Tokyo Video Game Tycoon.

This is something that Zhu Youxing can't control; even the country can't handle this kind of thing.

The only real solutions to this problem are either another technological explosion or simply weathering the storm.

In such an environment, it's only natural that fewer people would be willing to spend money on leisure and entertainment.

However... there are solutions.

Zhu Youxing's eyes kept turning.

Chapter 955 The New 'Lipstick'

955

The whole world has entered a period of economic downturn, which is beyond Zhuyouxing's control; it's due to the broader economic environment.

Previously, Zhu Youxing could roughly predict some signs of economic downturn because they were similar to the time and space environment of his original world.

For example, the dot-com bubble, or the economic collapse in some regions, etc.

Like the 2008 financial crisis in the original world, the causes may be very complicated, but the tipping point was probably the unlimited loans that the United States issued to its citizens.

It is said that some people can even get loans in their dog's name and then squander them, but in the end, they can never get the money back.

Of course, these are things outside of Zhu Youxing's major. His only task now is to figure out how to help video games get through this temporary trouble.

Economic crises, in the context of human history, can ultimately only be considered temporary setbacks, or even minor reshuffling.

As long as the national machinery continues to function, economic crises will always pass.

Have you ever heard of the lipstick effect?

Suddenly, Zhu Youxing asked a question out of the blue.

Upon hearing this, one of the people quickly replied, "In fact, lipstick sales will increase during an economic downturn because an economic downturn does not mean that people's desire to consume will decrease."

This is considered basic common sense in the field of economics, and even a layman like Zhu Youxing has some understanding of it.

Zhu Youxing nodded and said, "Very good. So what I want to say now is that video games can actually replace the lipstick in the lipstick effect."

"President, compared to lipsticks, the average development cost of currently released blockbuster video games is too high. If they don't have a high enough price to break even, it will be difficult to make money."

Zhu Youxing shook his head: "I didn't say I wanted to change the prices of newly released video games. You don't need to think that way. What I meant was that there's more than one lipstick, and each lipstick has a different price. Video games can be the same way."

"President, you mean..."

Zhu Youxing said, "Actually, what I want to talk about are just a few very simple methods. We have been using these sales strategies before, but we haven't been too aggressive. Now, in order to ensure profitability, we can make these actions a bit more aggressive."

"President..."

"Release a game-limited edition console."

"what?"

Zhu Youxing stood up and walked to a blackboard next to his desk.

"More limited-edition gaming consoles are on the horizon. Gamers are reaching saturation, and our new consoles won't be available until at least the year after next. What can we do in the meantime?"

"Limited edition..." Everyone pondered.

Takeyusei continued to explain: "For players who have the means to spend, more limited edition machines are actually a kind of collectible outside of the game. Many players simply cannot refuse this kind of extra collectible. And this is just like the lipstick I mentioned, a lipstick that belongs to the players. Of course, this is one of the 'lipsticks' in my plan."

In Zhu Youxing's heart, he actually harbored some small resentment.

This resentment originates from the original world.

Because his home before he transmigrated had a collection of dozens of limited editions of game consoles such as PS4, XBOX, NS, and 3DS.

Some of these items came from his father, while others were from his own collection, which also inspired his interest in video games.

But the fact that these game consoles came with him from another time is now meaningless.

He still really wants to see new limited edition machines appear in this world.

Imagine that you and your dad collected dozens of limited edition game consoles in your original world. On average, there are at least four or five limited editions of each type of game console. However, these are not very meaningful to the average player.

Because every game console has the same performance, the only difference is that the officially licensed limited edition consoles have certain modifications to their shell and design.

Game companies have made a lot of extra money from him and his father alone, so game console manufacturers would definitely prefer people like them.

In the original world, there were many people with similar hobbies and temperaments to Zhu Youxing.

The collection of video games has also grown to a considerable size.

The fact that Switch sales have exceeded 100 million units does not mean that more than 100 million people actually own a Switch game console.

And who knows how many of these people own at least two or more Switches?

These figures will not be directly recorded or announced by the authorities; they will only boast and brag that they have sold more than 100 million game consoles.

Zhu Youxing continued, "Next, I will arrange for someone to form a new small department. This department will design the appearance of the game console based on the games we will be releasing soon and the games we will be releasing recently. We can also launch a custom appearance function for the game console, giving players more opportunities for customization. These are all additional value-added methods for video games."

"By the way, we could also release some retro versions of game consoles at this time."

Suddenly, Zhu Youxing thought of something.

Famicom (Nintendo Entertainment System)

The origin of everything that happened after I came into this world.

Even more than 20 years later, the Famicom still has at least one production line with an annual output of about one million units, continuously supplying the world with this inexpensive game console, whose fun has not diminished much.

