Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

April 2nd, Monday…

Meng Chang did not pay much attention to the jokes and work of the various flamers on April Fool's Day. Instead, he devoted all his passion to work on his first working day in April.

"Brother Meng, the plan that you asked me to come up with is done. Take a look."

An employee said.

Meng Chang grunted, received the document from him and checked it carefully.

Meng Chang personally wrote a huge framework for the publicity plan this time and got his subordinates to perfect it. The contents of the plan basically revolved around the theme of "How to Promote 'classic domestically-produced game compilation'.

The publicity this time would be spread online and offline according to Meng Chang's plan.

The official platform would arrange a more valuable recommendation spot for this compilation online. "Classic domestically-produced games compilation" would also obtain large amounts of advertising resources on video websites, live-stream platforms, gaming media, and various other websites.

The recommendation spots were not the best. It was not because Tengda Games was not strong enough. The best recommendation spots required data support. This compilation did not conform to the official platform's regulations.

The official platform could only give the best recommendation spot within the scope of the rules.

On the other hand, Meng Chang would not hesitate to spend huge sums of money on advertisements in public transport stations, subway stations, billboards, commercial buildings, and public squares advertising the classic domestically-produced game compilation.

He could spend as much money as he could online and offline!

In addition, in order to play a better confusing role and not expose his tricks so early, Meng Chang had hidden another little trick.

He had already communicated with the official platform that the current "domestically-produced games compilation" was filled with old games from more than ten years ago. He hoped that the official platform could continue to add some outstanding domestically-produced games into this compilation.

That way, the number of games in the "domestically-produced games compilation" would continue to increase. Some new games would also be updated. It would be even harder for gamers to discover it after Mission and Choice was secretly replaced.

That was because the update content required players to open the game and download it. However, if no one played Mission and Choice, who would be so free to look at the update content?

They would add some new games to add on to the entire compilation. The more he hid, the better.

All in all, this was probably the plan. Hide it deeper and advertise more. He would hide it for as long as he could and complete the task once he obtained April's commission.

As for the commission in May, Meng Chang felt that it could only be summed up to: "Leave it to fate." It was unrealistic to hope that Mission and Choice would not be discovered until the end of May.

However, what if the game's sales were not good enough?

It would not be bad even if he could just get a commission of twenty to thirty thousand yuan!

The more Meng Chang thought about it, the more elated he felt. The corners of his mouth could not help but curl up.

After reading the entire plan, Meng Chang nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, let's do it according to this plan."

"That's right, we'll only spend a third of the publicity budget."

Meng Chang still hid an ace up his sleeve.

This time, Meng Chang took the initiative to apply for 30 million yuan in publicity fees from Boss Pei.

Boss Pei gave it to him without any hesitation. He even took the initiative to ask if it was enough and if he wanted more.

Greed appeared in Meng Chang's heart for a moment, but he ultimately restrained his inner demons and only asked for 30 million yuan.

In fact, 30 million yuan was relatively low according to the publicity budget for AAA games.

Most European and American AAA games' publicity budgets were about the same as the development budget. 10 to 20 million US dollars was the norm. 30 million yuan publicity budget for Mission and Choice was only four to five million US dollars. It was still far from the standard AAA games' budget overseas.

The reason why Meng Chang did not ask for much was mainly because he felt that there was no need to calculate the investment and output ratio.

That was because the actual publicity effect of "Mission and Choice" would determine his commission. According to Meng Chang's plan, as long as he was not discovered, 30 million yuan was enough for him to get a full commission. He would not get more commission even if he spent more money. On the other hand, if he was discovered, there was a high chance that the more money he burnt, the lower the commission he would get. It would only have the opposite effect.

As for whether this 30 million yuan was enough, whether it could be used for publicity, and whether it would cause the game 'Mission and Choice' to be ignored…

That had nothing to do with Meng Chang. He couldn't be bothered to consider it. He would be overjoyed if that situation really happened.

Therefore, Meng Chang planned to burn 10 million yuan first to see the situation. If everything went well, he would burn the remaining 20 million yuan. If something went wrong, he would think of another way.

