Losing Money to Be a Tycoon c1-883

by Inebriation-seeking Blue Shirt, 青衫取醉

  At the same time, releasing the mobile version first meant GOG could avoid fighting in the client-side game industry for now, where IOI still had the upper hand.

  Chang You had been hoping for Lin Wan to create a mobile version of Be Quiet, but Lin Wan had said that there simply wasn’t enough time. What’s more, it would be extremely difficult to adapt Be Quiet’s gameplay for cell phones. Thus, they had shelved the idea.

  Chang You had even hoped to move other successful games like Ocean Stronghold onto cell phones. However, all of those hopes had been dashed because neither Tengda Games nor Shang Yang Games could spare the manpower.

  Still, he was not anxious. In any case, they were all Tengda’s games. Whether they were moved to mobile sooner or later, Otto Technologies would still benefit.

  For now, being able to provide a special, improved version and a high-frame-rate mode for Bloody Battle Song and GOG was good enough.

  Due to a couple of historical problems, many whales were still hiding in Bloody Battle Song. Their purchasing power was just being suppressed because it was difficult to find avenues in the game to spend money. If they ran advertisements for OTTO E1 in the game, some players would be interested for sure!

  Once everything was settled, Chang You stopped panicking.

  He was beginning to understand why Boss Pei had emphasized to him not to worry about sales or lowering prices but to focus on stocking up instead:

  Soon, Otto Technologies’ sales would go through the roof!

  Chapter 452 - Boss Pei is Very Strict

  Chapter 452 Boss Pei is Very Strict

  March 15th, Tuesday…

  At 3 PM…

  Pei Qian slept quite well the night before. He only woke up at noon. He went to the office after having lunch. The first thing that he did was to check on Be Quiet’s sales. The public’s reaction to the game was still lukewarm. Some people were discussing the gameplay online, but not many people were paying attention. Most were still talking about the challenging prerequisite. The game had a rating of 8.5 on TPDb’s website. It was not low, but it was not high either.

  That was because the gameplay itself was complicated, and there were very few gamers. Thus, not a single person had truly figured out the gameplay. Naturally, the game’s reputation could not pick up.

  As for ‘Top Student, Come Quick’, Pei Qian had not heard about the project in a while. It looked like everything was going well. He glanced at the calendar. This week would be critical

  That was because the results of all of his projects would be released this week. He was going to find out whether he would end up with profits or losses! After doing his calculations for various projects, Pei Qian suddenly realized that he had been forgetting something He wondered how the research and development of GOG had progressed. Speaking of which, the research and development of GOG was taking much longer than Pei Qian had expected.

  His intention had been to create a game that would meekly compete with IOI. As IOI dominated the market, his own investment in GOG would be made ducks and drakes of. That would have put him a step closer to his goal. However, the research and development of GOG had been too slow. Until now, the game had not been officially released. Still, Pei Qian did not think too much about it because the environment at Tengda Games was quite tough…

  On one hand, the chief planner of the project-Li Yada-had gone on holiday together with one of the core members of the team, Bao Xu. The project team had lost its backbone. On the other hand, Tang Yishu was seated in the office. The project became filled with bugs. Fixing bugs alone had driven the entire project team crazy. At that thought, Pei Qian could not help but sympathize with Tengda Games’ situation. “Should I ask them how they are and offer some comfort?

  “After all, the games department has been performing well recently. They’ve kicked the bad habit of working overtime, and have performed well in several Zero Overtime Competitions. “What’s more, they’ve significantly eased my burdens by slowing down the entire research and development process.” Pei Qian stood up, prepared to leave the office and walk around upstairs. To him, it would be best if every project could be completed in the week before settlement. That would ensure that they would only be available for sale for a week and only generate a week’s worth of revenue. However, the problem was that it would be very difficult to control something like project timelines. In developing a game or working on other projects alike, it was common to run into problems and delays. In fact, completing a project on time was uncommon.

  Pei Qian had to allow for some buffer time for the various projects and set their end dates for two to three weeks before settlement. Only then could he avoid having incomplete projects and delaying settlement.

