Reborn in 08, Public Enemy of Competitors

The rain stopped, and sunlight peeked through the gaps in the clouds.

Huang Zheng spoke with a hint of admiration over the phone, "President Shen, your 'cut a slice' promotion is truly brilliant."

"No, no."

Shen Mo asked, "Mr. Huang, how's it going with Ouku.com?"

"It's almost done."

Huang Zheng smiled and said, "My former colleagues at Google founded LightInTheBox, and they happened to have their eyes on OuKoo.com."

Congratulations, Mr. Huang.

Shen Mo was not surprised.

"It's all thanks to you."

Huang Zheng said sincerely, "The 'cut a price' promotion on YiTaoGO is a huge success, which has led to a significant increase in the number of users and sales of OuKu.com. My colleague saw the potential of the website, which is why he was willing to make the acquisition."

Shen Mo said, "In that case, when will you and the core team of Ouku.com be able to join Pinduoduo?"

"There's still a lot to hand over."

Huang Zheng said with a serious expression, "However, I can guarantee that by the end of April, I can arrange for some core members to take up their posts at Pinduoduo. In addition, to show my sincerity, I can have someone transfer the 5 million yuan investment right now."

"good!"

Shen Mo readily agreed, "The official launch date for Pinduoduo is tentatively set for the May Day holiday."

After ending the call and putting down his phone, he looked at Yuan Hua and Liu Yang: "How's the development progress of 'Dodo Farm'?"

"We can definitely finish it before Pinduoduo officially launches."

Yuan Hua patted his chest and assured him, "It's just some details; we still need to refine them."

"No rush."

Shen Mo waved his hand and said, "Optimize it well, and make sure it's differentiated from 'Everyday Farm'. Before that, you can have Pinduoduo do one or two joint events with 'Everyday Farm'."

Everyone nodded, and Yuan Hua suddenly spoke up: "By the way, Brother Mo, 'Farm Town' has finished testing and can be launched on Facebook anytime. When do you think we should release it?"

"You can set the time, but there are two things that must be done."

Shen Mo held up one finger. "First, the publicity and promotion must be in place. The keywords must include 'green,' 'environmentally friendly,' 'back to nature,' and 'American farm.' In particular, it must be emphasized that this is a 'free game,' meaning you can play it without spending any money."

When he mentioned free, a slight smile appeared on his lips.

These days, most overseas games are either buy-to-play or subscription-based. Free-to-play games are rarer than pandas in Europe and America.

Genshin Impact's success overseas is not only due to its fusion of anime and manga styles from various countries, but more importantly, because it's free to play.

Then, Shen Mo extended his second finger.

"Secondly, it's about buying user traffic!"

"Buying user traffic?"

"Yes, buy traffic!"

"Brother Mo, laying out two lines at the same time will cost a lot of money."

"Don't be afraid to spend money."

Shen Mo waved his hand, "Every penny spent on Farm Town now will be earned back double in the future."

"Making money off Chinese people is nothing special; the real skill is getting foreigners to willingly spend money on your products."

"Yes, Brother Mo!"

Yuan Hua readily agreed.

"We need to show foreigners what free games in China are like, and let them understand that what's free can be the most expensive."

Shen Mo patted him on the shoulder.

The early logic behind Chinese games going global can be summed up in four words: buying user traffic and reskinning existing games.

For example, "Legend of the Sword" and "Sword and Expedition".

By acquiring users through large-scale Google Ads campaigns, as long as the ROI is greater than 1, the more you buy, the more you earn, and the money you earn is in US dollars.

………………

San Francisco, USA.

Dean, the lead writer for GamesBeat, had just finished working on a piece about World of Warcraft.

Before long, he received a business order from a company in a mysterious Eastern superpower, asking him to recommend "Farm Town".

He initially refused when he saw that it was a Chinese game, because Chinese games have a bad reputation internationally, and he couldn't recommend it just because he was paid.

