Losing Money to Become a Tycoon: Starting with Games
Chapter 452: President Pei's True Intent
Evening.
Qiao Liang exited BE QUIET and stretched lazily.
Over the past few days, arguments about the game had exploded all over the internet, but Qiao Liang hadn't participated at all. He had simply continued quietly playing the game.
Because he understood very clearly that participating in those arguments was meaningless.
Emotionally speaking, Qiao Liang naturally stood on President Pei's side.
Not only because Qiao Liang was friends with President Pei, but also because he himself was a hardcore gamer.
For hardcore players like him, they pursued more complex and more extreme gaming experiences. Whether it was the early ARG puzzle-solving activities or the later eye-tracking game required to unlock purchasing permissions, both perfectly suited Qiao Liang's tastes.
The key issue depended entirely on perspective.
If you viewed it as a barrier—a method for discouraging players—then yes, it certainly felt unpleasant.
But if you treated it as a free prequel game, wouldn't everything make sense?
Lonely Desert Road, Game Producer, and the eye-tracking mini-game were all completely free now. In Qiao Liang's opinion, that was already extremely generous.
Qiao Liang understood very well that games, as a form of cultural product, could never possibly appeal to everyone.
If some players believed that "a company making games I like means they're a good company, but if the gameplay doesn't suit my tastes then I'm justified in mindlessly insulting them," then that obviously made no sense.
Likewise, this time BE QUIET required players to complete prerequisite activities before obtaining purchasing rights. Although this objectively discouraged some players, there was nothing inherently wrong with it.
Because Tengda Group had never promised that "players can freely purchase our games under any circumstances." And frankly, there was no reason they needed to make such a promise.
The relationship between game companies and players had always been one of mutual selection. Players could choose not to play a company's games, and companies could also choose to give up money from certain players. As long as the transaction itself was voluntary and not forced, both sides stood on equal footing, and neither had the moral right to condemn the other.
Especially since a uniquely unconventional designer like President Pei was never the type to kneel before players and flatter them.
Therefore, emotionally speaking, Qiao Liang supported President Pei's actions.
As a company, Tengda had already provided high-quality games at affordable prices, and had even made two previous games free. Yet just because they added prerequisites for purchasing the new game, they deserved endless criticism?
Clearly, that wasn't reasonable.
That said, despite thinking this way, Qiao Liang still felt there were aspects of the matter that were difficult to understand.
Although setting these prerequisites was entirely the company's freedom, was it really necessary?
What benefit could the company possibly gain from doing this?
That was the part Qiao Liang found confusing.
At that moment, he frowned deeply, trying to use his understanding of President Pei to solve this puzzle.
"The feeling I get is that President Pei's actions aren't saying, 'Play it or don't, I don't care.'"
"It's more like, 'If you can't even solve this simple little problem, then you definitely won't be able to enjoy the game itself, so you might as well not buy it at all.'"
"This feeling… seems strangely familiar."
"Where have I seen this before?"
"…"
"I got it! It was Turn Back Before It's Too Late!"
Qiao Liang suddenly realized that Turn Back Before It's Too Late had actually worked exactly the same way!
The only difference was that one discouraged players after they entered the game, while the other discouraged them before entering the game. One made players refund the game after getting tortured by it, while the other simply prevented them from paying in the first place after being tortured.
President Pei's actions this time were essentially moving Turn Back Before It's Too Late's discouragement phase to before the game purchase!
Qiao Liang suddenly understood everything.
"That's right. Once you think about it this way, everything makes perfect sense!"
"President Pei's actions are fundamentally identical to what Turn Back Before It's Too Late did, just presented in a different form."
"Games are a form of interactive art. Simply put, the designer creates puzzles, and the players solve them."
"And the essence of hardcore games is this: you only gain something by giving something up."
"Only by abandoning shallow, surface-level gratification can you obtain deeper, more profound fulfillment!"
"Just like Turn Back Before It's Too Late. First, you have to suffer. You have to endure the frustration of dying like a dog over and over again. You have to give up the mindless pleasure of steamrolling enemies and feeling overpowered. Instead, you calm yourself down and seriously hone your skills."
"Only afterward can you grow within the game and experience a kind of satisfaction completely different from other games."
"That's what it means to sacrifice before gaining, to delay gratification. Without the game's extreme difficulty, players would never experience the joy that comes from growth."
"And BE QUIET is the same kind of game. It's also a game built on sacrifice and reward. First, players must give up some of their time, suppress their urge to immediately start playing, and seriously think through the puzzles. Only then can they truly appreciate the game's enjoyment."
"As for why the two games use different methods…"
"That's obvious. Because Turn Back Before It's Too Late is a single-player game and doesn't affect anyone else's gameplay experience. But BE QUIET is an online multiplayer game."
"If a player who's completely unsuited to this style of gameplay enters the game, they'll inevitably interfere with everyone else's experience."
"And in order to ensure that all players share roughly the same gaming attitude and level of understanding—and to make sure most players can genuinely enjoy the game without having their experience ruined by teammates who can't adapt to the gameplay—it becomes necessary to give every player a simple form of 'training' first…"
The more Qiao Liang thought about it, the more convinced he became that he had finally understood President Pei's true intentions!
The logic all fit perfectly. However, if he wanted to convince everyone else, he would still need to gather more evidence from inside the game itself.
Moreover, revealing everything right now still felt a little premature.
On one hand, he still hadn't completely mastered BE QUIET's complicated gameplay systems yet, so he lacked enough material for a proper video and the script would feel too dry. On the other hand, the controversy surrounding the game hadn't yet reached its peak.
