Game development begins with destroying Girls' Frontline.

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Although Spark's first console is a combination of a PC handheld and a graphics card dock, it's quite remarkable that it achieved pre-orders at the level of the PS4.

How many PS4s were ultimately sold?

Considering the price of the StarCore handheld console, it's easy to predict that its sales will likely explode in this market environment of scarce consumer-grade graphics cards.

What Spark needs to worry about now is production capacity—the production capacity of chips, the production capacity of mainframes, and the production capacity of graphics card docks.

But these things are always a happy kind of trouble.

This is just one aspect of Spark's hardware success. In terms of software, Spark's renowned reputation is known to everyone.

In addition, the Spark platform is currently experiencing strong growth.

Previously, the capital market was optimistic about the VR alliance formed by Steam, which boosted the stock price. Now, with Spark launching its own VR plan, this positive news has suddenly caused fluctuations.

Chapter 568 VR Genre

Global players and investors alike have, due to the inertia of the past few years, already made a conservative estimate of Spark's products.

Most people believe that the launch of Spark VR will definitely affect SteamVR's market share in the future.

Therefore, it's quite normal that expectations for SteamVR have been lowered, and a whole bunch of companies that were hyping up Steam have also had their expectations lowered as well.

Just like how DeepSeek later impacted the AI ​​stock markets in Europe and America.

However, the bubble that Spark popped was smaller and didn't look as exaggerated.

But without having experienced DeepSeek, this fluctuation seems quite alarming.

"Mr. Li, what... what should we do?"

The assistant's voice was clearly panicked.

"Mr. Xiao has just called several times, demanding that you provide a solution immediately."

Lee Wai-hee took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

"Let's go back to China first!"

By this time, Li Weixi was a seasoned veteran. He knew very well that at Tencent, when problems arose, the first thing to do was not to solve them, but to appear by the leader's side.

This is more important than solving the problem, after all, his own position is not very stable either.

Last year, WEGAME not only failed to meet expectations, but was almost abandoned by the group. If it weren't for its connection with Steam, Lee Wei-hee would have backed out long ago.

But the next second, his assistant snapped back at him.

"I can't go back to China! If I go back, I'll have to stay in a hotel for 14 days..."

Li Weixi was stunned for a moment before he remembered that there was such a thing.

Previously, when Tencent VR was doing very well, staying in a hotel for 14 days was fine, but now Li Weixi obviously can't do that.

"Damn it, first contact our technical team by phone and have them analyze this video from Spark immediately to see if it's real or fake. I need to know just how advanced their technology is!"

Realizing that he couldn't return to China anytime soon, Li Weixi quickly walked towards Gabe Newell's direction, rapidly planning his next move as he went.

If he can't get back to the company immediately, then he has to deal with this matter as soon as possible.

Regardless of whether it's useful or not, a solution must be provided to Ma Xiao as soon as possible.

Fortunately, Spark's "surprise attack" was not only aimed at Tencent, but also disrupted the rhythm of the entire industry. Therefore, if handled properly, the impact of this incident should not be too exaggerated.

When Li Weixi arrived next to Gabe Newell, Gabe Newell was already surrounded by people.

The founder of Valve was standing among a group of executives, his expression equally grave. Clearly, Spark's "surprise attack" had put immense pressure on Gabe Newell (GabeN).

However, the person speaking at this moment was not him, but the operations manager of MetaQuest.

MetaQuest is a VR device brand owned by Facebook.

It is also one of the few manufacturers that is still updating and replacing VR devices. Its predecessors, Quest2 and Quest3, were the sales champions in the industry.

In 24, it once held a 73% market share with its two relatively low-priced VR devices, the Quest3 and Quest3S.

It is an absolute giant in VR devices.

However, the current Quest is still in its early stages, and the Quest2 has not yet been released.

But among this group, Neiln, the operations manager of Quest, is definitely a VR expert.

"This video reveals a lot of information. First, the direction of Xinghuo is very different from ours..."

The current VR market is divided into two main models.

One is the PCVR model from traditional VR manufacturers such as Steam and HTC, where the VR device itself is just a headset display and its operation depends on a PC.

Such devices often have a long cable to connect to a PC for video output. Sony's PSVR can also be classified as this type, except that it is connected to a console instead of a computer.

Secondly, there are all-in-one VR devices, represented by Quest.

This machine has a built-in chip modified from a mobile phone, so it can still be used without a PC and can play games, but the performance is slightly weaker, so the graphics of the games it can play are relatively average.

Of course, the Quest can also be connected to a computer, so in a certain sense...

The mainstream capital market is currently quite accepting of all-in-one VR devices, since these devices can be played independently or streamed to a computer.

However, this model is not without its drawbacks.

First, all-in-one VR headsets have a cost disadvantage compared to VR display headsets, since the chips, motherboards, and heat dissipation components of all-in-one headsets all contribute to the cost.

Secondly, in terms of weight.

Because of the need to incorporate internal chips, batteries, and heat dissipation, there is an upper limit to the weight optimization of all-in-one PCs.

Normally, given that MetaQuest was already able to reduce the price of VR devices to 3,000 yuan in its previous life, PC VR should be able to achieve an even lower price.

For example, two thousand yuan, or even less.

Unfortunately, because the PCVR market lacked a leading company, sales were consistently poor, making it impossible to achieve economies of scale. Therefore, in later generations...

This has led to the bizarre situation where PCVR devices that can only connect to a PC cost five or six thousand yuan, while all-in-one devices that can be used independently and also connect to a PC are much cheaper.

Although Lin Li's entire video was fake from beginning to end, the underlying idea was real.

By using the PCVR model, the cost can be shifted to other devices purchased by users. In this way, it may be possible to reduce the price of VR devices to under two thousand in the future.

