Losing Money to Become a Tycoon: Starting with Games
Chapter 454: Sorry, President Pei, You'll Have to Wait a Little Longer
After returning to his office, Pei Qian hurriedly opened his computer and checked the review section for Glory of Gods.
The moment he saw the game's rating, his heart instantly sank.
On the official gaming platform, the mobile version of GOG had somehow achieved a score of 9.1!
Pei Qian checked several other mobile distribution platforms as well, and their ratings were all hovering around 9 points too!
And judging from the activity level in the comment sections, players seemed extremely satisfied with the game!
Even casually skimming a few comments made Pei Qian feel his heart pound nervously.
"Tengda Group actually ported GOG to mobile this quickly? Holy crap, what an amazing surprise! Now I can queue with my friends on my phone!"
"I originally thought it'd be a half-finished product, but the level of polish is insanely high. Both the controls and UI were heavily optimized for mobile players' habits, and I haven't encountered a single bug from start to finish. Must give a positive review!"
"I was originally wondering which PC game would win between Divine Revelation, IOI, and GOG, but Tengda Group really pulled a sneaky move here—GOG just ran straight to the mobile market and stopped competing with the other two entirely!"
"GOG's gameplay itself is already excellent. The simplified controls and faster pace actually make it even more suitable for mobile. You can only say that the game's designers knew exactly what their strengths were from the very beginning. Five-star review!"
"Taking a mature gameplay formula, polishing it this well, and even pushing it further—Tengda Group's development capabilities really are top-tier in the country. It gives off this feeling of 'in martial arts, speed is everything!'"
"Being able to log in directly with a Tengda Group gaming account is amazing, and the data syncs completely with the PC version too! Plus skin purchases are finally available now! Coin-Spraying Hedgehog's epic skin, here I come!"
Unwilling to accept reality, Pei Qian continued scrolling downward.
After flipping through two or three pages of comments, he still couldn't find a single negative review!
He felt dizzy.
But after thinking about it carefully, this phenomenon actually wasn't strange at all.
Because the timing of GOG Mobile's release was incredibly special.
If GOG's mobile version had launched only after IOI had already dominated the PC gaming market for years, it would have ended up in a very awkward situation:
If it differed too much from IOI, players who had already become accustomed to IOI's gameplay style would find GOG Mobile uncomfortable and difficult to adapt to.
But if it copied IOI too closely, then even if it became popular, it would inevitably get criticized as a shameless clone.
However, the current situation was completely different. On the PC side, the various games were still locked in a chaotic struggle. IOI had only managed to seize a slight early advantage overseas, and while it was fairly popular domestically, it was still far from reaching complete dominance.
At this moment, GOG Mobile's launch achieved two important things simultaneously:
On one hand, it gave players a mobile gaming experience that didn't feel inferior to PC games at all.
On the other hand, because the game's character design, gameplay improvements, and overall packaging were all excellent enough, people didn't view it as a copycat.
After all, many players already considered IOI itself to be a clone of Divine Revelation. Comparatively speaking, the differences between GOG and IOI were actually greater than the differences between IOI and Divine Revelation…
Although Pei Qian had initially said, "Just copy Divine Revelation," during GOG's development process, after countless revisions based on feedback from He Desheng, Bao Xu, and the players at Moyu Internet Café, GOG had already transformed into a completely different game.
Aside from the fact that everyone still fought along three lanes, there were very few similarities left.
Combined with advantages such as the mobile version's stability and lack of bugs, complete data synchronization with the PC version, and the ability to log in directly using a Tengda Group gaming account, the first wave of players all shared the same reaction:
Pure amazement.
No one had ever imagined they'd be able to play such a complex, high-quality game on a phone!
Previously, Blood War Anthem: Enhanced Edition had also launched a mobile version and received a fairly positive response, but compared to GOG, it immediately seemed utterly insignificant.
Of course, as more and more players joined in and the game became increasingly popular, the rating would inevitably decline over time and eventually fall below 9 points.
But at least for now, GOG Mobile could practically be described as having an absolutely perfect opening: both critically acclaimed and commercially successful!
Clearly, quite a few people were already unable to resist the urge to buy skins, and a whole new wave of revenue was about to arrive…
Pei Qian hurriedly downloaded the mobile version of GOG onto his phone and opened it up to take a look.
After playing a single match, he felt even more uneasy about the situation.
Previously, he had already tried the unfinished PC version of GOG, but back then he hadn't been particularly worried. At the time, GOG's level of completion was still low. Aside from certain gameplay systems—such as fixed lane assignments—which were ahead of IOI, it lagged behind IOI in almost every other aspect, including balance, heroes, and gameplay polish.
