Restart life

Chapter 257 0254 [The number of concurrent online players in the card game "Three Kingdoms Kill" exceeds 50]

Besides the media, the gaming industry is also paying attention.

Currently, the media mostly reports on the online gaming industry normally, and local media even praise local game companies. However, once a social event occurs, online games are suddenly subjected to scathing criticism, as if they have become the root of all evil.

Newspapers of a certain caliber, including the China Youth Daily, conducted exclusive interviews with Chen Tianqiao long ago, expressing complete praise for him and his company.

Only CCTV and People's Daily have consistently refrained from reporting news related to online games.

The gaming industry needs someone to break the ice, which is why Director Kou is helping out.

Director Kou had wanted to do this for a long time, but he had never been able to find the opportunity. Without a sufficiently suitable reason...

It wasn't until the game "Three Kingdoms Kill" brought in students from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan that Director Kou finally had a foothold.

These past two years have been a special period.

Before he took office, even if Chen Guiliang organized cross-strait student exchange activities, the chances of him appearing on the news were extremely slim.

When the timing is right and the circumstances are right, everything becomes easier.

"Is it coming up now?"

Chen Tianqiao sat in his office, looking at the dozen or so newspapers his secretary had collected, and deep down he felt nothing but envy for Chen Guiliang.

He was the one who received the most criticism because of online games, yet he was also the one who cared the most about public opinion. To the point that he was criticized so much that he himself felt that making online games was dishonorable.

"Old Tan, come to my office for a chat." Chen Tianqiao called his trusted and beloved subordinate, Tan Qunzhao.

Shanda started making games in 2001, while Tan Qunzhao joined Shanda as early as 1999. His current position is Senior Vice President of Games and Chief Technology Officer of Shanda.

Chen Tianqiao spared no effort to gain official recognition, but he couldn't directly show his face, so he frantically tried to give Tan Qunzhao, the person in charge of Shanda Games, a lot of accolades.

Two years ago, Tan Qunzhao was named one of the "Top Ten Outstanding Youths in Shanghai's Information Technology System".

Last year, Tan Qunzhao was awarded the title of "Outstanding CIO of China".

This year, Chen Tianqiao is working to secure the "Five Ones Project Outstanding Cultural Newcomer Award" for Tan Qunzhao.

This is the predicament facing the gaming industry today: the head of a large company's games division is about to be recognized as an outstanding cultural newcomer under the "Five-One Project." However, the games he manages are considered low-brow and are frequently criticized in newspapers.

"Boss," Tan Qunzhao reported to the office.

"sit down."

"Is it about distributing 'DNF'?"

"No, I want to talk to you about something else."

Chen Tianqiao pushed the newspapers over, letting Tan Qunzhao take a look first.

Tan Qunzhao glanced at a few documents and roughly understood what was going on—the boss's mental block had flared up again.

Chen Tianqiao said, "Making online games that only involve fighting and killing will inevitably give people a bad impression."

Tan Qunzhao said, "We also have casual games like Bubble Fighter and MapleStory."

“I mean, it needs to have some cultural depth,” Chen Tianqiao said. “It needs to be presentable, something that can be shown off.”

Tan Qunzhao subtly stated, "Actually, many people have also criticized 'Three Kingdoms Kill' this time."

Chen Tianqiao said, "That's because they don't understand this game and are just criticizing it as an MMO. We're a big company now, it wouldn't be right if we didn't have a single game with cultural depth."

Tan Qunzhao reminded him, "We have 'Heroes of the Three Kingdoms.' This game was independently developed for two years and is definitely a sincere masterpiece with substance in China."

Chen Tianqiao shook his head: "The kind that truly has cultural depth."

After thinking for a moment, Tan Qunzhao could only say, "How about we imitate Youke and make a game called 'Warring States Kill'?"

“That would only make us a laughing stock,” Chen Tianqiao rejected outright, adding, “It has to be original and have historical and cultural significance. Whether it makes money or not is secondary. You give it a try.”

Tan Qunzhao felt a headache coming on and was already cursing under his breath.

……

"Is it that hard to get on CCTV?" Shi Yuzhu asked, a cigarette dangling from his lips as he crossed his legs and read the newspaper.

