I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 730 - 730 729. Selling at a loss to gain market attention_1

Chapter 730: 729. Selling at a loss to gain market attention_1 Chapter 730: 729. Selling at a loss to gain market attention_1 In the game, Zhou Changqing didn’t have time to think about the viewers’ opinions; he was extremely nervous.

He had never gone through any formal combat training, and even learned how to wield a sword from other players.

Putting such a person on the battlefield, wasn’t that just sending him to his doom?

But Zhou Changqing was also looking forward to exploring the Black Forest. If asked why, it was simply because the forest was there.

Having entered the game and walked through Night Country, no one could say he wasn’t even a little curious about the depths of the forest.

Now, with the opportunity to take part in a world quest and combat the Iron Lizard, Zhou Changqing was definitely excited.

But at the same time, Zhou Changqing feared death.

In other games, Zhou Changqing had died many times, but that was just a black screen, followed by the message “Defeat is a common occurrence in war, hero please try again,” unless it was one of those hardcore modes where you couldn’t respawn, in which case the worst it brought Zhou Changqing was some frustration.

But in this game, everything was so real; pain seemed to truly blossom on his own skin. In such circumstances, death became terrifying.

Some experts had once said that gaming could promote violence, with the frequent occurrences of fights and killings in games potentially lowering players’ threshold for violence, leading them to commit violent acts in the real world.

Some players argued that satisfying their urge for destruction in the game actually made them calmer in the real world.

But to Zhou Changqing, if death in a game were so painful, he reckoned everyone would be more cautious and avoid unnecessary violence.

After all, aren’t unruly kids just those who lack education and discipline?

Of course, the ultra-realism of this game also made Zhou Changqing consider the possibility that some might not be able to distinguish reality from fantasy, leading them to do some unsavory things in the real world, thinking they were still in the game. But that was a distant thought.

Bringing his mind back to reality, Zhou Changqing even entertained the idea of just charging in with his eyes closed when the time came, to get it over with and be done with the early death, the early ascension.

They had been advancing through the forest for two game days. Since they already knew the coordinates and didn’t need to explore, they were moving faster than the previous scouting party.

Second batch of players were positioned in the middle of the queue, a protected spot, while the veteran players were distributed around the perimeter, alert for danger.

What Zhou Changqing didn’t know was that the scenes he was experiencing at the moment were being broadcast to the real world.

In the real world, inside the live-streaming room, the barrage of comments heaved a sigh of relief and then exploded.

[Is this a live-action shot? How can the graphics be so real?]

[Is Lu Ban pretending to make us play a game while actually fooling us into watching a movie?]

[This light, this water, these people, the graphics are mind-blowing!]

[Maybe my eyes are bad, but isn’t this live-action?]

[These graphics are insane, I bet even a 3080TI couldn’t handle it]

[Wake up, this is exclusive to “Morning Star,” getting it on PC seems unlikely]

[There are so many people here, pretty much all the players, is there some big battle going on?]

[Holy shit, that person in the camera just now, I know him, he’s my college classmate, I’m going to call him]

[What’s the fuss, sit down, these are just basic moves for Director Lu]

[When I played The Conjuring Night, I thought the equipment was impressive, but this is beyond imagination]

At the same time, among those watching the live stream were not just ordinary viewers, but also some industry big shots.

Like a top executive from a major graphics hardware company.

He and his department’s core members were watching the live stream in a conference room. The more they watched, the more solemn his expression became.

“These graphics have far surpassed our current limits. Although we can achieve this level with all available computing power, the cost is too high.”

A core member murmured to himself.

“The hardware they make is still a commodity, not a technological product, so it’s about cost-effectiveness.

“Sure, stacking up materials can achieve great results, but the corresponding cost increase and price hike mean that once customers can’t afford it, and you can’t compensate the R&D cost with profits from sales, then the product is a failure.”

“For a device like ‘Morning Star,’ they estimated that the cost to produce each unit would have to be at least fifty thousand, and even with a large volume of shipments to spread the cost, there’s very little room to reduce the price.”

“But Lu Ban is selling it for just a few thousand. He’s clearly operating at a loss to gain attention.”

“There have been game console manufacturers who used similar strategies, such as selling a device that costs three to four thousand to make at a loss of a few hundred to wage a price war and capture market share, then making up the loss by selling games.”

“But with each unit sold, Lu Ban is losing tens of thousands, and now that he’s sold millions of units, who knows how many villas Lu Ban has lost.”

“Lu Ban doesn’t use the current display technology at all, and we can’t figure it out. If this continues, our market share will be gradually eroded.”

Another core member lamented.

“In this industry, our biggest fear is that someone else’s technology is better than ours and the price is similar, let alone that currently, ‘Morning Star’s’ technological advantage is almost overwhelming, with no room for a comeback.”

“No, do you guys really think that’s not a live shot, but a game scene? We’re all tech people here. Ask yourself, can current computer technology achieve this kind of imagery?”

One person raised his voice, still convinced that these were live scenes, half in doubt and half unwilling to accept.

“Would Lu Ban dare to do this in a global live broadcast?”

Another person rebutted.

The executive casually glanced at his company’s stock price.

Since the launch of ‘Morning Star,’ the related industry stocks had a moment of rise because the investors initially thought that this technology’s emergence would lead to another industry upgrade, with other manufacturers quickly following suit.

But after a while, they realized—this technology can’t be followed.

The other manufacturers couldn’t even catch up to Lu Ban’s trail; the experience ‘Morning Star’ offered was singular.

At that point, the stock began to plummet.

Just his company’s stock had already shrunk by eighty percent, and some gaming console companies were left with only one-tenth, totally collapsing alongside the live broadcast, beyond salvation.

At this moment, the executive, too, hoped that what Lu Ban showed was just a live-action movie, not a game.

But soon, the players in the live broadcast came upon a vast clearing.

Through the first-person perspective of one player, it was clear that it was a deep pit, with the surrounding earth looking as though it had been plowed through, marked by devastation.

And in the center of that pit lay a huge monster.

The several-story-tall beast, with a metallic sheen on its body, resembled a steel mechanical creature. It hadn’t noticed the players at first and was resting, while the players scattered around, setting up their offensive weaponry, preparing for a total assault on it.

“Is this special effects, too?”

Someone exclaimed subconsciously.

If the earlier scenes were live shots, then this scene certainly couldn’t be a live shot—at least it had to be CG combination.

But this was too real!

The executive felt a surge of despair, deeply sensing that his era had ended.

Now, it was Lu Ban’s era.

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