In the office area of Rabbit Tail Livestream, employees were busy working.
As a newly established department, achieving their current results was extremely difficult. Several promotional campaigns had brought a tremendous amount of attention to Rabbit Tail Livestream, so the employees were all full of motivation, each one as energetic as if they’d been injected with adrenaline.
There was still a lot of work to be done at Rabbit Tail Livestream, including website optimization, signing contracts with various streamers, arranging featured spots and promotional activities, business cooperation with other related companies, and more—all long-term projects.
Moreover, although Rabbit Tail Livestream was generating a lot of buzz, it was still a long way from turning a profit, so most employees felt they needed to keep working hard.
Everyone knew how huge the livestreaming industry was. Now that Rabbit Tail Livestream was developing so well, as long as they worked hard to make it the industry leader, how could they not receive substantial bonuses?
However, this scene made Pei Qian deeply worried.
Although Rabbit Tail Livestream was still far from making money, high popularity was also a major hidden danger!
Pei Qian went straight to find Chen Yufeng, intending to thoroughly discuss the future development direction of Rabbit Tail Livestream with him.
Seeing Mr. Pei arrive, Chen Yufeng was slightly surprised: “Mr. Pei, Mr. Ma isn’t here today. Would you like me to give him a call?”
Pei Qian shook his head: “No need.”
Call Old Ma? There was no need.
Don’t think I don’t know all these good things were done by you, not Old Ma!
With Old Ma’s brain, could he have thought of letting Rabbit Tail Livestream do unofficial stream commentary? Could he negotiate with other platforms and the Long Yu Group? Could he mysteriously generate so much attention?
Pei Qian knew Old Ma too well. Old Ma’s thinking was always influenced by whoever talked to him last, so there was no doubt that Rabbit Tail Livestream’s current predicament was definitely linked to Chen Yufeng!
So it didn’t matter whether Old Ma was here today or not. Pei Qian mainly needed to change Chen Yufeng’s way of thinking.
The two of them sat down in the reception room. Pei Qian took a sip of tea and said, “Has Rabbit Tail Livestream forgotten its original purpose lately?”
Chen Yufeng was stunned: “What do you mean by that, Mr. Pei?”
This question from Mr. Pei made him a bit nervous. How had they forgotten their original purpose? Those words sounded quite serious!
Had something gone wrong with their recent work that made Mr. Pei unhappy?
Pei Qian said earnestly: “Recently, you’ve focused all your work on esports competitions—first the GPL real-time data, then the ICL unofficial stream commentary. Do you still remember Rabbit Tail Livestream’s original intention?”
Chen Yufeng hurriedly said: “Of course I do! Mr. Pei, we’ve actually developed some new features for learning content on Rabbit Tail Livestream. For example, we’ve created two separate sections for entertainment content and learning content, and we’ve also made replays available for various knowledge-based livestreams for repeated viewing…”
“Additionally, in our plans we have a focus mode which essentially serves as a self-study room. Once entered, users cannot exit for a certain period of time, which helps improve learning efficiency.”
“These features will be launched successively in the near future.”
“The reason we’ve recently focused on esports leagues is mainly to leverage our advantages and attract as much attention as possible to the platform…”
Pei Qian was momentarily taken aback.
These features hadn’t been launched yet, so he didn’t know about them.
But Pei Qian quickly gathered himself and continued earnestly: “That’s still not enough!”
“Although you’ve created entertainment mode, learning mode, and focus mode, and even added time limits to focus mode, if users don’t enter learning mode or focus mode, how is our platform any different from other livestreaming platforms?”
“It’s impossible to expect viewers to voluntarily seek out knowledge. They’ll definitely spend all day in entertainment mode, watching competitions and game livestreams.”
“Our platform has so many professional knowledge resources and so many scholars giving lectures, yet many users only watch competition livestreams and then leave. It’s like entering a treasure mountain and leaving empty-handed—such a waste!”
“Therefore, we must establish mandatory learning requirements for all our users!”
“Based on users’ age information, divide them into adults and minors.”
“For minors, limit entertainment mode usage to 1-3 hours, and close all payment windows.”
“Adults can use entertainment mode without restrictions, but whether they’re adults or minors, everyone must use learning mode or focus mode for one hour before they can access entertainment content!”
Chen Yufeng was shocked: “What? Mr. Pei, this… this doesn’t seem appropriate!”
“Most people are already very busy with work, and when they get off work, they just want to watch some livestreams to relax. But we’re forcing them to use learning mode or focus mode for an hour first. Even though they could just leave it running in the background, this creates a huge barrier for users!”
“This way, people will definitely choose to watch livestreams on other platforms first.”
