Chapter 244: New all-time low? Just give it away for free!

In fact, it is not uncommon for game officials to provide trading platforms in the gaming industry, and many games support this function.

For example, the most common "character trading"! The official launched a trading platform where players can strip the characters they want to trade, and other players can just spend money to buy them.

This is actually an account transaction guaranteed by the official, except that the official retains the seller’s game account and separates the character out.

In addition, there is also trading of game items, which is in a similar format.

The rampant account trading in "Need for Speed" and the increasing number of cases of players being deceived gave Chen Ba the idea of ​​creating an official trading platform.

It is better to unblock than to block!

It is impossible to control it. As long as there is demand, there is a market, and as long as there is a market, this kind of thing will definitely happen.

Since we cannot control it, we might as well bring it under official control to provide credibility and security guarantees for players' transactions.

Isn’t a platform guaranteed by the official game platform more reliable than the ones you find online?

"You can make a ..."

Yang Dong thought this was a good idea. After all, "Need for Speed" players really needed this thing.

And it is easy to do, just copy the competitors and it will be done. When players choose a trading platform, the biggest concern is whether it is "reliable".

Since the government is involved, there is no need to worry about this, so it is easy to do.

You don’t even need to develop an APP or software program specifically. You can just make it into a web page mode and then embed it into the game client or Tianba community.

How simple is that?

Not only does it save trouble, it also solves a major pain point for players, and most importantly, you can earn some transaction fees from it.

Little-known fact: this kind of platform takes a commission from every transaction, which is commonly known as a handling fee. Otherwise, they would provide you with services for free. Why do you think so?

The handling fee may seem insignificant, and a transaction only costs a small amount, but it can add up to a lot.

Once the transaction scale is complete, the money will still be considerable...

"The problem now is that if we only serve the players of Need for Speed, there is probably not much money and no need for it."

"So we either don't do this, or we have to build a trading platform for all Tianba games." Chen Ba said seriously, "At least all our own games must be included!"

Similar to the treasure house in the pig factory.

Cross-game support is a must. If it is not cross-game and only serves the game "Need for Speed", then there is really no need to create this platform.

After all, it’s hard to say how long “The Drive” will remain popular. If it fails in two years, wouldn’t this platform be a waste? “I think so too.”

Yang Dong nodded, agreeing with Brother Ba's idea that this official trading platform must cover multiple games.

You also need to give it a separate name.

The name of the other people's Zhuchang is Treasure Pavilion, which sounds very similar. So what is the name of the trading platform of Tianba Studio?

"How about the treasure room?"

Chen Ba joked: "The main theme is to question the pig factory, understand the pig factory, and become the pig factory!"

"Let's not do that. What if they get upset and start a fight with us?"

Yang Dong said timidly: "Let me make a deal first. If the pig factory attacks me, I will be the first to surrender and draw a clear line with you on the spot."

"You have no spine!"

Chen Ba curled his lips and said, "Then tell me, what is the name of this thing? Treasure house? Treasure cave? Treasure pavilion?"

"How is the Tyrant Mecha Depot?"

Chen Ba: “…”

You kid! You don't like the things of the pig factory, so you turn around and steal the things of the goose factory, right? "Even if the goose factory attacks me, I will surrender. I won't say a good word for you. Just wait to be beaten to death!"

Chen Ba rolled his eyes. He guessed that Yang Dong couldn't come up with a good name, so he made the final decision: "Jiangning is our blessed land, and the studio is called Tianba, so let's call it Tianning Pavilion."

"Tian Ning Pavilion?"

Thinking about this word, Yang Dong nodded and said, "Okay, let's call it this! I'll go back and make some arrangements and find time to build this trading platform."

“No rush!”

Chen Ba waved his hand and said, "Before doing this, there is one more thing I want to discuss with you."

"What's up?"

"Regarding the question of whether some of our old games should be given away for free."

Chen Ba explained: "The person in charge of the Steam platform asked me if I wanted to participate in their Lunar New Year event. I felt that after so long, the new record low was a bit too shabby and unattractive."

How many years old is this game still on sale at this all-time low price? What about the new all-time low price? Please!

Even if these old games are labeled with green discounts of -80% or -90%, few new players will be interested in them.

Chen Ba also felt that this year there was no need to offer any new historical low prices, and he could just give the game away for free.

Learn from Ubisoft's good example! For those old games that don't have much gimmicks in the first place, and whose sales can't rise no matter how much they are discounted, just give them to players, so that they don't have to complain about Brother Ba being stingy all day long.

"Free games?"

When Yang Dong first heard this, he thought that Brother Ba was going to follow Ebao's example and start giving away games to attract new users to the Nobug platform.

After he finished speaking, I realized that was not what he meant. Giving away games was not to attract new users to the Nobug platform, but a benefit for the entire platform, giving away old games.

"sure!"

Yang Dong had no objection.

Those old games really aren't selling well, and few people buy them even at a discount. So just give them away for free. You don't have to worry about the money anyway.

The key is how to give it away? Which game to give away? How long will the event last?

"Each platform is free for a limited time, just click to add it to the inventory, no need to spend money to buy it!"

"The event will last until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and will end after the Chinese New Year! As for which game to choose, it's not just one game, but multiple games..."

Chen Ba is not that stingy. He would specially pick out a game to give away, and give more. It doesn't matter whether he gives it early or late.

The two games, "Study Hard Simulator" and "Living Under Someone Else's House Simulator", are definitely going to be given away for free.

