MMB Chapter 263 Two Negotiations with Tencent
Chapter 263 Two Negotiations with Tencent
In its third week of release, the daily active users of "Three Kingdoms Kill" exceeded 20,000.
This number is still not much compared to TUTU's 50 million daily active users.
But Lu Ran noticed an interesting phenomenon—the average game time for users had risen to sixty-five minutes.
What does this mean?
This means that those who are hooked are spending more and more of their free time on this game.
Although it is not large in scale, it is enough to show that the game "Three Kingdoms Kill" can retain users in the right group.
"President Lu," Zhou Mingzhe said, pushing open the door and holding this week's data report in his hand, "there's something quite interesting."
"explain."
"Look at this." Zhou Mingzhe handed over the tablet. "The user activity time distribution for 'Three Kingdoms Kill' is as follows: 8 PM to 11 PM is the peak, but the data is also rising from 2 PM to 5 PM. Moreover—" He paused, "The data on weekends is twice as high as on weekdays."
Lu Ran took the tablet, glanced at it, and laughed: "College students, you know. They start playing games as soon as they don't have classes in the afternoon, and they play from morning till night on weekends. That's normal."
"And this too." Zhou Mingzhe swiped the screen again, "The feedback from the offline trial events at universities is back. Student unions from 32 universities have already contacted us, wanting cards and materials. Some schools have even started to organize their own intra-school leagues."
"Then let's give them to them. Print more cards; the cost isn't high, consider it a payment for the game. Also—" Lu Ran thought for a moment, "we can organize a 'College Three Kingdoms Kill Challenge' event. Organized by school, online preliminaries and offline finals. The prizes don't need to be too expensive; a trophy and a limited-edition skin will suffice. College students, after all, care about appearances."
Zhou Mingzhe jotted down a few notes in his notebook, then suddenly looked up and asked, "Do you think Tencent might notice us?"
Lu Ran leaned back in his chair, a meaningful smile on his face: "So what if they noticed? In their eyes, our daily active users are not even a fraction of their card and board game business. Dou Dizhu has 80 million daily active users, Mahjong has 50 million, and any one of them—Upgrading, Piggy, Gomoku, Chess…—is ten times larger than ours."
"And—" he paused, "what do you think the people at Tencent will think of 'Three Kingdoms Kill'? The rules are complicated, the learning curve is steep, and it lacks a broad user base. In their eyes, it's just a niche game that won't amount to much."
Zhou Mingzhe nodded thoughtfully: "So they won't target us?"
"Not in the short term," Lu Ran said. "This gives us time to develop. By the time they realize what's happening—" He smiled and didn't finish his sentence.
...
Meanwhile, in Tokyo, at the headquarters of Sakura Games.
A dog sat in the conference room, surrounded by seven or eight executives in suits sitting around a long table. The atmosphere was very tense.
"Gentlemen," the man seated at the head of the table began, his voice low, "can anyone tell me why the progress of the Dragon Kingdom's market is so slow?"
This man is named Yamamoto Ichiro, the head of the overseas business department of Sakura Games, and the boss of a dog named Shiro.
The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.
A dog stood up and bowed deeply: "Minister Yamamoto, I am very sorry. The expansion into the Dragon Kingdom market has encountered unexpected resistance."
Tell me about it.
"Hi." A dog straightened up, walked to the projector, and clicked on a set of data.
"This is our investment portfolio in the Chinese market over the past two months. The total investment amounted to US$180 million, and we invested in eleven small and medium-sized game companies, holding stakes ranging from 10% to 20%. These companies collectively account for approximately 7% of the Chinese game market, with a total user base of about 80 million, but there is significant overlap."
He switched to the next page: "This is the formation status of the 'Dragon Kingdom Game Industry Alliance.' All eleven companies have joined the alliance, but the leading companies we expected—Tencent, NetEase, and Perfect World—have all declined our cooperation offers."
Yamamoto Ichiro frowned: "The reason?"
