Entertainment to the death, make a tokusatsu film that will crush the entire internet.

The Land of Light is releasing its first mobile game?!

When this news was officially announced through the official account of the Land of Light, the entire internet instantly went wild.

The related topic immediately topped the trending search list.

Its popularity even surpassed discussions about the ending of "Jackie Chan Adventures".

For the vast majority of netizens and fans, this is undoubtedly a bombshell.

For a long time, the Land of Light has been perceived by everyone as an animation content company focused on depth and innovation.

It pioneered the tokusatsu genre with "Ultraman Tiga";

Puella Magi Madoka Magica subverted the magical girl genre;

Clannad brought tears to many eyes;

Slam Dunk ignited passion;

Nexus redefined the hero...

Although the Land of Light did release a game called Galagame with the same name as Clannad before.

And it has an excellent reputation among its core fans.

But that was, after all, a single-player, buy-to-play title.

Their size and influence are more limited to specific circles.

This is a completely different concept from mobile games that focus on service and long-term operation.

Within ten minutes of the announcement being released, it was forwarded over a million times, and the comments section exploded!

"The Land of Light is making a mobile game? Can they even pull it off?"

"Holy crap?! It's really here?! I've been waiting for months!"

"I've already completed the demo version three times! Finally, the full version is here!"

"Being good at animation doesn't mean you can be good at making games! Every industry has its own secrets!"

"But the previous Clannad game was really high quality, even though it was a visual novel."

"Can visual novels and commercial mobile games be compared? The former sells nostalgia and story, while the latter has to consider retention, monetization, social interaction, long-term operation... it's much more complicated!"

"Free-to-play? With in-app purchases? Everbright, have you finally gone down this path? (Sad)"

"That's normal. Game developers need to make money, as long as they don't go too far astray."

"Tears welling up! My Pokémon journey can finally begin! I'm going to collect all the Pokémon!"

However, along with the anticipation came more doubts and controversies.

After all, in the minds of countless players.

The term "free-to-play mobile game" is often closely associated with keywords such as "pay-to-win gacha," "648 RMB per order," and "overwhelming combat power."

Especially since the Kingdom of Light is venturing into the mobile game field, which it has never ventured into before, it inevitably raises doubts.

On various gaming forums, online communities, and Weibo, the discussion quickly split into several camps.

Pessimists.

"Free-to-play with in-app purchases? Got it, it's a gacha game. I'll definitely pull for rare Pokémon. SSR Charizard, the drop rate is 0.06%, with a minimum pity of 90 pulls. Let's go for 648 yuan in one go!"

"Looking at successful games on the market, they're either like 'Glory of the Gods' with skins and hero gacha, or like 'Master of the Gods' with shikigami gacha and equipment grinding. Can the Land of Light escape this trend? I don't believe it."

"Guangda, you're doing just fine with animation, why do you have to wade into the messy world of gaming? These days, which mobile game developer isn't trying to squeeze money out of players' pockets?"

"I can already imagine it: you get to choose one of the three starter Pokémon at the beginning, then you get stuck in the main story and forced to pull for a powerful Pokémon; in the PVP arena, you can't even get up there without spending money; and there are limited-time events with rare legendary Pokémon that you can't get without spending money... Sigh, it's all a routine."

Optimist (a fan of the Land of Light Iron Pole).

I believe in Everbright!

Since its founding, when has the Land of Light ever disappointed us? Clannad is only 9.9 dollars, and it's packed with content!

The Nexus transformation device is only 29.9!

If Everbright really wanted to make money, it would have set exorbitant prices for surrounding areas like some other companies have!

"Don't forget how much charity the Land of Light has done!"

A surprise for Little Bear: Prioritizing hiring laid-off employees from Dongbei and opening an affordable themed restaurant...

I don't believe a company like that would make those bottomless pay-to-win games!

"Have you guys played the demo version? The quality and gameplay were on par with a AAA single-player game! I'm sure even if the full version has in-app purchases, they'll be incredibly generous!"

People who enjoy watching the drama unfold.

