Chapter 156 A Great Start

March 21st, Monday.

Pei Qian woke up punctually at noon, ate lunch, and then arrived at the company.

Just as he was about to enter the elevator, he suddenly remembered that today seemed to be the release date for the GOG PC game.

So, he didn't press the button for the 16th floor but decided to first take a turn on the 17th floor, in the game department, to inquire about the situation of the GOG PC game.

According to the timeline, the PC version had already been released for two or three hours, and the initial data should already be out, enough to show some clues.

"The GOG PC game definitely can't be as popular as the mobile game."

"After all, GOG mobile became popular because mobile game development was lagging, and most mobile games simply couldn't compete, forming a dimension reduction strike."

"But PC games are different. There are many established MMORPGs and FPS games at a higher level, and players have extremely strong stickiness; at the same level, there are the veteran game *Shen Qi* and the rapidly popular IOI from abroad; at a lower level, there are various up-and-coming stars."

"With such fierce competition, the GOG PC game, as a newcomer, will definitely not have a good start."

Pei Qian arrived on the 17th floor, and as soon as he entered, he was spotted by Hu Xianbin.

"President Pei, you've finally arrived!" Hu Xianbin's expression was quite excited.

Pei Qian instinctively felt that something seemed amiss: "What, did you guess I was coming?"

Hu Xianbin smiled: "I was just guessing. After all, the GOG PC game has such a good start, you must have expected it, and it's highly likely you'd come to take a look."

Pei Qian: "?"

Such a good start???

Did the two of us have different understandings of "a good start"?

A good start for the mobile game was one thing, but how could the PC game possibly be good?

"President Pei, look!"

Hu Xianbin raised his hand to signal.

Pei Qian followed his hand to look at the computer screen next to him, which displayed various initial data for the GOG PC game, constantly changing.

Damn! Such a good start?!

Pei Qian almost shouted it out loud.

He had seen similar data when the GOG mobile game was launched, but that was, after all, a mobile game project, and there weren't many competitors in the entire field, so good data was normal.

But how could the PC game data be even better than the mobile game's data when it was first launched?

This was simply unscientific!

Pei Qian subconsciously looked at Hu Xianbin.

Hu Xianbin smiled confidently: "President Pei, I knew you would test me. I have carefully considered and summarized the reasons!"

"On the one hand, although the PC game field is fiercely competitive, the number of players is still higher than that of mobile games, and there are more players who like hardcore games!"

"On the other hand, Tengda has been deeply involved in the PC game field for the past two years, supported by *Fortress at Sea* and many single-player games, allowing the GOG PC game to have a huge potential player base from the moment it was launched!"

"Finally, and most importantly, the GOG mobile game and the season bonus accumulated enough popularity for the GOG PC game before it was launched!"

"Since PC and mobile game accounts are linked, many mobile game users downloaded the PC game to experience it as soon as possible."

"Many players, in order to get the season bonus, were even waiting in internet cafes in advance, and as soon as the server opened, they immediately entered to compete in the ranked matches, racing against the clock!"

"Therefore, the GOG PC game can achieve such a good start!"

"According to the data just sent by Moyu Internet Cafe, the three games *Shen Qi*, IOI international server, and GOG test server originally formed a three-legged situation in the internet cafes. After the official launch of the GOG PC game, the balance has been broken."

"The GOG PC game quickly overwhelmed the other two games and gained the favor of players!"

"Although it is too early to declare victory now, the idea of GOG launching the mobile game first and then the PC game is obviously a great success!"

"This is inseparable from your wise guidance, President Pei!"

Pei Qian was dumbfounded: "...I never guided you to make the GOG mobile game."

Hu Xianbin nodded: "That's right, correct."

"Making the GOG mobile game and PC game interconnected was Sister Li's requirement."

"But Sister Li said that the reason she proposed this 'staggered competition' method was learned from you. Your series of classic operations in previous marketing promotions inspired Sister Li and changed her way of thinking. This is how she came up with the idea of promoting the GOG PC game in this way!"

