Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 642 What to do? A dead end?
The seven-day closed beta test of KartRider quickly came to a near-perfect end.

The test report lay on Waters's desk, and the data was very encouraging.

Players spent an average of over 4 hours online, with a day-two retention rate as high as 85%. The results of the willingness to pay survey far exceeded expectations. More importantly, the proportion of game matches initiated through MSN friend chains reached an astonishing 70% or more.

This longsword, named KartRider, is not only sharp, but also fits the MSN sword hilt perfectly.

"The results were even better than we expected." Waters' face showed undisguised admiration.

"It's time to unsheathe this sword completely, let the users of China witness its power, and start the full-scale warm-up for the open beta test, taking advantage of the most festive New Year in China."

“Understood.” James smiled. “We have prepared a complete marketing plan to ensure that KartRider becomes the most anticipated game for Chinese players before the Spring Festival.”

With the command given, Microsoft's massive machines began operating efficiently once again.

The first thing to change was the MSN Messenger client itself.

After a forced silent update, all users in the China region were surprised to find this when logging into MSN.

In the most prominent chat window of MSN, the originally simple dialog box background has been replaced with a dynamic "KartRider" theme skin.

Under the blue sky and white clouds, a winding rainbow track stretches out, with several adorable go-karts speeding by, creating a cartoonish atmosphere.

Even the message bubbles, font colors, and emojis have been changed to a vibrant design that matches the game's style.

Users can choose to use the default skin, or unlock more limited-edition skins with different character themes by checking in on the event page or completing specific tasks.

MSN's signature feature has also undergone a rapid upgrade.

The system provides a large number of personalized signature templates related to "KartRider", such as "[Old driver, let's go! Join MSN team up!]", "[I'm waiting for you to race in L3 channel]", and "[Goal: Golden Legendary License Plate]". Users can use these signatures with one click, making the MSN friend list seem like a large KartRider recruitment square.

The entrance to the voice chat room has been moved to a more prominent position and is marked with the words "Official Recommended Voice for KartRider".

Click to enter, and you'll find that the voice chat room templates have also been updated with categories such as racing tactics discussion, track skill sharing, and casual racing, making it easier for players to find their groups.

Some players were subconsciously drawn into the chat channel, listening to hundreds of people chatting about KartRider, and were quickly attracted in.

On the homepage of MSN's official website, a huge carousel has become the reservation portal for the open beta of "KartRider".

The reservation button is designed to be very enticing, with a scrolling display next to it showing "[Number of reservations: 1,847,655]" that keeps rising rapidly. Although the authenticity is unknown, it creates a sense of urgency and stimulates players' herd mentality.

While launching a massive visual campaign, Microsoft delivered an even more ruthless blow.

Strategic adjustments to subsidy policies.

MSN's official website posted an update announcement on its "AFK Points Redemption" activity page. The title seemed ordinary, but the content was actually quite dangerous.

This notice regarding the optimization and upgrade of the event stated two points.

The first point is the general reduction in subsidies and the concentration of resources. The announcement stated that the amount of points awarded for daily AFK rewards would be reduced across the board, citing the need for the long-term healthy operation and sustainable development of the event.

The second point is a major adjustment to the redemption scope. It is clearly stated that, in order to better serve MSN strategic partners and the core game ecosystem, starting today, points will no longer be supported for redeeming any game cards or virtual items.

This includes games like "Sweet Home", "QQ Tang", "Bubble Fighter", and several other casual games with smaller market shares.

The announcement also emphasized that the points will be prioritized and given priority to supporting "KartRider".

This move can be described as cutting off the fuel supply.

Players who kept MSN logged in every day to redeem QQ Tang game points, and users who farmed in Sweet Home but relied on MSN subsidies to buy virtual furniture, suddenly realized that they had been cheated.

However, everyone knows that the practice of "wool-pulling" (exploiting loopholes for personal gain) is unsustainable, so they can accept it even if the amount of wool decreases.

More importantly, the MSN sign-in bonus is now tied to the new KartRider exclusive mission.

Daily check-in rewards might include a KartRider vehicle trial voucher, seven consecutive days of check-in will grant a rare character trial card, and sharing the pre-registration link with MSN friends can earn you a cash bonus...

