[ZaidH]

@DoctorEldritch Oh naaah I ain't fighting him 😂😂😂 I haven't unlocked Eri, so I'm at a huge disadvantage already.

Yeah I'm not sure what if offers, but people were rightfully mad for paywalling content, no matter how small or big it was.

Based on our reporting, game industry insiders said that NetEase has been directed to divest its overseas holdings. Among NetEase’s big recent hits is Marvel Rivals, but yesterday members of the Seattle team that developed the game along with a team in China said they had been laid off. This was after the game brought in $136 million in its launch month of December.

But sources we interviewed said that the Marvel Rivals team being fired by NetEase is just the start. Those sources said the company is losing its will to make games using overseas staff. Part of that reason is the high cost of U.S. developers in particular. Another reason is that China’s game developers have also matured enough to make triple-A games, as seen by the success of China-based Game Science’s Black Myth: Wukong, which has sold tens of millions of copies.

This article mainly focuses on the US, but I believe Japanese game devs also earn more than their counterparts in China. Nagoshi Studio is funded by NetEase, so there’s a teeny tiny chance they could be affected by layoffs as well.

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH I forgot, did you need to pay to unlock Eri, or you just did not do it because she is the only character that is not part of the main story (I think there is even a joke/meme somewhere where gamers joke that in all the cutscenes Eri is always off-camera like a ninja)

Yeah, that last fight in this game may sadly be annoying more than enjoyable, at least, for me, it was like that.

Oh my, that is concerning. But then again, hopefully, it may not be as bad as all that. After all, we do not know just how much NetEase is funding (or do we?) it may not be that big of a share. Besides, I would hope that a name as big as Nagoshi would be able to attract other investors, should it come to that. Like Krafton 😉

[ZaidH]

@DoctorEldritch I think she joins the party if you reach a certain level in the business management minigame.

(I think there is even a joke/meme somewhere where gamers joke that in all the cutscenes Eri is always off-camera like a ninja)

Lmao I'll be sure to check these out after I finish the game 😂 Ooof, so the finale is even more brutal? I just reached Kamurocho, so I guess I gotta grind the sewers then 😓 Artificial difficulty sucks so much!

About Nagoshi 😭......

Japan had been one of NetEase's key outposts, with celebrated creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, responsible for the Yakuza franchise, a major hire to bolster the creative ranks. The decision to close Ouka was made in the midst of developing the studio's first big game, Visions of Mana, for Square Enix Holdings Co. Ding overruled executives who had greenlit the project as he decided there's no need for a team working for outside publishers, the people said. Outside Ouka, NetEase-funded Japanese creators — Nagoshi among them — have been given time to wrap up ongoing projects. The message from headquarters in Hangzhou has been that there'll be no additional funding or time, the people said. There's no plan to spend on marketing or promoting the games currently in production in Japan.

Source: Bloomberg

It still remains to be seen how Krafton treats Tango Gameworks, but so far yeah they seem to be providing a haven for former talent. I sincerely hope everything works out well in the end 🙏

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH Maybe, I can't remember, to be honest. But if that's the case, why not reach it? The business management game is not that hard, and she is a powerful character to have. And you also get to have a satellite laser if you advance your business enough:

Yeah, the grind is hard there...

Too bad about Nagoshi. Remind me, what was their debut project going to be, did they ever manage to share? That Project game was still a Sega thing if I remember correctly, but I could be wrong... I wonder what happened with NetEase, very odd to change horses in midstream like that...

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH And hey, at least The Blood of Dawnwalker seems to be doing alright despite the NetEase situation. We can hope that Nagoshi has some sort of contingency as well.

[ZaidH]

I uh, didn't really like the business management game 😓 Have no motivation to sit through it even though Eri and her Orbital move looks AMAZING!

Only thing I remember being mentioned for his game was that it was going to have "Human Drama" 😆 Also it's gonna be an open world title.

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH Well, that game does not need a lot of effort, you can pretty much do it in a couple of hours and never come back to it again. And you do not need to beat the whole thing to get Eri, just get to Top-100 companies. You only need to get to Rank 1 if you want the orbital laser, but it will be Ichiban's skill, not Eri's. I mean, it's his name on the thing 😄

Well, let's see how the story unravels. Chances are Nagoshi may come out on top still.

[ZaidH]

@DoctorEldritch I might have trudged through it if I hadn’t fumbled hard in the first couple of business sessions. I was closing in on Nick Ogata’s deadline, so I just left it at that 😅 I’ve completed the main storyline now, so I’ll watch all the Eri stuff on YouTube. Hope she isn't a major character in Infinite Wealth 😆

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH I think Nick forgives you and makes another arrangement, he is a more meaningful figure in a story to cut contact over non-payment. But have you at least seen the commercials?

As far as I know, Eri is only mentioned in that game, she is not in the party or even as a support character. She is probably busy with the day-to-day operations of the Ichiban Holdings 😅

[ZaidH]

@DoctorEldritch Oh dang I had no idea 😭 Holup…COMMERCIALS!? Hooooly moly, I’m really missing out on a lot of content aren’t I?