Losing Money to Become a Tycoon: Starting with Games
Chapter 481: President Pei's Foresight and the "Raising Gu" Strategy
Monday, April 11
Shangyang Games
Lin Wan sat in her office, troubled by the recent tasks assigned to her.
She had noticed that the assignments President Pei gave her were becoming increasingly challenging.
First, she had to develop a rare online horror game while simultaneously overseeing the development of a smartphone. Now, she was responsible for operating the Chinese server of IOI, a successful overseas game project.
In other words, she would be competing directly against GOG, Tengda Group's own game, in the domestic market.
Logically speaking, developing a brand-new game and managing a smartphone project should be far more difficult than operating a licensed game.
After all, a publisher doesn't need to handle development. It only needs to focus on operations and marketing, which sounds much easier.
Yet Lin Wan felt even more pressure than before.
Because she believed this task was incredibly difficult.
Even harder than her previous assignments.
The moment she received the task, she immediately called Ye Zhizhou and Wang Xiaobin into a meeting to discuss possible plans.
The routine matters were settled quickly:
Launching the Chinese official websiteTranslating the game and producing Chinese voice actingRenting cloud serversOutsourcing customer servicePreparing launch events and promotional campaigns
These were all basic requirements. Even if Lin Wan ignored them, Ye Zhizhou and Wang Xiaobin could handle them without much trouble.
But the problem was obvious:
How could any of this possibly compete with GOG?
Lin Wan recalled that when President Pei assigned the task, he seemed to have very high expectations for the Chinese version of IOI.
However, she personally didn't think IOI stood much chance against GOG in China.
GOG's quality was no worse than IOI's. More importantly, GOG had already seized the market through cross-platform integration between PC and mobile versions, while also attracting huge numbers of players through its quarterly cash-reward ranking system.
At present, whether they were former players of Divine Revelation and IOI, or newcomers who had never touched this genre before, most players naturally favored GOG.
Starting from such a disadvantaged position, turning the situation around would be incredibly difficult.
What frustrated Lin Wan even more was that it had been her own idea that helped Li Yada launch the mobile version first.
Of course, the original concept had come from President Pei, but Lin Wan had interpreted and expanded on his intentions.
Now she was beginning to understand how other companies felt when competing against Tengda Group.
There was simply no obvious weakness to exploit.
Tengda Group's gaming division was packed with talented people, and they could all receive guidance from President Pei. It was an opponent that was extraordinarily difficult to deal with.
Just as she was worrying about all this, a knock sounded at the office door.
Looking up, she saw Ye Zhizhou.
"How are preparations for the Chinese server launch coming along?" Lin Wan asked casually.
Ye Zhizhou sat down across from her desk with a document in hand.
"Everything's going smoothly. Our department already has experience operating Blood War Anthem: Enhanced Edition. Running IOI is much more difficult, of course, but it's not enough to throw us into chaos."
Lin Wan sighed.
"I really don't know what President Pei is thinking this time."
"I have absolutely no desire to compete against Tengda Group's gaming department."
"But judging from President Pei's attitude, he seems to be encouraging us to spend aggressively on marketing and promotion, pushing the Chinese version of IOI to seize market share from GOG."
"It feels strange—fighting against ourselves."
"Especially since I'm so familiar with the people in Tengda's gaming division. That only makes it feel even weirder."
"And honestly, I don't think we have much chance of winning."
Clearly, Lin Wan viewed the two games very differently.
GOG was a game developed by Tengda Group itself, and it even contained a hero modeled after President Pei.
IOI, while still a good game, simply didn't feel as close to home.
Moreover, Tengda only possessed the operating rights for IOI and had no influence over its development, which made Lin Wan even more uncomfortable.
Ye Zhizhou was silent for a moment before saying,
"I think President Pei may be employing a 'raising gu' strategy."
"GOG's development has been far too smooth. That makes it easy for the team to become complacent and eventually be surpassed by newcomers. And for this type of game, most players only play one title at a time. It's essentially a winner-takes-all market."
Lin Wan thought for a moment.
"I've considered that possibility too, but... where's the evidence?"
Ye Zhizhou replied, "The evidence is time itself."
"The very first investment made after Dream Fulfillment Ventures was established was twenty million yuan into Fingertip Games, securing the Chinese publishing rights for IOI. Immediately afterward, President Pei instructed Tengda's game division to begin developing GOG."
"Do you really think that's just a coincidence?"
"Obviously, President Pei had already foreseen the enormous potential of this genre."
"For most games, a company only needs to choose one path—either publish an existing title or develop its own. But President Pei clearly places exceptional importance on this type of game, which is why he pursued both strategies simultaneously: publishing on one side and developing on the other."
Lin Wan nodded. The reasoning made sense.
President Pei had always given people the impression of someone who planned everything meticulously and never left anything to chance.
When it came to game development, once a game in a particular genre succeeded, he would never make a second game of the same type.
Yet GOG and IOI were clearly games of the same genre, and he had invested heavily in both. Whether it was hedging his bets or making the two projects push each other forward through competition, it showed just how much importance he attached to this market.
After thinking for a while, Lin Wan asked, "So our top priority now is to complete President Pei's assignment and seriously compete for GOG's users, right?"
Ye Zhizhou nodded.
"I agree. We may never be able to understand President Pei's intentions perfectly, but one thing is almost certain: he wants us to compete with GOG for players."
"However..." Lin Wan frowned slightly. "Maybe it's because I'm too emotionally attached to GOG, but I honestly can't see any area where IOI can decisively outperform it."
Ye Zhizhou handed her the document he had been holding.
"I think this might be one of our trump cards."
Lin Wan took it and quickly flipped through the pages.