I can go whenever I want!

Lin Hairui was soon summoned by Shi Yuzhu.

This person used to work with Shi Yuzhu selling health supplements, responsible for promoting products like Brain Gold. Now he's in charge of promoting the game "Zhengtu".

Shi Yuzhu said to Lin Hairui, "I want to advertise 'Zhengtu' on CCTV."

"Huh? This can't be shown on TV," Lin Hairui reminded him.

Shi Yuzhu laughed and said, "It's the same as advertising tobacco brands. Don't mention the word 'cigarette,' only mention the brand. Television commercials only ban cigarettes, but not brands. It's similar for games. Games themselves can't be on TV, but game brands can."

Lin Hairui thought carefully: "This method seems feasible."

"Go ask someone in CCTV's advertising department," Shi Yuzhu instructed.

Having worked on Brain Gold and Golden Partner for several years, how could Shi Yuzhu not be familiar with the people in CCTV's advertising department?
Lin Hairui took out his phone and made a few calls, then covered the mouthpiece and said, "CCTV needs to discuss this matter."

Shi Yuzhu said, "I'll pay three times the advertising fee for the same time slot."

Lin Hairui continued making phone calls, expressing his willingness to pay three times the advertising fee.

After quickly ending the call, Lin Hairui smiled and said, "The people from CCTV's advertising department said that this matter should be able to be accomplished, but it does need to be reported to the leadership."

“For large organizations, following procedures is to be expected,” Shi Yuzhu said with a hint of disdain.

He knows those people too well.

If they spend three times the advertising budget, as long as it doesn't violate laws and regulations, CCTV's advertising department will find a way to solve the problem.

Chen Tianqiao was still figuring out how to create games with cultural depth to gain recognition from officials, the media, and the public. Shi Yuzhu, on the other hand, was much simpler and more direct—he just threw money at it.

Did you get your "Three Kingdoms Kill" game featured on CCTV?

Lao Tzu's "The Journey" is also acceptable!

Shi Yuzhu then said, "You plan a promotional campaign where you get paid for playing games." "Get paid?" Lin Hairui was confused again.

Shi Yuzhu nodded: "Yes, we'll pay the players. As long as a player reaches level 60, they'll receive 100 yuan per month. Even free players who haven't spent any money can receive it. Of course, it won't be in-game currency, but rather real money."

Lin Hairui immediately accepted the order and went to work on publicity and planning.

At this point, Shi Yuzhu's methods were still quite crude; he directly issued in-game currency that could only be obtained through top-ups. This action nearly caused the collapse of the in-game economy of "Zhengtu".

So, after much reflection, he invited economists to design a more complex currency system for "Zhengtu".

……

"What's going on?"

"PCU (Peak Concurrent Users) has finally broken the 50 mark!"

"Keep organizing events and promotions, and the technology and customer service departments, please keep up the good work. The higher the game's revenue, the bigger your year-end bonuses will be."

"Okay, Mr. Chen, we will definitely do our best."

On weekday evenings, the PCU (Player-Domain) of the game "Three Kingdoms Kill" is generally around 100,000. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings, the PCU can reach over 200,000.

If we combine holidays with special events, we can often reach over 30 people online at the same time.

The news report on CCTV's "Xinwen Lianbo" (News Broadcast), coupled with the controversy in traditional media, has attracted a large number of new players to this wave of public opinion.

They went straight to 50 people online simultaneously!

Unfortunately, consumer habits in 2006 still favored getting things for free whenever possible. Many players with financial means also followed this trend.

If this had happened after 2010, with more players willing to pay, the revenue of "Three Kingdoms Kill" could have increased several times over.

Of course, this is also related to Chen Guiliang's relatively conscientious nature.

Even without spending a single penny, you can collect all the hero cards in the Wind Pack by completing tasks and using hero fragments, as long as you play consistently for two months.

If you play consistently for six months without spending a single penny, you can collect most of the Fire Pack generals by completing tasks—Xun Yu, Taishi Ci, and Yuan Shao are relatively expensive, and it will take at least eight months of playing to collect them.

There really are people who, despite having plenty of money, managed to collect all the Fire Pack generals in eight months for free!

