Trascrizione completa dell'IR:
Details from Pearl Abyss' IR session at Kiwoom Corp Day, September 26, 2024
- Crimson Desert is now in its seventh year of development and is slated for release next year. Over the years, we've provided 5-10 minute video updates on the game's development every 1-2 years, including in 2019, 2020, and 2022. This year, we've shifted toward a more hands-on marketing approach, allowing users to experience the game firsthand at events like the Gamescom B2C exhibition.
- As we approach the release, we're considering how best to raise awareness about the game. Although we've heavily emphasized its open-world aspect, many were disappointed that the Gamescom demo didn't showcase open-world gameplay. Due to time limitations, the demo focused on action and boss battles instead. However, we later released a 50- minute video highlighting the open-world gameplay. For the upcoming G-Star event, although nothing is confirmed yet, we are considering including more content that shows off the open-world features.
- We're preparing to announce the release schedule by the end of the year, though the exact timing and platform are still undecided. We may reveal it at major events like Gamescom or G-Star, but we're also exploring other possibilities. Our recent video was released via RGN, one of the largest gaming media outlets, and we plan to continue utilizing various channels for our marketing efforts. While it could be during G-Star or The Game Awards (TGA), the announcement will likely come after G-Star, with the method being determined internally. We are committed to announcing the schedule this year and to releasing the game next year.
Going forward, we'll be setting up more opportunities for global users to try out the game, including events for media and streamers in various regions.
-Participating in these events comes with significant costs. For example, Gamescom cost us around 1.5 billion KRW, and G- Star is expected to cost about 1 billion KRW, However, we will continue investing in marketing to ensure the game's success.
- We had hoped to release the game sooner, but creating a high level of freedom required modifying our engine, which took time. While the pandemic played a role, the main reason was that, in 2018, we began rebuilding our proprietary engine, Black Space. We've since added many open-world features that weren't initially included, which extended the development timeline.
- The game has been highly rated as one of the most ambitious open-world titles in the market, and we are just as confident about that within the company.
- We referenced several games during development. Early on, we drew significant inspiration from The Witcher 3- particularly its freedom, story elements, and overall feel. We also took inspiration from Assassin's Creed in various ways.
Our chairman, Kim Dae-il, considers Red Dead Redemption 2 and The Legend of Zelda among the best games ever made.
- Assassin's Creed showcases freedom by letting players ride or climb nearly everything they see, while The Legend of Zelda offers expansive freedom not just on land but in the air as well. We aim to incorporate all of these aspects in our game.
- The game also features a reputation system where your actions impact how others perceive you. Unlike typical games where the protagonist is always the hero, in Crimson Desert, you can choose to become a hero or a villain based on your actions. You can choose to save someone or harm them, allowing for a wide variety of gameplay experiences.
- Another key element we've focused on is interactions with NPCs and the natural environment.
- NPCs typically follow preset behaviors, but we've used Al to allow them to make decisions, resulting in more dynamic interactions. For instance, NPCs might flee during combat depending on their level or the number of opponents.
- You might have noticed in combat scenes that reeds are cut down, or objects are destroyed. We've paid close attention to these small details.
- Our proprietary engine allows us to implement these intricate features, giving us a unique advantage.
- Commercial engines often limit the variety of actions and interactions with the environment in combat scenes. However, using our own engine, we've been able to explore how to implement a diverse range of actions, interactions with nature, and realistic physical effects.
- We've also put significant effort into realistic lighting and character reactions to temperature and time. For instance, as the temperature drops, a character's movements may slow, and the same can happen at night. We've implemented detailed physical phenomena, like changes in behavior based on temperature and time.
temperature drops, a character's movements may slow, and the same can happen at night, We've implemented detailed physical phenomena, like changes in behavior based on temperature and time.
- We've heavily utilized Al in our proprietary engine, not only for NPC decision-making but also to improve development efficiency. Around half of our development team consists of art designers, and by incorporating generative Al, their workload has been significantly reduced, Black Desert has been in service for over 10 years, and we've allocated around 250 developers to it for updates, In contrast, Crimson Desert was developed with a maximum of 250 developers, thanks to the increased efficiency of our new engine.
- As of the end of Q2 this year, with Crimson Desert nearing completion, we've reduced the development team to around 170. The remaining staff are now working on DokeV, which is our next planned release after Crimson Desert.
- There were rumors that DokeV development had been halted, but the truth is that we had to focus on completing Crimson Desert first, Now, the team is shifting back to DokeV.
- Internally, we plan to release Crimson Desert next year, and after that, develop multiplayer online content for the game, similar to GTA's multiplayer mode. Of the 170 developers, around 50 will remain on Crimson Desert to work on the multiplayer aspect, while the remaining 100 will move on to complete DokeV.
- DokeV is expected to be released one to one and a half years after Crimson Desert's launch, with Crimson Desert's multiplayer content coming after DokeV.
