Chapter 1 Eric's Confidence

Eric was very pleased with himself. He could feel that, under his leadership, IOI was on the right track, and the gap between it and GOG was shrinking for the first time.

He looked at Zhao Xuming: "President Zhao, in the next couple of days, Finger Company's official channels will release some news about the IOI mobile version. Longyu Group's task is to cooperate with Finger Company to ensure that this news spreads effectively."

"Of course, there's also a very important matter, which is that after the IOI mobile version goes live, Longyu Group will be responsible for contacting channels to promote the mobile game."

Zhao Xuming quickly nodded: "No problem, this is my job."

Obviously, the mobile version of IOI had always been part of Eric's plan. After he took over the operation of the IOI China server and became the "vanguard general" directly fighting against Tenda Group, he had already begun to prepare for two possibilities.

On the one hand, he was updating the version and starting a money-burning war. On the other hand, he was urging Finger Company to arrange dedicated personnel to develop the IOI mobile version.

Of course, turning an end-game into a mobile game is not a simple task that can be completed overnight.

The reason Tenda Group was able to quickly turn GOG into a mobile game was that GOG's design itself had some mobile game elements, with shorter matches, a smaller map than IOI, and a simpler game mechanism, so it was much less difficult to modify from a design standpoint.

But for IOI to turn the end-game into a mobile game, it was definitely not a simple project.

But even so, they could release the news first to warm things up.

First, use the resources in IOI to make a simple demo, select a few heroes that are more suitable for the mobile game operation mode, and then use this demo to make a few trial videos. Then, post these videos online, hype them up, and let the IOI players know that this is happening.

As long as they create the impression that "IOI is catching up and competing with GOG," it will be of great help to IOI's promotion.

Zhao Xuming also supported this matter with both hands. After all, in his opinion, the arrival of the mobile game trend was inevitable. IOI learning from GOG and turning the game into a dual-end interconnected game was indeed a measure that conformed to the trend.

Moreover, Longyu Group had very close ties with domestic mobile game channel providers, and even controlled some mobile game channels themselves, so promoting mobile games might be even more convenient than promoting end-games.

After the IOI mobile game is launched, old players of the end-game will definitely try it out, and many players who are tired of playing GOG mobile games will also try it out and see what it's like. If they can come up with a few good marketing plans...

It will definitely have an effect!

Eric and Zhao Xuming were both full of confidence in IOI's next operational strategy.

Although GOG's position in China was currently very stable and difficult to shake, everything is difficult at the beginning. As long as they persevere and allow the IOI China server to gradually recover, it will quickly form a virtuous cycle, and then everything will change!

...

February 17th, Friday.

Ye Zhizhou hurried to the Tenda Games department and found Min Jingchao, who was busy making a new version of GOG.

"Finger Company has a new move!"

"Just now, they released a few IOI mobile game trial videos, which look pretty good."

"But I suspect... they were made using IOI's existing end-game materials. It's still early days for the game to be officially developed. It's currently in the 'demonstration to deceive people' stage."

"But the development of the IOI mobile game has obviously been put on the agenda, so we still have to guard against it."

"Currently, these videos have received a good response on video websites at home and abroad, and many players have expressed their expectations."

"Some people have been comparing it with the GOG mobile game to create hype, which is probably shills arranged by Longyu Group to piggyback."

As Ye Zhizhou spoke, he handed his phone to Min Jingchao and showed him a few game videos of the IOI mobile version.

The videos were trial videos of several classic IOI heroes, such as Chaos Doom, Storm Swordsman, and Phantom Blacksmith, which shone brightly in this year's Global Finals, as well as some heroes that novices often use to crush noobs.

These heroes all had one thing in common, which was that their operation was not particularly complicated. The operation difficulty would not be too high when ported from the end-game to the mobile game, so it was easier to port.

Moreover, these heroes had their own popularity. Heroes like Storm Swordsman were also quite handsome, so the video gave players a good impression.

Although they hadn't played the game yet, just watching the video was indeed very attractive.

"The newcomer is unkind."

Min Jingchao immediately saw Finger Company's intention.

In the current situation, it can be said that "the offensive and defensive positions are different". In the past, GOG took the initiative to attack, and IOI was forced to defend, and was beaten to the ground.

But now the offensive and defensive situation between the two sides was completely reversed.

The GOG mobile version was a pioneer and has now gathered a huge player base. Because of its size, it is not suitable to make too many risky moves, which is a passive defensive posture.

The IOI mobile version is a new game and has many advantages: it can directly refer to GOG's existing gameplay and avoid detours; it can directly bundle itself with the GOG mobile version for publicity and piggyback, easily gaining huge popularity.

This "rubbing" tactic often has a very good effect, and the side being rubbed has no good way to deal with it. The more responsive it is, the more popularity the other side gains.

And if you choose to ignore it, the other party will rub even more unscrupulously and still gain a lot of popularity.

Ye Zhizhou asked: "What should we do?"

Min Jingchao pondered for a moment: "Why don't we... ask President Pei for instructions."