“If we were already in a monopoly position, we could consider doing this, but right now our market share is still very low…”
Pei Qian smiled slightly: “I know all this.”
“But we have a social responsibility when we do livestreaming!”
“Good medicine tastes bitter but cures the disease. Other livestreaming platforms provide purely entertainment content, while our platform offers a wealth of learning content. If we don’t make these mandatory rules, who would really be motivated to actively watch this learning content?”
“Guiding users to use the livestreaming platform correctly is also our responsibility.”
“Even if we lose some users, it doesn’t matter. I believe those who stay will definitely appreciate our good intentions!”
Pei Qian spoke righteously, leaving Chen Yufeng speechless.
He could only sigh that Mr. Pei was truly a different kind of entrepreneur!
Just like Slacking Food Delivery before, besides Mr. Pei, who would think of paying such a high price and giving up so many potential users to support waste sorting and environmental protection?
Although the kitchen waste they decomposed was just a drop in the bucket compared to all the waste produced by the entire city, and the investment and results were completely disproportionate, it was about having ideals!
And this time, forcing all livestream platform users to use learning mode or focus mode was the same—although it would cause the platform to lose a large number of users, as long as the remaining users persisted and set aside this one hour every day to study or focus on their own things, it would be a meritorious deed!
Chen Yufeng nodded: “Alright, Mr. Pei, I’ll arrange it immediately!”
……
After arranging matters with Rabbit Tail Livestream, Pei Qian went to Slackin’ Internet Café to have a coffee and take a short break.
The new features he arranged for Rabbit Tail Livestream were relatively simple. Adding a small restriction on top of the already-developed focus mode and learning mode wouldn’t take long.
Next month, they should be able to launch the focus mode and force users to use it for an hour every day, which would drive away a large number of viewers.
Thinking about this, Pei Qian felt somewhat relieved.
Just as he was calming down to think carefully about the situation with his other businesses, his phone rang.
Looking at the caller ID, it was actually He An.
“Hm?”
Pei Qian was surprised.
Previously, He An had visited Jingzhou once, and together with Pei Qian, had looked at the demo for “Mission and Choice,” offering his sincere advice: “Use the game’s leftovers to make another new game, you might be able to recoup some losses, otherwise it will be a total loss.”
When Pei Qian heard He An’s assessment, he was overjoyed, waiting for “Mission and Choice” to be released with disastrous sales and huge losses.
But why was He An calling this time?
Generally speaking, He An didn’t like making casual phone calls to chat, so if he was actively calling, there must be something important.
But the release date for “Mission and Choice” hadn’t arrived yet?
Pei Qian answered the call: “Hello? Teacher He, is something the matter?”
On the other end of the phone, He An’s voice was very serious: “Mr. Pei, have you been following the news from the American game industry lately? The latest news from early this morning?”
Pei Qian was confused: “Huh? What news?”
Forget about lately, Pei Qian had never paid attention to foreign gaming news before. Since foreign new games wouldn’t affect Pei Qian’s goal of losing money, what was the point of paying attention?
He An sighed gently: “Mr. Pei, you’re too confident! But it’s understandable—the probability of this happening was too low, so it’s reasonable that it wasn’t within your planning parameters.”
“Mr. Pei, you need to prepare yourself mentally for what I’m about to tell you. Don’t be too shocked.”
Pei Qian felt very puzzled: “What exactly happened?”
He An paused slightly, then said: “A remake of ‘Fantasy Warfare’ is coming out. A promotional video has already been leaked, and it’s supposedly going to be officially released in May.”
“If I remember correctly, your ‘Mission and Choice’ is also scheduled for release in… May, right?”
Pei Qian was stunned: “‘Fantasy Warfare’? The same ‘Fantasy Warfare’ made by the company that created ‘Starry Sea 2’?”
He An: “Of course, what other ‘Fantasy Warfare’ could there be!”
“Mr. Pei, you should be very clear about this game’s position in RTS game history, right? It’s not an exaggeration to say it’s one of the most successful RTS games in history, alongside the ‘Starry Sea’ series and the ‘Command and Conquer’ series. Especially since the same IP also includes the extremely successful MMORPG ‘Fantasy World’…”
“Mr. Pei, I know that ‘Mission and Choice’ also involved a huge investment, and you’re very confident in your game, but this is no joking matter. There’s no need to stubbornly confront it head-on. After all, several hundred million in development funds have already been invested, so what’s the harm in waiting two more months?”
He An was speaking earnestly, trying his best to persuade him.
Ever since playing the demo of “Mission and Choice,” He An had been anxious every day, seemingly able to foresee the disastrous sales after the game’s release and Mr. Pei’s fall from grace.
