March 21st, Monday.
Pei Qian got up at noon on schedule, and after lunch, he came to the company.
Just as he was about to enter the elevator, he suddenly remembered that today was the release day for the PC version of GOG.
So instead of pressing the button for the 16th floor, he decided to first go to the gaming department on the 17th floor to check on the situation with GOG’s PC version.
According to the timeline, the PC version had already been released for two or three hours, and the initial data should have come in, enough to see some trends.
“GOG’s PC version definitely can’t be as popular as the mobile version.”
“After all, GOG mobile became popular because mobile game development was stagnant, and the vast majority of mobile games couldn’t compete, creating a dimensional reduction attack.”
“But PC games are different. At the higher tier, there are many established MMORPG and FPS games with extremely sticky player bases; at the same tier, there’s the veteran game ‘Divine Awakening’ and the rapidly popular international ‘ioi’; and at the lower tier, there are various up-and-coming games.”
“With such intense competition, GOG’s PC version, as a newcomer project, definitely can’t have a good start.”
Pei Qian arrived at the 17th floor, and as soon as he entered, Hu Xianbin spotted him.
“Mr. Pei, you’re here!” Hu Xianbin’s expression was quite excited.
Pei Qian instinctively felt something wasn’t right: “What, did you guess I was coming?”
Hu Xianbin smiled: “I was just guessing. After all, with GOG’s PC version having such a good start, you must have anticipated it, and coming to take a look was highly probable.”
Pei Qian: “?”
Such a good start???
Are we understanding “good start” differently?
It’s one thing for the mobile version to have a good start, but how could the PC version be good?
“Mr. Pei, look!”
Hu Xianbin gestured.
Pei Qian followed his hand to look at the computer screen nearby, which showed the various initial data for GOG’s PC version, constantly changing.
Damn! Such a good start?!
Pei Qian almost shouted out loud.
He had seen similar data when GOG’s mobile version launched, but that was a mobile project with not many competitors in the entire field, so good data was normal.
But how could the PC version’s data now be even better than the mobile version’s data when it first launched?
This was completely unscientific!
Pei Qian instinctively looked at Hu Xianbin.
Hu Xianbin smiled confidently: “Mr. Pei, I knew you would test me. I’ve already carefully thought about and summarized the reasons!”
“On one hand, although competition in the PC game field is fierce, the number of players is still greater than mobile, and there are more players who like hardcore games!”
“On the other hand, our Tenda has been deeply cultivating the PC game field for nearly two years, with ‘Sea Fortress’ and many single-player games as support, giving GOG’s PC version a huge potential player base as soon as it launched!”
“Finally, and most crucially, GOG’s mobile version and the seasonal bonuses accumulated enough heat for GOG’s PC version before its launch!”
“Due to account connectivity between PC and mobile, many mobile users downloaded the PC version immediately to experience it.”
“Many players, to get the seasonal bonuses, even waited in advance at internet cafés, entering as soon as the servers opened to rush into ranked matches, fighting for every second!”
“That’s why GOG’s PC version achieved such an excellent start!”
“According to the data just sent from Slackin’ Internet Café, originally the three games ‘Divine Awakening,’ international version of ‘ioi,’ and GOG test server had a tripod situation in the cafés. After GOG’s PC version officially launched, the balance has been broken.”
“GOG’s PC version quickly overwhelmed the other two games, winning the favor of players!”
“Although it’s too early to declare victory now, the approach of first launching GOG’s mobile version and then the PC version has been a great success!”
“This is inseparable from your wise guidance, Mr. Pei!”
Pei Qian was completely confused: “…I never guided you in making GOG’s mobile version.”
Hu Xianbin nodded: “Yes, that’s right.”
“Making GOG mobile and PC versions interconnected was Sister Li’s requirement.”
“But Sister Li said that her reason for proposing this ‘misplaced competition’ method was learned from you. Your series of classic operations in previous marketing promotions inspired Sister Li and changed her way of thinking, which is why she could come up with this way to promote GOG’s PC version!”