  However, that would give rise to new problems. What if his projects finished on time or even earlier?

  Pei Qian would not be able to do anything about it. He could only bear with the pain and release the projects earlier. After all, they were already complete. He could not possibly insist on delaying their release without any good reason. Be Quiet was an example of a game that had finished too early. That was why Pei Qian had to create a prerequisite challenge to make up for it. At the moment, it looked like he had successfully salvaged the situation. On the other hand, GOG was slower. It was progressing closer to what Pei Qian had expected in the beginning Soon, Pei Qian arrived at Tengda Games. As he walked in, he felt confused. There was no one he knew in the games department! It was too bad. Tengda Games had been too successful. Every game was a hit. The old employees who had performed well and left a deep impression in Pei Qian’s mind had all been sent away. Even the turnover rate for an important role like chief planner was high.

  Between Huang Sibo and Lu Mingliang, one was at Fei Huang Workspace and the other was at Upwind Logistics. Now, both Li Yada and Bao Xu were overseas as well. Pei Qian did not know who to look for at that moment.

  Several old employees looked familiar, but Pei Qian could not remember any of their names. He felt awkward. Still, it was a good thing that everyone recognized Boss Pei. Once he walked in, three employees—who had been discussing something-quickly went forward to receive him. Those three were Hu Xianbin, Min Jingchao, and Zhang Nan; who were Tengda Games’ stand-in chief planner, systems designer, and skins designer respectively. In other words, they were the three people whom Li Yada had handed her job over to before leaving “Boss Pei! What’s brought you here? I am Hu Xianbin, the stand-in chief planner for Tengda Games. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.”

  Hu Xianbin and his two companions introduced themselves one by one. Pei Qian tried hard to recall their names and faces and did a quick search in his memory bank. Er… these faces are relatively new… Had Li Yada found three newbies to take over her job? It was no wonder that GOG was progressing so slowly. Still, this was a good thing to Boss Pei! If this Hu Xianbin could match Boss Pei’s expectations, Pei Qian would not mind allowing Li Yada to retire early. Er… retiring at 25 years old? Would the System allow that?

  Pei Qian smiled and said, “Don’t worry. I’m just walking around. How’s GOG’s research and development going? Has it been smooth? Can people start playing it at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe next week?”

  Hu Xianbin quickly answered, “We originally planned to release GOG’s client next Monday. There are still many bugs in the game, and we’ve been trying to repair them. That’s why progress has been very slow.” Pei Qian was very happy with this timeline. Still smiling, he said, “That’s not slow at all! The timing is just right. “As the saying goes, a slow artisan produces skilled work. If you fix more bugs during research and development, fewer bugs would appear once the game is released. “Wait, did you just say GOG’s client?”

  Pei Qian sharply noticed a problem with Hu Xianbin’s choice of words. GOG was a client-side game. Why did he have to emphasize that?

  Hu Xianbin smiled. “That’s right, Boss Pei. The mobile game has already been released today.” One could almost see three question marks
above Pei Qian’s head. “???

  “Mobile game? What mobile game?” Stunned, Hu Xianbin replied, “The mobile version of GOG.” Pei Qian, “…” What was going on? Was this deja vu? Pei Qian immediately recalled when he was informed about the release of Bloody Battle Song’s mobile version. At the time, he had been feasting with Shang Yang Games’ employees at Ming Yun Private Kitchen. The news had arrived like a sudden rain cloud on a sunny day, turning him to stone. The situation now was similar. Pei Qian’s brain could hardly process the information. He only reacted a moment later. At once, he asked, “How’s it doing now?” Hu Xianbin proudly answered, “Please see for yourself, Boss Pei!” The three of them parted to allow Boss Pei to see the screen that they had been looking at. It showed GOG’s real-time data. All the numbers seemed to be increasing rapidly: the number of downloads, the number of active players, the number of top-ups, and the like! Pei Qian’s leg turned weak. He quickly sat down. Then, he moved his chair closer to the screen to study the figures closely. It was true. All the numbers were going through the roof!

