Agreeing to Create Bad Games, What the Hell Is ‘Titanfall’? Chapter 224: Why Is There an Extra Digit?

Click.

As the door to the apartnt opened,

Gu Sheng slightly bent over while carrying Little Nezha on his back to push the door open.

anwhile, Shen Miaomiao had one arm around Gu Sheng's neck, her high heels dangling from her fingers, while her other hand held a phone:

"Mhm, yes, we'll go tomorrow...around ten in the morning...Okay, sounds good, thanks then...bye..."

After hanging up, they entered the foyer.

Still piggybacking on Gu Sheng, Shen Miaomiao bent her leg and used her toes to hook the door handle behind them, smoothly closing the door with fluid motions smoother than Dove chocolate.

"You're quite the decision-maker,"

Gu Sheng remarked while changing shoes:

"The landlord hasn't even agreed to go view it yet, but the tenant's already eager."

"Duh! Fifteen hundred a month for a 240-square-ter luxury flat!"

Shen Miaomiao waved her arm excitedly:

"Who wouldn't be tempted?"

Gu Sheng raised an eyebrow: "When did I agree the new place would also be fifteen hundred a month?"

"Huh?!" Shen Miaomiao gasped: "You can't do this! Raising prices on the spot?"

Seeing Old Gu about to increase her rent, Shen Miaomiao quickly tried persuasion:

"As the saying goes—

'Life's but a fleeting span, at most thirty-six thousand days;

Though mansions number in the thousands, you only need three feet to sleep;

People are like flowers in a vase, life is but a tangled ss;

No matter how grand the house, it's just a temporary dwelling—'"

"Get off already!"

Gu Sheng promptly dumped Little Nezha onto the sofa.

If he let her continue, he'd end up living in an urn.

Thud.

Shen Miaomiao landed in the soft couch.

But the next second— "Ouch!"

"What happened?" Gu Sheng startled.

Turning, he saw Little Nezha clutching her head, big eyes instantly welling with tears, sniffling: "Wuwu—mm—"

Then with a loud wail, Shen Miaomiao burst into tears:

"My...wuwu...head...just over rent wuwu..."

"Ow, sorry sorry, I was just joking! I can't possibly use 200 square ters alone anyway, whether it's five hundred or a thousand is up to you,"

Not knowing where she hit herself, Gu Sheng hurriedly turned to rub Little Nezha's head, panic in his voice:

"There there, stop crying, my bad for not seeing clearly, let check if it's hurt..."

"Wuwu...probably not..."

Shen Miaomiao sniffled:

"Because...wuwu...I was FAKING IT HEHEHE!!!"

Shen Miaomiao released her head, baring her little white teeth in a grin, mimicking Gu Sheng's signature eyebrow raise while batting her eyelashes, extending her palm:

"Five hundred a month! You said it yourself! No take-backs!"

"Damn it..."

Gu Sheng was floored!

What kind of creature is this?! Huh?!

"You exploited my sympathy?"

Gu Sheng stared dumbfounded, unable to believe this rich heiress would stoop to such dirty tricks:

"Your skincare routine is all Helena Rubinstein! And you want to pay five hundred rent? Have you no sha?"

"None whatsoever!"

Shen Miaomiao blinked her big eyes, radiating 'whatcha gonna do about it' energy:

"I'm broke! Spent all my money on your PR crisis!"

"That was ages ago!"

Gu Sheng tugged his hair:

"How long are you planning to milk that?"

"Hmph!"

Shen Miaomiao coldly snorted, flashing a grin reminiscent of "Pay Up, Brother" from the movie, standing on the sofa to whisper in Gu Sheng's ear:

"This matter...I'll milk it...for life..."

Gu Sheng fell silent.

For a full five seconds.

Then he suddenly chuckled: "Heh."

Thinking he'd surrendered, Shen Miaomiao grinned too: "Hehe."

After a mont, Gu Sheng crossed his arms, curiously eyeing Shen Miaomiao who now stood taller than him on the couch:

"I have a question."

