A major release for the Christmas season, plus a launch title for next-generation consoles.
Logically speaking, compared to simulation games, more mainstream FPS games might have a stronger visual impact.
However, Lin Lixin still chose sandbox simulation games as the clarion call for GAMENOVA to usher in its fifth generation.
It's not just because the game Spore truly deserves such an honor.
Furthermore, simulation games were a major trend of the times.
Players in the 1990s were not as impatient as those in later generations.
What they need is a masterpiece that they can take the time to appreciate after a busy year.
It's not just a great game for individual players, but also a great game that the whole family can enjoy together.
Although it does not have local online connectivity.
But creating something fun and sharing the joy of the game with those around you is already happiness.
Of course, aside from all these factors, Spore played a crucial role in Gamenova's fifth generation of games.
That's making a statement.
To announce to the outside world what kind of machine NovaFusion really is.
Just as its positioning suggests, this is a slow-paced work that deserves to be savored slowly, which perfectly suits its laid-back style.
GAMENOVA will certainly continue to develop fast-paced titles.
But perhaps even by the end of the fifth generation, people will not forget the grand occasion of the initial launch.
How can a game console be differentiated?
GAMENOVA delivered a near-perfect answer.
Excellent industrial design doesn't need lengthy promotional videos telling players just how high its specifications are.
You agree, right, REAL-3DO?
Excellent design shouldn't overshadow the importance of having a good game to support it.
You agree, Jaguar?
Now, the fifth generation of game consoles has seen the arrival of its third machine.
It's also the only machine that truly understands what players want.
It turns out that it wasn't that the game consoles were no longer viable, but rather that neither EA nor Atari had found the right solution.
Marin County, GAMENOVA's new headquarters.
Several mansions have been completed.
Although the decoration hasn't been done much yet, at least it's habitable.
The land spans over 2,000 acres, truly stretching as far as the eye can see.
You have to drive back and forth to get from one house to another.
That's one of the advantages of being on land.
Or rather, the advantages of being in California.
The land is large and cheap.
Lin Lixin sat on a recliner by the fireplace, playing " Morality and Rule of Law " with the controller in hand.
"Fusion is such a great machine."
He couldn't help but sigh.
That's more like it.
Even now, its functionality is still far inferior to modern technology.
But at least many user-friendly mechanisms have already been implemented.
That's when it started to resemble a modern machine.
"Who designed this ridiculous thing? It's too much—oh, I designed it, never mind then."
Lin Lixin brought up the achievements menu and glanced at it.
Despite the fact that " Morality and Rule of Law " hasn't introduced much new content in the new era, with only some targeted performance optimizations and visual improvements, it's still a great game.
But Rockstar has genuinely completed the photo mode and achievements.
Achievement System.
Although it may be completely irrelevant to many players.
But for hardcore gamers, it's just a carrot on a stick.
I won't sleep until I get the platinum trophy!
The level of initiative this thing can inspire is terrifying.
In a sense, console gamers are definitely among the people who value achievement the most.
Previously, due to the lack of an onboard system, there was no way to access screenshots, achievements, or any modules that required the machine to function.
But now none of that matters anymore.
Nova0S, a secondary development based on the Linux minimal runnable kernel, was fully integrated into NovaFusion with minimal resource consumption.
In exchange for a tiny, negligible amount of functionality, it offers absolute ease of use.
Let's leave aside the airborne systems.
Whether it's automatic standby, wake-up, or various communication-related capabilities, they all rely on this system kernel to run.
"Beep beep beep----"
His phone suddenly rang on the coffee table next to him.
Compared to the Motorola TAC "big brother" phone from a few years ago.
Times have changed. Today's handheld communication devices, thanks to lithium batteries and microchips, can easily keep their weight under one pound.
It can even be made to a weight of less than 250 grams.
At least I no longer need to stuff it in my bag and carry it around like a brick.
"SPEAK."
Guess what?
On the other end of the phone, Sam, still at headquarters, spoke excitedly.
Although everyone else is on holiday for Christmas.
However, the finance and marketing departments are always busy.
"First-week sales exceeded 3.4 million units, Spore sales exceeded 4 million copies."
Lin Lixin held the receiver between his shoulder and continued fiddling with the handle, trying to complete the next achievement.
"Yeah?"
Sam let out a puzzled "Eh?"
Hearing his voice, Lin Lixin continued helplessly, "Brother, now that all the data is in the cloud, I can find things here with just a few clicks. Is it really necessary to go through all this trouble every day?"
"Should I call and report this?"