In addition, Lin Li is also trying to address the pain points of PCVR devices.

First, there's the flow line.

Logically speaking, the 5G Wi-Fi connection mode of later VR all-in-one devices is already very mature, but this Wi-Fi connection mode also has its drawbacks, such as the fact that it is best if no other devices are connected to the Wi-Fi, and the operation of connecting is relatively cumbersome.

Therefore, Lin Li directly chose to install a VR streamer. The streamer has a small chip inside that can automatically start the Spark platform on the PC.

Players can simply plug in a streamer and put on a headset to play, solving various cumbersome setup and connection issues, and eliminating the need to carry a cable around to play.

Although these issues may seem trivial to DIY enthusiasts, this kind of mindless approach has played a significant role in promoting the equipment.

SteamDeck defeated a host of PC handheld consoles because it was convenient and mindless.

In addition to solving the streaming problem, Lin Li also offered some new ideas for game design. In recent years, VR games have often liked to make players stand up and feel "immersed".

Chapter 569 Heavy

But Lin Li went against the grain. The premise of "Starfire Explorer" is that players pilot a spaceship and go on adventures everywhere.

Players can remain seated throughout the entire game.

You can even turn on the automatic cruise mode, which provides a fully immersive experience without causing fatigue.

The added leg motion camera is also perfectly compatible with racing, flying, and even racing games like Harry Potter and Quidditch.

It's important to know that this is a classic mainstream shooting, racing, and ball game.

Racing games have always had a significant market share, and this type of game is actually very suitable for VR devices.

"Spark's direction is clearly an optimized version of PCVR."

Nieln's voice carried a hint of solemnity.

"Judging from the video, their streaming technology is very mature, with negligible latency. Moreover, given Spark's size and the development philosophy of Starcore handheld consoles, if they were to make PCVR, the price would likely be very attractive."

"That's not the worst part."

Newell, also known as Gabe Newell, spoke in a deep, husky voice as his gaze swept over everyone present.

"What's most frightening is that Spark's equipment is not just a VR solution, but a complete ecosystem. Their StarCore handheld console, graphics card dock, VR headset, and even their gaming platform are all interconnected. Once players enter their ecosystem, it's very difficult for them to leave."

Newell's tone was very emotional.

This ecosystem is actually the ideal form of SteamVR. Steam has been planning this for a long time. Steam has its own VR devices, VR platform and system.

However, Steam lacks a large development alliance to support the game lineup of SteamVR, which is much stronger in this respect, because Spark has a large number of Chinese developers behind it.

Steam, on the other hand, can only attract a large number of "disorganized people" to form a loose VR alliance.

Secondly, Steam doesn't have a graphics card dock that can be used as a console, which is a missing part of its ecosystem.

As the saying goes, you only know how difficult it is once you've done it.

Li Weixi stood aside, listening to the two's analysis, his heart growing heavier.

~~~

People outside were caught off guard by the sudden attack and were forced to work overtime like crazy.

The people at the Spark platform have actually been working overtime like crazy these past few days.

Of course, there are different kinds of overtime.

Around 8 p.m., Xinghuo's newly established independent studio, Yunmeng Studio.

Although it was already 8 o'clock, the entire studio was still brightly lit.

The sounds of keyboards clicking and various discussions mingled together, creating a tense yet vibrant atmosphere. Everyone was working overtime, but their faces were filled with excitement.

This excitement is mainly based on the overwhelming reviews of Spark VR on the internet and the explosive sales of the StarCore handheld console.

The former is actually quite easy to understand.

Spark's VR devices have a unique feature that other manufacturers don't have: Spark truly showcases the ease of use of its VR devices throughout its promotional video.

Insert, put on, sit down, and enter the VR world.

Just as many elderly people have an innate fear of smartphones, even though it has been 20 years, many players still have the preconceived notion that VR is troublesome because it requires a lot of wires and sensors.

But Xinghuo's video completely shattered those preconceived notions.

In addition, the StarCore handheld console was launched in less than three months from its official announcement. Therefore, many players, including many media outlets, believe that since Starfire has already released a promotional video, it is a good opportunity for them to launch the game.

Maybe we'll be able to play it soon.

Furthermore, the release of Spark's VR technology caused the stock prices of many game companies, including Tencent, which had benefited from the hype surrounding VR, to plummet, much to the amusement of gamers.

Fans of Xinghuo, in particular, felt a sense of relief watching the US stock market curve continue to decline.

A meme that says "You think you're the only one who knows VR" has been circulating widely online.

"Brother Wang! Our promotional video is going viral on Twitter! Someone tagged Musk, and Musk replied!"

The person whose name was called was actually quite familiar; he was Wang Gang.

Former Vice President of Operations at Tencent Think Tank and WEGAME, he partnered with Chen Zhou, a returnee from Tencent, to operate WEGAME a few years ago, and continued his work until Chen Zhou was laid off.

Sensing that WEGAME was in a bad situation, he chose to resign and joined Xinghuo.

I started working on the Spark platform operations.

As a "surrendered general" in a certain sense, Wang Gang was quite capable. He first stayed at headquarters for a period of time, and later went to France to organize the establishment and operation of the Spark Platform's French department.

After that, he was transferred back to assist with the reorganization of the previous Spark Studio.

Ultimately, in the earlier part of Lin Li's strategic fraud plan, he was reassigned to be the head of Yunmeng Studio.

To be honest, Wang Gang was somewhat surprised when he took on this task.

After all, there are quite a few people like him in Xinghuo, so why would President Lin choose him?

But when he saw Lin Li in the office and heard Lin Li's first words, he immediately understood why.

Lin Li's first words were like this.

Would you lie?