"Speak freely!"

Shen Miaomiao gestured for him to continue.

Gu Sheng clicked his tongue: "The reason 'Pay Up, Brother' dared say that to his junior was because he could beat him up..."

Then,

Gu Sheng looked at Shen Miaomiao:

"You...what makes you so bold?"

Huh?

Shen Miaomiao's smile froze!

Then her pupils shrank!

"Wait! I was just jo—OW!"

With a yelp!

Shen Miaomiao felt weightless as she was suddenly swept up and tossed onto the sofa!

Then her ankle was seized, her foot in Gu Sheng's grasp, his fingers tracing her sole sending ticklish electric shocks through her, making her laugh and cry simultaneously while struggling wildly!

Peals of laughter filled the living room.

The rent climbed from five hundred to a thousand, then to fifteen hundred.

Shen Miaomiao curled her toes, writhing on the sofa between laughter and pleas:

"HAHAHA I SURRENDER STOP...NA YOUR PRICE! ANYTHING YOU SAY!!!"

BAM!!!

...

Serves!

You right!

Serves you right, Gu Sheng!

Silence returned to the living room, punctuated only by Gu Sheng's hisses of pain.

The black eye that had just faded was now matched by its twin as Little Nezha applied dicine.

Gu Sheng wanted to slap himself.

Why did he have to provoke her!

Had to tease! Had to tease!

Knowing full well Little Nezha's feet were ticklish, he went and tickled her.

Like a rabbit kicking an eagle, he got what he deserved.

Happy now? Cooled off?

Ready to house-hunt tomorrow with two black eyes?

"Sorry, I really didn't an to..."

Shen Miaomiao put away the cotton swabs, full of remorse:

"I...just couldn't control it..."

"Sigh—"

Gu Sheng exhaled, gingerly touching his eye socket:

"Two thousand."

"Fine fine, deal!"

Shen Miaomiao nodded rapidly:

"Two thousand it is, tomorrow I'll chauffeur you to view houses as apology."

"Hmm..."

Little Nezha's earnest attitude sowhat mollified Gu Sheng:

"But you were unusually hyper today."

Between the foot massage, fake crying, and direct taunting, she'd been extra mischievous.

"Because...I'm in a good mood,"

Shen Miaomiao grinned:

"Happy for you getting your own nest."

Of course she was thrilled!

She'd be house-hunting with Old Gu! They'd move into a bigger place together! And it'd be his...their...well, his own ho!

With such bright prospects, excitent was natural!

But!

There was another reason—

Shen Miaomiao checked the ti:

"Let's order takeout tonight. At eight we'll check Plants vs. Zombies' first-week sales."

"h, no need, we can read the reports tomorrow,"

Gu Sheng seed indifferent, or perhaps already anticipated PVZ's performance:

"It'll be substantial."

"Really now?"

Shen Miaomiao eyed him skeptically:

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because we're dual-platform,"

Gu Sheng spread his hands:

"The PC playerbase is massive—just look at our past PC releases' numbers. To the Moon's weekly sales alone could match five Titanfalls,"

"Plus this ti we're on mobile too,"

"Know how many smartphones there were globally last year according to U.S. SAE data?"

Shen Miaomiao sensed impending doom: "How many?"

Gu Sheng held up four fingers: "Four billion. aning half the global population owns a smartphone."

"Of course,"

He clarified:

"That's a rough estimate—so users own multiple devices,"

"But even so, global smartphone penetration is astronomical,"

"For us, that's an endless ocean of potential,"

"In such a vast market, our ceiling is sky-high,"

"I have faith in PVZ, so I'm not worried about first-week sales at all."

Gasp!

Hearing this,

Shen Miaomiao inhaled sharply!

Oh no...

Old Gu's words made her suspect 750,000 copies in 12 days might be inadequate.

Forget 12 days.

Even at the original 7-day settlent period, PVZ's sales might surpass 750k?