"Let's fight! Let's fight! I love seeing this kind of controversy! Once the server opens, we'll see what they're really made of!"

"I bet five cents that Everbright is going to pull off something big this time! When has he ever played by the rules?"

"No matter what, I'll download it first. If it's a scam, I'll just uninstall it; there's no harm in it."

Some of them are in competition with the Land of Light.

Game/animation companies, or those simply envious, seized the opportunity to enter the fray.

They hire online trolls or use social media to stir up controversy.

"The Land of Light has finally shown its capitalist fangs! Not content with making money from anime, they're now using games to harvest pocket money from kids!"

"I've heard this game is extremely pay-to-win; you can't play it without spending money. Parents, please be careful with your mobile payment passwords!"

"Our company's games are still the best. Even with minimal spending, you can have a very comfortable gaming experience. Don't be fooled by the promotional material for 'Kingdom of Light'!"

"From a pioneer in public welfare to a pay-to-win mobile game, the transformation of the Land of Light is a model of commercialization (sarcasm)."

The commotion on the internet was naturally gathered at the Land of Light's office immediately.

Su Xiaoran held her tablet and read aloud the more representative comments one by one, her expression somewhat worried.

"Director Yang, the public opinion seems... not very optimistic."

"Many people are prejudiced against the free-to-play + in-app purchase model, thinking that we will definitely resort to the gacha system that forces people to spend money."

Yang Qian leaned back in her chair, playing with a red and white Poké Ball model in her hand.

These are the first batch of Pokémon merchandise samples delivered by Tianma Toys Factory.

He smiled upon hearing this.

"It's normal for there to be controversy."

"People have formed a fixed impression of the domestic mobile game market ecosystem, and we are going to break that impression."

"break in?"

Su Xiaoran blinked.

"yes."

Yang Qian gently tossed the Poké Ball up and caught it steadily.

"Who says free-to-play mobile games necessarily mean pay-to-win gacha games?"

"Who says in-app purchases are necessarily a way to force users to spend money?"

He looked at the backend data of the Pokémon project team on the computer screen.

It displayed a terrifying number of server clusters.

"We've only offered one possibility."

"As for whether players will accept it, and whether the market will recognize it..."

"We'll see when the server opens."

……

Friday, 8:55 a.m.

Countless players who had already pre-registered stared at the Pokémon game icon on their phone screens, their fingers hovering over it.

I'm just waiting for the time to jump to 9:00.

In a dormitory of the University of Technology and Business in City A, four boys were gathered around a computer with four mobile game emulator windows open.

"Brothers, prepare to charge! I'm definitely picking Charmander!"

"Jenny, Jenny! My turtle!"

"Garlic and turtle are true love! You guys don't understand the romance of the grass element!"

"I don't care, I'll collect the whole encyclopedia eventually anyway."

At a workstation in a certain company.

A young man pretended to be looking at the report on the computer screen intently.

In reality, the phone was hidden in the drawer, its screen lit up, stuck on the Pokémon login screen.

"Three more minutes... Boss, please don't come looking for me now..."

A sixth-grade classroom in an elementary school.

A few boys huddled together, whispering, "My mom only lets me play for an hour on weekends... I have to take advantage of the server opening today and play as much as I can!"

"I had two phones with me! One was confiscated, but I still have the other!"

"Do you guys think Pikachu will really be there? It doesn't seem to be in the demo."

"The announcement said it was there! I want Pikachu!"

9:00 AM sharp.

Countless fingers pressed down forcefully at the same time.

The pre-downloaded client is activated instantly.

The opening CG animation showcases the vibrant world of Pokémon and the call to adventure.

Next is the registration page.

"Huh? Real-name registration is required? That's so direct?"

Many players were taken aback.

Most mobile games also have real-name registration requirements.

But often it's only after players have played for a while that this happens.

Or it may pop up only when you make a recharge.

It's rare to see a game like Pokémon that requires real-name authentication right from the start.

"What's going on? This is so complicated..."

Some people complained, but they still obediently filled in their identity information.

Some people also keenly sensed something.

"Real-name registration... What is the Land of Light trying to do...?"