  What shocked Pei Qian the most was that the mobile version of GOG had not only been released on the official platform but also on other channels such as Shenhua’s application store. Pei Qian asked, “How long did you all have to negotiate the partnership with these other platforms?”

  Hu Xianbin shook his head. “We didn’t have to. They approached us.”

  Pei Qian’s mind was filled with question marks. With some brief explanation from Hu Xianbin, Pei Qian immediately understood. Tengda’s reputation was extremely good, and GOG’S mobile version was well-made. The team had not needed to request to work with other platforms or beg other platforms to put GOG on their shelves. In fact, the other platforms had approached Tengda Games of their own accord!

  Tengda had created standalone games and online games, and each one of those games had been a huge hit. Ocean Stronghold and Bloody Battle Song were examples of Tengda’s successful online games. Of course, other platforms would have no problem collaborating with GOG.

  Many platforms even offered to give Tengda a higher share of the revenue and profit, just so that they could sell GOG.

  On top of that, GOG itself looked very attractive as a game! At the moment, Gods Rising, 101, and GOG had the upper hand in the client-side game market. IOI did not have a local server, and gamers in China had to use accelerators to connect to foreign servers before they could play. On the other hand, GOG was still being tested and had not been released yet. Thus, the competition among those three games was still unclear. It was difficult to tell which game would emerge as the winner.

  However, neither Gods Rising nor IOI looked like they had any plans to enter the mobile game industry. Thus, GOG was the sole competitor and an extremely attractive one at that!

  Of course, no one dared to guarantee that the gameplay was appropriate for a mobile game. Still, many gaming platforms and channels obviously saw a lot of promise in this move. Many of them wanted to invest huge amounts of resources to try it out. That was because they stood to earn a lot of profit if it turned out to be successful!

  For those two reasons, Hu Xianbin and the others had not had to approach channels or engage in publicity. They had only needed to leak some information before the gaming platforms approached them of their own accord, offering favorable terms. There had been no need for them to worry about publicity; they had received everything while sitting back!

  Extremely excited, Hu Xianbin said, “Big Sister Li had not told us how to work with other platforms before she left. I was a little worried at first, and I was even thinking about asking her about it online over the next few days.

  “Now, I know I was obviously thinking too much!

  “Boss Pei, I can only say that you’ve set an excellent foundation for Tengda. All the gaming channels are fighting to put our game on their shelves. That’s what a good reputation can do for you!” Pei Qian was momentarily speechless. What has this got to do with me?!

  He looked at all the figures on the screen, not knowing what to say. A huge threat had surfaced. He had to think of a solution! Pei Qian could not sit still any longer. He quietly got up, planning to return to his office to surf the net and check how gamers were reacting to the mobile version of GOG. The situation would still be salvageable if people were dissing the game! When he saw Boss Pei stand up, Hu Xianbin quickly asked, “Boss Pei, do you need us to do anything else?”

  Pei Qian was speechless. “No.”

  Seeing Boss Pei’s back view, Hu Xianbin felt slightly disappointed.

  The figures look very good. Why didn’t Boss Pei praise us at all? Ai, Boss Pei is very strict! I can’t become too proud. I have to work hard to gain validation from Boss Pei one day! Hu Xianbin, who had been getting arrogant after seeing the results of GOG’s mobile game, quickly regained his composure and continued working hard on GOG’s client.

  Chapter 453 - Sorry, Boss Pei, You have to Wait for a while

  Chapter 453 Sorry, Boss Pei, You have to Wait for a while

  Pei Qian returned to his office and quickly switched his computer on to check the comments section of Glory of Gods. Seeing the game’s rating had chilled Pei Qian to the core. The mobile version of GOG had a rating of 9.1 on the official platform! Pei Qian looked through the other channels for mobile games as well. All the ratings hovered around 9.0! What’s more, from the lively comments sections, Pei Qian could tell that gamers were very happy with the game!