He has to try it no matter what. If it's not fun, his fans will criticize him, and it will be a complete loss.

Dean can tell the difference between a full meal and a full meal.

After reading through the game description on the brochure from top to bottom, when I saw "Play Farm Town and experience real American farm life," a chord in my heart was immediately struck.

Dean couldn't help but open the game link. The graphics weren't as rough as he had imagined; instead, they were a bright and clean American farm landscape, with both farms and ranches.

In order to adapt to the habits of Americans, especially rednecks, Shen Mo and Yuan Hua made special adjustments.

For example, the icon for pest control has been changed to "insecticide," and the symbol for harvesting is no longer a sickle, but a tractor.

Even in the game's store, in addition to paid items such as fertilizer and feed, there are also enhancement agents that can be injected into beef cattle.

After playing for a while, Dean quickly became engrossed in the game and couldn't help but reminisce about his childhood days on his grandparents' farm.

Moved by the scene, while the corn and soybeans were still growing, I opened my blog and started typing away.

"How long has it been since you've seen a real field?"

"In this noisy and chaotic city, each of us is like a prisoner trapped in reinforced concrete."

"I still remember sitting on a green John Deere tractor on my grandfather's farm, wobbling back to the barn, the air filled with the smell of grass seeds and diesel fuel."

"Those smells disappeared in the city, but Farm Town brought them back for me."

"Whether you're a redneck or a blue-collar worker, whether you're in a red state or a blue state, as long as you open Farm Town, you can return to this peaceful world."

"Now you don't need to actually own land, all you need is a screen and a mouse to rediscover those forgotten things: soil, crops, cattle, the changing seasons..."

Once the article was published, it immediately attracted the attention and comments of subscribers, most of whom resonated strongly with it.

"Fuck, I absolutely have to try this!"

"That's right, I've had enough of New York's dirty and chaotic environment. Even getting rainwater in there costs me taxes."

"If I could, I'd love to cut up my lawn and plant some corn and soybeans instead of paying for a bunch of grass."

"I've been dreaming of living like a farmer all my life!"

"..."

Amidst the intensive advertising campaign, user acquisition was also carried out quietly.

Following Shen Mo's advice, Yuan Hua used Facebook Ads for targeted advertising and partnered with Google's GG Alliance. With this two-pronged approach, Farm Town's registered users exceeded 100 million on its first day.

Americans may complain that Farm Town is made in China, but they play it more often than anyone else.

Some set alarms at 3 a.m. to harvest their crops, some uploaded tutorials on "best farming methods" to YouTube, and some posted screenshots of wheat from their farms arranged into the Stars and Stripes on Reddit.

Criticize as you please, play as you please, we can do both without neglecting either.

A week later, Farm Town surpassed 1000 million users, becoming so popular that it was followed and reported by many foreign gaming media outlets.

PalmPlay is gradually gaining popularity overseas!

GamerSky immediately translated and reposted the news, even pinning it to the top of the page: "Shocking! Chinese game 'Farm Town' becomes a hit in the US, with over 10 million users in a week."

Shen Mo seized the opportunity and launched "Everyday Fishing Ground". The gameplay is very simple: use insects or crops such as corn from the farm to make special bait, and you can catch various special kinds of fish.

The combination of a farm and a fishpond ignited the passion of anglers.

To the surprise of Yuan Hua, Liu Yang, and others, this group of cyber fishing enthusiasts were even more fanatical than the vegetable growers.

Some people spend eight hours online continuously researching bait recipes, while others post screenshots of rare fish they've caught on forums.

In real life, I'm an air force pilot, but online I strike hard!

Come on, stick!

Here comes the bait!

Fish, come on!

If Heaven hadn't given birth to me, the angler, the fishing world would have been plunged into eternal darkness!

Amid the fishing craze, the activity of stealing vegetables reached a new peak, which also reached the ears of Ma Huateng and others.

"Call Ikehira and Xiaoguang to a meeting!"

"Immediately! Right now!"