- Crimson Desert will offer around 50 to 80 hours of gameplay and will have a definitive ending as a single-player game.
- There are concerns that revenue from console games is typically concentrated in the first year, leading to worries about long- term earnings. That's why we're developing the multiplayer mode for Crimson Desert, which will feature in-game purchases like skins, weapons, and more.
- DokeV is being developed similarly to Pokémon. It will be a multiplayer game where players collect DokeV creatures. After release, we plan to gradually expand the map and add new DokeV creatures over time. The initial release is expected to offer around 20-30 hours of gameplay, and we'll continue to update the game regularly to keep the service going. Since we plan to release updates steadily after launch, DokeV will be released faster than Crimson Desert, Developing Crimson Desert took longer because it's based on a completely original IP, and creating the narrative was time-consuming. However, DokeV draws from existing stories about DokeV, making the story development process much smoother.
- In the past, it took a long time for us to release new titles, but after Crimson Desert, we're preparing internally to shorten the gap between releases.
The next title planned after that is Plan 8, a shooting game, but we don't have as many resources dedicated to it right now. Since we're focused on Crimson Desert and DokeV, Plan 8 will take a bit more time to complete. We'll be able to share more details about it after DokeV is further along next year.
We expect Crimson Desert to sell around 3 to 4 million copies in the market, Internally, we aimed for 4 to 5 million copies. However, since we revealed the game, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. We've received a lot of feedback, and none of it was paid or solicited.
At Gamescom, we collected feedback from around 700 users, and 80-90% of the responses were positive.
The negative feedback we received mostly revolved around the effects being too intense, the game being too difficult, and questions about why there isn't a camera lock feature. We do have a camera lock feature, and the effects can be adjusted. The difficulty feedback likely came from users being thrown into a challenging boss fight without prior gameplay experience. Most of the negative feedback involved issues that we can easily address.
Based on user feedback and opinions, we believe the game could surpass the market's expectations of selling 3 to 4 million copies.
Our target market includes fans of games like The Witcher 3, Assassin's Creed, The Legend of Zelda, and Red Dead Redemption, which have sold 20 to 30 million copies each.
- Sony compared the atmosphere and story of Crimson Desert to Ghost of Tsushima, which has sold over 10 million copies.
We spent a lot of time considering our release strategy. Sony has essentially seen the entire game and expressed interest in publishing it, offering several favorable terms. If we had gone with Sony as a publisher, the game would have been exclusive to PlayStation for a year, with no release on Xbox, and PC distribution rights would also belong to Sony. Despite these restrictions, Sony's marketing power and various unique incentives were appealing. However, after evaluating the expected sales and revenue-sharing structure, we decided that self-publishing would be more beneficial. It's 99% certain that we will publish the game ourselves.
Recently, Stellar Blade signed an exclusive deal with Sony, but that was mainly because they didn't have the necessary publishing team, unlike us.
- In a typical contract, 30% of revenue goes to platform fees, and the remaining 70% is split between the developer and publisher. Since we already have the capability to self-publish globally and have overseas branches, we concluded that using our own resources would be more advantageous.
Whenever we release new videos or marketing materials, they have a significant impact on the market. Black Desert has also seen consistent performance over its 10-year run. We believe we have a strong publishing network and a capable team.
- Internally, since the game's development is nearing completion, we are now focusing on how to maximize its sales. We're working on detailed marketing strategies.
Our main goal is to raise as much awareness as possible and showcase the game in impactful settings. This year, we've held events every month, in August, September, October, and November. Our global branches are also hosting events with streamers.
- The recent video we released was captured by developers playing the game themselves. To make future videos more engaging, we're considering collaborations with streamers. We're exploring content ideas where a streamer might glide through the open world and land in unexpected places, climb trees, or jump off cliffs. We're also thinking of content that demonstrates how interconnected the world is. Through these collaborations, we hope to increase user interest by showcasing more open-world content.
we were more familiar with the PC tools. We are now currently conducting QA for the PlayStation version. QA involves fixing bugs and optimizing the game, Although we could release the PC version first, we plan to release both the PC and console versions simultaneously, which is why we haven't launched the game yet
- We believe word-of-mouth through streamers is critical for console games, and we're working on that, Currently, we've allocated a marketing budget of 20-40 billion KRW for Crimson Desert, including the costs of attending events like Gamescom this year
- Some people have asked whether we plan to get a license for Crimson Desert in China. We don't plan to pursue a license. Popular titles in China are usually accessed via Steam through VPNs, so we don't see the need for a license. The console market in China is relatively small, accounting for only about 3% of the total market. We're not sure how many users will access the game through VPNs, but the recent success of Monkey King led to a shortage of PlayStation consoles, which could work in our favor. We are also preparing for both digital downloads and physical package sales.
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