The sales of Elite Academy in September were nothing short of disastrous.
Although Pokeni Corporation had ordered 5,000 copies from their distributors, they hadn't managed to sell even 1,200 copies in two weeks.
The first day's sales were decent, primarily because many fans of Onmyoji had heard Pokeni had released a new game and wanted to try it out.
However, a significant portion of them were immediately turned off when they realized it wasn't a mature-rated game.
Only a few people bought Elite Academy on a whim. While they found the game's entertainment value decent, they ultimately felt it wasn't what they were looking for.
As a result, their reviews were overwhelmingly negative.
With no positive word-of-mouth and hindered by the reputation of its predecessor Onmyoji, Elite Academy seemed trapped in a quagmire, unable to gain any traction.
"Only 400 copies?!"
Hattori Yuji was stunned when he heard the sales figures for Elite Academy at their game store.
"Yes, President," Miss Fujiki said, pushing up her glasses. "Even though we placed Elite Academy in prime display positions, very few customers showed any interest."
"Perhaps... Pokeni simply lacks the potential to create high-quality games?"
"That seems to be the only conclusion left," Hattori Yuji said, covering his eyes with his hand, his mind buzzing.
So, was Onmyoji's success just a fluke? Or was it only due to President Tsuda's behind-the-scenes manipulation? Perhaps Aoki Haruhi and Pokeni Corporation never had any real talent for game development.
And now that DUN has withdrawn its investment and President Tsuda is no longer involved in game development, has Pokeni's true nature finally been revealed?
After much contemplation, Hattori Yuji couldn't find any other more plausible explanation.
"Ah~ How foolish I was. To actually believe that half-wit Aoki Haruhi could create a hit game, and then another one after that. Was I really that naive?"
"Ah~ How foolish. To abandon galgames..."
After learning about Pokeni Corporation's dismal sales figures, Tatsuya Mizutani, the lead planner at rival Blue-wings, couldn't help but smile smugly.
Nothing brought him greater satisfaction than witnessing his former employer's game meet such a catastrophic failure.
Previously, Mizutani's Street Pick-Up had been mercilessly roasted by players and suffered abysmal sales, leaving him sleepless and emotionally drained.
Though the President hadn't said much, Mizutani could clearly feel the disappointment seeping into every bone in his body.
After all, Blue-wings had hired him to make money, not lose it.
They just hadn't found the right opportunity or reason to let him go yet.
But now...
Seeing Elite Academy's catastrophic sales, Mizutani finally found a glimmer of consolation and renewed confidence.
To have created a masterpiece like Onmyoji and then followed it up with such a disaster... I don't even know what to say.
"If it were me, I would never abandon making galgames."
Since the first game was such a success, they should have capitalized on its momentum.
Aoki Haruhi's logic is truly bizarre. Why switch genres?
"Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous."
But at least this makes Street Pick-Up look less terrible by comparison, Mizutani thought.
President of Blue-wings happened to pass by in the corridor and noticed Mizutani's expression.
His brow furrowed involuntarily.
"You dare mock others? Didn't our Street Pick-Up also bomb spectacularly? This man has absolutely no self-respect or shame."
"Huh? President, what are you doing here?" Mizutani Takashi jumped in surprise, catching sight of Shigeru Kobayashi out of the corner of his eye.
Meanwhile, in Tokyo, at Pokeni Corporation's headquarters, a sigh of frustration echoed from the president's office.
"What?! How could this be happening?"
This was unthinkable. Aoki Haruhi, the president, couldn't believe the numbers reported by the operations department.
In his previous life, Famous Pocket Academy had amassed several million downloads. How could its reincarnation in this era have failed to sell even a paltry 2,000 copies?
The feedback from distributors over the past few days had been uniformly poor—no, worse than that. It was downright disastrous.
"President, here are the player survey results," Takahashi Kazuma, the operations manager, said, presenting Aoki Haruhi with a stack of documents.
Player surveys were a valuable tool for post-mortem analysis, allowing the company to quickly and accurately identify a product's strengths and weaknesses, and plan future adjustments.
Aoki Haruhi took the stack and began flipping through the pages, scrutinizing each one.
The more he read, the more incredulous he became.
The more he read, the angrier he grew.
[ - The game itself is quite fun. As a Q-version pixel art simulation management game, even elementary school kids should be able to enjoy it. ]
[ - But as a Pokeni Corporation product, it clearly doesn't meet my expectations. I was hoping for an experience more like Onmyoji. ]
Takahashi Kazuma stood silently beside him.
In fact, the responses in the survey had already been polished by his colleagues in the operations department. The players' actual sentiments were even more furious than what was visible.
"We followed up and asked what kind of experience they wanted instead," Takahashi Kazuma added. "The player replied: 'Beautiful girls and an amazing story. It has to be a galgame.'"
Aoki Haruhi frowned deeply.
Ah, this is intolerable!
I only switched to making Elite Academy because I wanted to get out of the industry!
If I kept making galgames, why would I go through all this trouble?
Reading further through the other players' comments, most were scathing:
[ - Rather than saying it's "not up to expectations," it's outright disappointing. I don't understand why they'd abandon a brilliant producer like Kogahara Tsubakiaki and hand the reins to an amateur like Aoki Haruhi. ]
[ - If they were going to make a new game, why abandon a perfectly good galgame genre and turn it into a sim management game? ]
[ - Pokeni Corporation's decision-making is clearly flawed. They have no idea what players expect from Pokeni. ]
[ - We need Teacher Gu Yuan Chunqiu! ]
Flipping to the next page, the final comment remained the same:
[ - We need Teacher Gu Yuan Chunqiu! ]
Seeing this, Takahashi Kazuma beside him dared not say a word, desperately trying to suppress his laughter.
Aoki Haruhi took a deep breath, his head buzzing.
Ah, damn it...
This isn't the player I know.
This shouldn't be the outcome!
Author's Note:
To avoid misunderstandings, let me clarify:
In the early part of the story, the main works are primarily galgames. This is to align with the book's title and marketing pitch.
The mid-development of Elite Academy and its apparent failure might make some readers think it was deliberately set up to fail.
However, the author has an explanation: Because of the galgame label and stigma, players generally couldn't accept a successful series taking a drastic genre shift in its next installment.
It's like a restaurant that originally specialized in Chinese cuisine suddenly switching to French cuisine. Some customers would inevitably feel dissatisfied and uncomfortable with the change.
This doesn't mean it wasn't a good game; it simply appeared at the wrong time. (Future narrative developments could potentially revitalize it.)
Through this, the author wants to convey that even transmigrators must respect the context of their time.
Many factors beyond the game itself can influence success or failure, such as personal relationships, timing, and the surrounding environment.
This approach aims for greater realism, avoiding the trope of a single game being universally revered upon release.
The future of game development will undoubtedly become increasingly diverse, with a wider range of genres emerging. Galgames are merely a starting point, not the end.
Similarly, the protagonist's and author's ambitions extend far beyond galgames. Becoming the world's greatest game developer—that is the true goal.
Thank you all for reading.
Please Support me by becoming my patreon member and get 20+ chapters.
[email protected]/Ajal69
change @ with a
Thank You to Those who joined my Patreon