The dog paused for a moment: "According to our analysis, there are three reasons. First, these leading companies are cautious about Japanese investment in the Chinese market, worried about the leakage of core technologies and user data security. Second, although our investment scale is not small, it has limited appeal compared to a company the size of Tencent. Third—" He paused, "our initial cooperation plan may have been too optimistic."
"Too optimistic?" Yamamoto Ichiro's voice turned cold. "Ichijo-kun, are you trying to shirk responsibility?"
"I wouldn't dare!" The dog bowed again. "It was indeed my mistake. I underestimated the bargaining power and vigilance of the leading companies in China."
Yamamoto Ichiro stared at him for a few seconds, then slowly asked, "So, what's the plan now? What remedy do you have?"
A trusting dog took a deep breath: "Hi. My solution is—to adjust our strategy, shifting from 'alliance' to 'deep integration'."
"Deep binding?"
"Yes." A trusting dog switched to the next slide of the PPT. "Instead of trying to tie eleven small companies together to negotiate with large companies, it would be better to concentrate resources and establish deep cooperative relationships with one or two large companies with potential."
"Our analysis shows that although the Chinese game market is dominated by giants like Tencent and NetEase, there are also some smaller companies that are competitive in niche markets. For example, Perfect World has a strong foundation in the MMORPG field, and their recent cash flow problems make it a good time to invest."
"For example—" he paused, "TuTu Technology. Although this company is not large, its TUTU platform has extremely high user stickiness, and its recently launched game 'Seven Heroes of the Jianghu' is performing well in the market. Moreover, their founder, Lu Ran, has a strong influence in the entertainment and internet circles of China. If we can establish a deep cooperation with him, it will greatly help our layout in the Chinese market."
After listening, Yamamoto Ichiro remained silent for a moment.
"Perfect World is negotiable," he said, "but what about Lu Ran from Tutu Technology—didn't you say he rejected our cooperation?"
Ichijo had told him about this before, and at the time, the other party was extremely sarcastic. I don't know why, under such circumstances, Ichijo still strongly promoted this company.
It seems the other party isn't very big either; they can't compare to Chinese giants like Tencent and NetEase at all.
A trusting dog patiently explained, "Yes, the first contact didn't go smoothly. But as far as I know, EA is also in contact with Rabbit Technology, and their conditions are even more demanding than ours. If we can't reach an agreement with EA, Lu Ran might reconsider other options."
"Furthermore—" he added, "we recently learned that Tutu Technology is developing a new game called 'Three Kingdoms Kill,' which, although small in scale, has a very good reputation among university students. If we can provide some technical support or IP cooperation in this area, it might be able to open up opportunities."
Yamamoto Ichiro thought for a moment, then slowly nodded: "Then continue to follow up. As for Perfect World, arrange the second round of negotiations as soon as possible. As for Rabbit Technology, maintain contact for now, but don't push too hard. Also—" He looked at Ichijou, his tone becoming stern, "Ichijo-kun, I hope you understand that 180 million US dollars is no small sum. If this investment doesn't generate the expected return, you should know the consequences."
A loyal dog bowed deeply: "Yes! I will do my best!"
As the meeting ended, a dog walked out of the conference room and let out a long sigh of relief.
My back was soaked with cold sweat.
He returned to his office, turned on his computer, and pulled up the latest information from Tutu Technology.
On the screen, Lu Ran's photo came into view—young, confident, with a faint, ambiguous smile on his lips.
A dog stared at the face, its emotions a jumble of thoughts.
He still remembers the negotiation at the coffee shop very clearly.
Lu Ran's offer of 100 million US dollars for 5% of the shares, open access to core technologies, and a 70/30 revenue split... those conditions were less of a cooperation plan and more of an insult.
The problem is, if he fails to complete the mission, his future at Sakura Games will be over.
"Lu Sang..." he murmured to himself, "What exactly do you want?"
He thought for a moment, picked up the phone, and dialed a number.
"Hey, could you arrange a meeting with Mr. Chen Mo from Tencent's strategic investment department? Yes, tell him that Sakura Games wants to restart the previous cooperation negotiations. This time—" He paused, "we can make some concessions on the terms."
...