I Just Want Players to Save Money, They Insist on Giving Me!
Chapter 288 - 115: The Game Itself Goes Live!_3

Chapter 288: Chapter 115: The Game Itself Goes Live!_3

"The core of action games is the same, and there are other subcategories as well, but the essence remains unchanged."

"The advantage of this approach is quite direct, and all my colleagues here should be clear about it. It allows us to market multiple elements separately, applying one development plan to several different types of games, making two or even three times the money."

"But if the main game of ’Infinite’ isn’t much different from the demo, then players’ expectations for diversified content in 3D single-player blockbusters could surge. They would seek narrative, story, action, or magic in an FPS game—regardless, they will no longer be satisfied with games that only offer FPS and nothing else, unless it’s a competitive one."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Ling gently stroked his chin, lost in thought.

If this trend were to continue.

Indeed, players’ gaming experiences would improve as games become richer in elements.

But the development costs for our company would also skyrocket.

A blockbuster development plan that could feed three or four different genres would become much harder to replicate.

This means that Number One Player’s new release could directly impact the profits of major gaming companies led by Tengjing!

As he pondered, another game director added.

"In fact, Number One Player showed this tendency as early as with ’Pubg.’ They seem to like cramming a variety of features into a single game. But back then, it was an online game, and often the core of an online game isn’t necessarily its gameplay; social interactions also play a significant part. As long as you tap into the players’ competitive nature, high or low game quality doesn’t make a big difference, so we didn’t pay much attention."

"Then there’s the 2D sector. ’Hollow’ and ’Stardew Valley’ also embraced diversity, particularly with ’Stardew Valley’s rich systems that could be split into five or six games. But we didn’t pay much attention to that either since the 2D game market is relatively small."

"But this time... they’ve started to target 3D blockbusters. If we don’t pay attention now, our revenue from single-player games could suffer severe turbulence within three years."

"Mr. Ling, we must come up with a countermeasure."

A group of designers, who have been in their comfort zone for over a decade, all furrowed their brows at the potential impact that ’Infinite’ might bring.

Mr. Ling’s fingers drummed rapidly on the desk while he anxiously sought a solution.

It was hard to imagine that his company, a titan in the Huaxia Nation gaming industry for over twenty years, could be pushed this far by a small company within just over a year.

While Number One Player didn’t pose an overt threat to Tengjing for the time being.

Frogs are never boiled alive in water.

And a great dam isn’t breached by a raging current in a single day.

Better to nip potential problems in the bud, and now we’re at the final stage of ’just in case,’ with the fire burning our eyebrows."

"Let’s do this, Director Liu, contact our PR department to see if we can talk with Number One Player."

"See if we can negotiate with them to delay the game’s release."

"Any reason will do, even say that Tengjing is interested in collaborating with Number One Player Company and plans to inject a large sum of money into their future game development and investment. For now, just bait them with that and stall them."

Mr. Ling didn’t have a solid decision yet, and even if he did, with company reforms of this magnitude in question, they required careful consideration, and he couldn’t just make decisions on a whim.

So, stalling was the best option.

To delay the game release by a few days while he figured out how to stem the rampant growth of Number One Player, a company that threatened to poison the industry, wouldn’t be too late to take action against them.

"Okay."

The brief meeting concluded.

Everyone came to recognize something.

That is, Number One Player isn’t the negligible entity it was a year or even six months ago.

It seems they’ve been doing one thing consistently—releasing high-quality, affordable games one after another to deflate the heavily inflated pricing in the gaming industry.

Whether the prices are inflated or over the top, every major company knows it.

But before, no small company dared to muddy these waters.

"However, I believe that after our PR department makes contact, they should show some restraint," said Mr. Ling confidently as he sat in his office, staring out at the clear sky.

"After all, Tengjing’s legal department is not to be trificked with."

"We can work with you to make your company thrive, but we can also put you out of business and entangle you in lawsuits every single day."

Soon, the next day.

Mr. Ling received a report from the Head of Public Relations.

"How did it go? Did you make contact?"

"We did," replied the Head of Public Relations respectfully, "We’ve tried both soft and hard tactics, subtly outlining the pros and cons for them, and as per your instructions, Mr. Ling, we asked them to change the game’s launch date."

"What did they say?" Mr. Ling’s heart stirred.

"They agreed."

"Hmm, I know." He hung up the phone.

Mr. Ling breathed a sigh of relief, his eyebrows relaxing slightly.

It seemed that Number One Player could still face reality.

I had actually thought they were all bluster with their aggressive stance, odd pricing, and constant innovation pushing the players’ thresholds, ready to clash head-on with Tengjing.

Who would have thought they’d crumble like other unruly small companies of yesteryear, easily squashed at the first push.

But since they’ve relented once.

It meant they could make a second concession.

Rather than obliterating this promising small company.

Mr. Ling was more interested in acquiring Number One Player.

"Next, we should talk about acquisitions," he mused.

"Even though their company isn’t public, we could still search online for changes in their company’s cash flow. There should be people who’ve made those statistics." Mr. Ling picked up the teacup on his desk and took a sip.

And he clicked open a webpage with his mouse.

But at the moment the webpage opened.

"Pfft!" The tea in his mouth sprayed out and Mr. Ling’s expression changed drastically!

The face that had been calm a moment ago was suddenly filled with disbelief!

He quickly glanced at the date at the bottom right corner of the screen.

November 28th

"What the hell..." Mr. Ling clenched his fists furiously, a feeling of being played welled up inside him.

Number One Player did change the release date...

But damn it! They released it today!!!