wavenovel Chapter 378 Infinite Power
Chapter 378 Infinite Power
Upon hearing this, Lu Ran sat up in bed.
Shen Yuege also sat up, looking at him with a question mark in her eyes.
Lu Ran put her phone on speakerphone and placed it in the middle of the pillow.
"Brother Zhou, say it again. Who's collaborating with whom?"
"Sakura Games and EA," Zhou Mingzhe's voice came through the phone. "I just received news that the two sides have signed a strategic cooperation agreement. Sakura Games will open its user channels and localized operation resources in the Japanese market to EA. In exchange, EA will transfer part of the operation rights of 'Wilderness Era' in the Chinese market to Sakura Games. Not all of it, just part of it. I haven't received the specific terms, but the general direction has been set."
Lu Ran leaned against the headboard, staring at the ceiling of the carriage.
His mind worked quickly, and he considered the message from all angles.
Sakura Games and EA.
The king of distribution channels in the Japanese market and the king of technology in the European and American markets.
This collaboration between the two companies is indeed big news.
"And another thing," Zhou Mingzhe continued, "Weibo has also gotten involved. Wang Huabing signed an exclusive community cooperation agreement with EA, and Weibo will become EA's official community cooperation platform in the Chinese market. All official information, event announcements, and player communities for EA games will be first released on Weibo. Moreover, Weibo has promised to provide EA with a series of resources, such as splash screen ads, top-ranked topics, and trending searches."
"Wang Huabing is quite quick," Lu Ran said.
"What do you mean fast? They started negotiating last month and only just finalized it. Is that fast? I suspect EA was hesitant all along and only made their decision after Sakura Games entered the fray."
Lu Ran thought about it and felt that Zhou Mingzhe's analysis made sense.
Large companies like EA don't make decisions quickly. Wang Huabing contacted them last month, and they said they needed to report back. It's only now that they've given a reply, which means they must have weighed the options repeatedly.
The addition of Sakura Games may have been a catalyst, making EA feel it had a more comprehensive presence in the Chinese market—it has its own products, Perfect World for operations, Sakura Games for distribution channels, and Weibo for community. Each party manages its own area, making it seem quite complete.
"What impact will this have on us?" Lu Ran asked.
Zhou Mingzhe sighed on the other end of the phone: "The impact is significant. After the news of Sakura Games' collaboration with EA was released, our market share was squeezed. Not by much, but it's definitely dropping. Specifically, the number of League of Legends users hasn't decreased much, and the retention rate is still stable, but the average user playtime has started to decline. Last week, the average person played for 93 minutes a day, and this week it dropped to 87 minutes. Six minutes isn't much, but the trend is wrong."
"What about the other data?"
"Daily active users haven't changed much, still around 2.3 million. The paid conversion rate hasn't changed either, it's still at the same level. It's just that the playtime is dropping. I've analyzed it, and the users who are dropping playtime are mainly of two types: high-end players and young players. These two types of people happen to be EA's target users."
Lu Ran nodded.
High-end gamers seek high-quality games, while young gamers crave novelty; EA's Wildlands perfectly caters to both groups.
"Brother Zhou, what do you think?"
Zhou Mingzhe paused for a moment, then said, "I don't think we need to be too nervous. Although the other party's cooperation is aggressive, several companies suddenly coming together will definitely require a period of adjustment. Sakura Games and EA have different cultures, different work rhythms, and different decision-making processes, so it's impossible for them to cooperate seamlessly in the short term. Not to mention Weibo, what does Wang Huabing have now? He has users, but those users don't play EA games. To get them to play, we have to cultivate them slowly; it's not a problem that can be solved by signing an agreement."
"Anything else?"
"Also, although our users' playtime dropped, they didn't leave. The retention rate remained the same, which means that users still appreciate League of Legends; they're just spending more time on other games. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. A player can't spend all their time on one game; they'll always try others. If they find ours to be better after trying them, they'll come back."
Lu Ran leaned against the headboard, a smile playing on his lips.
Zhou Mingzhe is a man who usually keeps a low profile, but when something really happens, he's clear-headed than anyone else.
"You're right," Lu Ran said, "but there's another reason you didn't mention."
"What's the reason?"
"The Chinese New Year is almost here."
Zhou Mingzhe was taken aback: "Chinese New Year?"
"Yes. During the Chinese New Year, most people are busy. Busy buying New Year's goods, busy cleaning, busy visiting relatives, busy socializing. It's normal for game time to drop. It's not just us; the entire game industry is experiencing a decline. If you look at EA's data, I bet their game time has also fluctuated in the past two weeks."
The sound of typing came from the other end of the phone; Zhou Mingzhe was checking data.
After a dozen seconds, he said, "You're absolutely right. The average playtime for EA's Wildlands has dropped by three percent compared to last week. Not much, but it's definitely gone down."
"So don't panic," Lu Ran said. "A drop in playtime isn't necessarily a bad thing; it could also mean that users genuinely haven't had time to play during this period."
Shen Yuege listened from the side without interrupting.
She leaned on Lu Ran's shoulder and drew circles on his chest with her finger, which tickled him a little, so he reached out and pressed her hand down.
Shen Yuege struggled for a moment, but couldn't break free, so she stopped moving.
"So what's next?" Zhou Mingzhe asked. "What are your thoughts?"
Lu Ran didn't answer immediately; something was swirling in his mind.
