Rebirth 2010: I taught Mr. Lei how to make a mobile phone

Chapter 774 Onmyoji VS Gods and Demons

It wasn't just Pony Ma who was having headaches. Ding Lei was equally frustrated.

Originally scheduled for public beta launch on November 1st, "Onmyoji" has now clashed with the nationwide hype surrounding "Glory of the World." Launching at this time means that no matter how much marketing budget is poured in, it will be a waste of money and extremely low cost-effectiveness.

"Boss, how about... we postpone it for a few more days? We can launch it again after the hype surrounding 'Glory of the World' has died down?"

"Alright, another week." Ding Lei waved his hand, his tone weary.

"It's not the first time anyway."

There's an unwritten rule in the gaming industry: the worse the game, the more tests it gets!
When a game goes through endless closed beta tests before its official release, it's usually not a good thing; the game might just disappear while the testing is going on.

Moreover, various tests are given all sorts of names, such as closed beta test, open beta test, closed beta test, paid closed beta test, second test, third test, and so on. These terms are used repeatedly and in combination.

These kinds of things would be criticized by readers for padding the word count if they were in a novel, but manufacturers seem to enjoy doing it. However, it's clear to everyone that this only exposes a lack of confidence in their products.

The repeated testing of "Onmyoji" is the best example.

NetEase has high hopes for this game, allocating top-tier resources to it: adapting its self-developed NeoX engine, conducting on-site research in Kyoto, and hiring top Japanese voice actors to provide full voice acting for the entire story.

Each shikigami was designed independently, with over 200 original artworks and meticulously crafted dynamic effects. The Shuten-dōji alone went through 17 iterations before the final design was finalized.

Ding Lei has invested over 100 million yuan, clearly aiming to create a phenomenal product.

However, plans cannot keep up with changes.

As early as May 20, the game launched a closed beta test, limited to a small number of Android users.

The iOS Awakening Test will begin on June 17th.

More than a month later, in late August, another platform-wide test was conducted.

According to the original plan, the public beta should have started in September.

But at that very moment, the other side held a game launch event.

Mr. Ding watched the entire live stream because he took it seriously. When he saw the promotional video and game demo of "Gods and Demons", and the official announcement that the closed beta would start in September, he was deeply moved.

He felt like his world had collapsed.

The power of the other side is known to all.

There's an unwritten rule in the industry: don't hold a press conference before Xiaomi, and don't compete with Biyan Games.

The first part is because when Xiaomi holds a press conference before Lei Jun, with his unpredictable marketing and pricing strategies, consumers will feel that even though the price is high, it is very cheap, which is somewhat contrary to common sense.

The key point of the second half is that if you compete with the other side of the game, you will be crushed in every dimension.

Ding Lei made a decisive decision: postpone! Avoid the confrontation for now.

As it turned out, this decision was incredibly wise.

After the closed beta test of "Gods and Demons" began, the entire Zen Studio team obtained test qualifications through various channels and spent the night experiencing this "competitor's product".

It's worth noting that their game has been in development for over two years, and this self-developed 3D semi-real-time turn-based game is extremely rare in the mobile game industry.

This led the Onmyoji team members to transform into Onmyoji and start using their own methods to undermine the game.

At first, they could still stubbornly argue: "Similar gameplay? Identical character development systems? Similar combat mechanics? It seems the Other Shore really did start by copying others!"

But as they experienced it more deeply, their expressions gradually became serious, and the volume of their complaints disappeared.

After careful consideration, these industry experts discovered that there are still many differences between the two.

In terms of engine performance, graphics, world-building, and even gameplay innovation, "Gods and Demons" completely surpasses "Onmyoji".

If games have versions, Onmyoji is Japanese-style V0.1, then the game "Gods and Demons" produced by Biyuan is Eastern fantasy V0.3.

"How can we fight like this?" The team was plunged into despair.

The only way out is to "fight fire with fire" – since the other side is good at borrowing, then we will "learn" in the opposite direction.

Therefore, the Onmyoji team began to disassemble and extract the essence of Gods and Demons, and stitch it into their own game.

The public beta test date was also postponed from September to November.

Just like when a car company holds a press conference, they talk about the technology and show off their capabilities, but the price will be revealed later.

This is also the unethical thing about Beyond Games: they release demos at press conferences, demonstrate gameplay, and even hold offline events for 11 people, but they never reveal the specific time of the public beta, only saying that it will be in November.

Forced to take a gamble, Ding Lei chose November 8th, an "auspicious day," to proceed.

Tuesday, October 2016, 11.

Onmyoji is now in open beta.

The public beta launch was met with enthusiastic market response, immediately topping the daily best-selling charts on the Chinese Apple App Store—a position NetEase hadn't held for quite some time.
On the first day of the server launch, eight new servers were added in succession, and servers such as "Spring Cherry Blossoms" and "Summer Cicadas" required a queue of more than 3 hours.

Even at 3 a.m., nearly 10 people were still drawing cards at the same time.

Daily turnover reaches tens of millions.

With the strong support and cooperation of NetEase's marketing and distribution department.

The Weibo hashtag #Onmyoji# garnered over 2 million views in a single day.
The "SSR Mystic Talisman Drawing" guide has been shared over 50 times; a phenomenon of "showing off good luck" has appeared on social media.
It even garnered special reports from Japanese media about the Japanese-style game produced by China, and attracted the attention of many Japanese netizens.

