Supply and demand usually go hand in hand, you know.
This is simply common sense.
The more popular a product is, the quicker it sells out right after it’s released; therefore, producers often increase their production.
Of course, there are exceptions. Like when there’s supply without demand.
It happens that products or services nobody wants occasionally show up, and that’s not rare at all.
But those cases are the minority; most of the time, as demand goes up, supply tends to increase as well. You have to think of it as supply adjusting according to people’s tastes and needs.
You can easily find examples of this around us. Just look at the sudden boom of Tanghulu shops that have popped up everywhere!
A type of store that was hard to find before has now become commonplace, with Tanghulu shops opening in every alley—talk about market competition!
This was the result of reflecting people’s demands. In just a few months, Tanghulu has become a viral sensation among everyone from elementary to high school students, and the trendy MZ youth.
Anyway, as long as the supply is in line with people’s demands, the product is bound to sell.
The game, Abyss, which is now gaining popularity worldwide, is well aware of this fact, along with its developer, Eonix.
“So, about the new skin…”
The general director, Oh Hong-kyun, spoke up. He was currently in a meeting with his employees.
The topic at hand was which character’s skin to release next.
The process of skin release usually goes something like this.
First, the employees hold a meeting to decide which character’s skin to launch. Ideally, they’d finalize the design and concept, but if not, the art team figures that out and then gets it confirmed by Hong-kyun.
When he gives the thumbs up, the development team starts working on it; if he shoots it down, the art team goes back to the drawing board.
This cycle repeats about once a month. Unless a player wins a world championship or requests a skin like Kayak, special event skins are typically created through this process.
Most of the skins in Abyss were created this way.
Skins aren’t made just because something special happens; the employees regularly meet to create skins for specific characters. This is also why some skins receive complaints from users about lacking creativity and looking like they were mass-produced.
Instead of skins being created out of thin air, the employees regularly hold meetings to develop specific character skins. This has led to criticism from users who feel that some skins seem to lack creativity and look like they were churned out by a factory.
While it might seem somewhat haphazard, it’s actually a traditional procedure that has been in place for years, a venerable method, so to speak.
This time was supposed to follow a similar process, that is, until one particularly bold statement from a new team leader changed everything.
“Is there anyone with differing opinions? If not, let’s proceed as we have in the past, and the art team can handle it.”
“I actually have one suggestion regarding the new skin.”
To be precise, she was not exactly a complete newbie. This was a meeting for team leaders and above, where fresh recruits weren’t allowed to participate.
She was a newly appointed team leader, previously working at Envision, a competitor to Abyss. Her experience at Envision granted her the position of the vacant planning team leader.
Having recently transferred to Eonix, she was quietly observing and adapting to the atmosphere until she decided to speak up.
“Oh, this team leader has a good idea, does she?”
Honggyun looked at her with interest, and simultaneously, the gaze of other team leaders in the room turned toward her.
The team leader licked her lips, seemingly a bit nervous, and continued.
“What if we release skins for the characters that the users want this time?”
“For the characters they want…?”
“Could you take a look at the previous data? This is the data from the skin release last August.”
Following Honggyun’s lead, the team leader pulled out the PowerPoint she had prepared.
It included statistics on all the skins released thus far and their corresponding sales numbers.
“Obviously, the characters that users play the most have the highest sales. Well-designed skins performed similarly. Each user has their preferred characters, so when skins are made for lesser-used characters, only a few will purchase them.”
“I see.”
Honggyun nodded, encouraging her to continue.
“We could hold a direct vote for the users. Then, we could rank the selected characters and only create skins for the top three. Instead of making three different skins, we could focus on quality and make them even better.”
“It’s about making it happen. By doing so, we rank the selected characters and create skins only for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place characters. Instead of making three, we focus and enhance the quality of those three skins.”
Honggyun, who had been quiet for a moment as if deep in thought, finally spoke up.
“How about we set different tiers based on the voting results—1st place gets a mythic grade skin, 2nd place gets a legendary grade, and 3rd place gets a rare grade skin? That could be fun!”
“Sounds fun, sounds fun!”
After muttering to himself for a moment, Honggyun looked around at the other team leaders in the conference room and asked, “What do you all think? About this team leader’s proposal?”
It was safe to say the atmosphere had already tilted in favor of his idea. Since the top decision-maker, Honggyun, showed interest.
Whether the other team leaders had positive or negative reactions, if he decided to proceed, the project would go ahead.
Also, the idea wasn’t bad, and there wasn’t really anything to refute. At times like this, it was best to go along with the flow.
Knowing this well, the team leaders each raised their voices with positive responses.
“I think it’s a good idea.”
“When should the voting period start and end?”
“Only three skins to make, so it will greatly reduce the burden on the art and development teams.”
Honggyun nodded with a satisfied expression.
“Great, let’s proceed with this team leader’s proposal.”
And thus, the voting for the new skins in the Abyss began.
*
“This towel is not just a towel; it’s elegantly embroidered with a deer design on the side. It’s super soft for those with sensitive skin. And most importantly, it absorbs moisture really well. It’s quite annoying when one towel doesn’t dry your body completely after a shower.”
[For sure, absorption is the most important!]
[Wow, I just looked up the price; it’s 50,000 won for ten!]
“Aren’t towels something your parents get from some club?”
[Are we reviewing housewarming gifts? Haha!]
“It’s going to take nearly an hour just to review Taker’s gift! Haha!”
[Oh no… Kayak’s towel that wiped off the remaining moisture….]
“I want to gift a towel or tissue to the broadcast host!”
[Buying Kayak’s used tissue – this message has been deleted.]
[Ugh, look at the filthy chat room.]
[Wow, the sexual harassment just never stops, huh?]
[Are these guys not scared of getting sued?]
[Just imagine it in your head, don’t type it out in the chat!]
[Lately, new viewers have absolutely no boundaries.]
[Good thing the Broadcast Host is handling it well; in another Woman’s broadcast, they would’ve been banned ages ago. Haha.]
“Hmm, let’s keep the chat a bit cleaner. It’s gotten a bit out of hand lately. Make sure to read the rules—break them, and you’re getting banned right away.”
This is a personal broadcast after the housewarming party.
After the housewarming, I took a break the next day. Even though I only invited a select few, preparing to host them was no small task.
By the time I finished cleaning up after everyone left, I had pretty much used up the whole day, so I had no choice but to take a break.
Right now, I’m opening up the gifts that the guests brought and leaving reviews.
Honestly, I wasn’t even planning on doing reviews. Most of the housewarming gifts are just everyday items like tissues or kitchen towels, right?
But then, the Taker surprisingly brought a bunch of expensive gifts, which gave me something to review!
Editing this could actually yield some decent content. If I post the review video on VTube, the Taker will know that I’m using their gifts well.
“Next up, a cordless vacuum cleaner. I intentionally let dust pile up on my desk to test it out. Let’s do a real-time suction power test!”
[No way, haha, who’s this show host now?]
[This house does business well!]
[I want one too, but how much is it?]
[Look at that suction power!]
[I have one at home, and it’s great! If your place isn’t too big, just having this one is enough.]
[The Taker wisely only bought what I need.]
[As expected, the Taker is the best for housewarming gifts! Haha.]
Just as I was in the middle of the review, I received a tip from a Viewer.
[Kayak’s Sword Riri has sponsored 10,000 won!]
– Breaking news: Abyss voting is open for choosing characters related to the new skin.
“Voting?”
It seemed like something unusual was happening.
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