The New Year period is the most active time for game users, and also the time when players have the most money.
This judgment came from his past life experience. Year-end bonuses were being distributed, students were on winter break, and everyone had received their New Year's money. Everyone had money in their pockets and time.
Whoever can capture users during the Chinese New Year period will gain the upper hand in the new year.
There are still about three weeks until the Chinese New Year, which is just enough time to create something new.
"Hey Zhou, I have a question for you. How's Lao Wang's progress with Minecraft?"
"Progress is normal. The code has been largely digested, Zhao Yiming has thoroughly mastered the Redstone system, and Zhang Hao is also working on optimizing the world generation algorithm. The first internal test version should be released before the end of the year."
"No rush," Lu Ran said. "Tell them to stop for a moment."
Zhou Mingzhe was taken aback: "Stop? Why?"
"Because I'm going to create something new. A limited-time mode, only available during the Chinese New Year period."
"What mode?"
Lu Ran sat up straight, his eyes shining: "Unlimited Power."
"What?"
"Infinite Firepower. No skill cooldowns, unlimited mana, and doubled attack speed. Once players enter, they can unleash skills at will, until their hands are sore. A game can be finished in just over ten minutes, the pace is incredibly fast, and the fun is off the charts."
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone. Then Zhou Mingzhe's voice rang out, clearly confused: "Skills with no cooldown? Wouldn't that create chaos?"
"Let it be chaotic. Chaos is good. It's Chinese New Year, after all, it's all about the fun and excitement. If you make players play ranked matches in a rigid, predictable way, they won't have the patience during the holiday. Let them go in and unleash their skills freely, have their fun, and play for ten minutes a game. They won't feel bad if they lose, and they'll be even happier if they win. That's what the holiday should be about."
Zhou Mingzhe was silent for a few seconds, then his voice became much more serious: "Is this model technically difficult? How long will it take Lao Wang to finish it?"
"Not much. No skill cooldown, unlimited mana—those parameters can be adjusted. Doubling attack speed isn't difficult either; it's just a matter of changing a few values. The most troublesome thing is balance, but this mode doesn't need balance. Why would you balance it? It's a free-for-all mode; whoever has the best luck wins. Players don't care about winning or losing; they care about whether they're having fun."
"What about the map? The map from Super Smash Bros.?"
"No. The ARAM map is one lane, while URF requires the entire map. Let's use the Summoner's Rift map directly, but with some modifications. Remove some of the turret damage to encourage players to engage more aggressively. Halve the respawn time so they can come back immediately after dying and continue fighting. In short—don't let players stop, or they'll get bored."
Zhou Mingzhe quickly took notes on the other end of the phone, and after finishing, asked, "When did you come up with this model?"
"Just now, when you called..."
"You came up with a new model as soon as you answered the phone?"
"What's wrong? Is it strange?"
Zhou Mingzhe sighed: "It's not surprising. That's just how you are, I'm used to it."
Lu Ran laughed: "Then tell Lao Wang to put Minecraft on hold for now and focus all his energy on developing the Infinite Firepower mode. Three weeks, is that enough time?"
"That's enough. Old Wang has enough manpower, and the technical difficulty isn't too high. But there's one problem."
"What's the problem?"
"Will the release of URF (Ultra Rapid Fire) affect ranked and ARAM (All Random All Mid) players? What if everyone's playing URF and nobody plays ranked?"
Lu Ran thought for a moment: "Don't worry. URF is a limited-time mode, not a permanent one. It will be open for a month during the Chinese New Year holiday and then closed afterward. Players will naturally go back to ranked matches once they've had their fill. Besides, the purpose of this mode is to retain users, not to replace other modes. During the Chinese New Year holiday, other games are vying for users, so we need something to compete with them. URF is that thing."
Zhou Mingzhe jotted down a few more notes on the other end of the phone, then said, "Okay. I'll discuss this with Lao Wang tomorrow. Anything else?"
"Yes. The operations department should prepare the promotional activities during the Chinese New Year period in advance. Regular activities such as signing in to give away skins, playing games to win prizes, and inviting friends back to give away heroes should be included. But don't make them too complicated. Players won't have the patience to read the rules during the Chinese New Year. Keep it simple and direct. Just click to participate, and the prizes should be attractive. Don't be stingy, give away what you should give away."
Zhou Mingzhe laughed: "Aren't you always so stingy? Why are you being so generous today?"
"Because it's Chinese New Year. It's customary not to be stingy during Chinese New Year."
"Okay. I'll have Xiao Yang prepare. Is there anything else?"
Lu Ran thought for a moment and said, "That's all. Keep a close eye on things over there, and call me anytime if anything happens. I'm in Guangdong Province now, the signal is okay, I can receive calls."
"Okay. Have fun and don't worry too much. I'll take care of things at the company."
"I'm not worried about it. I'm just suggesting an idea; you guys handle the specifics."
Zhou Mingzhe chuckled: "Proposing ideas is more tiring than doing the actual work. If you suggest 'Unlimited Firepower,' Lao Wang will be working overtime for at least two weeks."
"There's nothing we can do about it. He's the technical lead, after all."
"Oh, right, there's one more thing."
"Any other arrangements?" Zhou Mingzhe, who was about to hang up the phone, asked again after hearing Lu Ran's words.
"Next time, no matter what it is, don't call me in the middle of the night. I'm not at the villa right now, it's inconvenient for me, okay?"
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