Losing Money to Be a Tycoon c1-883
Page 138
It felt like he was all back at square one!
His coffee no longer smelled fragrant.
Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
Qiao Liang felt a deep sense of confusion and despondence.
(1) ‘Nerf’ is a game slang for ‘becoming too weak’.
Chapter 251 - Boss Pei Finally Got it Right Once
These few days, Pei Qian was rather busy.
He had spent the entire summer holiday busying with company matters. As it was nearing the start of school, he finally managed to find time to make a trip back home to rest for two days.
Pei Qian encountered a barrage of questions, such as his mom asking why he didn’t appear in Fei Huang Workspace’s new ‘A Day in a Great Inventor’s Life’. Pei Qian’s reply was that he was now working backstage. This time, Pei Qian did not buy any new appliances for the apartment. He had basically bought all the new appliances and furniture that he could; his next objective was to change to a bigger home.
However, Pei Qian’s Personal Wealth was still not sufficient; he could only wait for the upcoming round of losses first. Hence, after resting at home for two days, Pei Qian speedily returned to his working station and continued to bury himself in work passionately.
After returning to the company, he realized that Li Yada was actually very efficient. Repent and be Saved already had a new update that removed previous bugs that overpowered certain weapons.
Pei Qian was not affected at all; ‘Pudu had not been nerfed at all.
Furthermore, Pei Qian’s route took him straight from Road to the Underworld to the six realms of rebirth and existence. The increased difficulty level of the River of Forgetfulness, Three-Life Stone, etc. did not impact Pei Qian at all.
After struggling for a time in the game, Pei Qian decided to watch some shows on a video website and relax for a while.
After he entered a site, he saw a familiar face. Pei Qian was stunned. Oh? Wasn’t this Zhang Zuting? He saw the date, and Pei Qian finally recalled. Oh, yes. Today is the publishing date for Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version. As the advertisements were in tandem with the game, they were definitely being shown on all major websites.
Pei Qian was a little pained from his gaming experience. However, he immediately perked up. He didn’t even watch his show as he hurriedly monitored how Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version was doing.
He already had problems with Ming Yun Private Kitchen; he could only depend on this game to give him the assurance that he needed!
Pei Qian first opened a few popular websites like video websites, gaming websites, etc. Every website he went to, he could see Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version’s advertisement.
On the video websites, many gaming-related videos were all playing Zhang Zuting’s famous few words used for publicity: “I am Zha Zhuti; if you’re my brother, come nibble at me!”
It was hard for any netizen not to find out about this game under such widespread publicity.
Pei Qian hurriedly went to Aili Island and immediately searched the keywords ‘Zhang Zuting’. He found a collection of the advertisements related to Zhang Zuting and took a look at the bullet screen comments and discussions.
This series of videos was named: Can’t maintain your integrity? Zhang Zuting’s web-based game: I am Zha Zhuti.
The bullet screen comments and debate here reflected a portion of viewers’ attitudes.
“As Teacher Zhang’s fan, I am sorely disappointed. How much money is Teacher Zhang lacking that he would film such a commercial…?”
“Yet another lewd and dirty web-based game – bleh!”
“Actually, this is not that bad. At least this advertisement isn’t pushing the envelope and isn’t baiting people by offering money or something. This is considered one of the cleaner web-based game adverts I have seen. However, I still want to ask why Teacher Zhang has ruined his entire life’s reputation…”
“Tsk, this is how Zhang Zuting sounds like actually? I have always listened to the dubbing previously when I watched his films; I didn’t expect his voice to be so sinister?”
“Could this be using Teacher Zhang’s person and voice illegally?”.
“Zhang Zuting had said on Weibo himself that he was collaborating with a game company; this advertisement should be trustworthy.”
“You guys should think about this positively. Many web-based games’ commercials are all lies; they are nothing like what the games are actually about. However, this advertisement is rather well-done. They have actually invited a star as a spokesperson and decked him out in the clothing and setting of the game itself. Even his lines in the commercial are in-line with the game. This should be the best web-based game commercial this year, right?”
“Hello everyone, I am Zha Zhuti; if you’re my brother, come nibble at me! You can’t miss
out!”
The responses from the masses were not overtly agitated.
Everyone was seasoned and had experienced much.
At present, web-based games were at a key inflection point. This was considered the last glorious phase for web-based games where companies that did such games were raking in the most amount of money.
Web-based games commercials were also changing with the times.
During the days when web-based games were in the wilderness, promoters would rip off content from others; they wouldn’t be bothered if they violated any copyright rules or the likes. The way they publicized their games were also rather uncouth. It was done forcibly and with Psoriasis-style advertisements.
However, as the web-based game industry continued to consolidate and reorder and industry standards were set, major players all started to engage stars as their spokespersons.
