Chapter 845 Apologize to the Players!

After looking through the online discussions related to "Ink and Cloud" and "The Poor Project", Pei Qian finally understood why there were so many pre-orders.

Because Qiu Hong bundled "Ink, Cloud and Mist", "Poor Road Project" and "Survival Manual for Office Workers" together for publicity!

The promotional video of "Project Poor Road" can cause such a warm response. On the one hand, it touched the common memories of many players and aroused widespread resonance. On the other hand, it also because there are high-quality domestic independent games as an introduction.

If there is no game and only a promotional video, it is impossible to trigger such a warm response.

"Ink and Cloud" is just a trial demo, and this demo alone is obviously not enough.

This is also the reason why Qiu Hong didn't formulate a publicity plan at the beginning: without an opportunity, naturally the best publicity effect cannot be achieved.

However, the unexpected explosion of "Survival Manual for Office Workers" provided such an opportunity for the publicity of the Qiertu Project!

Now is the time before the Spring Festival, when companies large and small hold annual meetings and distribute year-end bonuses.

The vast majority of office workers are dissatisfied with the treatment provided by their companies. Many people are planning to change jobs after receiving their year-end bonuses and annual leave.

The release of "Survival Handbook for Office Workers" resonated with those office workers very much, and the response was good. It not only became popular in the circle of independent game lovers, but also successfully "out of the circle". Many office workers who do not play games also Know this game.

With the success of "Salary Worker Survival Manual", Qiu Hong deeply tied "Ink and Wash Clouds" and "Poor Road Project" with it, letting players know: the original "Salary Worker Survival Manual" was able to be produced smoothly because Funding from the "Qiantu Project", and the "Qiantu Project" has also funded many excellent independent game projects, such as "Ink and Cloud".

Therefore, the popularity of "Survival Manual for Office Workers", the feelings of domestic independent game fans, and the expectations of players for domestic independent games have all been integrated together, which has achieved such a good publicity effect!

It can be said that without any of the demos of "Survival Manual for Office Workers", "Ink and Clouds" and the promotional video of "Project Poor Road", it is impossible to achieve the current effect!

What a coincidence.

Looking at the growing number of pre-orders, Pei Qian felt a little dizzy.

In just one afternoon, the pre-sale sales of this game have already exceeded 50,000 copies, and judging by the current popularity, it is very likely that it will double by ten times in the next week!

Although domestic independent game players are a minority group compared to mainstream players, in terms of size, no matter how small they are, there are always millions of active players.

Moreover, the smaller the circle, the more attention will be paid to excellent domestic independent games. I am afraid that "Ink and Cloud" will soon spark heated discussions in the circle of independent game players like "Survival Manual for Office Workers"!

Pei Qian pinched his fingers and felt something was wrong.

The official price of "Ink and Cloud" is 45 yuan, which is considered to be above the middle level among domestic independent games. This pre-sale is not a full pre-sale, but a third of the payment, which is 15 yuan.

According to the current trend, if 500,000 copies are sold in the next week, the official platform's account will be credited just before settlement.

The only good news is that the game is not published in the name of Tenda, so it does not enjoy the privilege of Tenda's high share, and it can only get 60% including the special preferential policy for independent games.

On this basis, Tenda takes 30%.

That is to say, before the settlement, there will be at least 1.3 million accounted for the pre-sale of "Ink and Cloud" alone!

And on top of that, there's the money earned from The Salary Survival Manual.

The money doesn't seem to be much, but Pei Qian feels that he is now like a camel full of straw. When it comes to settlement, this nonsensical over one million may be the difference from heaven to hell.

What if I earn more than one million yuan? Then who to ask for reasoning?

Pei Qian was so angry.

How could this Qiu Hong find trouble for me at such a critical moment!

Can't we go home for the New Year honestly? Do you have to make a promotional video the day before the holiday? Then send a DEMO to earn some pre-sale money?

unacceptable!

Thinking of this, Pei Qian immediately called Qiu Hong.

...

At this moment, Qiu Hongcai had just invited everyone in the incubation base to finish their big meal, and returned to the house he rented in the imperial capital to pack up their things, preparing to catch a flight home early tomorrow morning.

Qiu Hong couldn't help being a little surprised when he received a call from President Pei.

"Did Mr. Pei see that the video of the Qiertu Project was very popular, so he was very happy and called to affirm the results of my work?"

Previously, the entire incubation base had completed two games in total, and none of them sold well, but even so, Mr. Pei still praised Qiu Hong, saying that the effect was remarkable and the progress was rapid, and he asked him to make persistent efforts.

Qiu Hong pondered, according to such a judgment standard, two games, "Survival Manual for Office Workers" and "Ink and Clouds" are released, and the video response of "Project Poor Road" is also good. Why is Mr. Pei so happy?

He hurriedly picked up the phone, waiting to receive Mr. Pei's praise.