All the welfare benefits were precisely directed towards "KartRider".

Microsoft's strategy has always been very clear.

By completely capturing users' minds through visual transformation and forcefully guiding user flow through subsidies, the two-pronged approach created an unparalleled strong start for "KartRider" before the start of its open beta, while precisely cutting off the external funding channels of competing games.

As the year drew to a close, at the headquarters of Tencent in Deep Summer City, Ma Huateng looked at the latest data report submitted by the operations department, his face colder than the winter chill outside the window.

The report showed that several key curves plummeted again.

QQ Tang's daily active users have decreased by 42%.

The average online time for "Sweet Home" decreased by 35%.

The peak concurrent online users in QQ Games Hall decreased by 28%.

The accompanying sentiment analysis shows that while there is dissatisfaction in the player community regarding Microsoft's changes to its subsidy policy, there is more pessimism about Penguin Games.

Suddenly, rumors spread like wildfire that QQ Tang was going to die out, Sweet Home was no longer viable, and that Tencent was really going to collapse this time.

"Microsoft... they're trying to drive us to our deaths," a vice president of operations muttered hoarsely.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was heavy.

Originally hoping that the Spring Festival would bring a respite, Microsoft launched such a precise and fierce attack before the holiday.

Visual bombardment grabs attention, while subsidy cuts directly strike at the heart of the problem.

These casual games under Tencent had already attracted many users who were looking for ways to get freebies due to MSN's early general subsidies. Now that the subsidies are gone, these highly mobile users are naturally leaving quickly.

The most fatal flaw was that MSN's three-month subsidy program made many players accustomed to playing games for free.

If this consumption habit were to reverse, it would be a terrifying thing.

"Mr. Ma, shouldn't we also react?" someone suggested, their tone tinged with anxiety.

Ma Huateng fell silent. At that moment, he remembered Cheng Yi's words.

Let them make a fuss. Maintain the core social functions.

In preparation for the return surge after the Spring Festival.

If you have nothing better to do, you could develop a QQ Speed ​​game...

Cheng Yi's calm demeanor contrasted sharply with the turmoil raging within him at that moment.

“No.” Ma Huateng’s voice was a little hoarse as he said, “Before the Spring Festival, we should prioritize stability, optimize the core functions of QQ, especially the stability and speed of group chat, file transfer, and photo album in QQ Space, reassure the team, and tell everyone that the most difficult moment may have arrived, but a turning point is not far away.”

He turned around, his gaze sweeping over the anxious faces in the conference room: "We must trust the group headquarters' strategy. The more aggressive Microsoft's offensive is, the more impatient they are. As long as our own foundation remains unshaken, once this storm passes, the users who are meant to come back will return."

At this time, Cheng Yi was also studying the market reports from the past two weeks.

In the past two weeks, Microsoft has launched one series of coordinated attacks after another, seemingly unstoppable.

Standing to the side, Li Weiwei said with a hint of worry, "President Cheng, Microsoft's series of moves are indeed very ruthless. Tencent is under a lot of pressure. Should you call President Ma?"

Cheng Yi put down the report, shook his head and said, "President Ma's will is not that weak. I don't need to coax him. Waters is indeed Microsoft's elite. He acted decisively and his positioning was accurate."

"Shouldn't we do something? Microsoft is closing in step by step. Once they've solved the casual game market, their next step will definitely be our other games," Li Weiwei said worriedly.

Cheng Yi said calmly, "It won't be easy for them to break into 'The Legend of the Primordial Era' and 'World of Warcraft'. This time, they just want to practice on the easiest casual games to crack first."

He stood up, walked to the strategic map, and looked at the continuously rising curve representing the PC market share. He said slowly, "No rush, let the dust settle. It'll be soon, very soon."

"Soon?" Li Weiwei really wanted to ask what was coming soon, but she knew that Cheng Yi was the kind of person who was extremely secretive.

Many strategies are only known to those around them when they are finally announced.

On Cheng Yi's desk, there is a motto that reads: "If matters are not kept secret, they will cause harm."

Microsoft's aggressive marketing and precise strikes have stirred up a huge storm in the Chinese internet industry.