The employee in charge of the publicity plan nodded. "Alright, Brother Meng. I'll arrange it immediately."

"By the way, Brother Meng, the publicity for 'Fantasy Battle' has been released. I heard that the release date is on the 14th of this month."

Meng Chang nodded. "Got it."

He was not very concerned about the remake of Fantasy Battle. He only knew that the release of this game would definitely have a very serious negative impact on Mission and Choice.

The only regret was that the timing was wrong. If Fantasy Battle Remake's release date was changed to be on May 1st, it would have been the best. Unfortunately, it could not be changed.

Meng Chang did not take "Fantasy Battle" to heart. He continued staring at the employees of the marketing department and went to work on the publicity plan.

…

…

April 3rd, Tuesday…

Meng Chang still came to work early in the morning and could not wait to check the netizens' reactions online.

Today, all sorts of online advertisements have been released. Video websites, live-stream platforms, gaming websites, and so on had all been updated with advertisements for 'classic domestically-produced games compilation'.

The publicity work offline was also in full swing. Soon, the promotional material for "Classic Game compilation" would appear on the subway stations, bus stations, and various billboards in various first-tier cities.

The advertisements for 'Fantasy Battle Remake' had already spread everywhere. There were more advertisements online than 'classic domestically-produced games compilation' as the publicity budget was also explosive.

He opened Potato Web and other video websites. All the advertisements related to games were basically advertisements for 'Fantasy Battle Remake' and 'Classic Domestic Game Compilation'. The two advertisements bombarded him one after another.

Players were already discussing on the various forums.

What surprised Meng Chang was that even though he did not think of using "classic domestically-produced games compilation" against the Fantasy Battle remake when he was working on the publicity plan, gamers still naturally brought them together for discussion.

"'Fantasy Battle remake' has already started advertising? I'm so excited, I can't wait!"

"Sales starts on the 14th. Of course, they have to start advertising."

"Actually, I don't think they need to advertise at all. Is there a need to advertise given the popularity of 'Fantasy Battle'? Many old gamers did not have the means at the time. Now that they have the means, shouldn't they make up for it and collect it?"

"I can understand why 'Fantasy Battle' is advertising, but what's going on with this 'classic domestically-produced game compilation'?"

"That's right. These two advertisements have almost filled up the entire video website's gaming area."

"Did the official platform pay for this publicity?"

"There's no reason for that, right? Why would the official platform pay to publicize the game?"

"However, the other companies have no reason to spend money on advertisements. These are games from more than ten years ago. They are no longer profitable."

"I heard that there will be new domestically-produced games in the future. Perhaps many companies are sharing the cost together."

"Sigh, I feel sad when I talk about this. Other foreign games companies created a game like 'Fantasy Battle' more than ten years ago. Ten years later, they produced a 'Fantasy Battle remake'. They are all top-notch good games. On the other hand, domestic games companies created trash like 'Mission and Choice' more than ten years ago. In the end, there was no good game after more than ten years. We can only reminisce about those old antiques from more than ten years ago. Sigh… how sad."

"That's right. Many domestically-produced games these days are gaming games with paywalls. In terms of gameplay, they are really not as good as the classic domestically-produced games from more than ten years ago. They are f*cking getting worse!"

"The foreign gamers are so lucky. Even a simple fried rice would taste good. How unlucky are we? We can't even make fried rice!"

"That's strange. Why aren't there any Tengda games in this compilation? If we're talking about domestically-produced games, I think Repent and be Saved and Struggle should be inside, right?"

"Perhaps it's because these are all old game compilations?"

"Perhaps it's because Tengda has too much influence and has already formed its own faction. That's why there's no need to promote it with other games."

"Speaking of which, it's been a long time since Tengda released a new game. Didn't they only release one game every few months? I've waited for so long this time. It's been hard."

"Teacher Qiao, that b*stard, has been using the excuse that Tengda did not release new games for a long time and left us hanging for some time…"

"Indeed, I didn't hear anything at all. It's strange. They're too good at keeping secrets."