This 3D semi-real-time turn-based RPG mobile game, independently developed by NetEase Games over two years, caused a stir in the entire Chinese gaming industry upon its public beta launch.

But it was merely a ripple.
Looking at the screen, one can see the overwhelming popularity of NetEase's relentless promotion of the open beta of "Onmyoji".

The media outlets affiliated with NetEase also contributed significantly, as NetEase was one of the clients for traffic generation, and NetEase certainly had a certain level of professional ethics.

But in Sun Ziwei's eyes, all of this was nothing more than the prey's last struggle.

The game "Gods and Demons" was already prepared, but it remained inactive because it was waiting for "Onmyoji" to make the first move.

“It’s time.” Sun Ziwei glanced around the conference room, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Attention all players, 'The Chronicles of Gods and Demons' is now online!"

"Yes!"

October 11th, Thursday.

Just two days after the open beta of Onmyoji, with Sun Ziwei's order, Gods and Demons officially launched its open beta.

Unlike NetEase's overwhelming marketing campaign, the other side's publicity can be described as "minimalist".

The game only released a single announcement on platforms such as Zhihu, Weibo, and Bilibili stating that "The Legend of Gods and Demons is now in open beta," and then took no further action.

However, thanks to the reputation of the other side in the industry and its huge player base, "Gods and Demons Chronicles" showed an overwhelming advantage as soon as it was launched.

The game "Onmyoji," which only held the top spot on the bestseller list for two days, was quickly dethroned.

Whether a game is fun or not is a matter for the players to decide; no one else can say for sure.

When the Onmyoji team experienced the public beta version of Gods and Demons with the mindset of "knowing yourself and your enemy", everyone gasped.

If the closed beta version of "Gods and Demons" that they played before was version V0.3 of "Onmyoji", then the public beta version is directly version V3.0.

In other words, "Gods and Demons Record" was already in closed beta and was still being kept secret!

In just one day, the world turned upside down, with "The Record of Gods and Demons" becoming a big name and "Onmyoji" becoming a small name.

Ding Lei is now experiencing the 'joy' that Little Ma (Ma Huateng) felt back then. He realized that facing the other side head-on brings immense pressure.

Under normal circumstances, Ding Sanshi could accept this situation.

Of NetEase's current game portfolio, only "Fantasy Westward Journey" is struggling to survive thanks to its massive user base accumulated during the PC game era. "Westward Journey Online" and "Westward Journey Online: Chaos" are still competitive, while other titles such as "Million Arthur: Extinction" and "Land of Glory" have long been defeated by the other game.

Overall, however, NetEase remains the third largest game company in China, after NetEase and Tencent.

As the third largest game developer in China, NetEase desperately needs Onmyoji to turn its fortunes around.

Despite investing hundreds of millions of yuan and a team of hundreds of people, and meticulously preparing for two years, they were still stuck in a dead end by "The Record of Gods and Demons".

However, surrendering without a fight is not the style of the former richest man, Mr. Ding. Since he has already stepped onto the gambling table and placed his bets, he has to give it a try. What if he succeeds?
Subsequently, NetEase launched Plan B, signing lucrative contracts with many game and short video platform streamers to promote and advertise "Onmyoji" by having them play the game.

The most important step was to have their editors act as Onmyoji, subtly revealing outside the game that a competitor's new game had many mechanics copied from Onmyoji.

However, given the renowned reputation of the other side, Ding Lei instructed his subordinates not to make it too obvious, as he felt he wouldn't be able to handle the consequences if it really attracted Chen Mo's attention.

In the end, all that remains is to lament one's loneliness in the desolate ocean, and to speak of Yin and Yang outside the realm of Onmyoji!

These little tricks naturally couldn't escape the eyes of those on the other side.

When Sun Ziwei saw the public opinion report, he couldn't help but sneer.

He discovered that Onmyoji was very different from what he had seen before, and that the new content was very similar to their God and Demon Record.

You're the one who copied us, and now you're turning around and blaming us.

However, if we really argue about this, it will only give the other side an opportunity, since Onmyoji was started earlier and this matter is hard to explain.

Sun Ziwei recalled a quote from Chen Mo: "Sometimes, it can be surprisingly effective if you play your own game and I play mine. In short, don't fall into the opponent's rhythm."

Looking at the art style of "Onmyoji" on his phone, an idea popped into his head.

Three days later, an interview went viral online.

"Boss! Something terrible has happened!" The person in charge of Onmyoji rushed into the office in a panic.

Ding Lei waved his hand slowly and deliberately: "How many times have I emphasized this to you in previous meetings? You must remain calm in the face of important matters. Why can't you remember?"

As he spoke, he took the tablet and looked at it. It turned out to be an interview with that guy surnamed Sun from the other side. The beginning was fine, nothing more than him bragging about his own game.

"What's the big deal? It's just Sun Wukong bragging."

"Uh, boss, look at the very end, the last paragraph."

Ding Lei scrolled through the article, and when he saw the last paragraph, his composure froze instantly.

In the end, this internet mogul broke down:

"That guy surnamed Sun, he's just like everyone else who's been around dogs!"

(End of this chapter)