this man is not calm

Chapter 198 Eye-opening
Under the leadership of General Manager Hong Renquan, Jin Shang and Qi Zhaoyun successfully arrived at the acquired Venus game console R&D center.

This acquired consumer electronics design and manufacturing company is not very different from the original style of Beichuan Electromechanical.

These days, all walks of life are similar. The importance of production, manufacturing and sales has reached a very high level. Manufacturing costs and marketing capabilities directly determine the life or death of a factory.

As for design and R&D, everyone keeps saying that technology guides production, but everyone knows what the actual situation is.

This game company, after all, still has some "dry stuff" and has been deeply involved in the field of consumer electronics for many years.The former parent company was a well-known traditional home appliance company in China. From the earliest production of gramophones, radios, and tape recorders, it has become a review manufacturer across the fields of televisions, air conditioners, refrigerators, etc., not only producing finished products, but also supplying spare parts to the market. Motors, display panels, batteries, etc. directly and indirectly control many key areas.

Home game consoles are just a less important attempt at business expansion.Although it has been involved in this field for many years, it has only been about seven years since it really planned to make it bigger and stronger. In the field of game consoles, it is just a new player with some disruptive capabilities.

The game console Venus was an ambitious work with many expectations placed on it. Unfortunately, the heavy blow of failure caused a heavy blow to the parent company, which has been in recession in recent years.As a last resort, he had no choice but to abandon his car to keep his boss, and directly packaged the game console business line, which was crowded with strong players and fierce competition, and gave it to Beichuan Electromechanical at a discount.

For these designers and engineers who were drawn over, Beichuan Electrical and Mechanical was not a good place. They just jumped from one big pit to another.

From the written materials provided by Beichuan Electromechanical, Jin Shang already had a rough idea of ​​what happened to the game manufacturer, but the specific situation was not very clear.

After chatting with the department head and checking some work records, Jin Shang roughly understood how these unlucky people ended up in this situation.

"We conducted market research four years ago, and it took us a year to complete the overall design plan. It was not until the second half of last year that we started selling it. I dare to place an order for 300 million units directly, because I am afraid it will die not fast enough."

When he got the Venus game console, Jin Shang was stunned by such nonsense.

In this "grand blueprint", the price of the game console Venus is not around 300 yuan now, but 80 to 300 yuan. If all [-] million units are sold, about [-] billion yuan can be recovered. Not only It can make a lot of money, build a game platform with nearly [-] million users, and make a lot of money selling cassettes.

If it succeeds, it will certainly become a classic case in business history and may even be included in textbooks.

Unfortunately, it failed and became the laughing stock of the industry.

Hong Renquan's old face showed a smile.

"If I hadn't worked hard, I probably wouldn't have failed so quickly. After all, it is a game console manufacturer with a good reputation. The previous generation of its works has been well received by the player base."

"The experience of past success has paralyzed them."

Putting the documents on the conference table, Jin Shang sighed,
"The technological progress in this industry is too fast, especially in the past few years. It is in the early stage of explosive development. Four or five years is too slow. R&D is not forward-looking, and it overestimates the speed of hardware development and players' expectations for 3D games. level of acceptance.”

"It's not an underestimate. Four years ago, it shouldn't be wrong. If the Venus console could be launched a year in advance, the situation should be much better."

"Maybe!"

Jin Shang looked at the "stack of materials" and R&D costs of the Venus game console, and secretly murmured in his heart that cost control was really poor. The current retail price is controlled at around [-], barely hovering on the profit and loss line.

The marketing of Venus, a game console, was also extremely poor. It sold 30 units in the first month of its launch. Until today, it has only sold over 60 units. Some of them were "Three Kingdoms" games and "King of Fighters". After the successful transplantation of "1995", the cassette became a hot seller, indirectly driving sales.

Especially for "King of Fighters 1995", the supply of arcade boards exceeded the demand, and sales revenue barely kept the team running.