Pei Qian: "..."

This was, a backstab from across the ocean?

Li Yada was still traveling, but she was able to leave a thorn in advance...

Feeling a headache, Pei Qian suddenly felt a strange sense of crisis.

According to the current situation, if IOI doesn't release a national server soon, I'm afraid the situation will be bad...

No, I must arrange for IOI's national server in the next cycle.

Otherwise, the world line will completely deviate from what I imagined, and the consequences will be unimaginable!

Pei Qian turned and left.

Hu Xianbin was no stranger to President Pei's decisiveness: "President Pei, take care! Welcome to visit often! Always be ready to accept inspection!"

After President Pei left, Hu Xianbin looked at the data on the computer screen thoughtfully.

"I have to say, President Pei's trick of 'when in doubt, make a mobile game' is really a panacea for solving all problems."

"Many people have seen the inevitability of the development of smartphones and the arrival of the mobile game trend, but their understanding of the game industry itself restricts their behavior."

"Although they saw the arrival of the mobile game trend, they focused on light and casual games."

"But President Pei is different. His proficiency in both the mobile phone and game industries allows him to more aggressively bring some hardcore games to the mobile platform. *Blood Song of War* was like this, and so is GOG."

"Uh... Although it wasn't his direct decision, it's obvious that Director Lin and Sister Li were both influenced by his ideas."

"Wouldn't that mean that when in doubt, make a mobile game? In the future, whenever we develop a game, we should change it to a mobile game if possible?"

"Hmm... This seems to be a good idea. The battle mode of *Fortress at Sea* seems to be very suitable for being changed to a mobile game."

"Well, write this down, boldly hypothesize, and carefully verify..."

...

...

March 22nd, Tuesday.

Feihuang Workshop.

"President Pei, I still think that not extending the key for *A Beautiful Tomorrow* is a bit of a loss."

"With the quality and box office of our film, extending the release for another month should be standard practice."

"Although extending it for another month wouldn't earn much more money, even with a low number of screenings, earning another ten or twenty million would be good."

Zhu Xiaoce babbled while drinking tea.

But Pei Qian was completely deaf to his words, sipping his tea and smiling faintly.

For Pei Qian, today was a good day.

*A Beautiful Tomorrow* was finally out of theaters!

This month had been a nightmare for Pei Qian. He originally thought that February 22nd was an auspicious day, and that the movie would flop and die as soon as it was released. However, a month had passed, and the film's box office finally settled at 248.62 million.

*Journey of the Flying Star*'s last-minute assist gave *A Beautiful Tomorrow*, which was already at the end of its life, a sudden resurgence, and under the renewed glow, it stubbornly cut nearly 20 million more box office than Dog Eye App predicted.

Converting it, the return to the production team would be about 83 million.

And the investment in this movie was 30 million.

Therefore, a week or so ago, when Pei Qian heard Zhu Xiaoce and Huang Sibao propose to extend the film's key for another month and earn another month's box office, he became emotional and firmly opposed it.

In short, today the movie *A Beautiful Tomorrow* was finally out of theaters.

And Director Zhu Xiaoce obviously felt a little bit of regret.

Although extending it for another month wouldn't earn much more box office, at most ten million or so, leaving only five or six million in their hands, why not take free money?

Pei Qian silently drank his tea, thinking that you know nothing.

Extending it for another month would also extend the return for another month.

The next settlement cycle would likely still be around five months. According to the current pace, with the "fast settlement return" business, the return would arrive within one month of the film's release.

If the return was paid in March, it could be immediately invested in the project.

If it was paid in April, and then invested in the project, the project's deadline would be very tight, and it might not be completed.

Therefore, it absolutely couldn't be delayed!

The two had different ideas and were speechless.

At this moment, Huang Sibao, who had just answered a phone call, walked over and sat down in an empty seat.

