Chapter 19: Pardo: Brother Su Mu, From Now on, You're My Big Bro!
To be honest, this was the common predicament shared by the single-player games from Su Mu's previous life—the experience was a one-off. Once a player had experienced it, there was little incentive to play it a second time. The popularity would surge quickly, but it would fade just as fast.
When those streamers finally hacked their way to the top and launched into space, the lifespan of Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy would essentially reach its end. Perhaps there would be some speed-running stunts later on, but the mainstream hype would dissipate rapidly.
The internet has no memory—relatively speaking.
This was one of the reasons Su Mu was determined to develop Honkai Impact 3rd, aside from the fact that he was a veteran Captain. Another reason was that mobile games, with their version-based content updates and long-term live-service operations, could generate far more sustained popularity and traffic than single-player titles. Every new version could bring a different "explosive point," generating fresh buzz and ensuring the game wasn't easily forgotten.
In this day and age, traffic and popularity equaled money.
miHoYo's current plight was a lack of traffic and popularity—and, of course, a lack of money in the company accounts. The company had nearly gone bankrupt, and it was currently running on the investment Kiana had brought in. To support the development of Honkai Impact 3rd, a significant amount of capital was required, especially since the art assets alone would be a massive expense.
Su Mu naturally wanted to produce other famous games from his past life, like Hidetaka Miyazaki's Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice or Elden Ring, but the production costs were astronomical. For the current miHoYo, those figures were pure science fiction.
Thus, Su Mu's goal was clear: he had to make money first to keep miHoYo alive, and only then consider other ambitions. Bread and milk first, then life's aspirations and ideals!
Su Mu shared his thoughts with Bronya, which served as a wake-up call for her. It was true; while the current hype for Getting Over It was explosive, the game's inherent length wasn't enough to sustain long-term interest. As someone who had already cleared the game, Bronya knew this well. Popularity would eventually wane, and while she wanted more people to play the game, there was a ceiling.
"Indeed, signing with the HOMU Game Platform would be beneficial for us."
After careful consideration, Su Mu gave his recommendation to cooperate with the HOMU platform. The resources a major platform could provide were invaluable. Establishing a cooperative relationship now would make it much easier for miHoYo's future games to enter the field of vision of the platform's top executives. Promoting new games would be easier, and recruiting talented individuals would be more convenient with these connections.
Currently, miHoYo was far too small. Aside from Bronya, Kiana, and Su Mu, there were only a handful of other colleagues. They were part of the production and operation team for HOMU Matching, a project that already had few people to begin with. It was impossible to pull staff from there for a new game. Therefore, hiring was a top priority.
As Su Mu continued his analysis, Bronya became increasingly astonished. Su Mu's maturity didn't resemble that of a fresh graduate at all; he sounded like a veteran who had navigated the corporate world for years. His points were so well-reasoned that Bronya couldn't help but nod repeatedly.
"Then it's settled. I'll contact them and get the contract signed as soon as possible."
"Uh, shouldn't we ask for Kiana's opinion?"
"...Let's ask."
Bronya had truly forgotten to ask Kiana, but she honestly felt that given the "Tuna's" intelligence, she wouldn't understand these things anyway.
Su Mu turned his gaze to Kiana. From the start of the call, Kiana had been pricking up her ears to eavesdrop... no, she was listening quite openly.
"I—I have no objection! Leave all the contract stuff to Bronya!" She gave a cheeky grin. "Bronya knows much more than I do, so it's fine to leave the company's decision-making to her!"
Su Mu nodded inwardly. At least Kiana knew how to delegate authority and didn't pretend to know things she didn't. If he had a boss like this in his previous life, he would have been overjoyed.
"Alright, that's that then—oh, and if you two are going to a themed hotel later, be careful and stay safe."
After dropping that bombshell, Bronya hung up the phone.
"Themed hotel? Themed hotel?" Kiana looked at Su Mu with a bewildered expression, seemingly failing to catch the implication.
"Nothing, just a... somewhat specialized type of hotel," Su Mu said, his face not reddening and his heart not skipping a beat.
"Specialized? In what way? I'm kind of interested..."
"Then do you want to go take a look later?"
"No, I have to go home tonight, or my sister will definitely scold me."
The matter was brushed aside by Su Mu.
"But I heard you two talking just now about the exclusive streaming rights for Getting Over It... Why would they want to buy exclusive rights?"
"?"
Su Mu looked at Kiana with some surprise. Although he knew her IQ might make some concepts difficult to grasp...
"Because our game is a hit. Didn't you see how many followers that streamer you found gained overnight?"
"I know! But does that hype really affect the game that much? I mean, the game is so hard... Since everyone knows how difficult it is, they surely won't buy it..."
In her heart, Kiana was thinking: Pardofelis's popularity exploded because everyone knows "Getting Over It" is an absolute piece of trash. Its sales are destined to flop... Would anyone really want to sign an exclusive rights contract for a game like that? For real? Well, it does have comedic value, so maybe the streaming platform just wants the entertainment value of a trash game?
Su Mu scratched his head. He felt something was a bit off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Kiana's logic wasn't entirely wrong, but the problem was that while Getting Over It looked crude, its physics system was actually very precisely designed. It wasn't a game that could be thrown together haphazardly. Anyone who played it would realize that while it was brutally difficult, it was by no means "electronic waste."
Besides, looking like a "trash game" wasn't a problem at all. As long as the hype was big enough, even a literal pile of garbage would have people willing to take a taste to see how salty it was...
"Yoho! Kiana! I'm here!"
While Su Mu was lost in thought, a vibrant and beautiful figure appeared before him! The moment he saw her, Su Mu almost stood at attention!
Pardofelis! It was really Pardo!
Of course, the Pardo in this world didn't have cat ears, but every other detail was identical! After taking a seat with Kiana, Pardofelis looked at Su Mu with a beaming smile.
"Kiana, is this handsome guy your game-making friend?"
Su Mu hadn't expected the person Kiana wanted him to meet to be Pardo.
"Hello, I'm Su Mu."
"I'm Pardofelis! Brother Su Mu, your name is like thunder in my ears! You've got to look out for me in the future!"
That "Brother Su Mu" made him feel extremely comfortable; she was truly a girl who knew how to talk!
"Anyway, first off, congratulations, Brother Su Mu! Your game Getting Over It is really blowing up right now! I think it just hit number one on the HOMU Game Platform's bestseller list, right?"
"Oh, it's nothing much. It's mostly thanks to your amazing stream!"
"Of course! With my skills combined with Brother Su Mu's game, it was bound to be a success!"
Su Mu and Pardo hit it off immediately, beginning a round of mutual professional flattery. But at that moment, Kiana's face suddenly turned deathly pale. She interrupted their conversation, her voice trembling slightly.
"What did you say? Number... number one on the bestseller list?"
END OF CHAPTER