Eric stood up and left in a hurry. Obviously, he wanted to go back and video call Finger Games' headquarters to deal with this matter.
Zhao Xuming still had to continue watching the ICL competition venue. He could not leave.
However, he was also very curious. Thus, he took out his cell phone and searched for relevant information online.
It was night time in Los Angeles now. It was time for gamers to be active on forums and live-stream platforms.
Zhao Xuming realized that it was not only some forums and websites in the United States that were discussing this matter. A few more popular posts had also been made into domestic forums by busybodies. Both GOG and IOI players were discussing it!
"The ICL has yet to officially start, and Finger Games has already caused big news again? I saw that the Northern American Region's forum is going crazy. They said that Finger Games is charging a sky-high seat fee over there? "
"They said that IOI's Northern American Region's league is actually selling for seven million US dollars! It's too expensive. It's daylight robbery! "
"It's alright. I heard that the clubs in the United States are all very rich, right? They should be able to fork out seven million US dollars. "
"However, GOG is also preparing for the league over there. It's said that the way to obtain a spot is through free bidding. The starting price is only one million US dollars. With this comparison, the disparity is obvious! "
"It's not just about the price. The clubs in the ICS competition zone are very dissatisfied with Finger Games' differential treatment. That's because in the domestic competition zone, which is also the ICL, the slots are half-bought and half-given. It can be said to be a cabbage price. However, the ICS competition zone has to spend seven million US dollars to buy a slot! More importantly, Finger Games has additional subsidies for the ICL teams because of the previous public opinion storm. There is no such thing in the ICS competition zone. "
"Thinking about it this way, the clubs and players over there will indeed explode … They paid more than ten times the price of the ICL competition zone to buy a slot, but the treatment is not as good. This is equivalent to cutting off their own flesh to benefit the outer competition zone …"
"Thinking about it this way, it's understandable that their mentality would explode."
"I wonder how Finger Games will resolve the crisis of public opinion this time. They were just planning to expand their territory, but their home caught on fire!"
The more Zhao Xuming watched, the more confused he became.
How could such a problem occur!
The root of this incident was the difference in treatment between the ICS of the Northern American Region and the ICL in the country. Finger Games had given them a discount on the league quota in order to better promote the ICL league and save IOI's local server. They had no choice but to provide many additional benefits to the clubs of the ICL league because of the GPL.
However, Finger Games did not have such thoughts about the Northern American Region's ICS league.
There were two reasons. First, Eric was in charge of the ICL, but the other upper echelons of Finger Games were in charge of the ICS league. These two leagues were being prepared at the same time and did not affect each other.
They had to earn the quota fees that ICS should earn. They could not possibly buy and give away ICS 'quota just because ICL's quota was half-sold and half-given, right? Wouldn't that be a huge loss?
Second, there were various compensation conditions for the ICL competition zone clubs, such as ensuring that the players had nutritious meals, daily fitness, and so on. Eric did not want to spend this money at all, and it was even more impossible to share this condition with all the other regions.
How heartache would that be!
Thus, there was indeed such a gap between the ICL league and the ICS league.
Actually, this was very normal. Tengda did not treat everyone equally either!
Tengda treated the GPL like its own son. However, it only needed to find a local company to cooperate with the outer competition zone.
However, Tengda would not encounter such pressure from public opinion at all!
The reason was that the two companies were in different positions and adopted different strategies.
Tengda was a local company in the country. It was only right for it to be in charge of GPL operations and improving various benefits. The various clubs might have spent money to buy the slots, but the money was returned. Everyone spent it willingly.
On the other hand, the slots in the outer competition zone were auctioned. The highest bidder would win. The clubs would not complain no matter how high or low the slots were.
As for whether the outer competition zone had the benefits of the GPL, the clubs in the outer competition zone would go to the agency of the league even if they were not satisfied. They would not go directly to Tengda Corporation.
What's more, these clubs would not be too bothered about these special subsidies for food or fitness because they did not realize the importance. They had already saved money on the quota fees. It did not matter if these benefits were gone.
However, it was different for Finger Games.
It was precisely because they were an American company that they would be under greater pressure in the United States.
The American clubs would see why the ICL league's quota fees were so cheap. Finger Games even paid for the club's benefits. In the end, they had no benefits and had to spend seven million US dollars to buy a spot in the league?
Finger Games, are you still an American company or not?
It's fine if you want to promote IOI, but don't suck our blood to promote it!
Many players and audience felt indignant after this public opinion exploded, especially when many people began to bring up old scores.
Finger Games had a long history!
They had been sprayed with blood previously because they had set prices for different regions' skins. Originally, this matter had passed. Unexpectedly, Finger Games could not stop itself from eating sh * t. It acted up again!
What's more, Finger Games had branches in all the competition zones in the country. They were in charge of the construction work of all the competition zones. Thus, the clubs and audience would definitely point the finger at Finger Games if there were any problems.
New and old grudges were added together. In addition, many clubs were adding fuel to the fire behind the scenes, wanting to put pressure on Finger Games. Thus, once this matter was exposed, it immediately became a hot topic on the internet!
