Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

In the evening…

Qiao Liang exited Be Quiet and stretched.

People had been heatedly discussing this game online over the past few days, but Qiao Liang had not taken part in the discussion. Instead, he quietly experienced the game. He knew very well that there was no point in debating with everyone else.

Qiao Liang was always going to stand on Boss Pei's side.

It was not just because Qiao Liang was a friend of Boss Pei's, but also because he was a hardcore gamer to begin with.

Hardcore gamers sought complicated and exquisite experiences. Everything from the pre-game riddle to acquiring the rights to purchase the game to the eye-tracking game suited Qiao Liang to the tee.

It all boiled down to how one looked at the situation.

If one saw it as a barrier to turn gamers away, they would definitely feel uncomfortable. Yet, what if one took it as a free introductory game? Wouldn't it be different?

The Lonely Desert Road, Game Designer, and the eye-tracking game had all been free of charge. To Qiao Liang, this was already very commendable.

Qiao Liang knew that games were products of culture. Not everyone would like every game.

It would be unreasonable for gamers to view manufacturers as good-hearted when they produced games to their liking but incorrigible when they produced games that they did not find enjoyable.

This was applicable to Be Quiet, too. Gamers had to fulfill prerequisites before obtaining the right to purchase the game. Objectively speaking, that could have turned many gamers away. However, there was nothing wrong with it in itself.

Tengda had never promised to allow all gamers to purchase their games under any circumstances and no matter what. Of course, there was no need for them to do so as well.

Game manufacturers and gamers had the right to choose one another. Players would choose not to play certain games developed by certain manufacturers. At the same time, manufacturers could choose to give up earning revenue from a portion of the public.

Both parties had to be willing to enter the transaction. Neither could be forced to buy or sell, and both had to be given equal power. Then, neither could blame the other for being unfair.

What's more, Boss Pei had always been a unique designer. He was not one to bend backward to fit the gamers' taste.

Thus, Qiao Liang always found himself supporting Boss Pei's decisions.

He was a game manufacturer, providing gamers with a top-quality game at an affordable price. He had even waived all costs for the previous two games. Yet, he was being scolded for setting prerequisites for gamers to fulfill before they could purchase the game?

That didn't make sense.

Still, even with that said, Qiao Liang was finding it difficult to explain certain aspects of the situation. Although it was the manufacturer's right to set pre-requisites for their customers, was it really necessary?

What benefit would this bring to the manufacturer?

That was the main question that Qiao Liang had. At that moment, he frowned. He was trying to figure out the answer to that question based on what he understood about Boss Pei.

"I feel like Boss Pei did not mean to tell customers 'I won't let you play this game'. Instead, it was more like 'if you can't even solve this simple riddle, you probably won't be able to enjoy this game, and so you shouldn't bother buying it at all'.

"That thought seems very familiar. Where have I seen it before?

"…

"I know! It was in Repent and be Saved!"

All of a sudden, Qiao Liang realized that Repent and be Saved had been exactly the same!

The only difference was this: players were encouraged to refund Repent and be Saved, but they were tortured and altogether discouraged from even purchasing Be Quiet.

Boss Pei was simply persuading gamers to turn away earlier than in Repent and be Saved. He was doing it before gamers even purchased Be Quiet!

A realization dawned on Qiao Liang.

"That's right! Everything is coming together now!

"Boss Pei is doing something similar to what he did with Repent and be Saved! He's just using a slightly different method.

"A game is an interactive form of art. Simply put, game designers set the questions while gamers try to answer them.

"There's one thing that hardcore gamers agree on: we have to lose some to gain some. We have to let go of the superficial and shallow desires of the mind, to learn deeper and more meaningful lessons!

"Take Repent and be Saved for example. We were made to endure torture and face setbacks in the beginning. We had to give up our desires for mindless violence and humble ourselves to hone our own skills.

"Only then were we able to grow through the game and experience a joy that no other game could bring to us.

"That is what it means to lose some to gain some. It was delayed gratification. If the game had not been so difficult, we would not have experienced the true joy that came with growth.

"It's the same with Be Quiet. It's also a game where gamers have to lose some to gain some. First, we had to give up time and suppress our own desires to play the game, to think carefully about the riddle. Only then would we be able to experience the fun of the game itself.

"As for why different methods were used for both games…

"It's obvious. Repent and be Saved is a standalone game. Others' gaming experience would not be affected by one's own gameplay. Be Quiet, on the other hand, is an online game.

