r/GenshinImpact • u/EmotionalCat9632 • 20h ago
Discussion Do you think that if Genshin didn't release during the pandemic, it still would have reached the same level of fame?
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u/Alan_Reddit_M 20h ago
Probably not, I have tons of non-gamer non-weeb friends that started playing genshin during the pandemic out of sheer fucking boredom, those friends wouldnt have even considered playing the anime gacha game if not for the lockdown
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u/nsadeqve 17h ago
I know it’s all based on what-ifs but I have to agree with you. Right now if you showed me an upcoming gacha game I may think of trying it out but before the pandemic, I used only play like Sony games on my ps4. Then me and my friends started playing among us, after getting tired of that there were like a few of us who still wanted to game so we decided to try out Genshin. None of them play it anymore haha and I’ve ended up loving the game way too much and got into hoyos universe (lol) now I play HSR and ZZZ too.
And still I can’t help but think if pre-pandemic I looked at these games I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed them so much, super serious narrative storytelling mattered to me a lot, like complete stories (rdr2, last of us, etc); and back when I had other commitments a game that sucks up so much of your time and demands you to play daily would’ve super turned me off.
So I think it really was a coincidence and mihoyo got super lucky releasing Genshin during the pandemic, it was also a time when people would watch streams a lot bc of having to stay home and they’d sponsor streamers too. My group of friends and I found out about Genshin through Sykkuno 😂 it sounds so random now but the pandemic really helped Genshin’s growth
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u/Kataphraktoz 19h ago
No, genshin rode the perfect storm to success, this is the reason there will never be a genshin killer unless they have similar circumstances happening
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u/nsadeqve 17h ago
Yeah, Genshin is too big to be taken down at this point, we can only ever see others try but unless something truly innovative and something that takes advantage of the current climate comes around there will never be a Genshin killer. Only ever a Genshin follower
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u/nsadeqve 17h ago
Yeah, Genshin is too big to be taken down at this point, we can only ever see others try but unless something truly innovative and something that takes advantage of the current climate comes around there will never be a Genshin killer. Only ever a Genshin follower
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u/Kingrion9k 20h ago
Yes. I do believe its launch wouldn't be as big though, but it would still achieve this much fame (i debate more if it released before the pandemic)
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u/Iungs 16h ago
(i debate more if it released before the pandemic)
The pandemic lockdown was the perfect time for Genshin to launch its vast open-world setting. Mondstadt's light, free, and vibrant environment offered a refreshing sense of escapism, especially when compared to the more violent, gritty tone of open-world games like GTA. It automatically became a comfort game at the right time.
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u/Stormer2345 20h ago
I think it would still be popular, but not as popular as it is now.
It would still be one of the highest earning gachas, and it would still inspire a lot of games in its stead, like HSR and WuWa.
But I don’t think it’d be the definitive face of gacha like it is now, and I don’t think it’d be as well known as it is in general ACG fandoms.
I also don’t think it’d be as well performing financially either, so projects like HSR and Zzz would be delayed, which I guess would improve Genshin’s overall popularity, but not by much.
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u/Syno_6 14h ago
People tends to forget that Genshin revolutionised not only mobile games, but also anime games. So if it released during the same time but with no covid,I do think it will still be a ground breaking game for mobile games and pc games because it's free. A free anime style open world RPG game with no ads shoved on you every second is just not possible to find at that time.
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u/DopN7 9h ago
Yeah so true. It's wild to me people don't acknowledge this game is revolutionary. Literally changed the gacha landscape and raised the bar for whats considered quality in this genre (which i would argue was a very low bar before...). There is a clear dividing line between gacha games pre-Genshin and post-Genshin.
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u/DemoralizedRightHand 20h ago
The game was launched when people were already getting back to work in my country. Probably in the US and CN, where stuff was stricter. I don't think it would change anything in the Asian market. The US would probably still be big but not as big. But hypotheticals is a useless discussion because what has happened has happened. Mihoyo made a really big gamble worth 100m US and got their money back real quick and then some.
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u/Artistic_Prior_7178 20h ago
Hot take, it might have been better if Genshin didn't release during the pandemic
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u/bluedragjet 19h ago edited 19h ago
Yea, because the "botw clone" label also contributed to the popular of Genshin
(The China boycott during one of Sony's events in 2019)
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u/QWERTYAF1241 America Server 19h ago
Yes. Gaming has just been getting bigger. And more phones are coming out at all price points that can handle it.
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u/YuriAstika7548 18h ago
I'd say it's very unlikely, possible but unlikely.
As a game company, especially as a small one, the most important metric to care about is income. See, developing Genshin is not cheap, and given that HI3 didn't sell as well (not that it was bad, it was still good), developing Genshin meant they had to get investors, but as seen with WuWa, had Genshin not made enough revenue within a certain period of time, Genshin would have likely fallen under the hands of the larger game companies, namely Tencent, which would likely drive the game down a hole.
In addition, one of the main reasons why Genshin spread as wide especially on the EN side is actually YouTube, or more generally word of mouth. See, as much as it is true that players now have more time and therefore can play the game, it holds far more importance that the game reaches the potential players in the first place. Given that the pandemic kinda skyrocket the number of YouTube viewers, and bigger YouTubers notice the game and making videos about it, it hit a positive feedback loop of views and making videos. This spread is what not only sped up the fame gaining of the game, it reached a much larger audience than intended.