Although the two of them could come up with some countermeasures, this matter was of great importance after all. If it was not handled properly, the consequences would be very serious, and neither of them dared to make a decision.

GOG is currently the game with the most players, the widest influence, and the highest popularity in Tenda Group. It also involves the money-making tree, GPL. Neither of them dared to be negligent.

After a brief discussion, the two felt that this kind of high-impact matter still had to be reported to President Pei so that they could feel at ease.

After sending a message to the front desk to ask, and learning that President Pei happened to be at the company today, the two came to the 16th floor and gently knocked on the door of President Pei's office.

"Come in."

President Pei's voice immediately came from the office.

Min Jingchao pushed the door open, and Ye Zhizhou followed closely behind.

"President Pei, we're here today to report on the movements of Finger Company..."

Min Jingchao briefly explained Finger Company's release of the IOI mobile game trial video and Longyu Group's purchase of a large number of shills online to piggyback on GOG's popularity.

Pei Qian almost slapped the table and cheered.

Eric did a great job!

He really didn't live up to my expectations!

From the previous price war to the current IOI mobile version and buying shills to piggyback on popularity, every action Eric took made Pei Qian very satisfied.

The more Finger Company pressed forward step by step, the more reason Pei Qian had to burn money to fight back.

But how should he respond specifically...

Pei Qian thought for a moment.

His first reaction was to fight back fiercely. If they wanted popularity, then give them popularity. Tenda could also spend a lot of money in the process. Why not?

But on second thought, it seemed a little dangerous.

Currently, the size of GOG and IOI in China is not at the same level. A fierce counterattack would indeed allow IOI to gain a lot of popularity, but GOG would also gain the same amount of popularity.

What if the two sides "passionately sprayed" and piggybacked on each other's popularity, leading to even higher popularity for GOG, and a stronger sense of cohesion and identity among players?

That seemed a little inappropriate.

What if he completely ignored it?

That didn't seem very good either. Although it wouldn't bring popularity to GOG, IOI's popularity would also accumulate very slowly, and it would take until the Year of the Monkey for it to pose a real threat to GOG. That's not a solution to the immediate problem.

After a brief consideration, Pei Qian decided to continue to implement the previous policy.

"You continue to pay attention to IOI's movements. No matter what strategy they adopt, we will follow suit, but we must 'give them three points of courtesy' in everything."

"For example, if they spend 10 million on publicity, we will spend 7 million; if they reduce the price of skins by 10%, we will follow suit and reduce the price by 7%."

"The same goes for the war of public opinion. If they provoke us and want to piggyback on our popularity, then we will fight back. But when fighting back, we must also leave three points of leeway."

Min Jingchao was stunned for a moment: "Uh... are there any other requirements, President Pei?"

Pei Qian shook his head: "That's all."

Min Jingchao and Ye Zhizhou looked at each other and saw a hint of doubt in each other's eyes.

That's it?

They thought President Pei would immediately start "killing everyone in sight", but President Pei actually said to "give three points of courtesy"?

When they asked President Pei for advice before, President Pei always seemed to be able to give some very subversive and creative suggestions, but this time, the advice President Pei gave seemed mediocre and didn't have anything special about it.

"Giving three points of courtesy" sounds good, but in reality, it's nothing more than passive defense, and President Pei even specifically emphasized that the price war must be less money-burning than the other party?

What's the reason for this?

But looking at President Pei's appearance, it was obvious that everything that should be said had already been said, leaving only an expression of "you guys go figure it out".

So the two had no choice but to say goodbye.

Leaving President Pei's office, Min Jingchao and Ye Zhizhou's expressions were full of confusion. Obviously, asking President Pei for advice this time completely failed to achieve the effect they wanted.

There was still no particularly reliable countermeasure on how to deal with IOI's threat.

Or rather, President Pei gave a reliable countermeasure, but they had not yet understood the deep meaning of this countermeasure.

The two returned to the 17th floor, sat down in the lounge, and stared at each other while drinking beverages.

The two saw the same attitude in each other's eyes.

"Do you believe that President Pei is thinking so simply?"

"I don't believe it, what about you?"

"I don't believe it either."

"Then it can only mean that President Pei has a deeper idea that we haven't dug up."

"Think hard. Don't leave until you figure it out!"

The two drank their beverages and racked their brains.

Ye Zhizhou said, "I think something is fishy about this."

"When has President Pei ever lost to anyone when it comes to spending money?"

"In the past, everything that involved burning money had to be burned more than the other party, whether it was games or physical industries. That's always been the case."

"But this time, President Pei actually asked us to 'give three points of courtesy'? How is this possible! It doesn't conform to President Pei's consistent style at all!"

Min Jingchao nodded: "That's right."

"The key is that Finger Company and Longyu Group are both our mortal enemies. They are both competitors and have no cooperative relationship whatsoever. There's no friendship to speak of."

"They took the lead in starting a price war, but we have to give them three points of courtesy? Why! This doesn't conform to Tenda's consistent style at all!"

"So there must be a special purpose behind President Pei's 'giving three points of courtesy'!"

The more the two discussed, the more they felt that something was wrong.

