Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo-Chapter 968: The Carnival Recap

Dead Cells was one of this player's all-time favorite games.

Across handheld, console, and the BattleNet platform, he had logged over 400 hours in the game.

Even in his current state of digital ED, he would still occasionally pick up his handheld console and play a few rounds.

But after having thoroughly explored the game, he was gradually starting to feel bored of it.

So now that the same creator had released a new game, it felt worth trying.

This new title, however, was clearly not another Metroidvania-style game—it was an entirely new kind of gameplay.

From what he'd heard, it sounded pretty casual.

The game's file size wasn't large, so the download finished quickly, and he launched it straight into the main menu.

The interface was very minimal—just Start Game, Continue, and Options.

...

...

Clicking into the game, it launched directly.

The original tutorial level used a motorcycle, but Takayuki later decided that was too difficult and instead reverted to using a van, which had been part of the original version's tutorial.

Motorcycles had too many parts, which could easily frustrate players in a tutorial setting, so it was moved to later stages.

The van was simpler—players only needed to clean certain areas.

Holding down the mouse button, the pressure washer began spraying, and the player had to clean designated spots until they were sparkling.

That's it?

The player was surprised.

How could this be fun?

Now he finally understood those user reviews—the ones saying they started doing other things while playing.

This game really was perfect for background entertainment—something to play while chatting, watching a movie, etc.

Most people instinctively used it that way.

So, he minimized the game, opened a tab for Facebook's streaming platform, and clicked into a show he'd been meaning to watch for a while.

Everything felt very natural.

And before he knew it, he had binged an entire season of a show—and realized he'd also played the game for seven to eight hours straight.

This game... wasn't bad. It wasn't incredible either, but it was extremely low-stress.

Sometimes, not being able to reach 100% cleanliness in a particular spot was frustrating—but it was always possible to find what was left to clean.

The game's guidance was solid, with highlight indicators showing where dirt remained.

The zone-based segmentation was also very user-friendly. It told you when a specific part was fully cleaned so you didn't need to repeatedly check.

If he had to clean an entire house without this feature, he would've left a scathing review.

But now? He was actually ready to give it a positive rating.

That said, it hadn't cured his digital ED. It was just a nice distraction—something chill to do when bored. Still, for the price, it felt worth it.

He hadn't expected such a simple mechanic to be this satisfying.

"Actually," he thought, "maybe I should go buy a real pressure washer. My car needs a wash anyway."

Riding that cleaning momentum, he figured: why not give it a try in real life?

After quitting the game, he glanced at the indie dev's other titles and was surprised to see that this wasn't the only one—there were several others released at the same time.

The output pace was impressive. And since it was Summer Sale season, all the games were discounted.

Even though the discount wasn't huge—only 20% for the new titles, which were already cheap—the combination of novelty and affordability made them feel like a no-brainer.

So, without hesitation, he bought all of the other new games from this creator.

Consider it his way of supporting the Summer Sale.

In fact, he hoped events like this would happen more often—giving him a chance to explore more games without breaking the bank.

At lower prices, people were simply more willing to take risks on games they wouldn't have tried otherwise.

The Summer Sale lasted a total of two weeks.

During that time, the concurrent online users across BattleNet, handhelds, and consoles hit a new record: 27 million, just shy of 30 million.

Experts predicted that the next sale would likely break that barrier.

30 million concurrent users—what did that mean? ƒrēenovelkiss.com

It meant 30 million players, across three platforms, were active at the same time.

That kind of engagement is an incredible asset.

Then came the total revenue for the two weeks:

$6.2 billion.

The biggest surge came during the first two days.

Sales dropped off in the second week, but even so, the three platforms collectively earned $6.2 billion.

And this was just one sale event.

Future sales would likely earn even more.

Among all the titles, Gamestar's first-party games made an absolute killing.

Selling games on their own platform meant 100% of the profit went directly into their pockets.

After deducting taxes across different regions, their first-party profit alone was over $1 billion.

A massive recovery of revenue.

The Japanese tax authorities were stunned by the numbers.

This was during an economic downturn, and yet one company was still able to pull in this kind of money. Was video gaming really this powerful?

And yet, that wasn't the biggest win.

The biggest win was the new users.

Before the sale, the combined unique user base (excluding overlap) across the three platforms was over 600 million, with BattleNet accounting for half.

After the Summer Sale, the total user base jumped by over 100 million, bringing the grand total to 700 million+.

The new users weren't major spenders—they were drawn in by the low prices and only spent a little, with average spending under $1.

But the future was promising.

Once they finished the games they'd just picked up, they would start craving more.

And just in time for the next sale, they'd be ready to go wild all over again.