"Perhaps Boss Pei is being held back by a big move and is facing some difficulties? Let's wait patiently. Boss Pei must know what to do. It's useless to be anxious."

"Sigh, forget it. Let's not chat anymore. There's no point. Let's wait for the release of Fantasy Battle Remake."

Players discussed all sorts of things, but they were still immersed in a rather melancholic mood.

The release of Fantasy Battle Remake was a good thing for domestic gamers, but they still felt a sense of melancholy when looking at the troll domestic games.

That was especially so for gamers who knew about the development of domestically-produced games. They began to talk about the calamity that had befallen domestically-produced games in the past and the current state of 'congenital deformity'.

Meng Chang felt relieved after reading the netizens' discussions.

The promotional materials for the "classic domestically-produced games compilation" had aroused some confusion and suspicion among gamers but it was not a big problem overall.

Fantasy Battle Version perfectly distracted players' attention so that everyone would not pay attention to the suspicious aspects of this "classic domestically-produced game compilation". This was a huge benefit to Meng Chang's plan!

Meng Chang felt relieved for the time being. He was very nervous as he looked forward to this month passing quickly so that he could get his commission and pocket money as soon as possible.

…

…

April 4th, Wednesday…

Shanghai, an independent game incubation base, also known as the Destitution Plan Eastern Workspace.

Qiu Hong was video calling Xi Hao, who was far away in Beijing.

"Boss Qiu, the incubation base in Beijing is doing well. The development of various games projects is progressing smoothly."

"The daily fitness training and game activities of independent game designers are also going well. Now, the designers' bodies are getting healthier and healthier. Some of them even developed some muscles."

"The current content of Black Ink and Clouds has been fully developed. We've contacted the official platform. It can be released officially in the next two days."

Qiu Hong nodded. "Yes, the officials seem to take 'Black Ink and Clouds' quite seriously. Not only did they arrange for recommendation spots, but they also want to hold an exclusive interview."

"However… It's alright to interview the developer, Wu Zhicheng. Why do they have to interview me?"

Qiu Hong only knew about the interview the day before. He was still very surprised now.

Xi Hao said, "Boss Qiu, you're the investor and initiator of the Destitution Plan after all. Isn't it normal for the official platform to interview you?"

Qiu Hong thought for a moment. "That's right. Alright, let's leave it at that. Continue preparing the publicity materials for 'Black Ink and Clouds'. I have to prepare for the interview in the afternoon."

After ending the video call, Qiu Hong reviewed his work for the past few months while preparing for the interview in the afternoon.

Qiu Hong rushed to Shanghai after the incubation base in Beijing had stabilized. He continued to gather independent game designers and set up an independent incubation base in Shanghai.

Now, Shanghai's incubation base was finally on the right track.

At the same time, several games in Beijing had been developed one after another. The development of the pre-sales version of "Black Ink and Clouds", especially the DEMO that had been released previously, had greatly boosted the confidence of the incubation base in Beijing.

Now that there were two incubation bases, the incubation bases in Beijing felt pressured. All of them were full of energy.

The official platform had prepared a good recommendation spot for "Black Ink and Clouds" as the pre-sales performance was very good. They had also arranged an interview for the developer, Wu Zhicheng, and the founder of the "Destitution Plan", Qiu Hong.

Qiu Hong had been conflicted about this interview.

That was because he knew that he was just a tool. In fact, the entire 'Destitution Plan', from the concept to the funding, was all Boss Pei's idea. Qiu Hong was just an executor.

Qiu Hong felt very bad for taking credit from Boss Pei.

However, the official interview was a very good opportunity after all. This interview manuscript could increase the exposure of the incubation base and Black Ink and Clouds. If he rejected it, it would be equivalent to denying the official face and giving up on these exposure. He would lose a lot.

Therefore, Qiu Hong agreed to the interview in the end.

On one hand, he had to keep Boss Pei a secret. On the other hand, he could not be greedy and take all the credit. This interview was a very serious challenge for Qiu Hong.

However, Qiu Hong felt that he could complete this challenge. In any case, he just had to insist that the 'Destitution Plan' was supported by a mysterious person.