However, Mr. Pei's first sentence stopped him immediately.

"Who asked you to put the semi-finished game on the official platform for pre-order?!"

Pei Qian's tone was a little harsh, because he was really angry.

This game is obviously not finished yet, you honestly release it in the next cycle, don't affect my settlement for this cycle!

As a result, Qiu Hong's pre-order directly caught Pei Qian off guard.

Qiu Hong was stunned for a moment, then said in a dazed way: "Mr. Pei, isn't pre-sale such a thing very common in the independent game circle..."

Pei Qian couldn't help being silent for a moment: "Uh..."

He thought about it, and there was nothing wrong with what Qiu Hong said.

ESRO’s official platform actually encourages pre-sale of independent games, and the reason is very simple. It’s nothing more than crowdfunding.

Independent game producers often want money and resources, and there are bound to be various compromises in the production process. If you want to achieve a high degree of completion of the game, the conditions in various aspects are actually not allowed.

The pre-sale can allow those indie games with good quality and loved by players to get some money in advance. On the one hand, it can maintain the development costs, and on the other hand, it can also enhance the confidence of the producers.

Of course, there may be some producers who are not good enough to be suspected of defrauding money, such as updating a very interesting DEMO, and after getting a large amount of pre-sale money, they will start to develop slowly, turning the game into a series in their lifetime. not online.

However, the official platform also has corresponding punitive measures for such producers, and such people are a minority after all, and this regulation that is beneficial to all independent game producers cannot be canceled just because of individual black apples.

Therefore, Qiu Hong's pre-sale of the DEMO of "Ink and Cloud" is indeed in line with the usual routine of independent games, and it is an act advocated by the official platform.

Therefore, Pei Qian's question seemed a little unreasonable.

After a moment of silence, Pei Qian said confidently: "Why do other indie games like pre-sales? It's because those producers are short of money, so they can only get development funds through pre-sales!"

"Is the producer of the poor project short of development funds?"

Qiu Hong was stopped by the question: "Uh, this..."

Pei Qian didn't give him too much time to react, and continued: "Since there is no shortage of money, why do you want to pre-sell?"

"The pre-sale is actually equivalent to taking advantage of the sympathy of the players, and transferring the risk of subsequent game development failure from the developers to the players."

"The reason why the official platform supports this behavior is mainly because the conditions of most independent game producers are too poor, and players need to contribute and support."

"Although this kind of behavior is a willingness to play and a willingness to suffer, in the final analysis, it still damages the interests of the players. The best way should be to pay with one hand and deliver with one hand. After the game is finished and released, players like it. purchase."

"Since the independent game producers of the Qiertu Project are not short of money, then there should be no pre-sales, and the game will be released directly after the development of the game is completed?"

Qiu Hong was at a loss for words for a while: "This..."

He suddenly felt that Mr. Pei's words really made sense!

In fact, Qiu Hong just made a pre-sale according to the routine of independent games, and didn't think too much about it, but after a closer look now, this kind of behavior is indeed a bit inappropriate.

Qiu Hong hurriedly asked: "Then Mr. Pei, what should we do now?"

Pei Qian thought for a while and asked, "Can you change the pre-order payment to 0? Then refund those players who have already paid."

Qiu Hong hesitated for a moment: "Uh...Mr. Pei, changing it to 0 won't work, the minimum change to one-third of the current amount, which is five yuan; the refund procedure will be more troublesome, and the authority is not enough, maybe the ESRO official will not pass."

"It's still possible if you come out in person as Tengda, but this is tantamount to announcing the relationship between Tengda and the Qiertu Project..."

Pei Qian immediately said: "That must not work. If that's the case, let's change the pre-order price to 5 yuan. For those players who have already paid 15 yuan to pre-order, we will compensate you."

Qiu Hong said again: "Also, Mr. Pei, the government has always been not very supportive of this kind of price change, because whether it is a price increase or a price reduction, it will actually affect the interests of the players."

Pei Qian nodded: "Well, it's understandable."

"Our behavior must have affected the interests of the players, and we have to apologize and make up for it!"

"Well, like I said before, the pre-order price is changed to 5 yuan. For those who have already paid, the game will be directly discounted by 20, which is 36 yuan. Then I will send an announcement to apologize, saying that I did not expect players We are so enthusiastic, we feel that the previous pre-order price was set high, and now it is lowered a bit, and we hope players can understand.”

For Pei Qian, if he cut the pre-order price from 15 yuan to 5 yuan at once, then the money earned from the "Ink and Cloud" demo this week can be reduced by at least hundreds of thousands.

It is also good to be able to take a handful of straw off the camel's back.

As for those players who have pre-ordered for 15 yuan, Pei Qian just took this opportunity to give them a discount and make a little less money.

Qiu Hong hurriedly said: "Okay Mr. Pei, I will communicate with the people on the official platform."