It was all over.
After hearing Ye Zhizhou’s words, Wang Xiaobin had given up hope on the bonus as well.
If only the players of “Hot Blood Battle Song Power-Up Version” were rating it, then perhaps the reputation would be good, because the game was very player-friendly.
But TPDb’s rating rules also included scores from gaming media and ordinary netizens. These netizens wouldn’t play the game in-depth, only judging based on the first impression from the “I am the Fried Pork Knuckle” advertisement. It would be a miracle if those scores were high.
After being acquired by Mr. Pei, Shangyang Games’ first game suffered a devastating defeat, leaving everyone feeling ashamed.
Could it be that we are in the terminal stage of cancer?
Mr. Pei makes one game, and it becomes a hit, all with both critical acclaim and commercial success. Could such a genius producer not lift Shangyang Games?
This was too hard to bear.
“Everyone, please come to the meeting room. I have a few brief words to say.”
Lin Wan’s expression was also somewhat dejected. She had also seen the game’s data and understood how unpromising the current situation was.
But unlike the others, Lin Wan hadn’t fallen into complete despair. She remained calm, as if she had mentally prepared for this long ago.
Arriving at the meeting room, everyone took their seats.
Lin Wan looked around at everyone and sincerely said, “Everyone should know about our game’s first-day data, which is very unpromising.”
Everyone remained silent.
Actually, those present were very familiar with this scene because in the past, when the original boss Du Ruijie was around, he often held these blame-assigning and morale-boosting meetings when game data was poor.
When a game had problems and showed signs of failure upon launch, it definitely meant that something had gone seriously wrong, and someone had to take the blame.
The problem with “Hot Blood Battle Song Power-Up Version” was that the micro-client approach was fundamentally wrong.
Although the micro-client idea was first proposed by Wang Xiaobin, it was unanimously approved at the meeting, and both Director Lin and Mr. Pei had signed off on it.
How should the blame be assigned?
So this meeting should briefly touch on the blame assignment and quickly move on to the morale-boosting section.
With the game’s current precarious state, everyone would need to work overtime to try to turn the situation around.
When original boss Du Ruijie and original lead designer Old Liu were around, they would definitely have everyone start a 996 work mode, frantically modifying the game.
Of course, there would be no overtime pay. After all, the company was at a life-or-death moment—if you weren’t willing to share in the company’s hardships, how could you ask for overtime pay?
A few veteran employees silently sighed.
After all, it was a company acquired by Mr. Pei, but the structure hadn’t changed. Once the company’s operations encountered problems, things reverted to the old familiar pattern.
Everyone’s hearts sank as they prepared for future overtime work.
However, Lin Wan took an unexpected turn: “This is not anyone’s fault. You don’t need to blame yourselves.”
Everyone was somewhat surprised.
Director Lin wasn’t assigning blame?
Although they felt this was a good thing, the game had failed—shouldn’t someone step up and take responsibility? Shouldn’t someone decide how to proceed from here?
Everyone raised their heads, listening attentively.
Lin Wan continued: “Think about it. Mr. Pei has never made web games before. His specialty is high-quality single-player games. But why did he acquire the consistently money-losing Shangyang Games, and why, after taking over Shangyang Games, did he keep working on ‘Hot Blood Battle Song,’ which was originally a pay-to-win game?”
“It was to do something very risky with ‘Hot Blood Battle Song,’ to conduct an experiment that no one has ever done before!”
“Mr. Pei hopes that players will no longer be slaves to money. He aims to change players’ tastes, allowing all players to enjoy the exclusive satisfaction of wealthy players even without spending money…”
“From game development to promotion, Mr. Pei has consistently moved toward this goal.”
“We should have been fully mentally prepared that going against the tide might fail.”
“I believe Mr. Pei prepared himself for this possibility as well.”
When Lin Wan first came to Shangyang Games, she had also been confused about this issue, but later she figured it out.
Hiring Zhang Zuting for the advertisement was to attract enough web game players.
Creating the micro-client, the Chosen One system, and cutting payment points was to cultivate healthy consumption habits among web game players.
Such motives were certainly noble, but they did indeed go against the nature of web game players. The game’s failure actually had a certain inevitability to it.
Failing like a hero is nothing to be ashamed of!
Lin Wan’s expression was resolute: “So, everyone must not be crushed by this failure. We aren’t making a money-grabbing web game; we’re doing something very noble. Whether we succeed or fail, each of us is a hero!”
After hearing Lin Wan’s speech, everyone felt much better.
They weren’t failures, but heroes going against the tide!
Director Lin, having worked with Mr. Pei for so long, truly had a different perspective on issues.
Compared to the former boss Du Ruijie, the difference was starkly obvious.
Ye Zhizhou was also inspired; his initial feelings of dejection had now been reduced by more than half.
But while morale had been somewhat restored, the necessary work still needed to be done.
“Hot Blood Battle Song Power-Up Version” was not making money was a that had to be solved.