This realization made her shiver:

"Then guess...roughly how many copies will PVZ sell?"

"Em...hard to say,"

Gu Sheng shrugged after so thought:

"But definitely over a million."

"A million? One week? Seriously?"

Shen Miaomiao gaped:

"To the Moon needed massive promotion and official endorsents to hit 1.7 million!"

"Exactly!"

Gu Sheng nodded matter-of-factly:

"Precisely because To the Moon sold 1.7 million first-week, I'm confident PVZ won't be under a million!"

As a ga designer, Gu Sheng understood the market far better than Little Nezha.

What was To the Moon?

A pixel-art narrative ga.

More interactive story than traditional ga.

Good story? Absolutely, unparalleled.

But its focus on narrative weakened gaplay chanics.

An exceptional ga, no doubt.

But in terms of broad appeal and accessibility, it couldn't hold a candle to Plants vs. Zombies.

To the Moon was art; PVZ was casual fun for all ages.

Art's market will always be smaller than entertainnt's.

Now.

Though To the Moon had every advantage, selling 1.7 million weekly,

PVZ had mobile distribution—surpassing a million global sales seed inevitable to Gu Sheng.

...

Ti flew!

Soon,

Their takeout arrived.

After eating and resting, they played two rounds of Chinese checkers.

Buzz—

Buzz—

As Shen Miaomiao's phone vibrated, both checked the wall clock.

"Quick! Almost eight!"

Shen Miaomiao sprang up, cleared the board, and perched on the sofa like an eager puppy.

Though Old Gu's analysis made sense,

As a gambling addict, her mindset remained 'until I see the final numbers, there's hope'.

This ntality was why 'the house always wins'.

Winners bet bigger, losers chase losses.

Lose money, then cars, then hos, then families—they won't stop until utterly ruined.

Shen Miaomiao still clung to slim hopes of loss.

"Ready! Bring it on!"

She assud position, eyes locked on the projector screen.

"Don't get why you're so excited..."

Gu Sheng shook his head with an amused smile, grabbing the mouse to access CDEA's sales data.

Clearing his throat,

He played along: "Ahem! Ready?"

"Mhm!"

Shen Miaomiao nodded vigorously.

"Three! Two! One!"

At exactly eight, Gu Sheng clicked—Plants vs. Zombies' sales data loaded!

Click!

The page refreshed!

Sales figures appeared!

Shen Miaomiao scanned them—

Her heart sank.

Starts with six.

This is bad.

Clearly,

While PVZ hadn't hit Gu Sheng's predicted million,

This '6' was enough to seal her fate.

Sigh!

Old Gu was right—PC's reach plus mobile created an enormous market.

And judging by Little YiYi and Comrade Lao Shen's reactions, the ga had mass appeal.

Though disappointed, Shen Miaomiao wasn't devastated.

After all,

This was the main project! If it profits, so be it! Future sub-projects can aim for losses!

Her only regret was setting the return multiplier at 15x—should've gone for 100x.

With another sigh:

"Quite a lot—not a million, but over six hundred thousand,"

"Six hundred ninety-two thousand seven hundred seventy-two ni—huh?"

She trailed off.

Wait.

Did I misread?

Puzzled, Shen Miaomiao re-read the numbers:

"Six hundred ninety-two thousand, seven hundred, seventy-two...nine?"

"Huh? Why's there an extra digit?"

For a mont,

The room fell silent.

Then Gu Sheng's stunned voice broke the quiet:

"If...hypothetically..."

"If the number seems too long...have you considered...moving the decimal point?"

Dead silence.

In the pin-drop quiet, Gu Sheng and Shen Miaomiao slowly turned stiff necks to lock eyes, seeing mutual shock reflected.

Gulp.

Shen Miaomiao swallowed:

"You an..."

Gu Sheng nodded:

"Not six hundred ninety-two thousand, but..."

"Six million nine hundred twenty-seven thousand seven hundred twenty-nine copies!"

One week!

Global!

Nearly seven million!!!