Pei Qian: “…”
Is this a backstab from across the ocean?
Li Yada was still traveling, yet she managed to leave a thorn behind in advance…
While feeling frustrated, Pei Qian also suddenly developed a strange sense of crisis.
Based on the current situation, if ‘ioi’ didn’t release its Chinese version soon, the situation could be dire…
No, in the next cycle, the Chinese version of ‘ioi’ must be arranged.
Otherwise, this timeline would completely deviate from what he imagined, with unthinkable consequences!
Pei Qian turned to leave.
Hu Xianbin was already accustomed to Mr. Pei’s swift and decisive style: “Take care, Mr. Pei! Welcome to visit anytime! Always ready for inspection!”
After Mr. Pei left, Hu Xianbin looked at the data on the computer screen thoughtfully.
“I have to say, Mr. Pei’s trick of ‘when in doubt, make a mobile game’ is a universal remedy for solving all problems.”
“Many people saw the inevitability of mobile games’ rise with the development of smartphones and the arrival of the mobile gaming wave, but their understanding of the gaming industry itself restricted their actions.”
“Although they saw the arrival of the mobile gaming wave, they focused on casual games and relaxed games.”
“But Mr. Pei is different. His simultaneous expertise in mobile phones and the gaming industry allows him to more aggressively port some hardcore games to the mobile platform. ‘Hot Blood War Song’ was like this, and so is GOG.”
“Um… although he didn’t directly decide this, it’s obvious that Director Lin and Sister Li were influenced by his thinking.”
“Does that mean when in doubt, make a mobile game, and in future game development, anything that can be converted to mobile should be converted to mobile?”
“Hmm… this seems to be a good approach. For instance, the battle mode of ‘Sea Fortress’ seems very suitable for mobile conversion.”
“Hmm, note this point down, make bold assumptions, seek careful verification…”
…
…
March 22nd, Tuesday.
Fei Huang Studio.
“Mr. Pei, I still feel that not extending the screening key is a bit of a loss.”
“For a film of our quality and box office, extending the screening for another month should be a basic operation.”
“Although extending for a month won’t earn much more money, even with a low screening rate, earning an extra ten or twenty million is still good.”
Zhu Xiaocai sipped tea while muttering.
But Pei Qian completely ignored his words, sipping tea slowly with a faint smile on his face.
For Pei Qian, today was a good day.
“Beautiful Tomorrow” had finally ended its theatrical run!
This month had been a nightmarish experience for Pei Qian. He had originally thought February 22nd was an auspicious date, and the film would flop as soon as it was released. However, after a month, the film’s final box office was fixed at 248.62 million yuan.
The last-minute boost from “Journey to the Flying Star” had given “Beautiful Tomorrow,” which had already entered the final stage of its life, a sudden revival. In its dying moments, it tenaciously exceeded the Dog’s Eye APP’s estimate by nearly 20 million at the box office.
Converting that, the return to the production team would be about 83 million yuan.
And the investment in this film was 30 million yuan.
Therefore, when Pei Qian heard Zhu Xiaocai and Huang Sibo propose to extend the film’s screening key for another month to earn more box office revenue a week ago, he became emotionally agitated and firmly opposed it.
In any case, today, “Beautiful Tomorrow” had finally ended its theatrical run.
And Director Zhu Xiaocai felt a bit regretful.
Although extending for another month wouldn’t earn much more box office, at most ten million or so, with only five or six million left after distribution, why not take free money?
Pei Qian silently drank tea, thinking you don’t understand a thing.
If they extended for another month, the return would also be delayed by a month.
The next settlement cycle would most likely still be about five months, and according to the current pace, with the “quick settlement return” business, the return would arrive within a month after the film ended its run.
If the return came in March, it could be immediately invested in projects.
If it only came in April and was invested in projects, the project deadline would be very tight, and it might not be completed.
So, there must be no delay!
The two had different thoughts, looking at each other in silence.
At this moment, Huang Sibo, who had just taken a phone call, walked over and sat down in an empty seat.
“Director Zhu, Mr. Pei’s decision was the right one.”
