dhibooks Chapter 222 Hoping Lu Ran Can Win
Chapter 222 Hoping Lu Ran Can Win
The news of the strategic partnership between WeChat and Weibo has caused a huge stir online.
Lu Ran sat in the conference room, staring at the announcement on the projection screen, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table.
"President Lu," Zou Xin pulled up a data file, "Weibo just updated the announcement - the 'WeChat Gaming Platform' will be launched in three days, with the first batch of thirty games, all of which are copyrighted by Tencent Games."
Thirty styles.
There are also thirty models.
Lu Ran's lips twitched. This was aimed at them, even the numbers were being matched.
"What's the specific list?" he asked.
"Just leaked." Zou Xin switched to the next page, "'Happy Landlords,' 'Sichuan Mahjong,' 'Bubble Fighter,' 'Airplane War'... are all mature products from Tencent with a huge user base and gameplay that has been proven by the market."
After Zou Xin finished speaking, no one in the conference room made a sound.
Everyone here is well aware of Tencent's deep expertise in the gaming industry.
Although the Tencent in this world is not as strong as the Tencent in his previous life, the pressure is still considerable.
Lu Ran knew that relying solely on a few mini-games on 4399 was no longer enough to compete with WeChat's gaming platform.
Seeing that everyone in the conference room was silent, Zhou Mingzhe took the initiative to speak: "Any one of these games is better than our Gold Miner."
Lu Ran nodded without refuting.
This is a fact.
Even at its most addictive, Gold Miner is still just a single-player game.
Tencent's products, on the other hand, are mature products that have been tested by the market for more than a decade—they have social features, rankings, battles, and a pay-to-win system, with mature gameplay and extremely high user stickiness.
If TUTU Game Center is at an elementary school level, then Tencent Games is at least at a university level.
"Moreover," Zou Xin added, "WeChat has announced that for the first seven days after the game platform launches, it will give away tens of millions of red envelopes every day. Users can receive them as soon as they log in, and the more they play, the more they receive."
"A red envelope?" Lu Ran raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, cash red envelopes, sent directly to your WeChat Wallet." Zou Xin smiled wryly. "This isn't just a lower-dimensional attack, it's a lower-dimensional massacre."
Cash red envelopes.
This is Tencent's usual tactic—spending money to acquire users until the competition questions its existence.
In his past life, he had seen too many startups killed by Tencent's money. They clearly had better products and users liked them more, but as soon as Tencent started throwing money at them, the users left.
After all, who can turn down money?
I never expected that I would still be using the same trick after coming to this world.
This is an open strategy, but it's also an open strategy that's somewhat unsolvable.
"Mr. Lu," Zhou Mingzhe asked, "how much money do we have in the account?"
Lu Ran thought for a moment: "The ten million from Baidu hasn't been touched yet, and with the previous profits, it's probably a little over twenty million."
"Shall we send out red envelopes too?"
"Given the intensity of Weibo posts..." Lu Ran calculated, "it'll probably be enough for two days of posting."
Two days.
They smashed it for seven days, we smashed it for two days.
What to do for the next five days after smashing things for two days?
Competing with Tencent in terms of spending money is the most foolish approach, because no matter how much money you have, you will never have as much as the other party.
Lu Ran took a deep breath and sat up straight: "Notify the operations department to adjust the event plan. We won't be giving out red envelopes; we can't afford it. But we have something else."
"What?"
"Points," Lu Ran said. "TUTU points can be redeemed for rabbit skins, game items, and even future beta testing qualifications for 'Seven Heroes'. These are things that money can't buy."
Lu Ran had no choice but to bring out these virtual items to enhance the stickiness of TUTU's old users.
As for new users, Lu Ran had no choice but to try to retain them gradually in the future.
Zhou Mingzhe asked somewhat uncertainly, "Are you sure users will buy it? It's a real cash reward, money!"
"I'm not sure," Lu Ran answered honestly, "but it's better than sitting and waiting to die."
He stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and picked up a marker.
"We have three things to do over the next three days—"
"First, retain existing users. Increase the incentives for points redemption events, especially for rare limited-edition skins that can only be redeemed in the next few days. Give users a reason not to leave now."