At the beginning of development, the game console Venus's strategy was to spend two to three years promoting the console, and then attract players to get started by selling cartridges and adding networking capabilities.

This is the feeling of preparing to create a hen that lays golden eggs.

Unfortunately, the parent company's business environment deteriorated and it could not tolerate the slow development of the team. The customized games were not rich enough, so they were rushed to the market.

One of the promotional gimmicks was online games and online battles. Due to the immature network environment and the lack of specially customized accelerator cards and peripheral accessory modems, the product received overwhelming negative reviews after selling well in the first month.

Of course, the “grand blueprint” that had high hopes has become what it is now.

Until now, some loose ends have not been cleared up. For example, there are more than 100 million units in stock in the warehouse that cannot be sold and are waiting to be scrapped and turned into electronic waste before being thrown away. There are also millions of inventory and arrears in the backlog of OEM manufacturers. .

Of course, this game console is not without its merits.

At the level of 2D game consoles, it has reached the pinnacle. Its design and technical concepts are extremely brilliant and advanced.

Limited to this field, the direction of future improvement is to use chips with strong computing power and better configurations and peripherals.Just like Beichuan Electromechanical's old profession - shipbuilding, since steel replaced wood as the main material, the development of ships has not made any fundamental progress for a long time. The difference between modern ships and the previous century is mainly reflected in the development of electromechanical equipment. .

Even so, the pinnacle of 2D game consoles is inevitable to be eliminated in the 3D era.

This is not a simple optimization, but a technological innovation.

Jin Shang didn't quite understand the specific content.

After the failure of the Venus game console, the technical team conducted a "hindsight" analysis and review, analyzing the pros and cons in a very profound manner.

Finally, the conclusion is that 3D and online games will become the key to survive in future competition.

"It's too late!"

If it had been released a year earlier, or if competing products had been released a year later, the Venus console might have had some room for recovery if it had been given a certain buffer time.

It’s been almost a year, and there are only six 10,000+ units. There is still nearly 240 million in inventory, so it’s impossible to sell them all.

I owe so much money, how should I pay it back?
Will the game console be paid off?
If you really do this, I'm afraid it will cause a big mess.

Game consoles are still good. Although 3D games are very popular, everyone who has seen them knows what the so-called 3D games are these days.

"Introducing customized versions of modems and accelerator cards to improve the functions of the Venus host may have a certain effect."

The Venus consoles currently on the market have networking capabilities, but the effect is extremely poor. For example, the "King of Fighters 1995" has just been released. The waiting time for buffering is too slow. It is normal to wait for one game to play, and the experience is too poor. Well, it would be perfect if there were modems with customized network accelerator cards, or even recharge cards sold directly to allow players to order and download games online.

You can even consider loading the Jinxi battle platform directly on the Venus host to achieve cross-platform battles.

"Game platforming!"

Jin Shang couldn't help but murmur to himself.

It is particularly important to note that a series of additional features can be bundled with the Venus console, but if the experience itself is not good and the quality of the video games is poor, it will be useless.

In the previous mobile Internet era, PCs and smartphones were very popular, and game consoles and handheld consoles still had strong vitality. The root cause was that high-quality video games continued to provide these old games that should have been swept into the garbage heap of history. Product longevity.

Hardware "stack" is one aspect. The creativity and development capabilities of video games are the core pillars of a game manufacturer's survival.

Jin Shang, who was thinking about how to break the situation, suddenly had no idea.

The current price of the game console Venus makes it impossible to sell more than 200 million units. There is not such a large market capacity in China.

As for foreign countries...

Jin Shang had an idea and checked the overseas layout of game consoles.

"Not at all! How did you calculate that there is such a big market in China? Four years ago, based on the so-called survey, you just slapped your head and randomly set a number?"

Even if it "eats up" all the domestic market, without foreign sales, it will never be able to recover its capital.

"Probably they overestimated the speed of domestic economic development and the growth of video game players."

Hong Renquan responded,

"The success of the previous generation of game consoles has given them some illusions, which is understandable."

