January 21st, Saturday……

  Pei Qian packed his things and prepared to go home.

  The company was already on holiday. Most departments would only return to work on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, which would be next next Monday.

  Fish-Catching Take-Out, Upwind Logistics, and the other departments were all working on from the second day of the new year. They would take turns to rest from the second day of the new year to the eighth day of the new year. Of course, all employees who worked during the holidays would be paid overtime. Therefore, many employees in these departments did not want to take a break. Instead, they were eager to work overtime.

  This time, he just had to put his watch down without having to change his clothes and computer before returning home.

  That was because Pei Qian had told his parents that he was working at Fei Huang Workspace. What’s more, he was a veteran of Fei Huang Workspace. Thus, his income was quite good. Since that was the case, it would not seem strange if he wore expensive clothes when he returned home.

  The two elders had a higher estimate of Pei Qian’s income now that he had bought the house. Naturally, they did not care much about these things. What’s more, they could not tell if the suit cost a few thousand or tens of thousands.

  His parents had already moved to a house near the high-speed rail station. It was also in Jingzhou and was not far away. Thus, Pei Qian only brought a small backpack with some clothes and his own computer packed.

  They were still in the same city, and he was only staying for a week. There was no need to bring so much luggage.

  However, he still had to bring his computer along. Otherwise, it would be difficult to handle if something happened during the holiday.

  Pei Qian went downstairs and took the car home once he was done packing……

  At the same time, Qiu Hong had arrived at the airport and was waiting for his flight.

  He felt like it was a lifetime ago looking back at his work life in Beijing for the past few months.

  Qiu Hong sighed in his heart. How did I become the savior of domestically-produced and independent games as a game designer with paywalls?

  He could only say that the world was unpredictable.

  Since he had nothing to do, he took out his cell phone and checked the netizens’ comments about the change in the pre-sales price of Black Ink and Clouds.

  Last night, he arranged for his subordinates to adjust the pre-sales price of “Black Ink and Clouds” to five yuan. For players who had already paid the pre-sales, the price of the game would be reduced to 36 yuan. That meant that when the game was officially released, they only needed to pay another 21 yuan to purchase it.

  In addition, Qiu Hong also made an official announcement to apologize to the players who had already bought the game. He apologized for the impact of the changes in the pre-sales prices on them.

  As for why the pre-sales price was lowered, the announcement said: “After the pre-sales of ‘Black Ink and Clouds’ was opened, players showed extraordinary enthusiasm and support for the game. The research and development team was deeply moved by this. However, it was precisely because the players displayed enthusiasm that far exceeded expectations that we thought the pre-sales price was too high, so we lowered the pre-sales price. We are deeply sorry for the impact on players, and we have provided compensation plans for everyone.”


  Qiu Hong had tried his best for this announcement. That was because Boss Pei had made the decision to change the pre-sales price and compensate the players. The reason was that Boss Pei felt that pre-sales were actually transferring risks to players and should not be advocated.

  However, this reason could be discussed in private, but it would not be good to write it in the announcement. That would definitely dampen players’ enthusiasm to support domestically-produced independent games.

  Therefore, Qiu Hong himself could not really explain in detail in this announcement. He could only vaguely explain it.

  Qiu Hong felt that the players would probably still accept it, but they might also find it strange.

  He had to see how the netizens reacted.

  Qiu Hong quickly found the gamers’ discussion about the change in the pre-sales price of Black Ink and Clouds.

  “What do you mean? You changed the pre-sales price from 15 yuan to 5 yuan? That’s not necessary, right?”


  “Game developers confuse behavior.”


  “According to the announcement, the official platform thinks that the pre-sales price is too high because the players are very passionate? Why can’t I see the logic behind this?”


  “Could it be that the official platform thinks that more people would be able to buy the pre-sales for five yuan?”


