Rebirth 08: Can a mobile game company also build a tech empire?

The game market around 08 was fiercely competitive.

New games and sequels from major game developers are constantly being released.

Blizzard's Warcraft 2, Nintendo's Marseille Wii, and that game 4...

Every single one of these games has sold over a million copies!

How did Plants vs. Zombies manage to survive under such a massive encirclement?

How can they still sell 500,000 copies a year?

The initial price of Plants vs. Zombies is $19.95.

It is only available on Steam and PopCap's own official website.

PopCap's advertising efforts were limited to its existing player base.

Players lack access to information.

This is almost exactly the same situation that ZhengTu Technology encountered before.

Lu Chen relied on the perspective of a person from the future.

Only by joining the Facebook-linked friend system could they stand out from the crowd.

So what did Baokai do back then?

Lu Chen thought back carefully.

"yes!"

He slapped his forehead, remembering PopCap's actions back then.

Free trial version available!

Since no one is playing because of the price.

Then I'll release a few levels on my own initiative.

It's free for everyone to play.

Didn't that lead to its spread?

After experiencing a few levels, players want to continue playing the later levels.

Naturally, one would choose to pay.

Therefore, Lu Chen also took the initiative to release a free version this time.

and,

Lu Chen has another trump card this time.

That's pre-installed software.

As long as the game is installed when your MP4 player leaves the factory.

Does that mean that the number of MP4 players sold equals the number of gamers?

In this way, a two-pronged approach can be taken.

He simply couldn't believe that Plants vs. Zombies wouldn't sell this time.

I've figured out the crux of the problem.

Lu Chen clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention.

"I understand everyone's concerns."

Lu Chen's gaze swept across the faces of everyone in the audience.

"Are you afraid that Plants vs. Zombies will end up like last time?"

Everyone nodded readily.

Unfortunately, sales of the last "Fruit Swordsman" product plummeted.

This terrified everyone's sensitive nerves.

They simply don't want to experience another rollercoaster of sales.

"Don't worry, everyone."

We are well prepared this time.

Plants vs. Zombies may not repeat the same mistakes.

Lu Chen first comforted everyone.

"Boss Lu, are you planning to add a friend system directly into the game?"

Jiang Chang came up with a solution for the Fruit Swordsman.

So subconsciously, I thought Lu Chen was still prepared to use the old method.

but,

Plants vs. Zombies is inherently devoid of social attributes.

Two players compete in a fruit swordsmanship contest, with the winner determined by the score.

Plants vs. Zombies is even more closed off.

As long as I can pass the test, that's fine.

There's absolutely no need to interact with friends.

"No!" Lu Chen said firmly.

"This time we'll walk on two legs."

This is bound to fire the first shot in Plants vs. Zombies!

"What?"

The crowd was somewhat puzzled.

What other methods could Lu Chen come up with?

"Our first leg,

It's about making a free version.

After allowing a wide range of players to try it out,

Then decide whether to buy or not.

"Um?"

"This is a great method!"

"That's right! Play first, then buy; experience first, then pay later."

Lu Chen actually came up with this idea!

Creating a free version sounds unreliable at first glance.

But upon closer reflection,

This idea is absolutely brilliant.

When the game is released,

Anyone who sees it will likely download it with the mindset of "it's free anyway, might as well give it a try".

Once someone downloads it

They believe that no one can resist the charm of Plants vs. Zombies!

This breaks the vicious cycle caused by high game prices and low download numbers.

"Everyone, please stop for a moment and let me finish."

Our second leg, which is the technology products I mentioned earlier!

"what?"

Everyone stared wide-eyed.

I initially thought Lu Chen was just saying that to comfort everyone.

It turns out that Boss Lu was serious.

All eyes were on Lu Chen, waiting for his explanation.

"I plan to make a touchscreen MP4 player."

This is our company's first product.

Lu Chen said firmly.

Everyone was so shocked by Lu Chen's bold idea that they were speechless.

Now, everyone has only one question in their minds:

Such a dramatic turn of events?

Aren't we a game company?

How did you end up in the manufacturing industry?

They understand that Boss Lu wants to venture into other industries.

They started off playing such high-stakes games.

With the strength of Journey Technology,

Whether MP4 can even be manufactured is a big question mark.

"Um... Boss, why did you suddenly decide to make MP4 players?"

Jiang Chang timidly raised his hand and asked.

Regarding this issue, let's first clarify one point:

Making MP4s was not a spur-of-the-moment decision for me.

I made this decision after careful consideration.

Upon hearing this, everyone silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Their biggest fear is that Boss Lu will succeed because the company has achieved even a little bit of success.

So, in a moment of impulsiveness, things were developed haphazardly.

It's either an expensive Plants vs. Zombies game or an MP4 player manufacturer.

In that case, ZhengTu Technology's resources are not enough to withstand Lu Chen's squandering.

However, since Lu Chen said it was a decision made after careful consideration...

The crowd wanted to hear Lu Chen's reasons.

"My sudden decision to enter a new field was not without reason."

First, our game heavily relies on the App Store platform.

Or to put it another way, it's limited by the number of iPhone users.

Therefore, we need to have our own gaming platform!

Secondly, we previously mainly served overseas players.

Have you all considered bringing our game to the domestic market?

Lu Chen said as he paced around his office.

Hearing Lu Chen's question, everyone thought about it for a moment.

Indeed, the company's games are now entirely dependent on the App Store.

Or in other words,

It was the success of the App Store that incidentally led to the success of Journey Technology's games.

Furthermore, Apple's 30% "Apple tax" has been criticized for quite some time.

But what can we do?

Currently, only Apple has the largest number of mobile phone users.

Whatever people say, goes.

As a small game company, I have no right to complain.

But what if Journey Technology had its own gaming platform?

This is a different situation now.

It's your own platform, so you have complete control.

Not only can they release their own games, but they can also integrate games from other game companies.

Isn't this just a smaller version of the App Store?

In the future, they might even be able to take a cut directly, just like Apple.

Simultaneously,

What Boss Lu said is also correct.

Due to limitations, the previous two games were primarily played by overseas players.

There are very few players in China.

However, they would prefer that domestic players be able to play their games.

After all, the domestic game market is currently...

It's basically dominated by foreign games.

They're either pirated games from Europe, America, Japan, and South Korea, or they're licensed foreign games.

Even the few truly domestically produced games are in a state of near-death.

The factors involved are quite complex.

This involves both technical issues and

It is also related to long-standing societal beliefs.

There was a period of time,

Video games are viewed by many as a negative influence on the development of teenagers.

This view has led to wariness or even rejection of games in some families.

Some parents worry that their children will become addicted to entertainment when they see them using computers.

This has led to frequent questioning of gaming-related venues and facilities.

In this environment, some organizations are using the guise of "behavioral correction" to conduct activities.

However, its actual practices have seriously deviated from the principles of science education and healthy growth.

This has caused a negative social impact.

As times change, the generation that grew up in the digital age is gradually becoming the backbone of society.

They view the relationship between games and culture with a more rational and positive attitude.

At the same time, society is increasingly recognizing games as an important part of cultural carriers and creative industries.

As a result, perceptions gradually changed, and excellent local games were able to emerge.

Video games are viewed by many as a negative influence on the development of teenagers.

This idea gradually began to change.

Excellent domestic games such as "Dyson Sphere Project" and "Black Myth: Wukong" have gradually emerged.

However, Journey Technology did not want to wait too long.

They now want to shout loudly to domestic players:

Chinese-made games are in no way inferior to foreign games!

Our company, Journey Technology, is the pride of domestically produced games!

P.S.: One section failed, so I had to fix it (～￣▽￣)～