After considering things carefully, Qiao Liang decided that for the next few days he would continue grinding the game and collecting material.
Next week, he planned to release a new video of Masterpiece Showcase, where he would thoroughly discuss BE QUIET, this unconventional online horror game, as well as the deeper meaning behind the ARG campaign President Pei had designed to promote it!
By then, many players' confusion about the game—and their misunderstandings about President Pei—would surely be completely resolved!
…
…
March 14th, Monday.
Chang You paced anxiously back and forth inside his office.
On OTTO Technology's official website, the button on the phone's product page had already changed from "Pre-Order" to simply "Buy."
The fact that customers no longer needed to fight over the phones should have been a good thing.
But for Chang You, it absolutely wasn't.
Because it also meant the phones weren't selling very well anymore!
All the money earned from previous phone sales had already been reinvested into manufacturing more inventory. At this point, OTTO Technology could practically be described as dirt poor.
If this had been any other company, they definitely wouldn't have dared operate this way.
Chang You understood very clearly that OTTO Technology was only able to act so boldly because they had a powerful backer—President Pei himself was supporting everything from behind the scenes.
And precisely because of that, Chang You felt even more guilty toward President Pei.
How on earth were they supposed to sell more than ten thousand phones?
To make matters worse, President Pei had specifically instructed him that his only responsibility was managing inventory. He wasn't allowed to think proactively about marketing, nor was he allowed to lower the phone's price.
As a result, all Chang You could do now was sit there and worry helplessly.
He didn't even dare browse online comments anymore. Normally, as someone nicknamed "Big Mouth Chang," he had always possessed excellent mental resilience. But now, burdened with President Pei's trust, even he found it difficult to endure all the mockery and ridicule.
Just as Chang You was anxiously pacing around the room, his phone rang.
He picked it up and saw that the caller was Hu Xianbin.
Chang You's eyes instantly lit up, and he hurriedly answered the call.
"President Chang, the mobile version of GOG is officially launching tomorrow. Didn't we already agree on the collaboration? Just giving you a reminder," Hu Xianbin's voice came through the phone.
Chang You was overjoyed.
"Okay, no problem! I'll immediately tell my team to implement the promotional plan we prepared earlier!"
Hu Xianbin continued, "I also spoke with Director Lin from Shangyang Games just now. They were busy developing BE QUIET before and didn't really have the time, but they should already have the promotional event for OTTO phones prepared inside Blood War Anthem: Enhanced Edition. You can give her a call and ask, they can probably update everything together tomorrow."
Chang You hurriedly replied, "Okay, okay! I'll ask right away!"
After hanging up, Chang You immediately called Lin Wan and received a positive response. Shangyang Games had indeed already prepared promotional content for OTTO phones inside Blood War Anthem: Enhanced Edition.
Chang You instantly felt much more reassured, while also feeling a faint wave of emotion.
Tengda Group really was one warm, united family!
What was Tengda Group's true core competitiveness? At its foundation, it was still games!
The gaming business was the pillar that supported Tengda Group's existence and also the foundation for all its other businesses.
Chang You understood very clearly that, in President Pei's eyes, businesses like Moyu Internet Café, Against the Wind Logistics, and OTTO phones could all afford to lose money—but the gaming business absolutely could not.
And now, being able to secure exclusive high-frame-rate optimization for OTTO phones in Tengda Group's new game GOG was, for Chang You, like finally swallowing a calming pill.
Chang You immediately instructed his staff to replace all the promotional materials with the prepared new versions!
For example, they added a huge section to the OTTO E1 phone's product page:
Official Designated Phone for Tengda Group's New Game Glory of Gods (GOG)
Exclusive deep optimization and ultra-high frame-rate mode, bringing you an unprecedented and exhilarating gaming experience!
These promotional materials had actually been prepared long ago, but they couldn't be revealed earlier.
Because GOG hadn't finished development yet, and the information couldn't be leaked.
But now, they could finally be used!
In fact, the PC version of GOG was still undergoing development and testing. However, before Li Yada left, she had already decided that the mobile version of GOG would launch first.
Currently, the mobile and PC versions didn't have fully synchronized features yet. The mobile version had slightly less content and could therefore launch a week earlier.
At the same time, prioritizing the mobile version also allowed them to neatly avoid IOI's overwhelming dominance in the PC gaming market.
Chang You had originally hoped Lin Wan's team could also adapt BE QUIET into a mobile game, but Lin Wan explained that there simply wasn't enough development time, and BE QUIET's gameplay style would be extremely difficult to convert into mobile controls, so the idea had to be abandoned for now.
Chang You even hoped that successful games like Ocean Fortress could all eventually be ported to mobile platforms as well. But once again, both Tengda Group Games and Shangyang Games lacked the manpower, so the idea had been shelved.
Still, Chang You wasn't in a hurry. After all, they were all Tengda Group games. Whether the ports happened sooner or later, the one benefiting in the end would still be him.
Right now, even if only Blood War Anthem: Enhanced Edition and GOG offered exclusive optimization and high-frame-rate modes, that was already enough.
Due to certain historical legacy issues, Blood War Anthem: Enhanced Edition still had a large number of hidden whales among its player base. Their spending power had long been severely suppressed because there simply weren't many ways to spend money in the game.
If OTTO phones were advertised inside the game, there would definitely be players interested!
Once all the arrangements were complete, Chang You finally stopped panicking.
He suddenly felt like he understood why President Pei had repeatedly emphasized that he shouldn't personally handle marketing or lower the phone's price, and instead should focus all efforts on rapidly increasing inventory.
Because very soon, OTTO phones were about to enter an explosive period of sales growth!