  “That won’t happen. Those who are willing to buy pre-order games are basically players who support domestically-produced and independent games from the bottom of their hearts. For such players, whether they sell pre-order games for five yuan or fifteen yuan doesn’t make much of a difference. What’s more, they have to pay the final payment when the game is released. No matter if it’s priced at five yuan or fifteen yuan, the price of the game is still the same. What’s the difference?”


  “Apart from making less money, I don’t see any other impact……”


  “That’s very confusing.”


  Most players indeed felt that the official behavior of the ‘Destitution Plan’ was a little superfluous. The pre-order sales price was high and low. It was just the difference between getting the money earlier or later. There was no need to deliberately change the pre-sales price.

  However, just as most gamers were feeling confused, a post appeared on the internet, explaining the true intentions of the ‘Destitution Plan’!

  “I suddenly understand why Black Ink and Clouds lowered its pre-sales price!”


  “The official saying is that because the gamers’ enthusiasm for pre-order sales far exceeds expectations, the official platform realized that the pre-sales prices were too high.”


  “At first glance, this logical relationship doesn’t seem to be valid. Why does the official platform feel that the pre-sales price is set high because of players’ enthusiasm?”


  “I have to explain why independent games are so popular now.”


  “The pre-sales of independent games are mainly because the developers of independent games often lack money. They need to withdraw a portion of the funds in advance through pre-sales to better develop the remaining parts of the game.”


  “Black Ink and Clouds initially set the pre-sales price at 15 yuan. Obviously, they had a rough estimate of the remaining development costs through the expected sales volume. They felt that 15 yuan would be enough to support future development.”


  “However, they did not expect the sales volume to be three times higher than they had expected. The initial development cost that could only be maintained at fifteen yuan was now maintained at five yuan!”


  “That’s why the official platform decided to lower the pre-sales price.”


  “Some people say that this is making a mountain out of a molehill and that there’s no need for it. Five yuan and fifteen yuan is just the difference between paying more and less for the rest of the game.”


  “However, to the officials of the ‘Destitution Plan’, they must have felt that it would be good as long as they obtained the follow-up development funds. There was no need to set the pre-sales price so high. They would be suspected of scamming money. On the other hand, they must have felt that the interests of the players were no small matter and were fully respectful to the players. Therefore, even though it was obviously something beneficial to the players, they specially made an announcement to explain and apologize to the players.”


  “I can only say that the boss of the ‘Destitution Plan’ is indeed a sentimental and magnanimous person! Our support was not in vain!”


  The gamers were enlightened after the post was published.

  “So that was it!

  “Are the developers so restrained? They think that they can sustain the subsequent development costs, so they cut the pre-sales price from 15 yuan to 5 yuan?”


  “This can’t be considered as restraint. It can only be said that gentlemen love money and are good at obtaining it. Many independent games like to set up pre-sale sales to deceive others. They would first collect a wave of money and then slowly develop it. They would either not sell it for a long time or sell a half-finished product to fool others. However, the ‘Destitution Plan’ game has no such intention at all. Obviously, it is very confident in its own game!”


  “We have to support developers who value gamers so much!”


  “This developer is too kind. I can’t help but think of Tengda Games. This looks like something Boss Pei would do!”


  “However,it seems like the Destitution Plan has nothing to do with Tengda from the current information.”


  “That’s a good thing. It means that the gaming circle has produced another sentimental and conscientious boss. That’s a blessing for domestically-produced games!”


  “I’m going to post this on Weibo and get more people to pre-order ‘Black Ink and Clouds’!”


  Qiu Hong could not help but feel enlightened looking at the netizens’ discussions.

  So Boss Pei had such intentions?

  The changes to the pre-sales prices this time had not only left a good impression on the players, but also increased the number of pre-sales players!

  The number of pre-salesmen had increased further, whether it was because the popularity of the topic had increased, letting more people know, or because the pre-sales had dropped from 15 yuan to 5 yuan.

  Wouldn’t that increase the sales volume after the game was released?

  The pre-sales price of the game had been reduced, and discounts have been given to gamers who had already bought the game. This was definitely a good thing for gamers.