To be able to consistently play for free for so long and maintain daily online time is a testament to a die-hard fan, even without spending any money. For a game, this type of person is extremely valuable.

Besides general cards that can be obtained through quests, Three Kingdoms Show items, borders, and skins are also frequently given away for free in events—mainly outdated items, like a clearance sale of clothes that are past their prime.

Mr. Chen is truly a man of great integrity.

Conscience won't always be eaten by dogs; this time it will be rewarded.

A player who frequents the 17173 forum posted a thread in the 17173 Three Kingdoms Kill section titled "Three Kingdoms Kill: The Victory of the Free-to-Play Party".

"I am male, a graduate of Huazhong University of Science and Technology with a master's degree, and currently work for a state-owned enterprise. My salary is decent, enough to support my family... To be honest, my family was poor when I was a child, so we had to save money wherever we could... Okay, let's not beat around the bush, I am the freeloader that Mr. Chen mentioned."

"I also played online games when I was in school, mainly because I was envious when I saw my classmates playing. But I always only played the free ones, and when I reached the level where I had to buy game time cards, I would immediately give up. So, I spent several years on 17173, mainly browsing the single-player game information there... I also downloaded pirated single-player games."

"I started playing 'Three Kingdoms Kill' in mid-April last year. The reason I've been playing it ever since, besides the game's inherent playability, is that it doesn't require any in-game purchases."

"As a free-to-play player, I've already unlocked all the generals in the Standard Pack, Wind Pack, and Fire Pack. I've unlocked 60% of the generals in the Forest Pack, only Cao Pi, Lu Su, Dong Zhuo, and Jia Xu are left. As for the Three Kingdoms Showcase, borders, and general skins, besides the free ones, I've also obtained more than ten paid items by completing event tasks..."

"The user experience is excellent; 'Three Kingdoms Kill' is a godsend for free-to-play players. Am I addicted to the game? I only play for 40 minutes to an hour after get off work each day, for entertainment while also completing daily tasks. Occasionally, I'll play a really long game that lasts over an hour. With other games, an hour is nothing..."

"The unfounded criticism from the media and the public seems to me purely to show that they have nothing better to do..."

"Friends, cherish this game. If any other owner were running it, they definitely wouldn't be able to get so much for free..."

This post resonated with many players.

Netizens responded one after another, with many saying they didn't spend any money.

Amidst a flurry of replies, Chen Guiliang's verified account suddenly appeared: "Damn it, so many freeloaders. I despise you! (Impotent rage emoji)"

The "Impotent Rage" emoji originated from recent emoji packs on Renren and HaiNei.

This thing was made at Chen Guiliang's behest, imitating the AC-chan emoticon from ACFun, except the letters on the bun's head have been changed.

Of course, when posting on the forum at this point, inserting emoticons must be done through an external image hosting link. It's not as convenient as a simple one-click operation.

However, less than half a month after its release, the emoji pack quickly became popular on Renren.com and HaiNei.com, and even spread to other websites.

"Haha, Mr. Chen is here. I'm getting a freebie, and I'm proud of it."

"Isn't the term 'freeloader' something that Mr. Chen used last time?"

"President Chen is letting me have my way for free. Get down and turn around!"

"Upstairs, I suspect you're into pornography."

"Let go of that Mr. Chen, let me handle this!"

"Queue up, queue up."

"Mr. Chen is so busy entertaining clients, it's really too much. I'll just pay for his services and go buy this year's full set of champion skins."

"..."

Starting from the 1st of this month, due to the rise in public opinion, the "Three Kingdoms Kill" section on 17173 has become very popular.

It's catching up with World of Warcraft and Fantasy Westward Journey.

The number of posts and replies even surpassed those of the two games, ranking first.

As the first online game to be featured on CCTV's national news program, the website editors' rating is expected to improve. Combined with enthusiastic player votes and searches, "Three Kingdoms Kill" is guaranteed a spot in the top three of 17173's monthly online game rankings this month.

It even has a chance to take the top spot and dethrone World of Warcraft and Fantasy Westward Journey.

The viewership generated by CCTV is enormous!

If we can win the monthly rankings once, and then promote it, even more players will join the game.

(End of this chapter)