October 23.
The English and Japanese versions of “Turn Back to Shore” were officially released!
On the emerging foreign streaming platform Link Live, Hao Shuaiqi had already downloaded the English version immediately and started a new playthrough.
However, this time he wasn’t playing the game along the conventional route but was pursuing a speed run.
After such a long time streaming, Hao Shuaiqi’s subscriber count had been continuously growing, now reaching over 100,000 subscribers, which was quite substantial on the emerging streaming platform Link Live.
Every day during his streams, viewers would ask: “When will the English version of this game be released?”
On AiLiDao, the videos of “Turn Back to Shore” posted by Hao Shuaiqi had already gained extremely high popularity, and foreigners’ comments while watching the game streams had become a hot topic among domestic players.
Now that the English version of “Turn Back to Shore” was finally out, Hao Shuaiqi naturally had to take this opportunity to promote it extensively to all his viewers.
The audience in the streaming room was, of course, cheering enthusiastically.
“I’ve been watching streams of this game for a long time. It looks like a very challenging action game. Thank you so much for introducing us to such a fun game!”
“Great! The English version is finally out! God knows what I went through playing the Chinese version.”
“I must say, the English version is extremely well-made. I’ve checked, and all the key translations are spot on, perfectly conveying the original meaning. What a conscientious developer, pursuing excellence in every detail. Thumbs up!”
“A game that got even me, someone who originally had zero interest in Chinese culture, addicted.”
“I’ve already watched the streamer complete the game several times. I believe this game won’t be a problem for me!”
Many players were also leaving supportive comments on the official overseas platform or spontaneously promoting the game on various forums and websites.
The overseas version of “Turn Back to Shore” was off to a great start!
…
Tenda Network Technology Co., Ltd.
Li Yada had been monitoring the data from foreign websites, and the more she looked, the more amazed she felt.
“I never expected that the foreign data would be even better than the domestic data?”
“Mr. Pei is too amazing!”
Li Yada was thoroughly convinced.
This time, the multilingual versions of “Turn Back to Shore” were produced with the help of the official platform, and the translation quality was extremely high. Even so, Li Yada wasn’t 100% certain that the game would take off abroad.
The reason was simple—the cultural differences were too great!
The domestic and foreign game markets were completely different matters.
Many games that were hugely popular domestically would fail to adapt overseas, with no effect, no matter how hard they were promoted.
Conversely, some games that made no noise domestically would thrive overseas.
Therefore, a batch of publishers specializing in overseas markets had emerged domestically, working hard to study foreign users’ tastes and handle the internationalization of local games, which also presented enormous profits.
So-called “internationalization” meant comprehensively transforming a local game in terms of art style, gameplay, game details, promotional methods, and many other aspects, to better cater to the tastes of overseas players.
Sometimes, to achieve better results, they would even replace the entire worldview packaging with a Western fantasy background that foreign players would more easily accept.
Therefore, a game becoming popular both domestically and overseas simultaneously was, in itself, a low-probability event with extremely little chance of happening.
Games that achieved this undoubtedly became pillar games and money trees for their companies.
So, the fact that “Turn Back to Shore” could also achieve good results overseas made Li Yada feel very surprised.
“To be honest, ‘Turn Back to Shore’ doesn’t seem like a game that would be well-received in the overseas market.”
“The entire story background uses elements from traditional Chinese culture. Many elements that strongly resonate with domestic players, such as the Naihe Bridge, the Three-Life Stone, and Meng Po, might mean nothing to foreign players.”
“But even so, foreign players still love this game so much, which shows how successful it is.”
“This is all due to the effort Mr. Pei put in!”
Thinking about the various efforts Mr. Pei had put into “Turn Back to Shore,” Li Yada felt sincere admiration.
“First, there’s the design of the game itself.”
“‘Turn Back to Shore’ is a very hardcore action game, which fits the taste of overseas players very well.”
“Mr. Pei risked rejection by domestic players by setting high difficulty gameplay. Perhaps from the beginning, he was aiming for both domestic and overseas success?”
“Second is the promotional method.”
“Many foreign streamers on Link Live played ‘Turn Back to Shore’ while consulting dictionaries, giving the game widespread recognition overseas while also creating a hot topic for discussion.”
“Having foreign streamers spontaneously recommend it is a low-probability event, but then again, this is determined by the characteristics of the game itself.”
“The game is so excellent that even without Hao Shuaiqi, other foreign streamers would discover it and spread it spontaneously.”
“Finally, Mr. Pei told me not to rush the overseas version.”
“On one hand, he patiently waited for the game’s popularity to build overseas; on the other hand, he also left more time for translation, allowing the game’s cultural connotations to be translated precisely and elegantly.”
“All these factors combined led to the success of the overseas version of ‘Turn Back to Shore’!”
“I guess this is what they call ‘planning within the tent, deciding victory a thousand miles away’?”
“Mr. Pei is so thorough, considering everything so comprehensively!”
“It looks like I still have a lot to learn!”
Li Yada sighed with genuine feeling.
Just as she was reflecting, Pei Qian arrived at work.
