The launch of the multiplayer mode once again sent the popularity of Vice City soaring.
In reality, while the various 'jobs' in multiplayer mode had undergone changes, they were still essentially the same content found in the game: turf wars, confrontations, races, and robberies – all elements that appeared in the main and side quests.
However, the multiplayer mode's immense popularity, beyond the fresh appeal of its job content, had one crucial factor: players could enjoy it together with other players.
This was the core point.
As a multiplayer game, the most important aspect isn't the gameplay itself, but the interactive content.
Driving luxury cars, opening up one's luxury mansions and businesses to the public.
Allowing other players to see them within the game session.
It's like, why do players buy cosmetics in DOTA?
Besides finding them aesthetically pleasing, a large part of the reason is the desire for other players to see them, creating a sense of vanity.
Coupled with Vice City's extremely unique game setting and theme, these factors made the already rich content of the online mode's 'jobs' even more attractive to players.
For a time, all players were diligently striving for wealth in Los Santos, Vice City, and Liberty City.
Of course, some wealthy players opted to directly purchase Shark Cards, but these paid players actually had little impact on the game's balance.
This was because the current version lacked orbital cannons or similar weapons, and some weapons still required players to level up to unlock them.
Even with in-app purchases, they could only unlock advanced facilities and high-level money-making missions faster than average players.
Moreover, for these missions, paid players could only invite other players to participate, meaning it was the ordinary, unpaid players who benefited. As for why they would invite ordinary players, if a paid player unlocks content that ordinary players can't access quickly, wouldn't they want to show it off immediately? Or would they just play solo with NPCs?
So, although Chen Xu included Shark Cards for sale in the game, for current players, in-app purchases, apart from getting luxury cars and mansions faster to show off to other players, didn't affect the experience of other players in the game at all.
………………
A week after the launch of Vice City's multiplayer mode, the next-generation VR from the Zeus Group also launched.
However, what baffled Zeus was the sales performance of their games.
According to Zeus's expectations, Vice City, a game that had been out for a while, should have seen its sales steadily decline.
But after their exclusive launch titles briefly snatched the top spot for a few days, Vice City quietly reclaimed the number one position.
How did Vice City return to the top?
It was completely unlike the expected scenario where the gaming world belonged to the younger generation, and the old guard should gracefully retire.
As time slowly progressed, new titles from other game developers were also released. However, Vice City maintained a surprisingly strong presence on the sales charts, consistently holding the second position.
When there were no new major releases, it would occasionally jump back to first place.
This phenomenon left other developers in the gaming industry deeply surprised.
‘Illogical, utterly illogical! Vice City's sales are a bit excessive, aren't they!’
‘While it’s certainly a masterpiece, these sales are ridiculous. It feels like every VR gaming pod player owns a copy!’
‘That’s probably not true. The Game Department just announced that next-gen VR gaming pod sales just broke 100 million recently, and Nebula Games also announced Vice City's latest sales at 62 million.’
‘The key is that Vice City hasn’t even had a discount yet. If Vice City goes on sale during an event, I can’t even imagine!’
‘I feel like it must have hit its peak, right? After all, Vice City's ranking was 7th yesterday, it should drop out of the top ten soon.’
‘Uh, bro, check the sales chart. That game is fifth again!’
‘Damn it! Who is still buying it?!’
Looking at Vice City's unshakeable ranking and sales, all game designers were bewildered.
Just when you thought it was declining, it would jump back up.
They had never seen a game so resilient!
………………
While the outside world discussed Vice City's sales, Chen Xu, Yang Xin, Ruan Ningxue, and other senior executives within Nebula Games weren't overly concerned with this aspect.
With the development of three consecutive games, including several remakes, the entire team had accumulated sufficient experience with next-generation hardware and related technologies.
Even back then, Nebula Games had always been dedicated to building its own platform and interactive community.
Nebula World was a product of this effort, but due to various technical reasons, it was largely considered a test version.
Now, for Chen Xu, this aspect was mature enough.
Each game corresponded to an independent world.
This was Chen Xu's ultimate goal: players could travel to different worlds, gain different skills, and then engage in combat and exploration within a crossover world, like Guan Yu fighting Qin Qiong (a metaphor for mismatched heroes from different eras).
This was a completely new endeavor for Nebula Games, but Chen Xu felt it would be very interesting. By now, Chen Xu also genuinely wanted to bring something new to players.
Additionally, there was another reason: Chen Xu was preparing to truly heal players.
Yes... literally, to heal them.
The new Nebula World would by default feature multiple modes, with Adventure, Survival, Trial, and Free modes currently confirmed.
The Adventure mode would be standard single-player gameplay, while Survival mode would require players to survive for a certain period in the game. For example, in an open world like Elden Ring, various monsters in the Lands Between would actively attack players. Players would need to avoid being hunted down by various NPCs as much as possible, and some players might even be able to control NPC and BOSS templates.
The Trial mode would be equivalent to a quest mode, where players would accept corresponding quests and achieve them in various game worlds.
As for the final Free mode, it wouldn't just be simple free exploration; it would genuinely allow players to alter the game's story content.
For many players, there are always some regrets and pains.
What if Ghost and Roach had survived? What if Arthur Morgan hadn't contracted tuberculosis? What if someone had stood by Arthas when he purged the city? What if Ethan could finally reunite with his family?
Perhaps from an artistic perspective, achieving a happy ending might diminish the impact.
But for every player who truly immersed themselves in these characters' stories, how many haven't wished they could make a change?
In Nebula World, utilizing the latest AI and the team's expansion, players will enter different game worlds to make those changes.
(End of Chapter)
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