Chapter 165 Good News Keeps Coming

Not long after Meng Chang left, Pei Qian received a call.

It was from Chang You.

"President Pei, uh... we've encountered a slight problem."

"I've relayed your requirements for the *Fitness Battle* in-game store and lottery system, but the development team's response is that these features can be implemented, but there will be some changes compared to the original design."

"So, the game might be delayed by a few days. After all, once the features are implemented, they need to be repeatedly tested to avoid serious bugs when the game goes live."

"But in that case, the game's launch date won't match the press conference date. Originally, both the game launch and the press conference were scheduled for this Sunday, but now the game launch will be several days after the press conference."

"There are two options now: either postpone the press conference along with the game and hold it after the game is finished, or mention at the press conference that the game will be launched in the near future and awkwardly explain the situation."

Pei Qian was silent for a moment, then asked, "Isn't there a third option? Like… not mentioning the game at all at the press conference?"

Chang You was stunned. "Huh?"

This was completely unexpected.

*Fitness Battle* was a game tailored for the smart fitness drying rack. It could even be said to be its biggest advantage compared to other fitness equipment. In fact, about a third of Chang You's original PowerPoint presentation was dedicated to introducing the game.

With this game, many people would have a reason to buy the smart fitness drying rack. If the game wasn't mentioned, people might think the smart fitness drying rack was a joke product.

Chang You confirmed again, "President Pei, are you sure you don't want to mention the game at all?"

Pei Qian said seriously, "Of course!"

"The press conference date definitely can't be postponed. All the preliminary work has been prepared, and invitations have been sent to various tech media outlets. Changing the date at the last minute would be inappropriate and make us seem untrustworthy."

"But since the game isn't completely finished and there's still a possibility of modifications, it's better not to make any definitive statements yet. What if the final product doesn't meet everyone's expectations? That would disappoint customers!"

"Our Tengda's style has always been based on integrity. We don't say things we're not sure of, and we don't fight battles we're not sure of winning."

"So, don't mention it at the press conference for now. There will always be opportunities to let customers know about it later!"

Pei Qian gave a persuasive speech, but it didn't have much effect.

It wasn't very convincing!

Chang You hesitated for a moment and said, "Uh... President Pei, consumers aren't that fragile, and the basic framework of our game is already set. It's unlikely to undergo any major changes..."

"Of course, if you think it's more appropriate not to mention the game at the press conference, then we won't."

Pei Qian: "Don't mention it."

Chang You nodded: "Okay, President Pei, we'll do as you say."

After hanging up the phone, Pei Qian's face once again showed a smile.

Good news just kept coming!

If the smart fitness drying rack's press conference didn't mention the game at all, then this fitness equipment would have very little appeal to ordinary consumers.

After the press conference, the smart fitness drying rack's popularity would decline, and most people wouldn't remember such a fitness device. Even if news of *Fitness Battle* broke later, its impact would be greatly reduced.

Of course, it wasn't impossible that no one would buy it. There were always a few curious guinea pigs, but when it came to popularity, it was best to reduce it as much as possible!

Pei Qian was very happy and couldn't help but imagine the wonderful scene of the smart fitness drying racks not selling and all the stock being piled up in the warehouse…

…

…

May 10th, Thursday.

Shanghai, Longyu Group.

Eric had just finished a phone call. He seemed to have had a rather heated argument with the person on the other end about certain issues, but in the end, he didn't seem to have been able to convince the other party. He reluctantly nodded and agreed to the other party's proposal.

Zhao Xuming was also nearby. Although his English was decent, Eric's speaking speed was too fast, and Zhao Xuming couldn't hear what was being said on the other end of the phone. So, based on these few words, he couldn't understand the entire content of the call. He could only vaguely hear that it seemed to be related to the mobile version of IOI.

This made Zhao Xuming feel a little worried.

Because according to Eric's arrangements, Longyu Group and Finger Company were going to jointly hold a press conference today.

At this press conference, the two parties would jointly announce a series of measures regarding the national server of IOI, including the news of the launch of the IOI mobile game, the new hero Cloud Soaring Dragon that IOI had created to cater to the domestic market, a complete set of Chinese-style skins for the domestic market, and a series of subsidies and money-burning policies, and so on.

It could be said that today's press conference was the beginning of Longyu Group and Finger Company's formal and large-scale declaration of war against Tengda Group.

Eric had been preparing for this day for a long time.

From the day Eric was dismissed, he had been carefully preparing today's plan, wanting to use money-burning tactics to defeat President Pei in one fell swoop.

After Eric regained control of the national server of IOI, he was also making preliminary preparations while patiently observing the timing.

Now the time had finally come.

Eric had been carefully observing Tengda's various industries and believed that now was an excellent opportunity.

The movie and game of *Mission and Choice* had been invested with huge amounts of money. Although it was a success in terms of reputation, it would still take a long time to recover the costs.

The initial sales of the G1 phone were good, and there would definitely be a large amount of stock prepared next, which would tie up a large amount of capital.

