The saying "gold will always shine" was indeed true. Moreover, the overall quality of 'Warship Girls Collection' spoke for itself. After playing for a while, many players felt it was far more interesting than the mainstream games of the same genre currently on the market.
As players continued exploring the game, more and more novel gameplay systems and warship girl illustrations were discovered. Some lucky players obtained rare ships that others envied deeply without spending a single yen, and whenever they showed off their construction timers, they would immediately be showered with curses from the "African Chieftain Alliance" of unlucky players.
At the same time, dedicated grinders could also perform very well through the game's special exchange systems, and this approach was highly praised by the player base. Some even wealthy players spent over a million yen within just half a month, eager to "graduate" from the game as quickly as possible.
However, it did not take long for them to discover that while the game systems certainly provided paying players with tremendous convenience, the returns gradually diminished as spending increased, rather than endlessly widening the gap between them and ordinary players.
This had been Kamiyā Yuu's intention from the very beginning when designing the game: prioritize ordinary players, provide room for hardcore grinders to grow, give paying players limited advantages, and maintain a long-term development structure.
Games where money alone allowed players to "graduate" quickly were merely toys to wealthy players. The moment they became bored, they would casually discard them.
Under Kamiyā Yuu's re-optimization and refinement, the replayability of 'Warship Girls Collection' was on an entirely different level from the original version. Even hardcore grinders playing day and night would require at least a year and a half to truly "graduate." Wealthy players ranked second in progression speed, while ordinary players would likely need more than five years.
The lifespan of a card collection game depended heavily on its reward systems rather than the game quality itself. Balancing the reward gap between ordinary players, grinders, and paying players could greatly extend the lifespan of the game.
When a game did not rely on money to manufacture enjoyment, when it was not excessively obsessed with KPIs and revenue statistics, and instead centered around genuinely fun gameplay, then it became a truly good game.
A mysterious production company.
A mysterious release method.
A mysteriously high-quality game.
'Warship Girls Collection' quickly became an "internet urban legend" among certain gaming circles. Without any official promotion whatsoever, the number of registered players surpassed thirty thousand within half a month. The game's popularity spread entirely through word of mouth.
Was this a good thing?
For Kamiyā Yuu, not really.
As the number of players increased, he discovered that the manpower cost required to maintain the servers was growing exponentially. Up until now, he alone had been maintaining the game out of personal interest.
When the number of registered players surpassed thirty thousand, the servers—which theoretically supported one hundred thousand simultaneous users—began frequently experiencing issues that required him to personally handle maintenance.
After enduring multiple server problems during the final stages of producing the 'RWBY' movie, Kamiyā Yuu finally grew irritated and decisively made a choice—
Temporarily shut down account registration and lock the player count in order to reduce the cost of maintaining the servers!
He would reopen registrations once the game division of the 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio was officially established someday.
This decision was like suddenly sealing a dam that was on the verge of collapse, while simultaneously reinforcing the dam countless times over to firmly block the surging floodwaters. It completely cut off the game's greatest path toward expanding its popularity.
From that day onward, a true "urban legend" appeared on Japan's large gaming portal site.
Rumor had it that there existed an exceptionally fun and well-made card collection game. Nobody knew the identity of the creators. All anyone knew was that less than half a month after launch, the game abruptly closed its account registration system.
Players who had already registered could still log in and continue playing, but new players who came after hearing about it could no longer find the registration page.
Thirty thousand players could not even create a ripple in Japan, a gaming superpower. However, the occasional leaked screenshots and character illustrations seemed to prove the authenticity of this "internet urban legend."
The player count in Yokoyama Jirō's chat group surpassed one hundred, and many curious newcomers continued arriving to ask about the game.
[Ono Chiseyo (Guest)]: Excuse me, can any veteran players tell me how to register for 'Warship Girls Collection'? I heard about the game from a friend yesterday, and I really like the illustrations, but even Google can't find the registration page.
[Yoshida Akira]: Ah~ A new player? Can't be helped~ It seems the publisher unilaterally shut down account registration. There still hasn't been any official announcement so far.
[Ono Chiseyo (Guest)]: How could this happen~?
[Shadow Ninja]: I couldn't resist and did another large-scale construction session earlier. Burned through all my resources. Looks like my port will be shut down for repairs for the next half month. Sigh… I already know my luck is terrible, so why can't I control these hands?
[Shogun]: You never learn. Just develop your fleet honestly like me. I've already married the aircraft carrier, Akagi. The marriage dialogue was amazing~! Marriage also gives a special item and unlocks Mental Model secretary mode. Ah~ What a great game~ I'm completely satisfied!
[Sakura by the River (Guest)]: So registration really is impossible now… what a shame. Does anyone know anything about the game company? A game with this level of quality shouldn't be completely unknown.
[Ono Chiseyo (Guest)]: Don't panic. Maybe registration will reopen in a few days?
[Yokoyama Jirō]: I'm back. Part-time work is exhausting~ After grinding for two weeks, I finally saved enough resources for targeted construction! Kongō, here I come!
[Sakamoto by the Window]: That's basically the situation. Existing players can still play, but the officials shut down account registration for new players. The game also seems to be managed through some kind of hosting platform system, so it's difficult to find related information.
[Distant Sky]: Actually, one of my uncles is one of the game's illustrators. I asked him to help me inquire about some information regarding the game.
[Sakura by the River (Guest)]: Oh? Don't leave us hanging.
[Distant Sky]: Apparently, this game was just something an animation studio made on a whim. The registration system was shut down because there were too many players, and server maintenance became too troublesome. That animation studio is currently producing an animated movie, so they can't focus their efforts on the game right now.
[Shogun]: What kind of nonsense is that? Anyone can tell that's fake the moment they hear it. An animation company made a game this polished? And because server maintenance was troublesome, they just shut down new registrations? Even idiots would know that's impossible.
[Distant Sky]: Believe it or not. Also, according to the information from my uncle, account registration definitely won't reopen anytime soon. It could be a year, or maybe forever. Existing players can continue playing indefinitely, though.
[Yoshida Akira]: "My uncle works there." source… unreliable.
[Sakura by the River (Guest)]: I'll keep following the news about this game. If anyone notices registration reopening, please @ me immediately. Thank you all very much for patiently explaining everything.