It was a development roadmap for IOI's upcoming heroes.
Over the course of the year, IOI planned to release 24 new heroes, averaging two new heroes every month.
"That's incredibly fast!" Lin Wan exclaimed.
She had a general understanding of how complicated hero development was:
Hero concept designCharacter appearance designConcept artModelingAnimationsVisual effectsBalance testing
Each step was extremely time-consuming.
Maintaining a release schedule like this was practically the definition of a workhorse team.
There was an old saying: In martial arts, speed is the key.
The same principle applied to games.
Even if a game wasn't perfect, a steady stream of updates, improvements, and fresh content could keep players engaged.
Conversely, even an excellent game would quickly lose popularity if updates came too slowly and players couldn't get new content when they wanted it.
IOI was already a highly polished game.
If it could also maintain such an aggressive update schedule...
It would be extraordinarily competitive.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Wan said, "As for GOG... there's no way it can keep up with that pace. Producing even one new hero every month and a half would already be impressive."
Ye Zhizhou nodded.
"Exactly. We all know the situation within Tengda's gaming division."
The department had effectively been split into two groups.
Hu Xianbin led one team responsible for developing Struggle, while Min Jingchao and Zhang Nan led the other team, handling GOG updates, new hero designs, and skin development.
Obviously, in terms of manpower alone, they were significantly outnumbered by Fingertip Games. Naturally, their hero-production speed would be much slower.
If IOI could release heroes much faster than GOG, it would mean offering players substantially more content.
That was a huge advantage—one significant enough to offset GOG's early lead in popularity.
After a long period of consideration, Lin Wan finally said, "Alright. Then we'll build our strategy around that advantage."
"Since President Pei wants the two projects to push each other forward and improve through competition, there's no reason to let personal feelings get in the way anymore. From now on, we'll let results speak for themselves!"
Meanwhile, Pei Qian was sitting in his office, reviewing Moyu Delivery's performance reports.
Standing nearby was Rui Yuchen, the person in charge of Moyu Delivery, looking extremely nervous.
Since its founding, Moyu Delivery had always been a subsidiary business under Moyu Internet Café. As leadership of Moyu Internet Café changed hands—from Ma Yang to Zhang Yuan, and then from Zhang Yuan to Xiao Peng—those managers had always served as Rui Yuchen's direct supervisors.
Originally, Moyu Delivery had been managed by Lin Canrong.
However, because Lin Canrong had achieved such outstanding losses while running Moyu Delivery, Pei Qian later transferred him to take charge of Mingyun Private Kitchen.
As a result, Rui Yuchen stepped into the role and had been overseeing Moyu Delivery ever since.
Pei Qian had never personally met Rui Yuchen before. Since Moyu Delivery operated under Moyu Internet Café, any requests or issues could simply be handled through the café's management.
The reason Pei Qian had summoned Rui Yuchen today was to promote him.
Unfortunately, Rui Yuchen had no idea what President Pei's true intentions were. He was worried that this meeting was actually a disciplinary summons, so he felt extremely anxious.
Up to this point, Moyu Delivery had continued operating at a loss without ever turning a profit.
Meanwhile, the businesses around it had all undergone dramatic transformations:
Moyu Internet CaféROF Computer AssemblyMingyun Private Kitchen
All of them had become profitable and had even expanded branches to Lin City.
The only business still capable of competing with Moyu Delivery in terms of sustained losses was Against the Wind Logistics.
But Against the Wind Logistics was a special case.
Its manager, Lu Mingliang, was one of President Pei's trusted veterans. Back when he worked in Tengda's gaming division, he had rendered tremendous service to President Pei.
How could Rui Yuchen possibly compare?
In Rui Yuchen's view, if President Pei wanted to crack down on a money-losing department, Moyu Delivery seemed like the most logical target.
The more he thought about it, the more nervous he became.
After reviewing all of Moyu Delivery's operational data, Pei Qian was extremely pleased.
It's not difficult for a business to lose money temporarily.
What's difficult is continuing to lose money year after year—regardless of how other businesses become profitable, regardless of changes in management, and regardless of external circumstances.
Lin Canrong had successfully transformed Mingyun Private Kitchen into a thriving business, which was more than enough proof of his abilities.
Yet even Lin Canrong had failed to make Moyu Delivery profitable.
That alone proved that Moyu Delivery was a truly reliable department—one that could withstand the test of time.
Thinking this, Pei Qian lightly tapped his desk.
"What do you think is the main reason Moyu Delivery still hasn't become profitable?"
Rui Yuchen's heart skipped a beat.
Oh no.
President Pei is really here to hold someone accountable!
Deep down, Rui Yuchen already had an answer.
He believed the primary reason Moyu Delivery couldn't make money was its business model.
But he absolutely couldn't say that out loud.
After all, the operating model had been personally designed by President Pei.
If he claimed the model itself was flawed, wouldn't that be equivalent to slapping President Pei in the face?
Pretending to think carefully for a moment, Rui Yuchen finally shook his head.
"I don't know."
The answer would make him look incompetent, certainly.
But it was still better than openly criticizing President Pei's strategy...
Pei Qian was briefly stunned.
He was somewhat surprised by the young man's honesty.
But a smile quickly appeared on his face.
He was very satisfied with that answer.
Looks like he's someone with potential.
In that case, he can be entrusted with even greater responsibilities.
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Tn: I updated the story once a day, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 536: Still Going with the "Bare Walls" Style[1]
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[1] https://www.patreon.com/HannibalNotBarca/posts/losing-money-to-164800513?collection=1399284
[2] https://www.patreon.com/HannibalNotBarca/posts/losing-money-to-164800513?collection=1399284