"Secondly, accelerate the development of 'Seven Heroes of the Jianghu'. This game is our trump card, and we must launch it as soon as possible."
"Third—" he paused, "prepare for the worst."
As soon as Lu Ran finished speaking, the atmosphere in the conference room instantly became serious.
Zou Xin asked cautiously, "What's the worst-case scenario?"
"We've lost a lot of users, our daily active users have halved, GG merchants have cancelled orders, and our cash flow is tight," Lu Ran said calmly. "Then we'll retreat into our shell, develop slowly, and come back when 'Seven Heroes' is launched."
After he finished speaking, he glanced around and asked, "Are you scared?"
No one spoke.
The intern with glasses suddenly raised his hand: "President Lu, I'm not afraid."
Why?
"Because I just fed my rabbit a lot," he said earnestly. "It's so happy right now, rolling around in front of the screen. I can't bear to let it go hungry."
Lu Ran paused for a moment, then smiled.
"Alright, then let's fight WeChat for your rabbits."
Even if WeChat and its ilk gain an advantage in these mini-games, Lu Ran is confident that he can win back users in the future PC game market.
...
Meanwhile, at the Starlight Entertainment Building.
Zhou Zhixiong sat in his office, staring at his phone screen, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.
Strategic cooperation between WeChat and Weibo.
He actually saw this news on Weibo's trending topics.
As the executive director of Starlight Entertainment and a partner of Weibo, he wasn't even entitled to be notified.
"Mr. Zhou," the assistant knocked cautiously as he entered, "Weibo has sent an email..."
"read."
"Uh..." The assistant hesitated for a moment, "They replied that they appreciate your support of Weibo Games Center, but due to business adjustments, the original cooperation project has been suspended. They will contact you again if there are any new opportunities."
Zhou Zhixiong's hand trembled slightly.
The process has been suspended.
New opportunities to reconnect.
In other words: We've found an even bigger thigh, so you can go cool off somewhere else.
Is Weibo convinced that WeChat can help them solve their problems, and they're afraid that Starlight Entertainment will take a share of the profits?
"Mr. Zhou?" the assistant asked tentatively, "Should we still reply?"
Zhou Zhixiong didn't say anything, he just waved his hand.
The assistant, feeling as if granted a pardon, quickly withdrew and gently closed the door behind him.
The office quieted down, with only the hum of the air conditioner running.
Zhou Zhixiong stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and looked at the endless stream of cars below, but his thoughts drifted away.
He recalled that a month ago, he sat in the luxurious conference room of Weibo Technology, shaking hands and chatting happily with Wang Huabing about the prospects of cooperation.
He recalled Wang Huabing's confident expression when he said, "If we join forces, Lu Ran will surely die."
What now?
Now he doesn't even have the right to be notified.
Like a lowly henchman, used and then discarded.
"Zhou Zhixiong, Zhou Zhixiong," he muttered to himself, "who do you think you are? Do you think Weibo really cares about you? They're after Starlight Entertainment's star resources, not you as the executive director."
He took out his phone and found Wang Huabing's WeChat.
The chat history was from half a month ago—he sent a message saying, "Mr. Wang, the game center data is pretty good," and Wang Huabing replied with "Thank you."
And then that was it.
He hesitated for a moment, but still sent a message:
[Mr. Wang, I saw the news about your collaboration with WeChat. Congratulations!]
send.
Then he stared at the screen, waiting for the "typing..." message.
One minute. Two minutes. Five minutes.
No reply.
Zhou Zhixiong gave a wry smile and tossed his phone onto the sofa.
He knew that in those people's eyes, he was ultimately just a nobody.
Even now, headquarters has issued a document confirming his promotion to vice president.
But he still wasn't good enough.
He suddenly remembered Lu Ran.
That young man he hated so much, that opponent who repeatedly humiliated him.
With Weibo so confident this time, does it really think it can definitely win over Lu Ran?
Having faced Lu Ran so many times, he had only managed a slight victory in the last movie match.
"Damn it, don't get too excited." At this moment, Zhou Zhixiong actually hoped that Lu Ran would win.
...