Staff at Genshin Impact developer miHoYo have been left in tears over the negative response to the game’s reveal, when many accused it of being a clone of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
As I mentioned CBRLi Wei, president of miHoYo, said at the Genshin Impact FES event that the team was deeply affected by the criticism and copycat accusations received early on. Breath of the Wild fans even took to Genshin Impact’s demo to protest the PlayStation RPG, with one attendee smashing a PS4 in front of the booth.
Wei didn’t mention Breath of the Wild specifically, though he did laugh when he brought up the “unprecedented crisis”. His speech was shared on Twitter by @tokinohikaru_00 (below).
[for every traveller]Genshin Impact FES 2023 in Shanghai (English Version)
MiHoYo President Daiwei is very touched and talks about his thoughts on Genshin Impact
I feel like crying while watching 😭・ There were hard times, but he says he managed to get this far… pic.twitter.com/4H2YLWSaIp
– ときのひかる (@tokinohikaru_00) August 13, 2023
“When I put out [closed beta] I was so proud, though [the closed beta’s] The response is, it looks different from our assumptions, it’s just different,” Wei said.
“When we did [the closed beta] We faced an unprecedented crisis. Everyone just watched a video [the closed beta and said]: “We don’t really understand what Genshin is trying to do.” He did not understand much, and there were many misunderstandings. at that time , [in] Our team, everyone was really worried.
“I remember many young colleagues crying and saying to me, ‘Why is this happening? What did we do wrong? But this is the innocence of youth, you can say we are not afraid. We thought and acted.
Wei explained that he and the team used the criticism as motivation to prove themselves, and as time went on, and more Genshin Impact was revealed, they were able to win over fans of the tour.
Genshin Impact has gone on to become one of the biggest live service games available, with action RPG gameplay and an anime-inspired open world that attracts millions of fans. Microsoft reportedly missed the opportunity to make Genshin Impact an Xbox exclusive, something it now regrets.
The game has also seen a lot of updates since it first launched, adding new characters, missions, items, and more, and has even seen crossovers with other franchises including Horizon: Zero Dawn.
In our 9/10 review, IGN said: “A stunning open world and addictive exploration make Genshin Impact an anime-zing adventure.”
Ryan Dinsdale is a freelance reporter for IGN. He’ll be talking about The Witcher all day.
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