Not long ago," the first anniversary of "Horse Racing Lady" has not yet passed, this game that was born last year has received $130 million in its first month of revenue as soon as it was listed, becoming the most successful new game in the Japanese game market, with the official announcement of the Chinese Traditional version of "Horse Racing Lady" on February 15, the call for national uniforms has become more and more intense, which also makes people wonder why a new game featuring "Horse Lady" can be so popular in the era of "everything can be cute".
Games with "horse" as the main content are rare in the market, in europe and the United States where "horse culture" is also prevalent, another game that can also be called "horse girl" almost low-key announced that it launched a mobile version of its own star product, and the mobile version update is not only the 10th anniversary gift of this game to players, but also a revolution in its development process. What's more worth mentioning is that this is actually a MMO that focuses on women.
On February 17 this year, Star Stable Entertainment launched a mobile version of its star product Star Stable Online (hereinafter referred to as "SSO"), and the CEO of Star Stable said: "SSO loyal players have been asking to play games on their mobile devices, we promise that we are working hard, and now we are happy to deliver on this promise, which is also a milestone for us." "It is worth mentioning that the mobile SSO and the PC data can be exchanged.
So far, the game has accumulated more than 21 million registered users in more than 180 countries and territories, offering 14 language options, and more than 1.4 million MAU – and that's just the number before it launched its mobile version. If "Horse Racing Lady" relies on the hearts of the vast number of male players gathered by sophisticated "feminine" characters, then "SSO" relies on the "long affection" of the foals to become a deep treasure for female players. This also makes GameLook even more curious, when "Horse Racing Lady" almost handed over the full score of the "Horse Lady" mobile game, how will the "SSO" of "another way" perform.
Star Stable Online promotional video
Only raise horses and don't fight monsters, but also buy out the monthly card? How women play to "horse girls"
If you use three words to summarize the main gameplay of SSO, they are "dress up", "adventure exploration" and "horse racing social".
The dress up part is almost the standard for all "female-oriented" mobile games, and the same is true for SSO, even on the official website, the game download page will only pop up after completing the character creation process such as the character and the initial "pinch face" of the horse ass.
Dress-up is almost throughout every aspect of the game, in addition to dressing up for the rider, horses also need several accessories such as saddles and horseshoes, and most of the store stores in the game sell such products. It is worth mentioning that the outfit is not without any bonuses, SSO has added simple RPG elements, such as the equipment worn by the horse will have strength, training, agility, reaction speed and other values, and the rider has attributes such as royal horse value and command value, but it is not complicated.
Each player will have a stable, manage their horses, including feeding, cleaning hair, etc., different feeding actions will also consume the corresponding materials, while improving the happiness of the horses, the stable naturally contains different decorative elements.
It is worth mentioning that the different breeds of horses in the game are the core elements of the costume cultivation, "SSO" often launches related new horses for players to consume the relevant currency in the game to buy, or through the completion of the task to obtain, horses and costume types are also colorful, so there have been events before the launch of red and green "dragon horses" to impress GameLook.
Adventure and exploration is another focus of SSO, the game for the player to build a mysterious island and town called Jorvik, all the adventures of the player are also unfolded here, the map not only contains a large number of terrain elements, but also a special variety of map events and missions, highly explorable, this map has also been constantly changing and enriching in the 10 years of operation of "SSO".
It is worth mentioning that "SSO" has an epic backstory, telling the story of a meteorite that attacks Jorvik Island on a stormy night, and a girl on a horse jumps out of the flames of the meteorite, who brings life to the island, but there is a dark force hidden deep under the sea that attempts to destroy the island. This backstory also becomes the "main line" for players – helping the inhabitants of Jorvik Island to improve their riding skills.
Rich map exploration is closely related to SSO's good community atmosphere, and related map missions appear on the official website almost every once in a while, such as the Halloween "Haunted Trail" that allows players to explore a mountain road, avoid spiders and snakes while finding the end. Different exploration missions will give the player corresponding rewards, mostly experience points, in-game currency, etc.
If adventure exploration is the PVE level of "SSO", then "Horse Racing Social" is PVP, and the equipment values of the riders and horses mentioned earlier are also for this gameplay, and the main villages of the game will be useful for the racecourse, and the panel in the middle of the racecourse can be used for players to register for the race, and the schedule of the day will also be displayed. The process of horse racing is a bit like a racing game, with eye-catching signs at different points of the track, horses also have skills such as sprinting, and players also need to control horses to jump and other actions.
Whether it's meeting three or two friends for a thrilling race at the racecourse or a trip away from town with strangers, it's an obsession with SSO players.
Overall, SSO does not lack many of the settings and elements of mainstream MMORPG games, but under the big theme of horse breeding, the trade-off between different elements is made, the combat system is almost completely erased, and the gameplay of "horse racing" and "adventure" has become the main one, but it is still very casual overall.
However, it is not so "casual" at the paid level. Although free to play, it is limited to beginner maps at the beginning, and players can only reach level 5 in free mode. Players who want to continue playing must choose to top up to become a "Star Rider", which can be done on a "monthly card" system of $8.49 per month (or a $20.99 season card), or they can buy out directly for $52.50, in addition to a higher-cost buyout package that offers unique clothing.
Ten years of grinding a sword, how to cultivate the "star horse factory"
To some extent, "SSO" and "Horse Racing Lady" are quite "contrary", the latter has made countless players crazy under the exquisite standing painting and hardcore cultivation system, while SSO's "ten years of grinding a sword" relies on constantly updated game events and content to let players play for ten years.
SSO actually first appeared before 2007, and three different games appeared at that time: Starshine Legacy, Star Academy, and Star Stable. Starshine Legacy is a series of four games released by Hidden Entertainment and Pixel Tales in 2005, telling the magical story of four different girls and their horses on Jorvik, laying the foundation for SSO's worldview.
Star Academy also takes place in Jorvik, but the theme of the game is completely unrelated to horses, but instead practice singing and dancing according to the storyline in order to perform at different points in the game, and eventually win the singing competition on Jorvik; the last Star Stable returns to the story of the horse girl, when the player needs to become a skilled rider from an inexperienced little white, and train himself by helping different NPCs encountered in the game. The four protagonists in the previous Starshine Legacy will also appear in this work one after another, becoming mentors to help players move forward.
These three games undoubtedly laid the foundation of SSO, and in 2010, the soon-to-be-established Star Stable Entertainment purchased the rights to these three games and announced the development of a more advanced online version, it is worth mentioning that the game underwent a major transformation in the development process, in the initial preview version, SSO was still a top-down game, but by 2011 the game was officially released in Sweden, SSO It was only in 2012 that the game was released worldwide, and now it has been 10 years.
With such a star product, Star Stable Entertainment has also gradually developed its music, book publishing and animation businesses, and its animated series "Star Stable: Mistfall" is based on the IP of its star products. There are also musical works of the same name, as well as books based on the SSO IP. By 2018, Nordisk, the "big brother" of European pictures, acquired a partial stake in Star Stable Entertainment.
It may not be an exaggeration to describe Star Stable Entertainment as "one trick to eat all over the sky", and a good gaming community environment and a live service that has been the same for decades may be the driving force behind SSO's steady success. With the release of the mobile version of SSO, this IP will continue its steady pace in the mobile game market and look forward to the next decade.
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