This Is Not a Bug but a Game Feature-Chapter 71: Renovation DLC

The idea of a school district house is a good one.

But it doesn’t have much to do with the upcoming version update of "Living Under Someone’s Roof Simulator," at least not right now.

"After this update, it probably won’t be updated for a long time, right?"

Yang Dong, who had just ordered a milk tea from his phone, suddenly turned to ask Chen Ba.

"Mm!"

Chen Ba nodded, "For single-player simulator-type games like this, it’s quite normal to have a major update only once a year."

This is quite different from online games.

Online games need to ensure "daily active users," so they continuously update content to boost player activity and the number of concurrent users.

But single-player games don’t care about this.

In other words, single-player games don’t even have the concept of "daily active users." As long as the game is sold, whether you play it or when you play it, no one will really care.

So... generally speaking, unless the game developer really cares about a specific game, they won’t actively update their single-player games.

Updating once a year is pretty good.

Some single-player games might only update a major version once every four or five years, releasing a bit of new content for players.

What?

You say DLC is released quite frequently?

That stuff can make money! DLCs that can’t make money, which are essentially major game updates, how many developers do you see actively making them?

Games like "No Man’s Sky," which have no gold edition or complete edition, and even lack any DLCs or season passes, quietly updated for five or six years, and stubbornly saved their reputation from a deluge of bad reviews to a wave of good reviews are actually rare.

But, No Man’s Sky deserved its fate.

The promises were too big to realistically achieve, and only through continuous updates could they make that dream even remotely feasible.

"To know shame is to have courage!"

"No matter what, the development team of ’No Man’s Sky’ still maintained their limits and continued updating for so many years."

Talking about this game, which was once widely expected but hugely disappointing upon release, the development team’s courage in facing their shame and achieving self-redemption is something Chen Ba admires.

At the very least, he’s not capable of continuously updating a game that has hit rock bottom in reputation for five or six years, without even making a single DLC.

If it were him, even if he had to atone for the promises he made, he wouldn’t add all content to the game for free; he’d at least release a couple of DLCs to ensure some ongoing revenue.

"Cold Window Study Simulator" updated for two major versions, and then stopped updating.

"Living Under Someone’s Roof Simulator" is also in its second major update; after this one, it’s likely the game won’t see any changes for a long time.

Of course!

This is based on the sales growth curve of the two games, leading to a correct decision.

After all, when no one is buying the game anymore, and the players who have bought it gradually abandon and stop playing, continuing to launch major updates is too time- and energy-consuming.

"There’s a possibility we keep updating, and someday a version suddenly becomes popular, drawing many new players in..."

Chen Ba smiled wryly, "Such things are possible, but the odds are as low as winning the lottery."

A cold single-player game is really difficult to bring back.

And even if it does resurge, it’s hard to say it’s due to the developer’s constant updates; most of it is due to external forces.

Such as a derivative animation or drama becoming wildly popular, or a streamer like Wang Laoju bringing in traffic, or coincidentally riding a wave of trend...

In short, reviving is hard!

Without help and promotional flow from external forces, trying to resurrect a cold game solely by continuously releasing new versions is akin to dreaming.

"Since that’s the case, why not take advantage of the current player base and make a few DLCs?" Yang Dong asked.

He understood Ba’s intention.

"Living Under Someone’s Roof Simulator" will likely not be updated for a long time after this version.

Since no more updates are planned, the number of existing players will only dwindle, so why not grab the opportunity now to make some DLCs and cash in?

"Do you have any ideas?"

Chen Ba isn’t against DLCs; as long as there’s good content, making one wouldn’t hurt.

Tianba Studio hasn’t made a meaningful DLC since its founding!

DLC stands for Downloadable Content, meaning additional downloadable content that expands the game’s content based on the original game.

DLC types are varied.

Some are skins, some are new characters, some are new plots, and others are new maps or new game modes...

Considering the nature of the game, there are quite a few DLC possibilities for "Living Under Someone’s Roof Simulator," as long as they don’t repeat existing game content.

"Let’s make a decorating DLC!"

Yang Dong suggested, "Most of the players of ’Living Under Someone’s Roof Simulator’ have bought houses, and not just one."

"The houses in the game have hardly any interaction after being purchased, so I want to expand it, allowing players to decorate their own ideal home..."

This idea is good!

The houses in the game have really low interactivity; these are houses that people have paid a mortgage for ten years, how can they have so little content?

"OK!"

Since there’s a version update planned anyway, releasing a decorating DLC along the way wouldn’t hurt, and Chen Ba had no reason to oppose it.

This DLC is quite straightforward.

After all, referencing interior design materials and offering players various design styles and furniture choices, choosing them and then letting "Tianba Decoration Company" step in will work.

That’s right!

This decorating DLC doesn’t let players actually do the decorating; it merely allows players to select their preferred styles, materials, furniture, and décor based on options provided by the decoration company.

Which decoration company to choose?

Sorry! Tianba Decoration has monopolized the entire industry, and apart from them, there are no other choices!

"How about the pricing?"

After determining the content of the decorating DLC, Yang Dong asked for pricing suggestions for this DLC.

The base game is priced at 25 yuan!

Not considering other factors, the DLC’s price definitely shouldn’t exceed the game’s price, or you wouldn’t distinguish between the joker and the real deal, which is the base game and which is the DLC?

"This DLC is quite simple and doesn’t have much content, so we can’t price it too high; if it’s too expensive, few will buy it."

Chen Ba thought seriously and finally held out five fingers: "Five yuan!"

This price is quite suitable.

Not too pricey, not too cheap, considering many players’ "real estate speculation" enthusiasm, quite a few people should purchase it.

"Individual purchase of DLC is five yuan, but bundled with the base game, it’s only 28 yuan!" Chen Ba added.

Bundling the DLC with the base game for sales is also an effective strategy to increase sales.

Many people will choose a special version that bundles one or two DLCs when buying a game.

After all, just adding a few yuan allows you to get one or two DLCs, originally priced at a dozen or twenty yuan each, which sounds quite a bargain, making developers feel like they’re losing out significantly!