And according to insider information, OUtu Technology was about to release a new technology product. According to President Pei's personality, this product would definitely also be stocked in large quantities.

All of this meant that Tengda's already tight cash flow was facing even greater pressure.

Carrying out a money-burning war at this juncture meant that President Pei wouldn't have much cash on hand to use, which was very beneficial to Eric!

Although a money-burning war could be carried out secretly, in order to achieve the best results, it was still necessary to hold a press conference and "proclaim it to the world" as loudly as possible.

Because only by publicizing it would most players know about the news, and fresh blood would be attracted to the game.

This move would attract Tengda's attention and even cause Tengda to fight back quickly, but this was exactly the effect Eric hoped to achieve.

Because the outcome of a money-burning war had nothing to do with the speed of reaction, but only with the number of bullets in hand. And bullets were actually about who had a healthier cash flow and who had a thicker wallet.

If Tengda paid attention early and burned money early to meet the challenge, although it would be easy to withstand the pressure from Finger Company in the early stages, it would inevitably lack stamina in the later stages.

Therefore, today's press conference had also been carefully prepared for a long time. Its impact would directly determine whether the start of this money-burning war would be smooth.

Seeing that Eric had hung up the phone, Zhao Xuming tentatively asked, "Is there anything new? Will it affect today's press conference?"

Eric shook his head slightly: "There's a slight problem with the mobile game, but it shouldn't affect today's press conference."

"Before, the mobile game was made into a separate form from the PC game, with no data transfer between the two. After I protested to the higher-ups, this approach has been rejected."

"But the person in charge of the mobile game project just called to say that although the mobile game has now been designed to allow data transfer between the PC and mobile versions, some charging points different from the PC version have been added to the mobile game."

"For example, there are some exclusive skins, exclusive packages, special icons, and emoticons in the mobile game."

Zhao Xuming was stunned for a moment: "This… doesn't seem appropriate, does it? If we're going to do data transfer, shouldn't we do it more simply and just make it exactly the same? It would save us from being criticized."

Eric shook his head helplessly: "That's what I said."

"But the mobile game project also has pressure to make a profit. If the content of the mobile game is exactly the same as the PC game, then the mobile game's revenue-generating ability will be too weak."

"The development of the mobile game also has a dedicated project team for maintenance and development. So much has been invested, and the higher-ups have to consider the input-output ratio. Data transfer is already a big concession in terms of profits. If they don't think of other ways to recoup some of the losses, the mobile game project team will definitely not agree."

"However, the person in charge there also gave a compromise solution."

"Although the mobile game has some exclusive skins, packages, and other consumption points, we will give players some tokens at the beginning of the launch, so that they can use these tokens to obtain most of the exclusive skins and packages for free."

"After the mobile game's player base stabilizes, we will slowly release new exclusive skins and packages to slowly recoup the losses."

"This can be considered a barely acceptable compromise solution."

Zhao Xuming nodded slightly: "Well... that's the only way."

Obviously, Eric, as the person in charge of the national server of IOI, had a certain amount of say in Finger Company's higher-ups, but his say was not so great that he could have the final say.

The development of the IOI mobile game was handled by other project teams of Finger Company. Eric hoped that the IOI mobile game would have complete data transfer with the PC game and not earn a single extra penny, but there were also people among Finger Company's higher-ups who disagreed with this idea, thinking that after working so hard to make a mobile game, why shouldn't they be able to make money?

The result of the power struggle between the various factions was a step back for each: the mobile game would release some exclusive packages to earn money, but it had to be done a little more subtly. In the early stages, they would give away more tokens to disguise it as if all the exclusive content could be obtained for free, and after a period of time, they would slowly sell exclusive content to recoup the losses.

This would be relatively more emotionally acceptable for players, and the IOI mobile game project team could also earn more money.

Although Eric was still a little dissatisfied with this approach, he was also a smart man and knew that it was unrealistic to make the IOI mobile game completely according to his own will, so he wisely stopped insisting.

Zhao Xuming suddenly thought of a question and said, "Then… what about the press conference this afternoon?"

"The press conference has content related to mobile games, and our slogan is 'Data transfer between mobile and PC games, content is completely the same.' In the current situation, I'm afraid it can't be considered 'completely the same,' right?"

After considering for a moment, Eric said, "We don't have to say it so clearly, just give a vague introduction."

"If we tell the truth at the press conference and tell the truth about the mobile game's exclusive packages, it might put us in a disadvantageous position in terms of public opinion from the very beginning."

"We can hint at the press conference that the game is still under development and doesn't represent the final effect. After the game comes out, we can give away more tokens, and most players won't hold on to this point."

Zhao Xuming nodded: "That's right, as long as we give away enough tokens, players will definitely collectively forget about it and pretend that nothing happened."

"There shouldn't be any big problems."

Eric stood up: "Alright, that's the decision. The press conference is this afternoon, so hurry up and prepare. We're going to declare war on Tengda!"