Seeing Mr. Pei so enthusiastic, Lin Wan almost forgot why she had come.
Why did she have this misconception that the game was selling well and they should celebrate in grand style?
The two of them went to the reception room, where Pei Qian invited Lin Wan to sit on the sofa and personally poured her tea.
A meritorious contributor deserved such treatment!
Regarding the current situation of “Hot Blood Battle Song Power-Up Version,” Pei Qian was extremely satisfied.
He had spent eight million and had successfully lost money.
Lin Wan would most likely be severely affected by this failure. Perhaps she wouldn’t be able to withstand the pressure and would return to inherit her family business.
It was truly a double blessing.
Indeed, acquiring Shangyang Games had been a correct choice!
The only regret was that the TPDb rating was a bit low. If it could increase to 8 points, they could pay out an additional 400,000 in bonuses.
Don’t underestimate this 400,000 in bonuses—perhaps later, the difference between profit and loss would be exactly this 400,000!
Of course, Lin Wan and Shangyang Games were already doing very well, and Mr. Pei was an easily satisfied person.
With Mr. Pei personally pouring tea, Lin Wan felt somewhat overwhelmed. She took a few sips from her teacup, almost forgetting why she had come.
Oh, right, she was here to report to Mr. Pei.
Lin Wan briefly explained the problems currently facing Shangyang Games.
“Mr. Pei, I’m here mainly for two issues.”
“First, Zhang Zuting’s advertisement has been heavily criticized, not only damaging our game’s reputation among ordinary netizens but also causing Zhang Zuting great distress.”
“Yesterday, he proactively contacted Shangyang Games staff to ask if he could come to Jingzhou again to reshoot the advertisement.”
“He’s willing to do it without a penny, voluntarily making the trip for free.”
“I know this advertisement was meant to attract traditional web game players, but it has indeed had some impact on Zhang Zuting’s reputation. Should we reshoot a more tasteful advertisement to compensate him a bit?”
Reshoot the advertisement?
That’s not possible!
Pei Qian didn’t even think about it and immediately shook his head: “There’s no need.”
“I understand Old Zhang’s feelings, but reshooting won’t solve the problem.”
“The advertisement has already aired, and everyone’s impression is already formed. We can’t brainwash all the viewers and make them collectively forget.”
“Besides, this advertisement going viral has brought Old Zhang many new fans. Taking a few insults isn’t a big deal.”
Lin Wan still felt it was inappropriate: “But many people on his Weibo are calling him ‘Fried Pork Knuckle,’ and he finds it very difficult to accept this nickname…”
Pei Qian smiled: “Why is Old Zhang’s popularity not what it used to be? It’s because he takes his idol image too seriously and doesn’t understand what young people like nowadays.”
“Still sticking to the old ways, how can he make a comeback or rise to prominence? People are willing to call him ‘Fried Pork Knuckle’—it’s a term of endearment, they like him. How can he not understand such a simple principle?”
Lin Wan was a bit confused: “Huh?”
What Mr. Pei said had some logic to it.
But the person involved wasn’t happy about it!
Pei Qian continued: “Go back and work on Old Zhang’s mindset, help him change his perspective. I think ‘Fried Pork Knuckle’ is a good nickname, it’s endearing.”
“It even sounds appetizing; young people will like it.”
“Check Zhang Zuting’s Weibo—hasn’t he gained followers? Hasn’t his popularity increased?”
Lin Wan looked at her phone somewhat blankly: “It seems… he has indeed gained many followers.”
“Alright, I’ll try to persuade him more…”
Lin Wan was a bit dazed by the unexpected reasoning, but this issue was considered resolved.
“There’s also a second issue. You’ve seen the data for ‘Hot Blood Battle Song Power-Up Version’…”
“Although the data is very disappointing, I think it’s too early to call it a failure. I plan to observe for a week, and if the data is still poor after a week, then try making changes.”
Hmm? Try making changes after a week?
Change what? Isn’t the current situation perfectly fine?
Don’t change anything!
Pei Qian’s expression instantly became serious as he said earnestly, “Failure? Where is the failure?”
“On TPDb, the consumer rating is as high as 9.2 points—this is overwhelmingly positive!”
“I’ve also looked at the forums; veteran players are very satisfied with this game.”
“Tenda now uses reputation as our evaluation standard, so this game is not only not a failure, but should be considered quite successful, perfectly accomplishing its original goals.”
“As for the temporary lack of profitability, that’s not a big issue—we need to take a longer view.”
“As long as the reputation is good, it will eventually become profitable.”
Lin Wan still felt conflicted: “Umm…”
“That’s true, but… the netizen rating is very low, only 4.3 points.”
Pei Qian took a sip of tea and scoffed: “Just a bunch of trend-following armchair players.”
“These people haven’t even played the game; they see an advertisement and give it one star. Why should we care what they say?”
“The netizen rating of 4.3 points is mainly because TPDb currently has too few users, and many people misunderstand ‘Hot Blood Battle Song Power-Up Version,’ so this rating is not accurate.”
“We must believe that good games won’t be buried. Since consumers approve, as long as we persist, we’ll eventually see the light!”
Lin Wan nodded silently.
Indeed, Mr. Pei’s mindset was even more open-minded than she had imagined.
