Pei Qian finally understood why there were so many pre-orders after looking through the discussions related to Black Ink and Clouds and the 'Destitution Plan' online.
That was because Qiu Hong had bundled Black Ink and Clouds, the 'Destitution Plan', and the Survival Guide for Working Adults together for publicity!
The promotional video of the 'Destitution Plan' could cause such a warm response. On one hand, it was because it touched on the common memories of many players and resonated with them. On the other hand, it was because there was a high-quality domestically-produced independent game as a catalyst.
If there was no game and only a promotional video, it would not have caused such a warm response.
"Black Ink and Clouds" was only a DEMO. Just this DEMO alone was obviously not enough.
That was also the reason why Qiu Hong did not formulate a publicity plan in the beginning. Without an opportunity, he would naturally not be able to achieve the best publicity effect.
However, the unexpected popularity of the Survival Guide for Working Adults had provided such an opportunity for the publicity of the Destitution Plan!
It was before the Chinese New Year. It was time for companies of all sizes to hold their annual meetings and give their year-end bonuses.
The vast majority of office workers were not satisfied with the treatment given by their companies. Many of them were planning to change jobs after receiving their year-end bonus and their annual vacation.
The release of the Survival Guide for Working Adults resonated with those office workers. The response was not bad. Not only did it become popular in the circle of independent game enthusiasts, but it also successfully 'went out of the circle'. Many office workers who did not play games also knew about this game.
With the success of the Survival Guide for Working Adults, Qiu Hong tied Black Ink and Clouds and the 'Destitution Plan' to it. He let gamers know that the reason why the Survival Guide for Working Adults could be successfully produced was because of the funding of the 'Destitution Plan'. The 'Destitution Plan' had also funded many outstanding independent game projects, such as Black Ink and Clouds.
Thus, the popularity of the Survival Guide for Working Adults had broken through the circle, the feelings of domestic independent game enthusiasts, and the expectations of gamers for domestically-produced independent games had all been integrated together. That was why there was such a good publicity effect!
It could be said that the Survival Guide for Working Adults, the DEMO of Black Ink and Clouds, and the promotional video of the 'Destitution Plan' would not have achieved the current effect if any of them were missing!
What a coincidence.
Pei Qian felt a little dizzy as he looked at the increasing number of pre-orders.
In just one afternoon, the game's pre-sales had already exceeded 50,000 copies. Looking at its current popularity, it was very likely that it would increase tenfold within the next week!
Although domestic independent gamers were a minority group compared to mainstream gamers, in terms of size, there were still millions of active gamers.
What's more, the smaller the circle, the more attention they would pay to outstanding domestically-produced independent games. Black Ink and Clouds would probably soon be like the Survival Guide for Working Adults, sparking heated discussions in the independent game community!
Pei Qian calculated with his fingers and felt that something was wrong.
The official price of "Black Ink and Clouds" was 45 yuan. It was considered above average among domestically-produced independent games. The pre-sale this time was not a full pre-sale, but a third, which was 15 yuan.
According to the current trend, if 500,000 copies were sold in the next week, the official platform's share would arrive just in time for settlement.
The only good news was that the game was not published under Tengda's name. Thus, it did not enjoy the privilege of Tengda's high commission. Even if it included the special preferential policies for independent games, it could only get sixty percent.
On this basis, Tengda would take thirty percent.
In other words, the pre-sale of Black Ink and Clouds would earn at least 1.3 million yuan before settlement!
What's more, there was also the money earned from the Survival Guide for Working Adults.
It did not seem like a lot of money, but Pei Qian felt like a camel with straw on its back. When it came to settlement, this one million yuan might very well be the difference between heaven and hell.
What if he made a profit with this one million yuan? Who the f * ck should he reason with then?
Pei Qian was infuriated.
Why is this Qiu Hong looking for trouble for me at such a critical moment!
Can't I just go home for the New Year? Do you have to make a promotional video the day before the holiday to make it popular? Then, release a DEMO to earn some pre-sale money?
That's too much!
Pei Qian immediately dialed Qiu Hong's number at that thought.
…
At that moment, Qiu Hong had just treated everyone in the incubation base to a big meal. He returned to his rented house in Beijing to pack his things and prepare to fly home early the next morning.
Qiu Hong could not help but be pleasantly surprised when he received Boss Pei's call.
"Did Boss Pei see that the video of the Destitution Plan is very popular and was very happy? Did he specially call to affirm the results of my work?"
Previously, the entire incubation base had only completed two games, and they did not sell well. Even so, Boss Pei still praised Qiu Hong, saying that the effect was obvious and that he had improved rapidly. He asked him to continue working hard.
Qiu Hong pondered. According to such standards, wouldn't Boss Pei be overjoyed now that the Survival Guide for Working Adults and Black Ink and Clouds were released and the video of the 'Destitution Plan' received a good response?
