Fu Xiaochun felt incredibly frustrated.
They'd spent millions on the game's promotion, nearly ten million on development, and a few million more "fighting" with Da Fei, totaling twenty to thirty million.
And the spending was still ongoing! So much money, and no sign of hope, all that effort just to end up benefiting Dance Revolution.
Yesterday, someone sent him a video of players in a net cafe minimizing their game during their reserved time to play Dance Revolution. Watching that video made Fu Xiaochun want to cry.
Fu Xiaochun sighed and said,
"Let's go, come with me to Liangyin Media!"
Yang Han, acting as the intermediary, contacted Lin Chudong.
Half an hour later, Fu Xiaochun arrived at Liangyin Media with his assistant.
"Da Fei, President Liang, it's good to see you again."
Fu Xiaochun was all smiles, without a hint of tension.
Lin Chudong also prepared tea and a fruit platter, warmly receiving Fu Xiaochun.
"President Fu, I trust you're well? How's the game coming along? What brings you here today?"
Wang Zhi stood by, pouring tea and attending to them, a little curious.
Do people really have to talk like this when they reach the level of the top brass? Neither of them got straight to the point. They were clearly rivals, yet they pretended to be good friends.
Fu Xiaochun smiled faintly. "Why ask when you already know?"
"Our game wasn't meant to be a major project anyway, just something we developed with some spare funds."
"Dragging this out between us isn't actually beneficial to anyone."
"The purpose of my visit today is to propose a truce. We can cooperate; there's really no competitive relationship."
Lin Chudong said, "Oh? How do you propose we cooperate? Tell me more."
Fu Xiaochun said, "Under normal circumstances, your game leans more toward social interaction, while our game is more about pay-to-win competition. The core content and fundamental gameplay are different."
"So, as long as we each occupy our own markets, there won't be any competition."
"Therefore, I propose a modification plan. Let me know what you think."
Fu Xiaochun took out a document and handed it to Lin Chudong.
It was about the modification suggestions for Dance Revolution.
There were many settings listed on it. First, they would change the game's competitive aspect to a casual one, canceling rankings and level divisions. They would focus more on socializing to avoid clashing with Fingertip Piano.
Then, they would remove the piano parts and replace them with pure drum kit sound effects.
Finally, they would change the up, down, left, and right arrows to a top-to-bottom falling style, which would make the two games very different.
Those who liked good-looking skins could play Dance Revolution. Those who liked hardcore competition could play Fingertip Piano.
Fu Xiaochun said, "Of course, we will also modify our game, removing the overlapping parts. Everyone takes a step back, and it's a win-win situation."
Liang Yin frowned, feeling somewhat dissatisfied.
"Who do you think you are, coming here and telling us to change our game?"
"And you want us to change the core content, just because it's similar to yours?"
Fu Xiaochun, despite being a loser, actually had the audacity to come and talk about changing things. It was ridiculous.
However, Liang Yin didn't speak, waiting for Lin Chudong to respond.
Da Fei was more tactful in his speech, able to refuse someone without offending them. She was quite a bit behind him in that regard.
Lin Chudong placed the documents on the table and said calmly, "Why should I listen to the orders of a defeated opponent?"
"Are you trying to teach me a lesson?"
Liang Yin: …Withdrew her previous thought.
Fu Xiaochun's smile gradually faded.
"A defeated opponent? You think I lost?"
"This is just a new game our company developed; our company's focus isn't even on this."
"With Raging Slash: Three Kingdoms, do you really think I need to compete with you to make a living? You're underestimating me."
Lin Chudong said calmly, watching Fu Xiaochun's awkward and evasive expression.
"Then why are you here?"
"..."
Fu Xiaochun fell silent.
Lin Chudong said, "You probably know the situation now. Your internet cafe package deal is just setting me up for success."
"If you don't run a strong promotion, you won't have any users."
"I don't agree with your idea of us not interfering with each other and attracting players in our respective fields."
"Players who like any type of game, whether they've played a music game before or not, are all our target users."
"As I said before, only children make choices; adults, of course, want it all."
"If you want me to give you a suggestion, I do have one. Don't launch after the public beta ends. It won't be too late for you to launch after our game's hype has died down."
"That's all. Wang Zhi, see President Fu out."
Fu Xiaochun and the other person's faces clouded over, and they got up and left.
Lin Chudong tossed the modified file into the trash. What a joke, they dared to make such demands.