  On the other hand, the Destitution Plan had won both in face and in reality.

  This was a win-win situation!

  Qiu Hong could not help but feel emotional. Boss Pei was indeed Boss Pei. He could see the fundamentals of a simple operation! His control over the players’ mentality had reached the peak!……

  January 22nd, Sunday……

  Pei Qian woke up and washed up before seven in the morning.

  The two elders’ living conditions were much better now they had moved into the new house on the high-speed rail station.

  His parents had even specially left the master bedroom for him. The two elders insisted on staying in the second bedroom. Obviously, they had not completely given up on the idea of letting him make this house a wedding house.

  Pei Qian was speechless, but there was nothing he could do. It looked like he could only buy a house to let his parents live in peace after he lost some money.

  Pei Qian went to the living room after washing up.

  His mother was cooking in the kitchen while Old Pei was making tea in the living room.

  The two elders were shocked to see Pei Qian wake up.

  “Son, why are you up so early? I thought you would sleep until nine. Have some water first. Breakfast is almost ready.” His mother continued preparing breakfast after saying that.

  Old Pei nodded in satisfaction. “Not bad, son. Your working hours are quite healthy now. Keep it up, do you hear me?”


  Pei Qian took out his Bluetooth earphones and put them on. Then, he sat on the sofa and opened the live-stream of IOI’s global finals on his cell phone.

  The two elders had obviously misunderstood. Would Pei Qian wake up early if there was nothing special?

  If IOI’s global finals did not exist, Pei Qian could have slept all the way to 10 AM. Why would he wake up before 7 AM?

  He opened the live-stream. The time was just right. The competition would begin in a few minutes.

  Pei Qian might have said that he was giving up but he was actually still paying attention to the FV Team.

  “God bless us. Everything will be fine as long as you don’t crush the championship……”
……

  The finals was the pinnacle showdown between FV Team and FRY Team. The attention had already been maxed out before the competition.

  The FV Team was not favored at the start. During the group stages, they had been mocked by foreigners as “cn IOI noob”. However, no one dared to question their strength anymore after they achieved two 3: 0 in the top eight and top four competitions.

  FRY had also advanced triumphantly to the finals as the strongest veteran team in Europe and the United States. They had lost two or three minor games, but the tenacity and strength displayed in the competition could not be underestimated.

  The commentators on the official platform of Finger Games thought that this would be an evenly matched and exciting competition. From their personal standpoint, they were obviously more supportive of the FRY Team.

  It was the same competition venue as before. However, compared to the top eight and top four, the standard of today’s competition was even higher.

  Finger Games specially invited a famous rock band from Europe and America to sing the theme song before the competition began. There was also a very cool cosplay performance. The venue quickly became a sea of revelry amidst the applause and cheers!

  Chrétien and Zhao Xuming sat in the front row with grave expressions.

  Chrétien had secretly sent two Balancers of Finger Games to the FRY team to help them analyze the new version’s data and provide tactical support for the FRY team.

  FRY’s tactical reserves must have improved during this week’s preparation.

  However, no one could say for sure if they could win against the FV Team.

  That was because FV Team’s current strength was a mystery to everyone. They were training on the second floor of the internet cafe every day. No one knew what they were practicing.

  The accompanying data team kept their mouths shut, and there were bodyguards guarding the door. It was an impregnable fortress.

  Chrétien did not dare to play any despicable tricks, such as asking his engineers to check the game data. After all, two may keep counsel putting one away. If the official game data was exposed, it would be a huge scandal. Chrétien would probably not be able to bear the consequences.

  Sending two Balancers to FRY secretly and providing them with a bit of tactical support was the limit that Chrétien could do. It also posted a huge risk.

  No one knew the outcome of this battle. Chrétien and Zhao Xuming could not help but feel nervous as they watched the FV team members’ confident expressions.

  He had thought that they were five noobs, but he had not expected them to fight their way to the finals. All the clubs in the world and Finger Games combined could do nothing to them!