He quickly picked up the phone, waiting to receive Boss Pei's praise.
However, Boss Pei's first sentence stumped him.
"Who asked you to put the semi-finished game on the official platform for pre-orders?!"
Pei Qian's tone was stern because he was indeed very angry.
The game was obviously not completed yet. You should just obediently release it in the next cycle. Don't affect my settlement for this cycle!
In the end, Qiu Hong's pre-order caught Pei Qian off guard.
Qiu Hong was stunned for a moment and said blankly, "Boss Pei, isn't pre-sales very common in the independent game circle …"
Pei Qian could not help but fall silent for a moment. "Er …"
He thought about it and realized that Qiu Hong was right.
ESRO's official platform actually encouraged pre-sales of independent games. The reason was very simple. It was similar to crowdfunding.
Independent game designers often did not have money or resources. There would definitely be various compromises in the production process. If they wanted to achieve a high completion rate for the game, all aspects would not allow it.
On the other hand, pre-sales could allow independent games with good quality and loved by players to obtain some money in advance. On one hand, it could maintain development costs, and on the other hand, it could increase the confidence of the producer.
Of course, there might be some immoral producers who would be suspected of cheating money. For example, they would update a very fun DEMO and slowly develop it after receiving a large sum of money from the pre-sales. They would turn the game into a series that would last for a lifetime and delay releasing it.
However, the official platform also had corresponding punishment measures for such producers. What's more, such people were the minority after all. They could not cancel this rule that was beneficial to all independent game designers just because of a single black sheep.
Thus, Qiu Hong taking the DEMO of Black Ink and Clouds for pre-sales was indeed in line with the usual practice of independent games. It was an action advocated by the official platform.
Thus, Pei Qian's question seemed a little unreasonable.
After a moment of silence, Pei Qian said confidently, "Why do other independent games like to pre-sell? It's because those producers lack money and can only obtain development funds through pre-sales! "
"Do the producers of the Destitution Plan lack development funds?"
Qiu Hong was stumped. "Er, this …"
Pei Qian did not give him much time to react. He continued, "Since they don't lack money, why do they need to pre-sell?"
"Pre-sales is actually equivalent to using the sympathy of gamers to transfer the risk of failure of the subsequent game development from the developer to the gamers."
"The official platform supports such behavior mainly because the conditions of most independent game designers are too poor. They need gamers to contribute and support them."
"This behavior might be voluntary, but at the end of the day, it would still damage the interests of gamers. The best way should be to hand over the money and the goods at the same time. Gamers can buy it if they like it after the game is released. "
"Since the independent game designer of the Destitution Plan does not lack money, they shouldn't do pre-sales. Shouldn't they just sell it after the game is developed?"
Qiu Hong was speechless. "This …"
He suddenly felt that what Boss Pei said made sense!
In fact, Qiu Hong had only done pre-sales according to the usual practice of independent games. He did not think too much about it. However, now that he thought about it carefully, this behavior was indeed a little inappropriate.
Qiu Hong quickly asked, "Boss Pei, what should we do now?"
Pei Qian thought for a moment and asked, "Can we change the pre-purchase price to 0? Then, we can refund the gamers who have already paid. "
Qiu Hong hesitated for a moment. "Er … Boss Pei, we can't change it to 0. We can at least change it to one-third of the current price, which is five yuan. The refund procedure will be more troublesome. We don't have enough authority. ESRO might not approve it."
"It might be possible if we appear personally as Tengda. However, that would be equivalent to announcing the relationship between Tengda and the Destitution Plan …"
Pei Qian immediately said, "Of course not. Since that's the case, we'll change the pre-purchase price to 5 yuan. We'll compensate those who have already spent 15 yuan on pre-purchase. "
Qiu Hong continued, "Also, Boss Pei, the official platform has never supported such changes in prices. That's because it would affect the interests of gamers no matter if it's a price increase or a price decrease."
Pei Qian nodded. "Yes, that's understandable."
"Our actions must have affected the interests of gamers. We have to apologize and compensate them!"
"How about this? Just like I said before, change the pre-purchase price to 5 yuan. For those who have already paid, give the game a 20% discount, which is 36 yuan. Then, we'll make an announcement to apologize. Say that we did not expect gamers to be so passionate. We feel that the pre-purchase price was set too high previously. We'll lower it a little now. I hope gamers can understand."
To Pei Qian, cutting the pre-purchase price from 15 yuan to 5 yuan would reduce the money earned by Black Ink and Clouds this week by at least a few hundred thousand yuan.
It would be good to be able to take a small handful of straw off the camel's back.
As for the gamers who had already spent 15 yuan on pre-purchase, Pei Qian could take this opportunity to give them a discount and earn less.
Qiu Hong quickly said, "Alright, Boss Pei. I'll communicate with the official platform now."
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