But what exactly was wrong, no one could say.

Min Jingchao left the lounge and returned a moment later with two laptops.

"These are the relevant data of GOG and IOI in China, including the changes in market share and other data. Let's study them and maybe we can see something."

Ye Zhizhou nodded and took one of the laptops.

The two began to browse various materials aimlessly, hoping to find some clues.

Suddenly, Ye Zhizhou seemed to realize something and said, "I noticed one thing, which is the market share and new game release situation of other MOBA games similar to IOI and GOG."

"Needless to say, GOG and IOI's market share. Currently, GOG is fully dominant in China, and overseas, the two sides are evenly matched, with GOG having a slight advantage but not a very big one. There are fluctuations on both sides."

"But the situation of other MOBA games is very worthy of consideration."

"On the one hand, the market share is continuing to decline. On the other hand, the number of new games being released is decreasing."

"There were at least five or six MOBA mobile games that were released at the same time as GOG, but now there are only one or two left that are barely operating, and they are still in a half-dead state."

"It can be said that they died very quickly."

Min Jingchao nodded: "Isn't this something we knew a long time ago?"

"Our competition with IOI will definitely squeeze the living space of all other games of the same type, and in the end, only the only winner can survive."

"Even old games like *The Revelation* have been seriously affected."

"Although the data shows that *The Revelation* still has a group of loyal players who are difficult to shake, it has almost no new blood flowing in."

"More importantly, there was news before that a large company wanted to buy *The Revelation* to make an online game similar to IOI or GOG, but it was repeatedly delayed."

Ye Zhizhou said, "Then what if we dig deeper into the reasons behind this?"

"Why have these companies given up on MOBA games?"

"I think that fierce market competition is only one aspect. There is also a very important reason: anchoring effect!"

"President Pei's pricing for GOG actually formed an anchoring effect. And after IOI was forced to fight a price war with us, this anchoring effect became more stable, which made the starting difficulty for other companies unprecedentedly great, so they don't plan to follow suit!"

Min Jingchao nodded: "Yes, that's right."

The so-called anchoring effect is actually very easy to understand: as the same type of MOBA game, all games have similar ways of making profits, which are nothing more than selling heroes, buying skins, and various value-added services.

Otherwise, you can't sell combat power, right? That would be suicide.

If all MOBA games set the price of their skins at the level of dozens of dollars, then players wouldn't find anything strange.

This pricing allows many emerging MOBA games to barely survive.

Only after surviving can they gradually develop and grow.

But President Pei forcibly set the price of GOG's skins to be dirt cheap, and forced IOI to fight a price war and also greatly reduce the price of skins, which formed an anchoring effect: all players feel that the skins of MOBA games should be so cheap!

As a result, even if other game companies make MOBA games of similar quality to GOG and IOI, they basically have no chance of success.

Because of the existence of the anchoring effect, these companies will face a dilemma: if the price is higher than GOG, then players will think you are greedy; but if the price is the same as GOG, you simply can't operate.

GOG's skin prices are low, but the player base is huge, and there is also the GPL league, so there are many ways to maintain profitability; those other MOBA games have fewer players in the first place, and they rely on skins to make money, but if the skins are priced at dirt cheap, what money can they make?

Therefore, the GOG and IOI price war doesn't primarily affect IOI, but all other MOBA games.

MOBA games are winner-take-all game types in the first place. GOG has already taken the lead with its huge user base and has set the price so cheap. What are the other MOBA games going to play?

Ye Zhizhou continued: "So, President Pei's 'giving three points of courtesy' strategy is worth digging into."

"On the surface, President Pei is deliberately condoning IOI to expand its user base. But if you think about it carefully, isn't President Pei using IOI's strength to continue to attack other competitors?"

"GOG has a huge user base and a first-mover advantage. Even if we only use 70% of the publicity funds, we can still fight a long-term war with IOI. The more fiercely we fight with IOI, the more difficult it is for other MOBA games to survive."

Min Jingchao frowned slightly: "But, borrowing a knife to kill is certainly good, but what if IOI wins against us? What if their market share rises and enters a virtuous cycle?"

Ye Zhizhou said, "There is indeed this possibility, but seeing President Pei so confident, he must think that IOI can't win against us."

"President Pei said that no matter how much money they burn, we will follow suit, but we will only 'give three points of courtesy'."

"This three-point gap will not put us at a disadvantage, and will induce Finger Company to continue to burn money. While expanding market share and helping us eliminate other competitors, it will also consume a lot of money from Dayak Group and Finger Company."

"President Pei's 'giving three points of courtesy' is not enemy advances, we retreat, but rather: because you're helping me grab the market, I'll give you three points; but if you want to challenge me, then whoever chickens out is a son of a b*tch!"

Min Jingchao suddenly realized: "That's right, that's what President Pei must mean! First, keep three points of strength and play with Finger Company for a while, burn money with them to further eliminate other competitors; when the time is ripe, give Finger Company a fatal blow!"

Both of them felt much more at ease.

Since President Pei has already strategized and is full of confidence, and feels that keeping three points of strength is enough to win, then what is there to worry about?