But Mr. Pei’s attitude was so resolute and confident that He An also felt that Mr. Pei must know what he was doing, and reluctantly put his mind at ease.
But when he heard this morning that a remake of “Fantasy Warfare” was coming out, and it happened to coincide with the release date of “Mission and Choice,” He An immediately became unsettled!
Although it was Mr. Pei’s money being spent, the initial idea for this game had come from He An, and with such a huge investment, it bore the responsibility of “washing away the shame of domestic games,” so failure was not an option.
Therefore, He An didn’t dare delay and called directly to remind him.
Pei Qian couldn’t help but be overjoyed: “Really? That’s great!”
“Teacher He, do you know the exact date when ‘Fantasy Warfare Remake’ will be released? I’d like to coordinate with them.”
He An was stunned, silent for a few seconds before saying: “Mr. Pei, are you serious? Not only are you not avoiding it, but you want to actively collide with it?”
Pei Qian thought for a moment: “They don’t need to be on exactly the same day, but close enough is fine.”
He An: “…”
“Alright, Mr. Pei, since you’re so confident, I won’t say anything more.”
“But I suggest you first go online and watch the promotional video for ‘Fantasy Warfare Remake’ before making a decision.”
After hanging up the phone, Pei Qian’s mood instantly improved.
Originally, due to the issues with Tuoguan Fitness and Rabbit Tail Livestream, Pei Qian had been in a bad mood, but now after hearing this good news, he was elated.
Good, all the right timing, location, and conditions had come together—how could he not lose money now?
If there was still a slight possibility of success before, now that they were colliding with “Fantasy Warfare Remake,” wouldn’t they be completely crushed?
Pei Qian had arrived in this world on September 17, 2009, and his memories from before the transmigration were preserved from ten years later, that is, 2019.
He remembered that at that time, there was also news about a “Warcraft 3 Reforged,” but unfortunately Blizzard was fond of delays, so it was postponed until 2020, and Pei Qian hadn’t gotten to play it.
But this didn’t matter, because from the videos released at the time, the quality of the game was absolutely not a problem. Even if it couldn’t become a timeless masterpiece, recreating a classic shouldn’t be an issue, right?
After all, it was a classic game with very refined mechanics. Just update the graphics, add some good CGI, and wouldn’t that do the trick?
Of course, this world’s “Fantasy Warfare” wasn’t equivalent to “Warcraft,” and this remake was coming out seven or eight years earlier, so there were big differences.
So to be safe, Pei Qian decided to check out how well-made this remake’s promotional video actually was.
He opened the AiLiDao website and quickly found the imported foreign video.
……
“Thunk! Thunk!”
An axe deeply struck a tree, light rain drizzled from the sky, and the rumble of war drums sounded as peons worked diligently cutting wood in the orc camp.
“Ding ding ding…”
Urgent bell sounds echoed through the human town as peasants collecting gold from mines returned to the town hall, picking up iron swords, armor, and shields.
A line of small text appeared on the screen: “In development—art and special effects not final.”
The camera pulled back, revealing camps of humans, orcs, elves, and other races appearing on screen. From an overhead view, busy peasants, prosperous towns, and gathering armies showed an imminent decisive battle.
Then the camera quickly zoomed in, revealing more details one by one.
The orcs’ bulging muscles, the human knights’ heavy plate armor, the flames rising from the demons’ bodies…
All these details were clearly displayed to players, accompanied by stirring music that made one’s blood boil!
Following this, models before and after the remake were all showcased. Those familiar heroes had all been transformed from pixelated versions to high-definition remakes, looking ten times more impressive.
“Remodeled characters and animations!”
“Refreshed maps and campaigns!”
“Newly upgraded interface and map editor!”
“High-definition 4K resolution!”
“HD remake, the king returns!”
In the comments, there was a chorus of “it looks amazing” voices.
“This rehashed game looks too good!!”
“Warning: It looks amazing!”
“Must buy! Are you even human if you don’t buy it?”
“Wow, with these graphics, don’t tell me I need to upgrade my computer again?”
“Buying the map editor, game included free!”
“Could they be using the ‘Starry Sea 2’ game engine for the remake? That would be awesome!”
“Time to pay up, no matter the cost, definitely buying!”
……
Seeing this promotional video and the players’ reactions, Pei Qian was completely reassured.
Absolutely, no problem at all!
This was clearly a project that could succeed even if done half-heartedly—how could it not destroy “Mission and Choice”?
With such an excellent video, such good audience feedback, and from a company that had produced so many quality games, how could this game be bad?
“Mission and Choice” was definitely going to lose money!