  Just browsing through a few of the comments made Pei Qian feel even more nervous. “Tengda has created a mobile version of GOG so soon? Holy sh*t, what a pleasant surprise! I can play games with my friends on mobile now!” “I thought it was only going to be half-done, but it’s pretty much complete! The game’s operations and interface have been greatly optimized for the controls available to gamers playing on mobile. What’s more, there wasn’t a single bug the entire time that I was playing. Of course, I had to leave a positive review!” “I was wondering whether Gods Rising, 101, or GOG’s client would emerge victorious… Who knew that Tengda would be so shrewd? They released GOG’s mobile game and refused to compete with the other two!”

  “GOG’s gameplay is good. It has simple operations and a fast pace, making it an appropriate mobile game. I can only say that the designer of this game is very clear-headed. He knows where his strengths are. I had to give him five stars!” “Tengda has mastered a mature game model and has even achieved a further breakthrough. It is indeed a first-tier local game developer. It really gives meaning to the saying ‘speed defines the winner in the world of kung fu’!” “I’m leaving this positive review because I could log into the game using my Tengda Games account, and all of my data would be integrated with the client. What’s more, I can finally buy skins! I’m going to get the epic skins for the Coin-Scattering Hedgehog!” Pei Qian scrolled down indignantly. Yet, even after scrolling two or three more pages, he could not find a single negative review! He felt slightly light-headed.

  Still, on further thought, this did not seem strange.

  The mobile version of GOG had appeared at a very special time. If it had been released after IOI had dominated the client-side game market for several years, it would be very awkward. If it looked too different from IOI and gamers had already gotten used to IOI’s gameplay, they would not be able to adapt to GOG’s gameplay. If it looked too similar to IOI, it would become popular. However, gamers would diss it for being an imitation.

  Yet, several games were still competing in the client-side game market. IOI had only dominated the games market overseas. Although it was popular in the country, it had not yet become dominant.

  The mobile version of GOG was released against such a backdrop. On one hand, gamers could enjoy the mobile experience without having to download the game’s client. On the other hand, the game stood out in terms of the characters’ packaging, the gameplay, and other aspects so that gamers did not think that it was an imitation of IOI.

  After all, ma
ny saw IOI as an imitation of Gods Rising. Comparatively, GOG was more different from IOI than IOI was from Gods Rising… Although Pei Qian had told the team to copy Gods Rising in the beginning, GOG had been altered according to feedback from He Desheng, Bao Xu, and the gamers at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. Now, GOG was a completely different game. Apart from the fact that all the games had three separate lanes, they were quite different. Furthermore, the mobile game was stable and without bugs, could be integrated with the client-side game, and could be accessed using one’s Tengda Games account. New players only had one feeling: amazement!

  They had never imagined being able to play such a complicated, high-quality game on their cell phones! The feedback for the mobile version of Bloody Battle Song had been pretty good. However, that was nothing compared to GOG. Of course, as more and more gamers joined the game and it became more and more popular, its ratings would fall below 9.0. However, the mobile version of GOG was still being celebrated and welcomed by many for now! Obviously, many people could already hardly wait to buy skins. Tengda was going to receive another sum of revenue… Pei Qian quickly downloaded the mobile version of GOG into his own cell phone and then opened it to take a look. After playing one match, Pei Qian felt even worse. He had tried the incomplete version of GOG on his computer before. However, he had not been very cautious at the time because GOG had not been complete. At that time, GOG had only been better than IOI in terms of certain game mechanisms like being able to set the paths for various characters. However, it had been worse off in terms of things like balance, heroes, and other details in the game. That was why Pei Qian had been satisfied that the client-side game would not be better than IOI and that he would incur losses for sure. Yet, everything was different now that a mobile version had been released! That was because mobile games had small screens and gamers had lower expectations. Even if GOG’S details were not as good, gamers would be extra forgiving. Perhaps they would not even mind! Furthermore, GOG’s better mechanisms looked even more outstanding now that the game was on mobile, and the operations had been optimized. Gamers would only have to play one round to realize that GOG’s mobile game was more exciting, faster-paced, and easier to grasp. Naturally, they would only have praises for it!