Leaving Liangyin Media, Fu Xiaochun's face turned completely grim.
The assistant asked, "President Fu, what do we do? Do we keep throwing money at it?"
Fu Xiaochun shook his head. "We can't do it anymore. We can't afford it. I have to swallow this, whether I want to or not."
"Let's stop promoting it for now. We'll focus on Raging Slash: Three Kingdoms."
"Treat the new game as a flop. Let it fend for itself."
The assistant sighed. "At the current rate, it'll probably be a ghost server in less than ten days."
A so-called ghost server means no one is playing. You can't match with anyone, and there might not even be enough bots.
"If this drags on, it might affect Raging Slash: Three Kingdoms, right?"
Fu Xiaochun frowned, his words carrying weight.
If this kept going, it would definitely impact their reputation. Who would trust them to release new games in the future? It was time to cut their losses! Fu Xiaochun said, "How about this? We switch the game to single-player, and unlock all VIP content."
"Game items will be purchasable with in-game currency, and the subsequent piano pieces can be bought by accumulating game currency."
"Old players won't be charged. New players will buy the game outright for thirty yuan."
The assistant nodded, "That's a good approach."
The game was a mere chicken rib at this point, neither delicious nor worth discarding.
It was better to act decisively, capitalize on the current popularity, switch to single-player, and change tracks entirely.
It would save on operational costs, and maybe they could recoup some of the investment by selling the single-player version if it did well.
Ten o'clock in the evening.
Chunting Game Company released an announcement.
"Fingertip Piano has been changed to a single-player game. The entire server will be shut down. The game progress of old players will be preserved, and the purchase price for new players to unlock all content will be 30 yuan..."
This announcement sparked heated discussion.
"Did Dance Revolution kill them?"
"Weren't they competing pretty fiercely before? And now they've given up?"
"Being praised by the central government was the final straw that broke the camel's back for Fingertip Piano."
"No way to fight it, Sister Deng personally helped promote it, and Da Fei's influence is just too strong."
"It's not about the celebrity, it's mainly because the game is fun. Anyone who plays this game knows it." "Yeah, the spacebar destroyer, I've already broken two keyboards. I spent over a thousand to buy a Dance Revolution co-branded keyboard, hoping this one will last longer."
"The Beijing branch president of the 'Burial of Love' family reporting in. Chunting Game Company, you're no match for us. I suggest you just let Da Fei take you over. I hope you're not unappreciative."
"Dance Revolution is really addictive, but unfortunately, there won't be any more chances to get online for free."
"This game company is such a scam. I spent over a hundred just to show off, and then you turn it into a single-player game? Give me a refund!"
"What a ridiculously stupid game. I just bought a monthly card, and you're saying it's free? @Wu Bo, get out here and pay me back!"
"What kind of dog game are you endorsing? Wu Bo, get out here and take a scolding, give me my money back!"
"Da Fei band is really going downhill. Endorsing this kind of scam game is such a waste."
"@Wu Bo, don't play dead. How much did you get paid to endorse this garbage game? Do you even have the face to perform?"
"..."
Wu Bo was about to curse when he saw these comments at home.
"Who the hell did I piss off!"
Sitting at home and trouble finds you.
Isn't it enough to not provoke Da Fei? He could still get cursed like a dog, truly unbelievable.
The game shutdown was the worst thing that happened to Wu Bo, and he got the most flak for it.
However, Lin Chudong and the others didn't have the time to pay attention to that.
In the past few days, they'd invested nearly ten million in internet cafe rentals, but now they were finally seeing some results.
Their competitors had been eliminated, and all that remained was the operation.
Now that they were in Yao Qiang's area of expertise, the important task was to get players to willingly spend money.
Liang Yin took a few calls in the morning. "Da Fei, two companies want to talk to us about game licensing."
Lin Chudong asked, "Oh, what's their offer?"
"Five hundred thousand."
"Fifty thousand? That's not expensive."
"They said they'd give us fifty thousand."
"..."
Wang Zhi and the others widened their eyes. "Boss, are you sure? They're giving us the authorization and money?"
Liang Yin nodded. "Yes, but they require us to strongly promote several of their songs. For example, when male and female players become a couple and need to do quests, the quest songs must be their featured songs."
Lin Chudong had actually anticipated this situation, but he only thought they might get a low-priced or even free authorization.
He never expected them to pay. It seemed someone had really noticed the game's popularity.
