share their distribution network.
This news further baffled the already bewildered distributors.
They haven't even made a move yet, and Nebula Gaming is already digging in its heels?
Surrounding the city from the countryside?
Nebula Gaming is destroying the distributors' livelihood, so why are you joining them? We have a traitor!
However, these distributors partnering with Nebula Gaming are mainly focused on independent games and niche genres, such as text adventures and simulations.
These games don't have a large market share, but they have a very stable player base.
Although major distributors may be skeptical, for smaller distributors, this segment of the market still offers a way to make a living.
And why are these small distributors willing to join Nebula Gaming? Because they can earn more by holding on to their power.
What are the unwritten rules of the industry for small channel distributors? They are not getting the most out of it.
Even many small distributors already have a 3:7 ratio, or even lower.
Why? Because they are small distributors. Without profit margins or specialized expertise, which developer would want to release their games on their channels?
Like the classic strategy of surrounding the city from the countryside, it's worth wooing these small distributors.
Besides, for them, partnering with Nebula Games is a win-win situation. Nebula Games needs high-quality games to fill its catalog.
Similarly, for these small distributors, even if only one percent of Nebula Games' huge user base buys a game upon logging into the platform, they will still make a huge profit.
As for whether they can retain the designers on their platform, these small distributors are not worried.
As a large, open platform, Nebula Games inevitably faces the challenge of not being able to satisfy every designer's work. This is unavoidable, especially as the number of games increases, as the number of available recommendation slots is limited.
As small distributors, they have managed to thrive, naturally demonstrating a certain level of insight.
They are neither greedy nor aggressive, focusing on their own niche.
As for their inability to resist, there's nothing they can do. After all, their biggest advantage over major distributors was their low commissions and specialized experience.
But now that Nebula Games has entered the market, and their commissions are still so low, what can they offer these niche designers?
So, since they can't think of any way to resist, they might as well enjoy the situation. If all else fails, they can sit down and negotiate with Nebula Games. Find a fair price, buy me out, and we'll be family.
During the development of Minecraft years ago, a series of strategic plans were set in motion.
The first batch of games to be released on the Nebula Games platform consisted of 116 games. 16 of them were new titles, while the rest were established titles from distributors who had joined Nebula Games.
Being the first batch of games, these were very lucky. After all, the users of the Nebula Games platform are already here, and this can be considered an advantage for the first wave of investors.
Currently, only independent games dominate the market, while second and third-tier game developers are holding back. Unlike ordinary independent game designers, they have a certain amount of bargaining power with distribution channels. And with Nebula Games' aggressive entry, the major distribution channels will certainly make significant concessions.
Naturally, these developers will want to compare prices to see what conditions they can get.
And with the release of these games, many players are following them closely.
"There are quite a lot of games!" they exclaim.
"But they're all old games!"
"It's unavoidable, after all, the platform has just launched. And what you're saying is that other platforms have new games every day?"
"That's true. And even if they're old, they're still heavily discounted!"
"Wow! So many 2D games? I've never seen them before!"
"Some of these games look pretty good!"
"These games seem a bit different from the ones I've played before. Are there achievements, trophies, and cards to collect? How interesting!"
"The gaming community is also quite rich, with lots of guides and reviews, and some even support the Creative Workshop!"
Many players on the Nebula platform initially looked at these new games out of curiosity. But after trying them out, many found them quite interesting.
Besides, these games weren't just released on the Nebula platform; they've been adapted for it. For example, there's an achievement and trophy system, and the associated game communities are also well-developed.
Some even support the Creative Workshop. After learning that their old games will be available on the Nebula platform, some designers have come back to update and polish them.
Some even invested a large sum of money to directly remake the game's graphics for better sales.
After all, the original old games were released on those small channels, and even if they were remade, few people would care except for the fans.
But now it's different, this is an opportunity! And it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Let's not talk about other things. This wave of "Minecraft" shows the potential of the Nebula gaming platform.
Don't worry if it's an old game for now; anyway, put in the effort to do your best.
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