Li Yada quickly stood up: “Mr. Pei, regarding the overseas version of ‘Turn Back to Shore,’ the current situation…”
Pei Qian’s face darkened, and he hurriedly raised his hand to signal her to stop: “No need to say more.”
Li Yada quickly nodded: “Ah, yes, Mr. Pei.”
Indeed, Mr. Pei had anticipated this early on. Reporting good news now seemed somewhat redundant.
Pei Qian, on the other hand, was speechless.
Hearing such bad news early in the morning—how unlucky!
“Mr. Pei, the project team currently has no other tasks except for fixing some simple bugs,” Li Yada said. “I plan to arrange some version optimization work for them, or prepare to develop DLC. What do you think?”
“DLC? No!” Pei Qian was startled and quickly halted this dangerous idea.
He looked at Li Yada seriously: “Everyone has been working so hard for so long. Shouldn’t they be taking a good rest?”
Employees are Tenda’s most valuable asset. They absolutely cannot be too exhausted!”
“Moreover, constantly outputting without input will eventually deplete even the most abundant inspiration.”
“As game developers, we must play many games and gather diverse materials to continuously create good games that feel fresh to players. Understand?”
“This week, everyone should do nothing… uh… let Bao Xu lead everyone in playing games.”
“Bao Xu, from now on, you’re the Play Leader, responsible for leading everyone in playing games.”
“Plan it out and arrange tasks for everyone. No matter what games they play, everyone must reach 40 hours of gaming time this week. If gaming hours aren’t met, I’ll hold you responsible!”
Bao Xu, who had been shrinking his neck and trying to lower his presence, shuddered.
Damn! I nearly buried my head in the monitor, yet Mr. Pei still assigned me a task!
Bao Xu quickly stood up: “Yes, Mr. Pei.”
Pei Qian indignantly went to his own office.
The people in the office area looked at each other, then simultaneously turned their gazes toward Bao Xu.
Bao Xu helplessly spread his hands: “What are you looking at me for? Everyone get moving… please don’t make things difficult for me.”
The office staff exchanged glances, then hurriedly put down their not-so-urgent work and fumbled to open games.
…
In the office, Pei Qian looked at the reviews of the English version of “Turn Back to Shore” with his construction-site-level English skills and sighed quietly.
Ah, although he had foreseen this result before the English version was made, but… There was nothing he could do!
Pei Qian had originally thought that cultural barriers and walls would block more than 90% of overseas players, but now he realized he had been too optimistic.
He hadn’t expected that these foreign players would be willing to struggle through the raw Chinese version just to suffer, and even make Chinese-speaking streamers popular!
So, when the official platform saw the enthusiastic response to this game both domestically and overseas, they decided to help find translation teams for overseas versions, and everything happened so naturally.
“Well, let it be.”
Pei Qian was powerless against this now.
Finally entering a last-minute preparation state, he reviewed all the activities for the 1024 Digital Festival once more.
In the afternoon, Pei Qian watched some shows and took a nap in his office, waiting for the farewell banquet arranged for Editor Xia and her team in the evening.
…
…
In the evening, a seven-seater commercial vehicle and a regular commercial car from Tenda stopped at the entrance of Mingyun Private Kitchen.
Xia Jiang got out of the car, her face pale, looking not in good spirits.
The few people who got out of the car behind her also didn’t look well. A robust cameraman was walking unsteadily, looking weak, most likely having vomited.
Most people were not well-adapted to such extremely stimulating entertainment activities.
Xia Jiang recalled the unforgettable experience at Jingzhou New World Amusement Park today, and her whole being felt unwell.
Roller coaster, drop tower, pendulum ride, haunted house…
Xia Jiang didn’t know how she had managed to persevere, and her legs were still a bit weak.
Pei Qian was already waiting at the entrance of Mingyun Private Kitchen. Seeing everyone’s dispirited state, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, revealing a smile from the bottom of his heart.
Hehe, finally scored one back!
See if you dare backstab me again!
Pei Qian couldn’t help but happily think about whether he should arrange similar “death-defying experiences” for all journalists coming to Jingzhou. Then no one would dare to come for interviews in the future?
“How was it, Editor Xia? Did everyone have fun today?” Pei Qian beamed, his smile warm and gentle.
Xia Jiang managed to squeeze out a smile: “Fun…”
Pei Qian nodded with satisfaction: “Good! Everyone rest well after dinner tonight. Tomorrow we’ve arranged a skydiving activity for you all. It’s especially fun, and you definitely can’t miss it!”
Xia Jiang: “…”
…
…
The next morning.
Staff arrived at the hotel where Xia Jiang and her team were staying, only to find the trophy, certificate, and the 100,000 yuan prize money left for Mr. Pei in the room.
Beside the trophy was a letter.
“Mr. Pei:”
“Thank you very much for your warm hospitality during this time. We have spent a very memorable time in Jingzhou!”
“Due to heavy work tasks, the leaders suddenly arranged a new interview assignment, and we had to rush back hastily. Mr. Pei is busy with work, and we couldn’t say goodbye in person, for which we deeply apologize.”
“Please rest assured, Mr. Pei, that this special interview will be completed! We hope to have another opportunity to cooperate in the future!”