He glanced at the hit song chart, and the chart's updates were actually influenced by the game.
Liang Yin said, "Da Fei, isn't our game about to turn a profit?"
"Yeah, according to Old Yao, it'll be profitable in three months."
As soon as he finished speaking, his phone rang.
Lin Chudong smiled when he saw the name displayed on the phone.
"We don't need three months. I think we'll be profitable today."
He answered the phone and said with a smile, "President Wang, why are you calling me?"
The call was from Wang Pengtao, the president of Mongolian Milk.
"Heh, Da Fei, your game is pretty good. I'll sponsor you a bit. The advertising position can't be too bad!"
Such a big boss personally called Da Fei to sponsor him, so he had to give him face.
"Don't worry, President Wang, we'll definitely promote it heavily."
"Alright, that's good. I'll have the advertising department contact you later and sign a two-year contract directly."
After hanging up the phone, Lin Chudong quickly received a call from the Mongolian Milk advertising department. They wired him ten million, the same as Wu Siping.
Lin Chudong immediately had Yao Qiang arrange it, ensuring good results, a high conversion rate, and high exposure, but Hongyun Drinks would definitely still be the most important.
Both presidents were quite generous to him, but one was giving help in a time of need, and the other was just adding icing to the cake. There was still a big difference between the two.
In the evening, Liang Yin went out for dinner with Lin Chudong alone, and Liang Yin said excitedly.
"Da Fei, we have over seventy million now."
Not much money had been spent besides what Lin Chudong had taken out before.
Later, after Li Zhilin's compensation came in, they had money again. Adding the ten million from Mongolian Milk, they now had over seventy million.
If Lin Chudong took a dividend from this seventy million, he could get twenty to thirty million. However, he wasn't planning on taking it for now; he'd open the treasure chest later after filming Swords of Glory.
"Well, how is the preparation for the establishment of the film and television department going?"
Liang Yin said, "It's not going very smoothly. Establishing a film and television department is too troublesome. I have a headache just thinking about the equipment; I don't really understand it. Also, I don't really understand the skill level of the technicians. I have to try my luck and take it slow."
Lin Chudong nodded, "Then you watch over it first. If it really doesn't work, we'll rent in the next step. Better to have fewer but better."
"Yes… By the way, a publishing house contacted me yesterday, wanting to publish your Beginning, offering a price of one hundred per thousand words, with an estimated completion of two to three hundred thousand words."
"It's not much money. Are we still going to publish it?"
Lin Chudong frowned. "Of course we're publishing it, but we're not selling the rights outright. We'll do a royalty-based system."
A hundred per thousand characters, only twenty to thirty thousand for a book. It wasn't even enough to waste on one of Lin Chudong's memory search cards.
Although everyone had already seen the ending of Beginning, there was still a segment of users who didn't watch the TV series, which was still a market.
Some people just like to read, it gives them room to imagine. No matter how popular the TV series is, they won't watch it.
There were actually quite a few of these book lovers. If it were published, the effect should be pretty good.
Not to say that we can make a fortune, but making a little money is still possible.
"We need to negotiate the royalty split too. Ask for more, like sixty or seventy percent. We have the right to negotiate now."
"Okay, I understand. You're going to the capital tomorrow, right?"
"I'll leave right after I eat. I have an appointment with Teacher Zhao to work on a script for them."
"Alright, you go ahead. I'll arrange for Wang Zhi and the others to go when they record the show."
"Okay."
The capital airport.
Deng Siqing was visibly excited to see Lin Chudong.
Long time no see, I've missed you very much.
Once in the car, Lin Chudong drove with his left hand while holding her hand with his right.
Deng Siqing's face was filled with sweetness, as if she were holding a treasure, clasping his hand with both of hers.
"Da Fei, have you prepared your program for the Lantern Festival Gala?"
"My program is simple, just singing a song. This time, I'm mainly helping Director Zhao Jinrong with a skit."
"Oh, oh, didn't you help with Kung Fu Order last time? You're quite good at comedy too."
Lin Chudong smiled, "Actually, I also wanted to perform a magic trick, but I guess Director Qiu won't allow it, right?"
Deng Siqing was taken aback, "No way. Director Qiu said that you're now the darling of CCTV. Two programs at the Lantern Festival Gala is normal."
A strange expression appeared on Lin Chudong's face, "Really? But I heard that they all call me the son-in-law of CCTV?"
Deng Siqing's face flushed red immediately.
-----------------------
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