There are not that many families in China who have money and leisure and are willing to buy game consoles for their children to play. "Then, now, we can only consider another model..."

Jin Shang said with great certainty,
"Originally, we planned to use the method of selling cartridges with game consoles. Now we must go the other way and develop hit games one after another to drive up the sales of game consoles. Of course, outstanding networking functions are a must..."

The modem that may be sold as a customized accessory now is 56kb/s (downstream speed, upstream speed 33.6kb/s). If it is a dedicated line, this speed can barely run the online game "Legend of Blood".

Whether it can be carried and played smoothly or not, if thousands of people are on the same server at the same time, whether it will be stuck and unable to move, that is another matter.

With the current hardware and network conditions, we should not consider large-scale online games for the time being. It would be a thankless task. Instead, we should be able to play excellent 1995D and 2D online battle games such as "King of Fighters 3", "Counter-Strike", and "Dynasty Warriors".

If the Internet speed is faster and the tariff is lowered, real-time strategies such as "StarCraft", "Warcraft" and "Red Alert" can also be considered.

It focuses on LAN battles, takes into account network data exchange, and provides remote online servers for qualified customers, which is feasible.

Real online games still require mature ADSL bandwidth access technology and a high-speed network of 1M or above, and then start preparations.

"Director Jin, what do you mean? Should we save it, or should we sell it to other game console manufacturers based on the popularity of one or two games?"

"What do you think, Mr. Hong?"

Jin Shang hesitated.

"I'm not sure! If we can survive the difficult period of one or two years and retain these software and hardware talents, there is still a lot to be done. The question is, is it worth it..."

If we really increase our investment, we won’t have to count on the rate of return for a while, and the long-term returns and influence will be just fine.

The key is whether it can launch video games that are popular among players and continue to introduce new ones.

"Then... Dong Jin thinks these more than 200 million units can be sold?"

"It's definitely possible to extend the time. The current sales channels for game consoles are mainly concentrated in shopping malls and electronic cities in several big cities. There are also small and medium-sized cities and remote counties that are not covered. There are also many families with reasonable incomes who can afford it. wealthy family."

For example, Li Xuan's hometown is rich in local towns, and the second aunt's house is far away in the northern grasslands.

One or two counties may not be able to sell much, but at the national level, it is really possible to "digest" these game consoles.

What is popular in the capital and the southeastern coast may take a year or two to spread to the central and western regions.

Information doesn't spread that fast these days. The Venus host is actually half buried in the earth, and it just depends on when it will die.

Whether it can be launched depends on whether the sales channels can capture possible new users in the future.

With the current level of domestic infrastructure construction, it is simply impossible to cover all areas.

The land area is large and the differences are obvious. It focuses on the market in the central and western regions. Making a time difference may be the last life-saving straw for Venus.

Due to high marketing costs, other game consoles cannot be rolled out on a large scale and can only be sold at designated locations in a few popular areas.

But our own Venus console is different. It has been directly logged into Jinxi Mall, with a guaranteed sales volume of [-] to [-] units every day, and it is increasing rapidly.

"Perhaps, it is really possible to save him!"

Overcoming the barriers of time and space, the Internet can sell goods immediately.

There are more than 200 million units, with an average of nearly 5000 units sold a day, and they can be sold out in about a year and a half.Of course, this is not actually the case. The release of high-quality video games will drive offline sales of game consoles.

This is actually a model of "rural areas surrounding cities", marketing linkage between the east and west, and software and hardware jointly promoted.

If nothing else, once the custom modem optional accessories are launched, the excellent network battle function will be enough to erase many of the negative effects in the early stage.

From another level, Jinxi Culture is the homepage of Jinxi. Jinxi Mall needs high-priced "big items" such as Venus game consoles to support sales.

They don't even hesitate to use discounts and promotions.

As for whether games and boards make money...

Jin Shang glanced at Hong Renquan thoughtfully and made a plan in his mind.