"Director Zhu, obviously President Pei's decision is the right one."

"We really shouldn't extend the key."

Zhu Xiaoce was stunned: "Huh?"

Huang Sibao's face was filled with a smile: "People from Ali Island just contacted me and want to talk to us about the exclusive cooperation of *A Beautiful Tomorrow*!"

Zhu Xiaoce: "?"

Pei Qian: "?"

Both were a little surprised, but one was pleasantly surprised, and the other was frightened.

After being stunned for a moment, Zhu Xiaoce suddenly slapped his thigh: "Oh! I understand!"

"Extending the key can indeed keep the movie in theaters for another month, but in this way, the audience's viewing demand will further decline, and the price that websites offer us when negotiating cooperation will naturally decrease accordingly."

"But now that *A Beautiful Tomorrow* has been released, it still has residual heat. Now, negotiating cooperation with video websites like Ali Island, especially exclusive ones, can obtain the most favorable conditions!"

Huang Sibao smiled slightly: "Not only that."

"There will be a highly anticipated web drama airing in April, and many resources will be diverted."

"But from now until the end of March, there are no particularly good hit dramas on the website."

"After *A Beautiful Tomorrow* signs an exclusive contract, it will receive good recommendation resources, at least in March!"

Zhu Xiaoce nodded in understanding: "I see, wonderful."

"Releasing it on time to retain the heat, and use this to fight for more benefits with video websites."

"But, can the offer from the video website be much higher than five million?"

Huang Sibao flipped through the document on his phone: "Currently, Ali Island provides two different exclusive cooperation models."

"One is a buyout. According to the current market, the copyright purchase fee for films with a box office of over 100 million and involving big-name actors starts at 10 million, but at most it doesn't exceed 50 million."

"Our film has a box office of over 200 million, and the popularity is still good, so Ali Island's offer to us is 18 million."

"The other is a split..."

Zhu Xiaoce slapped his thigh: "Of course it's a buyout!"

Pei Qian: "Split!"

The two spoke almost at the same time, and the scene was a little awkward.

Zhu Xiaoce's thinking was very simple. If the movie was sold to a video website and the video website then did video-on-demand, even if it was a split, earning a few yuan at a time, how long would it take to earn 18 million?

Of course, it was a one-shot deal, selling it for 18 million. Isn't this already a blood profit? And I don't have to worry about it anymore.

But the angle that Pei Qian considered was something no one could imagine.

If 18 million arrives now, wouldn't that kill me?

I finally spent all the extra money in my account temporarily through a series of operations, and I'm about to settle, and suddenly you give me 18 million, where am I going to spend it?

Even if you let me soak in Chateau Lafite every day, I would... oh, that would spend it all, but the problem is that the system doesn't allow it.

Therefore, it must not be a buyout!

Huang Sibao coughed lightly: "Ahem, let me finish first."

"If it's a split, each valid on-demand by a member gives us a split of two and a half yuan. A member watching for more than 6 minutes counts as a valid on-demand. A total of six months, with a return every month."

"After six months, the movie will be free, but Ali Island will still pay a certain amount of remuneration according to the incentive plan based on data such as playback volume and popularity."

"If you want to be safe, a buyout is definitely more worry-free. If you have strong confidence in the movie, a split is also possible."

Pei Qian's attitude remained firm: "Split!"

He didn't care how much playback revenue the movie could get on Ali Island, he only cared about one thing: no matter how much money, please don't give it to me now!

Anyway, whatever happens, let's talk about it in the next cycle!

Seeing President Pei's firm attitude, Huang Sibao and Zhu Xiaoce looked at each other and nodded: "Okay, then it's a split. We also think we should have confidence in *A Beautiful Tomorrow*. Signing a split model will definitely earn more money!"

Pei Qian silently sighed, feeling a little melancholy.

Today... seemed like it should have been a good day for the movie to be released.

But why is it like this now...