Hence, from the perspective of ordinary netizens, Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version’s commercial was actually of better quality than ordinary ones that had a tendency to race to the bottom.
The group of people that were most displeased was Zhang Zuting’s fans. They felt that this web-based game commercial had lowered Zhang Zuting’s status; they felt as if their star had been humiliated.
Pei Qian opened Zhang Zuting’s Weibo.
Zhang Zuting’s latest Weibo message was one regarding the environment a few days ago. The content had been very simple: #protecttheenvironment #weneedtosavetheenvironment. This starts with us as individuals; let’s work together!”
The comments beneath this Weibo message had been rather ordinary. Some of Zhang Zuting’s fans had praised their idol, saying ‘my idol is the best’, etc.
However, present discussions had taken a completely different tune.
“Brother Zuting, why did you go and shoot a web-based game commercial. My world is crashing down!”
“Go and take a look! Many people are teasing you and calling you ‘Zha Zhuti’!”.
“This is breaking my heart. Brother Zuting who has always cherished his image had actually colluded with web-based game companies that are making dirty money!”
“So this is what you meant by collaborating with a game company… you meant a web-based game company…”
Zhang Zuting’s Weibo was taking a hit.
Many of his fans seemed to have a prejudice against web-based games and its related commercials. They all felt that a spokesperson for a web-based game was receiving dirty money and was self-degrading. Hence, they wouldn’t even bother playing the web-based game and had immediately come to protest on Zhang Zuting’s Weibo.
Zhang Zuting had not yet made any response so far and hadn’t dared to release any new messages. Pei Qian knew that Zhang Zuting was someone who liked to interact with his fans and would also monitor his Weibo account. It was impossible that he hadn’t seen any of these comments yet.
Zhang Zuting must have seen them; he just didn’t know how to reply to them yet.
On one hand was his fans while on the other was his paying master; he couldn’t offend either side.
Furthermore, Boss Pei had even treated him to
a meal before.
As the saying went, gifts blinded one’s eyes. As Zhang Zuting had only lost some fans now, he couldn’t possibly begrudge Boss Pei just because of this.
Since Zhang Zuting could not express his bitterness, he could only be a coward and hide for the moment.
Pei Qian took a look at the feedback regarding the commercial; it was more or less as expected. Pei Qian was a little disappointed. It seemed as if he didn’t manage to trigger as strong a negative reaction as he imagined it would.
However, perhaps the commercial had only been released for a short while; and people’s hatred for it hadn’t festered.
Currently, meme creators have not yet surfaced, and this commercial had not created a brainwashing effect yet. It was also logical that it hadn’t yet triggered everyone’s baseline.
Pei Qian had to focus his attention on the game’s statistics.
Pei Qian opened the systems platform of Shang Yang Games and took a look at Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version’s data. This included registered players, retention rate, and average fees collected, etc.
He couldn’t deny that the commercial had been rather effective. It had attracted quite a few web-based game players.
Although the commercial looked very stupid to ordinary people who didn’t have any desire to play the game-for web-based game gamers specifically, the advertisement was extremely attractive.
It was a very organized process from a web-based game advertisement until someone officially started playing the game. Every step of the way would be tracked and data retained.
As the advertisement surfaced on people’s screens, it showed how many people clicked on it; after clicking on it, how many had downloaded the game; after downloading, how many people had created accounts and entered the game; after entering the game, how many players persisted for an hour and more; how many players returned the next day after downloading the game; and how much players charged on average and what the highest charged value was.
All these data were very precise, and much analysis could be drawn from them.
As the saying went, ‘data never lies’. When there was a division between a person’s perception and what data showed—if the data was accurate, then the person’s perception must be wrong
As Pei Qian glanced at the data in front of him, the corners of his mouth curled upward.
It was basically just like what he had predicted!
Chapter 252 - This Game Looks Hopeless
The figures were all normal, but there was a huge problem with two of them.
Too many players were lost between clicking the advertisement and registering for the game. It added up to about six or seven times more than ordinary web-based games.
Apart from that, many players in the game purchased things. However, the overall income was still low.
The reason for these was simple.
The former was because mini-clients were too big. Most web-based gamers would not be used to downloading a 370 MB mini-client. That was why they did not even bother downloading the game and trying it out. They gave up almost instantly.
Many gamers were purchasing things in the game because the paywalls in the game were designed good-heartedly. Only strength potions were on sale.
Yet, it did not matter even if many people were purchasing the potions. This was because the game’s paywall was just too low. Even rich ballers did not have anywhere to spend their money. That explained the low overall income.
Pei Qian’s estimates were all accurate. Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version’s advertisement was well-filmed, but the target audience was wrong.
Most people whom the advertisement attracted were traditional web-based gamers. Having to download a 370-MB mini-client turned most of them away. The low paywall also turned away many ballers. Most gamers who sought fair gameplay were already playing client-side games. They would not mind downloading a 370-MB game, but they had deep prejudices against web-based games. The advertisement had already turned them away, and they ran as fast as they could. Of course, they would not have registered for the game. This was how they got into the predicament they were in.