As for other games, such as "Divine Grace Continent" and "Love Staff", Chen Ba is still hesitating.

"You shouldn't give away 'Fast and Furious', right?" Yang Dong asked tentatively.

"What are you thinking about?"

Chen Ba was speechless and said, "After all, this is the first game from our studio that costs over 100 yuan. How can it depreciate so quickly?"

I can't give "Ford" as a gift.

Games that used to sell for over a hundred yuan, even though after so much time, the lowest price has dropped to over 40 yuan, they are not going to be given away for free.

"Just give away "Divine Grace Continent" for free. The lowest price ever has dropped below 10 yuan. It's no different from giving it away for free."

Yang Dong analyzed: "Brother Ba, what you are really hesitating about should be the game "Love Staff", right?"

“That’s right!”

Chen Ba sighed softly.

The historically low price of "Love Adviser" is not to the point where it is given away for free. It is still worth some money, and the sales trend is also okay. It would be a bit of a loss to give it away for free now.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

Anyone with a discerning eye knows that this game has not yet reached the "year limit" for being given away for free, which means it can still be sold, even at a new historical low.

If it is given away for free now, what will the players who bought it before think? Will they feel that they are being wronged?

But……

Chen Ba really wants to give this game away.

Don’t ask him why he doesn’t make money even though he has the chance. The answer is that for him, “Love Advisers” is no longer just a game.

He hopes that the more people play this game, the better. Whether or not to make money is a small matter. It doesn't matter if he loses money in it. The game must survive, and the longer it survives, the better.

"I understand!"

Yang Dong said thoughtfully: "Are you worried that if you give it away for free now, it will hurt the hearts of those players who bought it at the lowest price ever or at the original price?"

"Yes! That's what I mean..."

Chen Ba thought of those player comments that liked to post things like “I bought it at original price, got it for free the next day, I’m an idiot” in the game review section.

There are quite a lot of people like this.

A game that you just bought is given away for free the next moment. Many people will feel like they have been backstabbed and it is inevitable that they will be angry.

Ubisoft?

Ubisoft's strategy has also been criticized a lot! It's just that the number of players who call them "big brother" is far greater than the number of players who are angry about being backstabbed.

"Send it!"

Yang Dong made the decision for Brother Ba and said, "Since you want as many players as possible, then give it away! As for the few players' complaints, just pretend you didn't hear them!"

Backstabbing? Get used to it! When buying stand-alone games, don’t you know the three famous sayings: buy early and enjoy early, buy late and enjoy discounts, and don’t buy and get it for free? When shopping on e-commerce platforms, you can still be backstabbed by the manufacturer after buying a “price guarantee”. What does this kind of price reduction backstabbing in the gaming industry count for?

"you're right……"

Chen Ba seemed to have made up his mind, and said calmly: "It doesn't matter if I curse you a few times. I've been cursed a lot over the years anyway."

Then give it as a gift!

At this point, Tianba Studio’s activity plan during the Spring Festival has been completely finalized, and the game list has also been officially finalized.

There are a total of four games, namely "Study Simulator", "Living under Someone Else's Roof Simulator", "Divine Grace Land" and "Love Adviser", which are given away for free on all platforms.

Please note that all platforms! Whether it is the Steam platform, Ebao or Wegame, as well as Tianba Studio's own Nobug platform, all are free. Click to enter the warehouse to receive it.

The host platform is not participating in the event yet.

This is not because Chen Ba is stingy and reluctant to give benefits to players on the console platform. It’s mainly the console platform. Things like discounts or free items need to be discussed with the platform.

Don't ask why.

The question is that not long ago, Tianba Studio signed a contract with the Xbox platform. It was not an exclusive contract, but an independent "underwriting" contract.

The so-called underwriting is somewhat similar to the relationship between traditional automobile manufacturers and their 4S stores.

Chen Ba is a car manufacturer. He is only responsible for producing and assembling cars. As for how to sell the cars after they are manufactured and delivered to the 4S stores, that is the 4S stores' business.

Anyway, the profits are shared among everyone according to the proportion stipulated in the contract, and it is not a buyout business model.

To put it bluntly, how Tianba games are sold, how they are discounted and how they are promoted on the Xbox platform are all arranged by the host platform itself.

Chen Ba was only responsible for dividing the money.

He provided the games, but the publicity and marketing of the host platform were done by the host itself. He was just a hands-off boss, and the bank card balance would automatically increase when the time came.

"Poor console platform..."

Yang Dong mourned in silence: "The games are basically sold at their original prices, and even if there are good things, they won't get their turn, and the servers are still made from potatoes."

"It can't be helped!"

Chen Ba was speechless and said, "Who told us that the foundation of Tianba Studio is on PC, not on console?"

If Tianba Studio was a console game developer, it would definitely be nicer to console players. It would think of all the good things and stuff for console players, and they would be the first to enjoy the updates and optimizations.

But there is no way!

Tianba Studio has never been very close to the console platform. The PC platform is its own son, and the console is just a newly adopted godson.

In this situation, everyone is selfish, and Chen Ba is no exception.

When there are good things, the first thing that comes to mind is definitely PC players, not console players. Update optimization, server configuration, etc., the console can only pick up some leftovers.

In fact, everything else is easy to say, mainly the server and update optimization...

Tudou servers are old news. The PC version is not very good, let alone the console version. The version update is the key point. The console version is often one month or even two months behind the PC version.

The daylily is cold!

It's so heartbreaking that people are already fed up with the new version, but the host has not received any push notifications yet.

(End of this chapter)