Chapter 1031: The Signal Of A Price War
Pei Qian received a call not long after sending Meng Chang off.
It was Chang You.
“Boss Pei, uh… I encountered a little problem.”
“I have already reported your requirements for the Fitness Battle Mall and the lucky draw system. However, the response from the Development Team is that these functions can be done. However, there are some changes compared to the original design.”
“Therefore, the game might have to be delayed for a few days. After all, the functions have to be tested repeatedly to prevent malignant bugs from appearing online.”
“However, this way, the game’s release would not match the schedule of the news conference. The original schedule for the game to be released and the news conference would be released on this Sunday. Now, the game will be released several days later than the news conference.”
“There are two ways now: either postpone the news conference with the game and wait for the game to be done before releasing it, or mention it at the news conference, saying that the game would be released in the near future and give an awkward speech.”
After a moment of silence, Pei Qian asked, “Is there no third way? For example… not mentioning the game at the news conference?”
Chang You was stunned. “Huh?”
He had not expected this at all.
The Fitness Battle was a game that was tailored to fit the smart fitness drying rack. It could also be said to be the greatest advantage compared to other fitness equipment. In fact, about a third of Chang You’s original PowerPoint was introducing this game.
With this game, many people would have a reason to buy the smart fitness drying rack. If they did not mention this game, everyone might think that the smart fitness drying rack was a comedian product.
Chang You confirmed again. “Boss Pei, are you sure you don’t want to talk about the game?”
Pei Qian said seriously, “Of course!”
“We definitely can’t postpone the news conference. All the early stages of work have been prepared. The invitations to various tech media have also been sent out. It’s definitely not appropriate to change our minds at the last minute. It would look like we’re not keeping our promises.”
“However, since the game has not been completed and there is still a possibility of modification, it’s best not to be too confident. If the final product does not match everyone’s expectations, wouldn’t it disappoint customers!”
“Tengda’s way of doing things has always been to be honest. We don’t fight battles that we’re not sure of.”
“Therefore, don’t mention this at the news conference. There will be a chance for customers to know about it in the future!”
Pei Qian tried to bluff but to no avail.
It was not very convincing!
Chang You hesitated for a moment and said, “Er… Boss Pei, actually, consumers are not that weak. What’s more, the framework of our game has been set. It’s unlikely that there will be much changes…”
“Of course, if you think it’s more appropriate not to mention the game at the news conference, then we won’t mention it, Boss Pei.”
Pei Qian: “Don’t mention it.”
Chang You nodded. “Alright, Boss Pei. We’ll do as you say.”
After hanging up, Pei Qian smiled again.
Good news coming one after another!
If the smart fitness drying rack did not mention the game at the news conference, the fitness equipment would not be attractive to ordinary consumers.
After the news conference, the smart fitness drying rack’s popularity would go down. Most people would not remember such a fitness equipment. By then, even if news of the Fitness Battle was released, its influence would be greatly reduced.
Of course, it was impossible for no one to buy it. There would always be a few curious lab rats. However, it was better to reduce the popularity!
Pei Qian was very happy. He could not help but to think about the wonderful scene of the smart fitness drying rack not being able to be sold and the stocks being piled up in the warehouse…
…
…
May 10th, Thursday…
Shanghai, Long Yu Corporation.
Eric had just finished a phone call. He seemed to have a heated debate with the person on the phone about certain problems. However, he seemed to be unable to convince the other party in the end. He nodded reluctantly and agreed to the other party’s suggestion.
Zhao Xuming was also beside him, while his English standard was still alright, he could not understand the entire contents of the conversation. That was also because Eric spoke too quickly and he could not hear what was said on the other end of the phone. He could only vaguely understand that it seemed to be related to the IOI mobile version.
Zhao Xuming could not help but worry.
That was because Long Yu Corporation and Finger Games would hold a press conference today according to Eric’s arrangement.
Both parties would jointly announce a series of measures regarding IOI’s local server at this news conference. These included the news that IOI’s mobile game had been released, IOI’s new hero, Skyglow Dragon, as a custom-made skin for the domestic server. There was also a series of subsidies and money-burning policies, and so on.
It could be said that today’s news conference was Long Yu Corporation and Finger Games officially declaring war on Tengda Corporation.
Eric had been preparing for this day for a long time.
Eric had been carefully preparing for today’s plan ever since he was removed from his position. He wanted to burn money to defeat Boss Pei in one fell swoop.
After Eric regained control of IOI’s local server, he was also making preparations while patiently observing the timing.
The day had finally arrived.
Eric had been observing Tengda’s various industries seriously, thinking that this was the best time.
‘Mission and Choice’ had invested a huge sum of money into the movie and game. It would take a long time for it to be repaid even though it was a success in terms of reputation.
The initial sales of G1 cell phones were not bad. There would definitely be a lot of stocks that required a huge amount of funds.