Once he saw the figures, Pei Qian leaned back in his chair, feeling more comfortable than he had ever been.
This is it! This is a logical development! Something is finally developing as I expected!
Pei Qian had never felt this satisfied.
Recently, Ming Yun Private Kitchen had become popular out of nowhere. Pei Qian felt critically injured, and he became extremely anxious. However, seeing Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version’s situation now, he felt much more relieved. According to the traditional model of web-based games, the trashy opening that they had would never allow for the situation to turn around.
Most web-based games were profitable. Game manufacturers would put out as many advertisements as they could, hire celebrities as spokespeople, and then make the game popular. In just a couple of days, the game would be well-known all over the internet, and hoards of gamers would be registering.
However, gamers would go as quickly as they came. Their income would peak, but then it would also fall quickly. Then, the game manufacturers would start to continuously open new servers to earn as much money as they could.
Thus, as popular as a web-based game was in the beginning, it always had a probability of failing halfway through.
It went without saying that web-based games, which were not popular upon release, would remain that way the entire time.
On the first day of its release, Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version’s figures were already so horrible. The chances of it recovering later on were negligible. Most web-based gamers were turned away mainly because the mini-client was 370 MB big. How could they resolve this problem?
They could not possibly get rid of the 370 MB mini-client and then create a new game that players could play whenever they wanted. Wouldn’t that waste all of their hard work?
Thus, no matter how he looked at this situation, Pei Qian felt satisfied with the state of Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version.
Of course, he knew he could not let his guard down just yet. Many times before this, his plans worked well in the beginning but fell through halfway. Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version had only been published for a day. He could not be too positive. He had to observe the situation closely for a while before he relaxed completely.
At the same time, at Shang Yang Games…
Everyone was feeling low. One could say that the place had become a land of mourning.
Since Pei Qian could see the figures, Ye Zhizhou, Wang Xiaobin, and Lin Wan could as well. Of course, three of them could also infer the same problems that Pei Qian had inferred.
However, there was no way they could resolve them!
Ye Zhizhou and Wang Xiaobin sat at their desks, frowning and not saying a single word.
A 370 MB mini-client-this was the design plan everyone agreed upon. Even Boss Pei agreed to it.
Yet, now, reality had punched them in the face. Such a huge mini-client would never succeed in the circle of web-based gamers. The gamers would just not accept it!
Old players of Bloody Battle Song were more accepting. After all, they had developed a sense of attachment to Bloody Battle Song. What’s more, the 370 MB mini-client provided far better graphics and smoother gameplay. Of course, their gaming experience would be greatly improved.
However, Bloody Battle Song had already been pretty much abandoned by most people. How many old players remained?
Recovering the costs of research and development aside, the bit of income that they generated probably could not even cover the cost of the company’s daily operations.
Thus, they found themselves in a deadlock.
Wang Xiaobin knew full well how bad the current situation was. If the problem was with unimportant details, they probably could have salvaged it.
For instance, if the game’s daily retention rate was low and gamers stopped playing the
game after the first day, they could reward players with items for logging in the next day. This would increase the daily retention rate.
Yet, there was no solution to the problems they were facing!
Most people did not even enter the game after clicking on the advertisement, purely because the mini-client was 370 MB big. How could they resolve that?
Wang Xiaobin and Ye Zhizhou exchanged a meaningful look. Both of them could reach the other’s mind.
We cannot just sit here and wait. We must think of a solution.
Boss Pei treated them so well. At a time like that, they would profit from widespread suggestions. They had to share Boss Pei’s burden.
Ye Zhizhou pondered for a moment and suggested, “Brother Wang, how about this? We can break the mini-client down even more. We’ll create a 5 MB mini-client which only includes the first part of the game. This would allow players to try the game out after clicking on the advertisement.
“After playing for about ten minutes, we can ask them to download the resources for the rest of the game. Otherwise, we could allow the rest of the game to download in the background while they are playing the first segment.
“Would that be better?”
This was the only solution Ye Zhizhou could think of.
Wang Xiaobin shook his head. “It’s a good idea, but it doesn’t seem possible.
“Initially, we designed the game so that players would have to go into a city shortly after entering the game. That would allow them to enjoy the beautiful scenery and backgrounds there and improve their first impression of the game. Many important resources have been placed at the beginning of the game.
“In order to play a mini-client for the first segment of the game, one would have to download many resources. What’s more, the characters, monsters, and the city itself were all done in 3D. This amounts to a lot of resources. The game’s procedure would also have to be included in that starting mini-client, right?
“All in all, the starting mini-client would add up to 70 to 80 MB at best. It’s impossible to reduce it to 5 MB.