So back then, Pei Qian believed that as long as it couldn't beat IOI in the PC gaming market, it would definitely lose money.
But once it entered the mobile gaming space, everything changed!
Because phone screens were smaller and player expectations were relatively lower, even if GOG lacked some finer gameplay details, players were extremely forgiving and simply didn't care much about those flaws!
And after being adapted for mobile controls, GOG's advantages in gameplay systems became fully apparent.
Players only needed to play a single match to realize that GOG Mobile felt more exciting, faster-paced, and easier to pick up, so naturally they praised it endlessly!
Of course, many players still found it difficult to adapt to touchscreen controls. They felt mobile gaming inherently sacrificed certain aspects compared to PC gaming, and instinctively resisted it somewhat.
But at that point, another one of GOG's major advantages revealed itself: cross-platform account synchronization between PC and mobile!
Players could choose to play either on PC or on mobile. And players from different platforms were matched separately, ensuring competitive fairness.
In short, judging from its current launch performance, GOG Mobile was practically perfect!
The only thing it lacked was time. As long as its content continued to expand over time, the game would naturally keep improving and growing stronger.
Of course, there was always the possibility that other mobile MOBAs might eventually surpass it later.
Pei Qian then checked the in-game store and realized the entire system looked very similar to Ocean Fortress's monetization model—except there were no absurdly overpriced 888-yuan items.
At the moment, GOG had more than twenty heroes, and each hero came with a default classic skin and one "Brave" skin.
Additionally, some heroes also had Epic or Legendary skins, though not every hero had one yet.
Presumably, they simply hadn't had enough time and resources to create Legendary skins for every character.
As for pricing, all heroes were free, but there was a "mastery" system. Only after reaching a certain mastery level could players use that hero in PvP matches; otherwise, the hero could only be used against AI opponents.
Brave skins were awarded for free after reaching maximum mastery with a hero. These skins featured redesigned models, fully remade textures, and a small number of exclusive visual effects.
Epic skins cost 18 yuan. They included remodeled character designs, altered effects, richer animation layers, and a small amount of exclusive voice lines.
Legendary skins cost 45 yuan. These featured extremely detailed models, exclusive recall animations, unique voice lines, and special skill effects—absolutely enough to make players feel they were getting excellent value for money.
In addition, there were also various limited skins obtainable through many different methods—for example, playing the game for a certain amount of time or reaching sufficiently high arena rankings.
This aspect was similar to Ocean Fortress as well.
The skins themselves provided absolutely no stat bonuses. They simply looked cooler.
As for any other monetization points? There were none at all.
After seeing these prices, Pei Qian finally let out a small sigh of relief.
Thank goodness. These prices were completely acceptable.
It seemed the "Tengda Spirit" had indeed influenced things after all!
Pei Qian felt that this pricing strategy alone should greatly reduce how much money the game could earn for him.
The store model had clearly learned from Ocean Fortress's successful experience: many rewards could be earned for free simply by investing time, and even the most expensive skins only cost 45 yuan. It was practically absurdly consumer-friendly.
"Thank goodness the game's monetization isn't aggressive."
"Thinking about it that way, since GOG's player base still isn't that huge in the early stages, the revenue should still remain within a tolerable range for me…"
Unable to resist, Pei Qian started another match.
After finishing it, he casually purchased Zadkiel's "Single Blade Meeting" skin.
"…You know, not gonna lie, this stupid game is actually pretty fun."
Ever since transmigrating into this world, this was the first time Pei Qian had played a mobile game like this.
Although he had previously played Divine Revelation, that had been on PC. For a mildly clumsy player like Pei Qian, GOG Mobile was obviously much more user-friendly.
After playing two matches, Pei Qian suddenly felt that… maybe turning the game into a mobile title actually wasn't such a bad thing?
Sure, it would create more financial pressure for him and make him earn more money, but at least this world now had a MOBA mobile game, along with his own exclusive skin…
That meant one more form of entertainment for him to enjoy. Not bad at all!
As he casually explored the menus, Pei Qian suddenly noticed an advanced option prominently displayed in the settings interface.
"Hm? High frame-rate mode?"
Without even thinking, he tapped on it. Obviously, high frame rates provided major improvements for competitive games like this.
Although it would increase battery consumption and make the phone heat up more, the improved gameplay experience was clearly worth it.
However, after tapping the option, Pei Qian discovered that it was grayed out. Pressing it only caused a small message to pop up:
"High frame-rate mode is only available on devices with high-refresh-rate screens. For a better gaming experience, we recommend using the OTTO E1 phone."