Of course, the Famicom has undergone several iterations, and its storage devices and some specific circuit components are modern products, which has made the overall price of the Famicom lower.

This thing is now truly dirt cheap.

Even in faraway South Africa, the total cost of this thing, when spread out, would definitely not exceed three dollars per unit.

As for the video games, you just need to find a place with internet access to buy and download them.

Nowadays, many games on the Famicom are often sold in bundles of dozens for five or ten dollars, and they sell quite well.

Originally, Yusei didn't plan to engage in any more profit-making activities with the Famicom, but players really loved the product and were willing to spend extra money on it. The game console itself didn't make much money, but the bundled games brought Yusei Electronic Entertainment a steady stream of several million dollars in profit every year.

However, this is nothing compared to the current massive size of Yuxing Electronic Entertainment.

Moreover, it's possible that only Yuxing Electronics Entertainment in the world can achieve this. Other companies can't imitate it because other game companies simply can't do the same scale of manufacturing, marketing, and sales as the Famicom.

Chapter 956 Limited Edition

956

“Set up a new production line to manufacture Famicom (Nintendo Entertainment System). This Famicom can be smaller, but its appearance needs to be a complete replica of the original Famicom. Then, we’ll do something crazy.”

"What?" As everyone watched Zhu Youxing explain his sales techniques, they felt that several of his methods seemed very strange, something they had never expected before.

But now, when they see it, they still think that this limited-edition approach might not necessarily increase revenue much.

After all, the number of people who are truly willing to spend money to buy more repeat game consoles is definitely still a minority.

If Zhuyouxing knew what they were thinking, he would laugh and say that they had ultimately underestimated the purchasing power of the players.

The purchasing power of each player has not been fully realized.

In his original world, some players would spend hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars on an online game just to get a high enough ranking in that online gaming world, or simply to look prettier than others.

The fact that a game like League of Legends, which only sells skins, could surpass all traditional item-based pay-to-play games in overall revenue for a period of time demonstrates the considerable spending power of its players.

These limited-edition consoles are essentially like game 'skins' in the eyes of hardcore gamers.

They can't refuse something like that; they can't refuse it.

"This time, we can increase the production cost of the Famicom to around 1,000 yuan, use more and better circuit components, and increase the built-in storage device. At the same time, we also need to do something else, which is to sell numbers. We will release a new model of the Famicom with serial numbers from 000000 to 999999, a total of one million units. There will be a purchase limit for each person, and one million units will be distributed to different regions around the world. As for the selling price of this game console... um..."

Takeyusei pondered for a moment, then quickly looked up and said, "Sell each unit for more than five thousand yen."

Everyone was stunned for a long time again.

"President...you said five thousand yen?"

Someone couldn't help but ask a probing question.

“That’s right, five thousand yen is about right. Of course, this price can be adjusted, for example, to six thousand yen, or even higher.”

Natsume Yasutaka couldn't help but ask, "Really... would anyone be willing to buy such an outdated product and pay more than forty or fifty dollars for it?"

"Yes, trust me. Go ahead and start. Increase the production line for the new Famicom. Now you can start promoting the Famicom replica across all platforms."

Five thousand yen, that's much more expensive than when the Famicom was sold later.

If this price were in the past, many people would probably think that Zhu Youxing was crazy, a greedy guy, and that only a fool would buy such a thing.

A serial number? Who cares about a six-digit serial number? That's just wishful thinking.

"Then, President, should we only release one million units?"

"Yes, one million units. Of course, the Famicom production line can be readjusted to continue producing other game consoles. After the Famicom, it will be the Super Famicom, one million Super Famicom units, and then the Game Boy... We'll release them step by step."

This……

Everyone felt that the current president was really coming up with some strange and unusual tricks.

But will this really work?

However, these were the president's requirements and orders, and they were just the president's subordinates.

In this company, Zhu Youxing is the only person in charge.

This kind of company structure has both advantages and disadvantages.

The development of such a company will depend entirely on the decisions of Zhu Youxing alone.

If Zhu Youxing makes a wrong decision, the losses to the company will be catastrophic.

However, so far, Zhuyouxing has not made any truly problematic decisions; at most, it has only made a little less money.

Takeyusei felt that his sales would be about enough with the limited release of the GB version.

This method is a temporary measure, giving some truly nostalgic players a chance to re-experience old games.

Sometimes, some players are just more complicated.

They were unwilling to experience old games on new consoles because they felt it lacked that 'feel'.

However, if they are presented with an old game console, or even if some of the games still use the old-fashioned operation and logic, they will be very happy to accept this behavior.