"If a gamer—who has never played such games—entered this game, they would completely ruin the game for everyone else.

"Boss Pei had to ensure that everyone had the right attitude and the same level of intellect and that most people would enjoy the game without having their experience ruined by teammates who could not adapt to the gameplay. That meant he had to 'train' the gamers…"

Qiao Liang became increasingly sure that he had understood Boss Pei's true intentions! The logic was simple. However, he still needed to find the right material in the game to persuade everyone else.

What's more, it still seemed a bit too early to reveal all of these things.

On one hand, he had not completely gotten the hang of the complicated gameplay in Be Quiet. Without good footage or a good plan, the video would turn out very dry. On the other hand, the debate that everyone was having over the game had not yet hit its peak.

After some consideration, Qiao Liang decided to keep playing the game to gather more material.

Next week, he would upload a new video into Products of the Gods. In the video, he would talk about Be Quiet, the online horror game that had taken an unusual path. He would also explain the deeper meaning behind the ARG that Boss Pei had designed as part of his publicity strategy!

Qiao Liang believed that the video would solve many questions and misunderstandings that gamers might have had about Boss Pei!

…

…

March 14th, Monday…

Chang You paced around his office, feeling anxious. The button on the details page of OTTO E1 on Otto Technologies' official website had changed from 'reserve' to 'purchase'. People did not have to fight for cell phones anymore. That seemed like a good thing, but it was not to Chang You.

That was because it meant sales had plateaued!

They had poured all of their revenue into manufacturing new cell phones. One could say that Otto Technologies was penniless now. Other companies would not have been able to do the same for sure.

Chang You knew very well that Otto Technologies had a strong pillar of support that it could count on. It could only afford to manufacture so many stocks because Boss Pei was funding the company.

That was exactly why Chang You felt bad towards Boss Pei. How were they going to sell more than ten thousand cell phones?!

Yet, Boss Pei had instructed Chang You time and again to just make sure there were enough stocks and not to bother about anything else. He could neither think about making sales nor lowering the cell phones' prices.

As a result of sitting around, Chang You became more anxious.

He did not even dare to check the comments on the website. He knew that people had been calling him 'Big Mouth Chang' before. Now that he had betrayed Boss Pei's trust, he was finding it even more difficult to deal with the mockery and criticism.

As Chang You continued to pace around the room, his cell phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was Hu Xianbin.

Chang You's eyes lit up. He accepted the call at once.

"Boss Chang, the mobile version of GOG will be officially released tomorrow. We talked about collaborating before, right? I'm just reminding you of this," said Hu Xianbin through the phone.

Chang You became overjoyed. "Alright, no problem! I'll tell them to carry out the plan that we had!"

Hu Xianbin spoke again. "I just spoke to Director Lin of Shang Yang Games. They had been busy developing Be Quiet before and had not had time to spare. However, they should be done with the promotional event for Bloody Battle Song by now. You can call her to ask if they can update the game at the same time tomorrow."

Chang You quickly said, "Alright, alright! I'll ask them now!"

After hanging up, Chang You called Lin Wan to confirm that Shang Yang Games had prepared Bloody Battle Song's promotional event for Otto Technologies' cell phone.

Then, Chang You felt much more relaxed. He also felt very moved.

Tengda was truly one big, warm family!

What was Tengda's main selling point? At the end of the day, it was its games! The games business was obviously the lifeline of Tengda Corporation. It was also the foundation for all the other businesses.

Chang You knew very well that, to Boss Pei, Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Upwind Logistics, and Otto Technologies… were incurring losses. The games businesses were the only ones not incurring losses!

After learning that Tengda Games was going to create a special high-frame-rate mode for their newest game, GOG, just for Otto Technologies; Chang You felt like he had eaten calming medicine.

He immediately instructed his subordinates to prepare to upload all of their publicity materials!

For example, they were uploading a huge banner on the details page for Otto E1. It would say: 'The official cell phone for Tengda's newest game, the Glory of Gods. With the especially improved depth and a high-frame-rate mode, the cell phone brings to you a never-before-felt immersive gaming experience!'

All the publicity material had been prepared in advance, but Chang You could not use them earlier. He could not release the news because GOG had not been completed.

However, they could finally use the material now!

In fact, GOG's client was still being developed and tested. However, before going overseas, Li Yada had already decided that the mobile version was going to be released first.

The mobile version and client version were not yet integrated. Since the former had less content, it could be released a week earlier.

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!