That was why the upper echelons of Finger Games called Eric immediately and asked him to resolve this matter.
As for how to resolve it?
Zhao Xuming could not guess, but Finger Games was probably going to continue to bleed this time.
Once such a crisis of public opinion erupted, it would be impossible to quell public anger without bleeding.
Zhao Xuming could not help but feel nervous.
Just now, Eric had sworn that the Northern American Region was Finger Games' home ground. The league would definitely be flawless and Tengda would not interfere.
What was going on now?
He had been slapped in the face on the spot!
Not only was there a problem, it was a huge problem!
"Could this have been arranged by Boss Pei as well? He deliberately chose this time to give Finger Games a head-on blow? "
"That's not right. Didn't Boss Pei just negotiate with us about the ICL league?"
"Could it be …"
"That's right. This public opinion incident is a precise blow to the ICS league. It has nothing to do with the ICL. Naturally, it will not affect the cooperation between our two companies …"
"This!"
Zhao Xuming was puzzled at first. Shouldn't Boss Pei be their ally now? Why did something like this happen again?
However, on further thought, Boss Pei and Eric's cooperation was only limited to the ICL league. In other competition zones around the world, the two were still sworn enemies and competitors!
Boss Pei did not seem to want to attack the ICL league and affect his own interests. Instead, he turned the spearhead to the Northern American Region. He directly took drastic measures and hit Finger Games' doorstep!
Zhao Xuming shuddered.
Boss Pei gave off the feeling that he was schizophrenic. He would happily cooperate with you while seriously taking out a dagger from his chest pocket. Without saying a word, he would stab you very straightforwardly!
Zhao Xuming suddenly wondered if his cooperation with Boss Pei was right or wrong …
…
The ICL exhibition competition was about to begin at 4 PM.
The members of the two clubs had already arrived at the competition venue in advance. The staff had also begun to make preparations to ensure that the competition could proceed smoothly.
Zhao Xuming watched the audience enter the venue one after another from the backstage.
The venue would definitely be full today. It was the first day after all. It would be too ugly to have empty seats. Fortunately, IOI's veteran players, internal employees, and additional tickets in Shanghai had already occupied most of the seats. It would not be a problem to hire some people to fill the remaining empty seats.
At that moment, Zhao Xuming noticed that Eric had returned.
"You're back! How's the matter? "Zhao Xuming quickly went up and asked.
Eric looked very tired. Obviously, his heart was tired. "We've basically confirmed the solution. The ICS quota will be changed to three million US dollars. The various clubs in the Northern American Region will also enjoy the same preferential treatment as the ICL, mainly in terms of food, fitness, and so on. "
Obviously, the result of the meeting at Finger Games was to admit defeat!
It was already late at night in Los Angeles. This video call had been going on for half the night. It was obvious how important this matter was to the upper echelons of Finger Games.
Finger Games would make an announcement early tomorrow morning to appease the clubs and players in the Northern American Region. They would be very sincere.
That was because the Northern American Region was their base camp. They could not do well in other places, but they had to do well in the ICS league!
The difference in treatment between the ICS league and the ICL league would indeed be a source of gossip. It was useless even if they emphasized that there were more investors in the ICS league and that the seats were more precious. This reason was very difficult to justify.
Thus, they could only admit defeat.
Finger Games would definitely lose a huge sum of money if the starting price for the league slot was reduced from seven million US dollars to three million US dollars.
There were only a few big clubs in the Northern American Region that could raise the price infinitely. There was no need to raise the price of this slot at all. They definitely hoped that everyone would get the best at the lowest price.
Thus, this slot would most likely be sold for four to five million US dollars in the end. Finger Games would lose two million US dollars for each slot.
As for the food and fitness subsidies for the clubs, although the amount did not seem to be much, it would be a continuous expenditure. The key was that these clubs might not necessarily be particularly grateful!
They would feel that this was a right that they had fought for and not a preferential treatment given to them by Finger Games.
That was why Eric was speechless. He had been doing well in the ICL when he was suddenly shot for no reason!
The money had nothing to do with him but it was obvious that the upper echelons of Finger Games had a lot of opinions about his actions. In order to promote the ICL league, the clubs and audience on the ICS side were very dissatisfied. Eric more or less had to take the blame.
If the ICL did not do well in the future, Eric would probably be in trouble if the upper echelons of Finger Games settled the accounts.
Zhao Xuming did not dare to dwell on this topic any longer when he saw that Eric was not very happy.
"It's good that it's resolved! That's an ICS matter after all. It has nothing to do with us. "
"The equipment here has all been adjusted. The preparations for Bunny Tail Live-Stream have also been completed. We're just waiting for the competition to begin!"
Eric nodded, took out his cell phone from his chest pocket, and opened the app for Bunny Tail Live-Stream.
The app for Bunny Tail Live-Stream was rather simple and even a little shabby but it still gave the ICL recommendation spots. There was a huge banner for the ICL league on the homepage once he entered. It was very eye-catching.
On the other hand, Tengda's GPL league had not even been broadcasted on Bunny Tail Live-Stream.
Eric temporarily forgot about the unhappiness from before and began to look forward to the official start of the exhibition competition!
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