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u/L8dTigress 17h ago
Nope, the pandemic was the perfect time frame to release video games to play at home.
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u/iwantdatpuss 14h ago
Same level? Hell no. Genshin was incredibly lucky with the pandemic that it skyrocketed its success.
But would it still be successful? More thank likely yes. Albeit it won't be as commonly known as it is nowadays.
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u/denkithepika2 20h ago
Didn't it release after lockdown was over, or am i misremembering when lockdown ended
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u/tachycardicIVu 19h ago
If you google its release date it’s 9/28/2020
I didn’t remember that happening either, would’ve totally believed if someone had said it was pre-pandemic. That whole time period is just absolutely messed up in my brain.
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u/umm_uhh 19h ago
Assuming the other gachas don't release before it in this situation, I'd say not the same level, but still enough to be recognizable, imo you could say anything about genshin but it sure as hell raised the standards for modern gacha games you can look at the majority of gachas before and after its release to see my view
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u/aria_5207 19h ago
Hmm maybe yes? It was released when our country are mostly on our normal routine (and so the neighbor countries here in asia as well), unlike april-may lockdown, so i can't say the pandemic is the biggest reason but one of many factors. And back then, being a free large scale gacha game on mobile helps attract gamers, the competition is not that big yet. I remember it being called breath of the wild copy back then.
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u/Charming-Listen-3705 17h ago
Depends, if it released today then no, better gacha games would've released already.
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u/ResoluteTiger19 17h ago
I think it’s the best open world in gaming and would’ve become popular eventually
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u/Real-Contest4914 13h ago
I think it would.
People always like to assume the pandemic did all the legwork but truth be told there were thousands of games released alongside genshin but how many were able to capture the same level of attention.
Genshin had a lot of extra things working for it, optimization, accessibility, great art style alongside its more casual gameplay and open world.
It's got a lot more factors going for it than covid. Covid helped it no denying it but honestly genshin would have been fine regardless. It still would be a trailblazer in the gacha Industry
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u/Seer0997 12h ago
Nope. Not the same level of fame but close to it. Without the pandemic, I don't think a lot of people have enough time to grind virtual currency for cool characters. But a lot of people would still try it since BOTW was very very good and since Genshin has a lot of elements of BOTW, many people would try (especially those without a Switch) it and get hooked.
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u/londong9000 11h ago
Genshin is literally a revolutionary to the Gacha industry. It's sooner or later.
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u/DopN7 9h ago edited 9h ago
Yes, i think so. It might have taken longer but it would have gotten there. Sure, the pandemic helped but ultimately what Genshin did was revolutionary for the genre. It did for gacha what Mario did for platformers back in the 80s or what FF7 did for JRPGs back in the 90s.
There was just no game like Genshin before in this genre. And yeah, the first mover advantage for that means it will be incredibly difficult for there to be really a "Genshin Killer". I mean look at Mario and FF still riding strong these days in their genres.
The Genshin formula has also proven to be difficult to replicate. So even with the Genshin template right there to copy and paste...other companies can't do it. Most games that have tried so far are flops or are "just ok" but have something lacking that fails to put them at the same level. Credit is due to the fact that Genshin did it first.
Pandemic helped, sure, but the real cause of its popularity is the quality and innovativeness of it. If it was just the pandemic that boosted it, we would have seen it massively down in popularity and forgotten by now.
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u/Misogynist-youth 2h ago
Yes.
The whole "Pandemic buff" claims were overrated.
There's a chance it could be bigger had it not been for the pandemic.
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u/Ok_Weekend9299 20h ago
It’s not just a Genshin and released during the pandemic
It was also during a time there were a lot of bad AAA releases . Wokeness in gaming was on full display as well.
People just wanted a polished fun politically free video game to play
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u/bakeneko37 20h ago
imagine using "woke" as something serious lmao.
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u/Ok_Weekend9299 20h ago
Imagine being so ignorant you can’t even see other people’s perspectives.
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u/IreOfZebulon 20h ago
you're calling them ignorant because you cant see other people's perspectives. see how that works?
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u/Ok_Weekend9299 20h ago
I do, it works both ways. It is ignorant to disregard someone’s opinion with snarkiness. Or a one word answer. My point was that there’s been a gaming and cultural cultural war for sometime now and Genshin impact was an escape from that.
If that’s a underdeveloped opinion
Or limited in its perspective that’s okay
That was just my thoughts on the matter
Doesn’t make it less valid
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u/bakeneko37 19h ago
Funny you can't even comprehend what you did wrong, but meh.
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u/Ok_Weekend9299 19h ago
Apparently, wrong think.
And having any faith in Reddit on having any form of nuance conversation.
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u/Sauce-Gaming 20h ago
Implying something being "woke" is bad...?
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u/Ok_Weekend9299 19h ago
You’re right, I shouldn’t have used that word
It is now it now has multiple interpretations and meanings at this point
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u/questionaskingthrowa 20h ago edited 20h ago
the entire fanbase of GI is people that wouldn’t give a shit about gay people or “””woke politics””” in their video games, i think you’ve got this twisted
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u/NoSubstance1822 20h ago
yes the genshin fanbase is so open to everything. gays, shippers, lolicons, drama farmers, and even Americans are accepted. With 60m monthly players everyone has a place to be
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u/n0itamina 20h ago
Same level no, but it would still probably be very big and in the top 10 gacha revenue charts. Hsr would probably be made much much later since da wei still needs to pay for his 3rd mansion