According to sources, Otto Technologies had a new technological product to announce. According to Boss Pei’s character, this product would definitely be in large quant.i.ties.
All of this meant that Tengda’s already tight capital chain was under greater pressure.
If they were to engage in a money-burning war at this juncture, Boss Pei would not have much funds to use. It would be very beneficial to Eric!
The money-burning war could be carried out secretly but they had to hold a news conference and “announce it to the world” as high profile as possible in order to achieve the best results.
That was because most players would only know about this news if it was publicized. Fresh blood would then be attracted to the game.
This move would attract Tengda’s attention and might even make Tengda counterattack quickly. However, this was the effect that Eric hoped to achieve.
That was because the outcome of the money-burning war had nothing to do with fast reaction speed. It was only related to the number of bullets in their hands. The bullets actually depended on whose capital flow was healthier and whose family background was thicker.
Tengda had been paying attention and burning money to fight. It could easily withstand the pressure from Finger Games in the early stages, but it would not have enough momentum.
Thus, the news conference today had been carefully prepared for a long time. Its influence directly determined whether the start of the money-burning war would go smoothly.
Zhao Xuming probed seeing that Eric had hung up, “Is there anything new? Will it affect today’s news conference?”
Eric shook his head slightly. “There’s a small problem with the mobile game, but it shouldn’t affect today’s news conference.”
“Previously, the mobile game was made into a client-side game where the mobile games were not interconnected. After I protested to the higher-ups, this method was rejected.”
“However, the person-in-charge of the mobile game project called just now and said that although the mobile game has been designed to be a client-side game and the data is interconnected, they added some charge points that are different from client-side games.”
“For example, there are special skins, exclusive gift bags, special icons, and expressions in the mobile game.
Zhao Xuming was stunned for a moment. “This… doesn’t seem appropriate, right? Since we’re going to do data synchronization, we should do it more straightforwardly. Wouldn’t it be better to make it exactly the same? That way, people won’t have to say it.”
Eric shook his head helplessly. “That’s right.”
“However, there is also pressure on the mobile game project. If the content of the mobile and client-side games are exactly the same, the mobile games’ revenue would be too weak.”
“The mobile game development is also maintained and developed by a special project team. After investing so much, the higher-ups have to consider the investment and output ratio. They have already made many concessions in terms of benefits on Data synchronization. The mobile game project will definitely not agree if they don’t think of other ways to recover.”
“However, the person-in-charge gave a compromise solution.”
“The mobile game might have some exclusive skins, gift bags, and other spending points, but we will give players some subst.i.tute coins at the beginning of the game so that they can use these to obtain the most exclusive skins and gift bags for free.”
“When the mobile game’s gamers stabilize, new skins and gift bags will be produced slowly to recover.
“This is a compromise that is barely acceptable.”
Zhao Xuming nodded slightly. “Yes… that’s the only way.”
Obviously, as the person-in-charge of IOI’s local server, Eric had a certain say in the upper echelons of Finger Games. However, he did not have that much power that he could not go back on his word.
The other project teams of Finger Games were in charge of developing IOI mobile games. Eric hoped that IOI mobile games and client-side games would be completely interconnected and would not earn a single cent. However, some of the upper echelons of Finger Games disagreed with this idea. They felt that they had worked so hard to create a mobile game. Why could they not earn money?
The outcome of the compet.i.tion between the various factions was that each of them would take a step back: they would sell some exclusive gift bags to earn money, but they had to be slightly more reserved. They would first give more subst.i.tute coins in the early stages and pretend that these exclusive content could be obtained for free. After a while, they would slowly sell the exclusive content to recover their health.
This was relatively easier for players to accept emotionally. The IOI mobile game project team could also earn more money.
Eric might be a little dissatisfied with this method, but he was also a smart person. He knew that it was unrealistic to let IOI’s mobile game completely follow his will, so he knew better than to insist.
Zhao Xuming suddenly thought of a problem and said, “Then… What about the press conference this afternoon?”
“There are mobile games related content in the news conference. Our slogan is ‘mobile games and client-side data are interconnected, and the content are completely identical’. I’m afraid that it can’t be considered ‘completely identical’ in this situation, right?”
Eric considered for a moment and said, “You don’t have to make it so clear. Introduce it vaguely.”
“If we were to tell the truth at the news conference about the mobile exclusive gift bag, we might be in a disadvantageous position in public opinion from the beginning.”
“We will hint at the news conference that the game is still being developed, but that does not mean the final effect. Once the game is released, gamers would probably not cling onto this point.”
Zhao Xuming nodded. “That’s right. As long as we give enough tokens, the players will definitely lose their memories and pretend that nothing happened.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem.”
Eric stood up. “Alright, that’s settled. The news conference will be held in the afternoon. Hurry up and prepare. We’re going to declare war on Tengda!”