The listed company's debts were closely related to Jinxi Culture. Even as the controlling shareholder and actual controller, Jin Shang could not transfer Beichuan Electrical's money for his own use.

If you lose money, there are investors who foot the bill, and if you make a profit, Jinxi Mall still charges channel fees, while Jinxi Games only takes the OEM remuneration and advertising and marketing expenses.

As for the rise or fall that may affect the stock price, Jin Shang has no plans to increase or reduce its holdings for a while, let alone a backdoor listing or asset restructuring in a short time. As long as it does not delist, whether investors make or lose money will not affect Jin Shang in the slightest.

"Save, why not save? The company will immediately prepare a risk assessment for related-party transactions. The powerful major shareholders will provide resources to help sell unsalable products, provide technical support, and develop popular theme games..."

It is impossible to say that investors will add more concepts to Beizhou Electrical and Mechanical due to this. After a wave of speculation, the company can also issue bonds, or mortgage financing, or even cooperate with private equity to engage in "market value management" to get some blood back.

"Director Jin, I understand. The way listed companies play is different from that of unlisted companies. We are not afraid of losses, but we are afraid that investors will lose confidence. Tell a 'story' that can boost morale and make investors optimistic. It is as important as conscientiously doing practical things, and even... to a certain extent, it can better reflect the strength and value of listed companies."

No wonder Hong Renquan went ahead with the "snake swallows the elephant" move. While promoting the mobile phone business OEM, he also acquired what seemed to be high-quality assets. In fact, it was a big thunder that could blow everyone away. As long as he can rely on listed companies With abundant capital and strong ability to resist risks, you can trade time for space and dismantle the big bomb, and you can eat this big piece of meat.

"In one and a half, no, two years, Director Jin is somewhat sure that the inventory will be cleared."

"Seventy percent, no, sixty percent. We have to consider the actions of our peers. Once a new product is launched... wait, even so, the Venus game console will not be obsolete within three years. In the 2D field, it has almost reached the ceiling. At most, in 3D continues to advance."

Jin Shang suddenly understood,

"As long as we focus on high-quality 2D games and pseudo-3D games, and make them roughly the same, we can effectively mitigate risks. Although the Venus console died suddenly, there are still many players who hope that it can be brought back to life, especially customers who bought the machine. .”

If you add arcade boards, peer platform licensing, toys and other peripheral income, after surviving the most difficult period, not to mention catching up with peers, you can at least survive.

"Director Jin has made a decision. Let's implement it according to the established strategy. Tomorrow we will go to the warehouse and workshop to see how the design and development of the new generation of enhanced Venus plus is going."

"Well, I'm going to ask Director Huang and Professor Zhang about the modem cooperation. By the way, before you go back, give me thirty, no, one hundred Venus hosts..."

Jin Shang answered in the affirmative as to what to do, and then changed the subject,
"There are a lot of young people in our club, and a lot of them are addicted to playing games. Instead of letting them go to the Internet cafe to have fun, it is better to buy a game console and play by themselves. It may be a bit reluctant for them to shell out real money, but if it is regarded as a competition It’s different when it comes to reward options.”

This is just like the VIP tickets worth a thousand yuan for Dai Yiqin's concert. It may not be enough to meet the public price, but it must be worth so much face. In the eyes of those who happen to need it, it may even exceed it.

The original price is more than 2000, and after discount, the game console is [-] to [-], which is very good.

"Then...should the company spend money to buy recommendation slots and discount coupons in Jinxi Mall?"

Hong Renquan asked tentatively, and Jin Shang couldn't help but secretly admire him, he really knows how to play.

"After the funds are withdrawn, we can invest in the next step of research and development! But..."

Jin Shang, who had gained some experience today, said in a very steady manner,

"On specific operational matters, it is still up to Mr. Hong to make decisions. If there are major issues that are difficult to decide, just submit them to the board of directors for a vote."

As for how to operate it without triggering a rebound among stock investors and without attracting an investigation from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Hong Renquan is a veteran of the industry and is very familiar with it.

(End of this chapter)