Media outlets widely reported on the event with headlines such as "Microsoft's Gaming Empire Descends," "Penguin Momo Faces its Strongest Challenge," and "Major Changes in the Casual Game Market."

The number of pre-registrations for "KartRider" quickly surpassed 300 million, setting a new record for online games, and MSN's activity level also increased significantly as a result.

Waters sat in his office in Yanjing, watching the steadily rising data with a sense of satisfaction.

He believes that with the official launch of the open beta, this storm will completely destroy Momo's defenses in the casual game sector and pave the way for its subsequent Galaxy of Games strategy.

This Chinese New Year, he will prove his ability to headquarters and the industry with a brilliant victory.

Just as Microsoft was making great strides in the internet world, Lianxiang Group was mired in a crisis far more severe than the outside world imagined.

This crisis did not come suddenly, but was the result of a combination of factors, including the deadly price war waged by Hasee, the indirect pressure from Microsoft's strategy, and setbacks in its own transformation. Now it has reached a dangerous point that could shake the foundation of this national brand.

Against ordinary opponents, they could easily resolve the issue through official channels.

But now their opponent is Momo Group, a company whose financial strength, economic scale, and network of connections far surpass their own. Even Liu Guiwu, the vice president of the National Information Industry Association, is on friendly terms with Cheng Yi.

Over the past month, the headquarters of Lianxiang Group has held countless meetings.

Various shareholder meetings, board meetings, and executive meetings are emerging one after another.

Despite holding numerous meetings, the conflicts only intensified.

It was another routine executive meeting. The huge screen at the meeting was projecting the latest core financial data for this year, and every single one of them was alarming.

Global total sales:
541 million units in the first half of the year.

327 million units in the second half of the year.

Sales in the Huaxia region accounted for as much as 89%.

Year-on-year sales growth rate in China: -38.7%.

Overall gross profit margin: 7.2%.

Net profit margin: 0.8%.

Inventory turnover days: 98 days.

Accounts receivable period: extended to 120 days.

……

Every single statistic is shocking.

Their data for the first half of the year looked very good, but the data for the second half of the year was truly appalling.

The CFO reported in an almost trembling voice: "Although our global sales still remain in the top three, we have completely lost our Chinese market. Hasee has not only completely swallowed up our low-end and mid-range markets, but the price war it triggered has also turned the mid-to-high-end markets that we were forced to get involved in into a bloodbath."

He pointed to the gross profit margin and net profit margin curves, and the almost vertically downward red line sent chills down the spines of all the executives present.

"In order to seize market share under the pressure from Dell and HP, we were forced to engage in suicidal price cuts. For machines with the same configuration, we were nearly a thousand yuan cheaper than Dell. Our profit margin has been squeezed to the extreme. Now, the more we sell, the more we lose. Moreover, we are also being targeted by Dell and HP in overseas markets."

Just then, the heads of the legal and finance departments stood up and jointly submitted a report, which became the final straw that broke the atmosphere in the meeting room.

The report concerns an annex to an agreement sent by Microsoft Asia Group.

A confirmation letter for a $1.2 million interest-free, indefinite loan.

“Although it’s interest-free and indefinite,” the legal counsel explained with difficulty, “according to accounting standards, this payment must be included in the company’s balance sheet, which means our debt-to-equity ratio will rise sharply. This will be an extremely negative signal should we need to conduct a new round of financing or bank loan assessments.”

The CFO also lamented, "Our cash flow is already very tight. There is a serious backlog of inventory in the channels, the collection cycle is long, and the pressure to pay suppliers is also very high. One of our industrial parks has now stopped or reduced production. Although we don't have to pay interest on this $1.2 million for the time being, it has seriously affected our financial health and market confidence. Rating agencies have already hinted that they may downgrade our credit outlook."

The CFO hesitated for a moment before saying, "Especially right now, we are about to repay a bank revolving loan of 17.3 billion yuan. If we repay this loan, I am worried that we will not be able to get a loan after the Spring Festival. Those banks do not like to help those in need, and they have also established deep relationships with Momo Group."

The conference room fell into a deathly silence.

What do we do? Is this a dead end?
(End of this chapter)