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

"Um?"

Lu Chen was visibly taken aback when he heard Wu Zhixuan's question.

to be frank,

Before Wu Zhixuan brought it up, he hadn't really considered "payment" as a difficult problem that needed special discussion.

Because from a future perspective, there will be many different ways to make payments.

QR code scanning, facial recognition, fingerprint scanning, NFC, etc.

No one should be deterred by the payment step.

After all, it was in the early stages of development.

Developers will definitely design the payment method to be extremely simple.

They practically want to steal money directly from users' wallets.

That's because they were afraid you wouldn't know how to use it.

but,

Lu Chen then realized that the iPod touch couldn't accept SIM cards either.

This is exactly the same situation that happened to the Z1 in the game.

However, the iPod touch can make purchases of apps from the App Store without a SIM card.

How did the iPod touch achieve this?

Lu Chen slowly sat up straight, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table, before he fell into a reverie.

Yes, although the iPod touch cannot insert a SIM card, it can connect to the internet via Wi-Fi.

When users make payments, the payment is directly deducted from their Apple ID using the credit card linked to their Apple ID.

Alternatively, you can purchase iTunes gift cards in advance to top up your balance, and then have the payment deducted from your account balance.

The device needs to be connected to the internet throughout the entire payment process.

So here's the question.

The Z1 is aimed at the domestic market.

Domestic users do not have the habit of using credit cards.

As for selling physical gift cards?

That requires a massive channel development capability and a high level of brand trust.

ZhengTu Technology clearly does not possess this capability now.

The most critical link is that...

WiFi is still a rarity in the country.

Most families don't have it.

After all, if you can get internet access at an internet cafe for just a few dollars, who would bother with personal Wi-Fi?

However, it was thanks to the Olympics that had just passed.

Operators are deploying Wi-Fi hotspots on a large scale in public places such as large shopping malls, star-rated hotels, airports, and universities.

But that's not enough at all.

Therefore, in most cases, users' MP4 players are used standalone.

In scenarios where video and music need to be transferred, a data cable is used to connect directly to the computer.

They don't know how to use Wi-Fi to download things at all.

MP4 became an isolated island.

In this case, how should games on MP4 players be charged?

Lu Chen's brows gradually furrowed, and the frequency of his fingers tapping the table slowed down, eventually stopping completely.

This problem is extremely difficult, yet it must be solved.

After all, he made some bold statements just two days ago.

They said they wanted to enter the domestic game market.

If the issue of charging cannot be resolved, then the built-in games can only be considered as a free "gift".

It won't be able to generate sustained profits in the future.

Moreover, games are the lifeblood of Conquer Online Technology.

Giving up gaming is just abandoning your old profession.

After thinking for a long time, Lu Chen realized that he couldn't figure it out for the time being.

He had no choice but to look up, preparing to ask Wu Zhixuan what he thought.

"Old Wu,

Since you've raised the question, you must have thought about it.

What do you think about the Conquer Online Z1?

How can I do this without any internet connection?

What if we get users to complete in-app purchases?

"Huh? This..."

Wu Zhixuan was caught off guard.

He was used to Lu Chen giving him the answer directly.

Unexpectedly, Lu Chen threw the question back at him.

His first thought was whether Boss Lu was testing him.

So Wu Zhixuan's mind raced in an instant.

He frantically searched his mind for knowledge, trying to come up with a solution.

After a moment of silence, Wu Zhixuan tentatively spoke:

This is my idea.

The current payment methods for games from Shanda and NetEase

It relies on recharging the corresponding game account using prepaid cards;

Or like Tencent Games, you can directly recharge with QQ coins.

Then use QQ coins to recharge the game;

Could we... perhaps find a way to collaborate with these large companies?

"Why not use their payment channels to top up?"

"These are all the ways to recharge in online games, aren't they?"

A constant internet connection is required.

Moreover, we are in the same industry as them.

They may not cooperate with us.

Jiang Chang, who was listening in the entire time, raised objections.

Indeed, the method Wu Zhixuan mentioned is the mainstream payment method nowadays.

However, these are all aimed at online games.

For devices like the Journey Z1 that are offline, payment still needs to be completed.

This is something I haven't encountered before.

Wu Zhixuan thought for a moment and then came up with a new method:

Another payment method is to top up via SMS.

So I think we can think of a solution.

See if I can recharge my Conquer Online Z1 game account via SMS.

Jiang Chang shook his head again.

"Brother, you forgot that the Conquer Online Z1 doesn't accept SIM cards?"

What do you use to send text messages...?

"Wait, a text message?"

Lu Chen interrupted Jiang Chang directly.

Seeing Lu Chen's interest, Wu Zhixuan began to explain in detail:

"Yes, it's done by deducting the prepaid phone credit."

Pay for various online virtual products,

This is also the mainstream method besides prepaid cards.

Lu Chen also remembered that this payment method, which had been used since around 2000 and continued to be used after the popularization of mobile payment, was SMS payment.

I wonder how many of you went through this period.

That was back in the era of feature phones.

When I was a child, I would secretly take my parents' phones to play paid Java games, read novels, and browse the internet.

All phone bills are deducted directly through SMS payment services.

After paying, they secretly deleted the deduction notification.

They thought they had done something flawless.

When her parents called, they discovered that the phone credit was gone.

I went to the service center to check.

The transaction record clearly shows where the deductions went.

At this point, a beating with a belt is inevitable.

In addition, there is a penalty of being prohibited from using mobile phones.

It wasn't like it is now back then.

If the parents cry and make a fuss, the game company will issue a refund.

This wasn't a saying before.

Fortunately, most people don't save too much on phone bills.

So most people only lose a few dozen yuan.

So they just accepted their bad luck.

Unlike now, bank cards are not linked to payment tools.

The direct loss could amount to tens or even hundreds of thousands of yuan.

No wonder parents are worried.

Let's get back to Lu Chen's side.

It was also inspired by Wu Zhixuan.

Lu Chen then realized that perhaps he could achieve his goal indirectly by using SMS payment services.

"Everyone, I've got a solution!"

Lu Chen stood up.

Everyone's attention was instantly drawn to it.

"Don't MP4 players often need to be connected to the internet?"

Let's try another approach.

Let's use the button phones that are already so common now;

When users encounter in-app purchases while playing games

We displayed a prompt on the payment page.

Users are reminded to send an SMS message (XXX) to the number XXXX.

After the user sends the message, the payment is deducted, and a text message containing a redemption code is returned.

Users only need to enter the redemption code to complete the in-app purchase;

And we can then receive the money players spend on in-game items through their phone bills!

"Brilliant!"

"Hmm...it seems like this is actually possible."

"That's right, this completely solves the payment problem for devices that are out of the network."

After hearing Lu Chen's solution, everyone thought about it carefully.

Hey, this seemingly unsolvable problem has actually been solved.

"Then, we need to adjust our division of labor a little."

Lu Chen tapped on the table.

"Zheng Yong, you go and manage the parts supply chain;"

Zhao Yongqiang, you have completed the development of the Journey Z1;

Lao Wu, you're in charge of negotiating the SMS payment service with the telecom operators.

Jiang Chang, change the game as I just told you;

Let's all take action!

Meeting adjourned!