The netizen rating issue troubled Lin Wan greatly, but for Mr. Pei, it wasn’t even a concern.
Pei Qian smiled calmly: “Haven’t I repeatedly emphasized that we need to take a longer view?”
“‘Hot Blood Battle Song Power-Up Version’ embodies everyone’s hard work. Since we all believe it’s a good enough game, why should we worry about temporary profit or loss?”
“Don’t disrupt our formation or make changes—just maintain the current state.”
Lin Wan nodded. Mr. Pei’s perspective was indeed more insightful!
Since Mr. Pei also believed the game shouldn’t undergo major changes, they wouldn’t change it.
But… just waiting without doing anything didn’t seem appropriate either.
They should still make some manageable adjustments.
Lin Wan thought for a moment: “Then I’ll have them make some optimizations shortly, fixing bugs and such without changing the main content of the game.”
Pei Qian nodded with satisfaction: “Yes, very good.”
As long as you don’t make major changes and maintain the status quo, everything is fine.
“But… Mr. Pei, when do you think ‘Hot Blood Battle Song Power-Up Version’ will see a turning point?” Lin Wan asked.
When will it see a turning point?
That question stumps me; I don’t know either.
If it were up to me, it would be best if it never saw a turning point…
However, seeing Lin Wan’s expectant gaze, Pei Qian felt he should say something reassuring, even if vague.
“It depends on timing. When the time is right, a turning point will naturally come.”
……
……
After seeing Lin Wan off, Pei Qian finally let out a long breath.
It was pretty much settled!
The failure of Mingcloud Private Kitchen in the previous period had made him nervous, but now with good news from Shangyang Games, Pei Qian could finally relax a bit.
Lin Wan would pacify Zhang Zuting. After all, they had paid him, treated him to meals, and given him traffic and publicity. Pei Qian didn’t feel he owed Old Zhang anything.
Old Zhang was just taking some insults—what’s the big deal?
If Old Zhang felt unbalanced, then next time they could invite more Hong Kong stars to shoot advertisements, all saying, “If you’re my brother, come take a bite.”
At worst, next time Old Zhang came to Jingzhou, they could treat him to another good meal.
However, when Pei Qian thought about having to make reservations in advance to eat at Mingcloud Private Kitchen, no longer able to eat there casually, he felt a bit dejected again.
“Oh, right, I need to call Lin Canrong quickly!”
Pei Qian remembered a crucial issue.
Previously, he had been too optimistic about Mingcloud Private Kitchen’s situation and had reserved too little, which was completely insufficient.
Although Mingcloud Private Kitchen was now booked until the week after next, if he hurried to make reservations for later dates, there was still time.
Pei Qian called Lin Canrong and added several more reservations.
Previously, he had booked the entire restaurant on the 20th of even-numbered months and reserved the largest private room on the first and third Sundays of each month.
Now he changed it to booking the entire restaurant on the 20th of every month and reserving the largest private room on the first and third Sundays and the second and fourth Saturdays of each month.
In simple terms, he had doubled his previous reservations.
Pei Qian wanted to reserve even more, but each gathering needed a legitimate reason.
Having a private room every week and booking the entire restaurant every month should be about enough.
After completing the reservations, Pei Qian let out a sigh of relief.
This Sunday, he would first invite Qiao Laoshi to comfort his wounded soul.
On the 20th of this month, he could treat the Shangyang Games team to a meal as a form of recognition.
With Shangyang Games temporarily taken care of, Pei Qian felt much more relaxed. He picked up his controller again, ready to continue suffering in “No Return Shore.”
At this moment, his phone screen lit up—it was a message from Lin Chang.
“Mr. Pei, is that Hardcore Review channel you?”
Pei Qian was stunned.
Oh? Discovered so quickly?
He had thought Lin Chang was a busy person who probably wouldn’t notice a small account like Hardcore Review.
Pei Qian had planned to tell Lin Chang about this after all 20 episodes were recorded, but he didn’t expect Lin Chang to discover it himself.
Since the Hardcore Review videos started updating last month, 11 episodes have been released so far, completing half of the planned 20 episodes.
Pei Qian’s initial intention was just to casually make videos, complete 20 episodes, and then feel at ease about spending that 200,000.
But the results were even better than Pei Qian had expected. Hardcore Review kept gaining followers, now reaching over 600,000.
Especially the first three mobile phone review episodes—fans of the three phone brands were fiercely fighting in the comments, and the view count was still increasing.
Of course, even with 600,000 followers, the channel’s influence on AiLiDao was average—it could only be said to have some small fame in the digital circle.
Pei Qian hadn’t expected Lin Chang to notice this program.
Could it be that Mr. Lin had nothing better to do than browse AiLiDao in his spare time?
For others, even if they saw “Hardcore Review,” they couldn’t be certain it was Mr. Pei.
On one hand, Pei Qian didn’t show his face, and his tone was different from usual; on the other hand, others couldn’t imagine that Mr. Pei, being so wealthy, would make videos for fun.
But Lin Chang was different.
He had sponsored the program and knew that Mr. Pei wanted to conduct an “performance art” experiment. By recognizing the host’s physique and accent in the video, he easily made the connection.
There was no need for Pei Qian to hide it. This was intended for Lin Chang to see from the beginning, so he simply admitted it.
“Yes, it’s me.”