“We indeed shouldn’t extend the screening key.”
Zhu Xiaocai was surprised: “Huh?”
Huang Sibo’s face was beaming with joy: “AiLiDao just contacted me to discuss exclusive cooperation for ‘Beautiful Tomorrow’!”
Zhu Xiaocai: “?”
Pei Qian: “?”
Both were somewhat surprised, though one was pleasantly surprised and the other was shocked.
After a moment of surprise, Zhu Xiaocai slapped his thigh: “Oh, I understand now!”
Although extending the screening key would allow the film to be shown in theaters for another month, this would further reduce the audience’s viewing demand. When websites negotiate cooperation with us, the offer would naturally be correspondingly reduced.”
“Now, although ‘Beautiful Tomorrow’ has ended its theatrical run, it still has residual heat. Negotiating cooperation with video websites like AiLiDao now, especially for exclusive deals, can obtain the most favorable conditions!”
Huang Sibo smiled slightly: “Not only that.”
“In April, there will be highly anticipated web dramas, and many resources will be diverted.”
“From now until the end of March, the websites don’t have many particularly good hot dramas.”
“After signing an exclusive deal, ‘Beautiful Tomorrow’ will at least receive good recommendation resources in March!”
Zhu Xiaocai nodded in sudden realization: “I see, brilliant.”
“Ending the run on time to preserve the heat, and using this to negotiate more benefits with video websites.”
“However, can the website’s offer be much higher than five million?”
Huang Sibo looked at the document on his phone: “Currently, AiLiDao has offered two different exclusive cooperation models.”
“One is a buyout. According to current market conditions, for films with a box office over 100 million and featuring big-name actors, the copyright acquisition fee starts at 10 million, but doesn’t exceed 50 million.”
“Our film has a box office of over 200 million, and its current heat is still good, so AiLiDao’s offer to us is 18 million.”
“The other is revenue sharing…”
Zhu Xiaocai slapped his thigh: “Of course it’s the buyout!”
Pei Qian: “Revenue sharing!”
The two spoke almost simultaneously, creating a momentarily awkward scene.
Zhu Xiaocai’s thinking was simple: selling this film to a video website, and the website doing on-demand viewing—even with revenue sharing, earning a few yuan at a time, how long would it take to reach 18 million?
Of course, it was better to make a one-time deal; selling it for 18 million was already a huge profit. They wouldn’t have to worry about it afterward.
And Pei Qian’s consideration was from an angle no one could imagine.
18 million arriving now, isn’t that asking for my life?
I’ve gone through so much trouble to temporarily spend all the extra money in my account, and the settlement is approaching. Suddenly giving me 18 million, where am I supposed to spend it?
Even if I bathe in Lafite every day, I could… oh, that would use it up, but the problem is the system wouldn’t allow that.
So, we definitely must not go with the buyout!
Huang Sibo coughed lightly: “Ahem, let me finish first.”
“For revenue sharing, each effective member viewing gives us a share of 2.5 yuan. A viewing is considered effective if a member watches for more than 6 minutes. This lasts for six months, with monthly returns.”
“After six months, the film becomes free, but AiLiDao will still pay a certain amount of compensation according to data such as viewership and heat, in line with their incentive plan.”
“If we’re playing it safe, the buyout is certainly more hassle-free. If we have strong confidence in the film, revenue sharing is also an option.”
Pei Qian remained resolute: “Revenue sharing!”
He didn’t care how much viewership the film could get on AiLiDao; he only cared about one thing—no matter how much money, please don’t give it to me now!
In any case, for any big issue, it could be discussed in the next cycle!
Seeing Mr. Pei’s firm attitude, Huang Sibo and Zhu Xiaocai exchanged a glance and nodded: “Alright, then revenue sharing it is. We also believe we should have confidence in ‘Beautiful Tomorrow.’ Signing the revenue sharing model will earn more money!”
Pei Qian sighed silently, feeling a bit melancholic.
Today… should have been a good day with the film ending its run.
But now, why was it like this…