The message remained for a moment before disappearing.
Pei Qian: "…"
Silently, he tapped the button again and carefully reread the message word for word.
Then he smacked his forehead.
"Holy shit!!!"
…
…
OTTO Technology.
Chang You was simultaneously monitoring the number of orders on the company website while watching a recently uploaded phone review video from a popular tech media outlet.
Ever since GOG officially launched that morning, sales figures—which had previously entered a slow growth phase—had once again begun rising rapidly!
One order after another streamed in, and OTTO phones were continuously shipped out from the warehouse to destinations all over the country. Most orders came from Jingzhou and Lin City, but there were also purchases from Beijing, Shanghai, and many other cities!
At this moment, the video Chang You was watching was an in-depth review of the OTTO E1 phone.
"Recently, there's been quite a lot of controversy surrounding this phone. Some people say it's extremely consumer-friendly, while others claim it's an 'IQ tax' product relying entirely on artificial scarcity marketing."
"To provide everyone with a comprehensive review, our review team specifically stayed in Jingzhou after the launch event so we could fully experience this phone's unique advantages."
"And during this process, we discovered that this phone is practically like a treasure chest, it constantly surprises us in new ways anytime and anywhere!"
"From food, clothing, housing, and transportation to work and entertainment, the improvement in quality of life this phone provides is absolutely worth far more than eight thousand yuan!"
"First, let's begin with Moyu Internet Café—"
In the video, the review team used the OTTO E1 phone to personally experience nearly all of the bundled benefits included with it, documenting the entire process from beginning to end!
The few benefits they didn't experience weren't skipped intentionally—they simply couldn't access them. For example, the Nameless Restaurant was so difficult to reserve that getting a booking on short notice was basically impossible.
And at the end of the review, they also gave a detailed comparison of how different the gameplay experience became when playing GOG with high frame-rate mode enabled on the OTTO E1 compared to other phones.
This section had clearly been rushed to completion right before publication.
By the time Chang You saw the review video, it had already gone viral, and the view count was rapidly climbing!
Previously, a few other review outlets had also released videos about the phone, but most of them focused only on the hardware—basically just introducing standard specifications like the high-refresh-rate display, dual speakers, and so on.
That was simply the standard process for reviewing most smartphones.
And in order to actually experience all the bundled benefits, reviewers would need to stay in Jingzhou for a long period of time, which most media outlets simply didn't have the patience for.
But this particular review outlet had clearly remained in Jingzhou ever since the launch event, personally experiencing all of the included perks. Only today had they finally completed filming and editing before releasing the finished video!
And with the simultaneous launch of GOG Mobile, this beautifully produced video immediately exploded in popularity the moment it was uploaded!
Previously, many people had already known that the phone came with all kinds of special perks, but they lacked any truly intuitive understanding of them, so the phone's appeal remained somewhat limited.
But after actually seeing these benefits demonstrated in the video, many viewers could no longer suppress their urge to buy the phone.
Not to mention that the device could also enable high frame-rate mode, perfectly complementing the newly released GOG Mobile!
And it wasn't merely a gaming device either—it was itself a high-performance smartphone with excellent battery life, while also functioning as a walking Tengda Group membership card!
Judging from feedback from the first wave of users, the phone used fairly mature technologies and a reliable manufacturing partner, resulting in excellent quality control. Even if some devices developed small issues, users could immediately exchange them for new units and have their problems properly resolved.
As a result, many people's desire to purchase the phone was reignited, and all the inventory that had previously been stockpiled frantically finally became useful!
Starting from that morning, orders began pouring in continuously, while warehouse inventory steadily shrank at an increasingly rapid pace!
Just as Chang You was getting excited, his phone rang.
Seeing that it was President Pei calling, he hurriedly answered.
"Hello? President Pei?"
On the other end of the line, Pei Qian's voice sounded somewhat gloomy.
"Send me a phone. I want to try GOG's high frame-rate mode."
Chang You glanced at the computer screen and hesitated for a moment before replying:
"Sorry, President Pei… you may have to wait a little while."
"The phones… just sold out."
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Tn: I updated the story once a day, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 536: Still Going with the "Bare Walls" Style[1]
Link: https://www.patreon.com/HannibalNotBarca/posts/losing-money-to-164800513?collection=1399284[2]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/HannibalNotBarca/posts/losing-money-to-164800513?collection=1399284
[2] https://www.patreon.com/HannibalNotBarca/posts/losing-money-to-164800513?collection=1399284