Sam's information network is really bad. (jpg)
"The results are good, but console sales are a long-term process, so we don't need to focus too much on short-term data. It's more accurate to say that the sales figures for Spore are the real highlight."
Lin Lixin put the controller aside, got up, and went to the computer to check the real-time data inside.
The fact that Spore's sales surpassed NovaFusion's actually surprised him quite a bit.
because----
Spore is a NovaFusion exclusive!
A single-player exclusive game, with fewer than 3.4 million copies sold worldwide on consoles, has managed to sell over 4 million copies—or rather, 4.01 million copies now.
What does this mean?
It means that some people don't even buy the machine, they just buy a game and leave it there to satisfy their cravings.
Sam replied with complete agreement, "Isn't this what they call a best-selling game driving console sales? No wonder Atari didn't take off; everyone's after the games."
Without the support of Spore, if the initial release only included backward compatibility and Atari 2600 All-in-One, the sales performance would likely still be decent, but it would definitely be significantly reduced.
That's more like it.
New consoles should have next-gen games, right?
"That's exactly it. So looking at short-term sales figures isn't very meaningful. These figures are for our third-party clients. As for ourselves, we just need to focus on developing our next console game."
Lin Lixin nodded and turned to look at the beautiful machine in front of the television.
We've finally entered the fifth generation.
Next year, I won't have to work so hard on my PC anymore; I can focus on consoles and arcade games.
Perhaps—it could even launch the next generation of handheld console projects.
However, compared to that, the prerequisite technology required for handheld consoles is a bit too tricky, and it's not something that can be rushed in the short term.
It's more accurate to say that 32-bit hosts matured, but 16-bit hosts truly matured.
Even now, although GAMENOVA has powerful 16-bit handheld consoles like the NovaSwift.
But if we're talking about influence and holdings, NP is still undoubtedly number one in the world.
The two machines are not even in the same league.
Including the enhanced NPC model, the sales volume of NP exceeded 100 million units.
The Nintendo Switch has only sold tens of millions of units so far, it's incomparable.
However, the biggest problem with the NS is that it suffers from the same issues that all handheld consoles have.
Just like Atari's Lyn.
Its battery life is very poor. Compared to the NP, which can easily last a week on a few batteries, the NS needs to have its batteries replaced every two or three days under heavy use.
The cost of this round trip was even more expensive than buying the game itself.
That alone is enough to deter many people.
Not to mention that, for a better visual effect, it's also larger than the NP, making it less convenient to carry.
With the Atari Lyn being such a terrible example, the NovaSwift actually seems like a pretty good machine in comparison.
This machine is entirely supported by the quality of the games it runs.
If it weren't for those high-quality titles, the Switch might have been the most unsuccessful console in Gamenova's entire lineup.
Even now, third parties still prefer to develop their works on the NP rather than the more powerful NS.
"In short, our main focus next year will be the console platform. We'll concentrate on developing a few launch titles to maintain its sales momentum."
The sale of consoles is inherently a virtuous cycle.
If players are willing to pay, you can gain a larger market share.
The larger the market share, the more willing developers will be to join.
Correspondingly, more and more high-quality works will be featured on the platform.
These works, in turn, benefit the players, making them more willing to buy into the game.
As long as this cycle can be maintained, NovaFusion will soon be perfectly self-sustaining.
"Unfortunately, the price was a drag on sales. If it weren't for the availability of a disc-less version, sales would likely have been even lower."
Sam analyzed the data, pulling down the breakdown to take a look at the sales figures for different models.
The strategy of selling items separately proved to be quite effective.
Not everyone can afford a game console that costs as much as $350.
This isn't a PC; if you buy it, you can only use it for playing games.
This price is definitely not cheap.
However, GAMENOVA offers an alternative solution.
If you have your own CD/DVD drive, you can buy a bare unit directly; it can be used directly regardless of whether it's an old or new CD/DVD drive.
The only difference is whether or not you can play games with the new format.
For players with limited resources who can't afford to give up this machine, they can choose to upgrade to a stripped-down version 0 first.
We'll add the CD-ROM drive when conditions permit.
You can even trade in your old machines at a discount in the secondary market for new ones.
For those who generously purchased new disc drives because they enjoyed GAMENOVA's series of titles this year, they can upgrade without any issues.
It's simply that the optical drive isn't integrated; it needs to be extended via a cable.
It somewhat detracts from the overall beautiful aesthetic of NovaFusion.
Of course, there is an alternative solution.
That means selling the standalone CD player on the second-hand market and buying the complete version directly.
But regardless of which path they chose, GAMENOVA has already achieved its goal.
That is----
Selling CD/DVD players!
This is an important step in breaking free from Sony's technological barriers.