You promised it would be a free game, but now your screen is full of in-app purchase prompts?

Magic City.

A floor of an office building in the suburbs.

Chen Feng smiled and stared intently at Bao Ge playing Plants vs. Zombies on the computer screen.

"This is utterly inhuman!"

"Who feeds their plants with super fertilizer that costs just a few dollars? Giving a few to the sunflowers right at the start, that's awesome..."

Chen Feng was completely stunned by Bao Ge's money-throwing style of play.

He anticipated that his pay-to-win game mode would attract a group of extremely extravagant pay-to-win players.

But he really didn't expect players like Brother Bao who just throw money around like that.

It's not that super fertilizer is very expensive; it's really only a few dollars a piece.

Anyone with a bit of money can buy a bunch to play with.

However, in reality, with the current resources on Bao Ge's account, he could easily clear the game even without using super fertilizer.

Even so, in order to have more fun, he still chose to throw the super fertilizer directly at the plants.

This was something he hadn't expected.

bang bang bang...

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Chen Feng raised his head:

"Please come in."

A short while later, a woman dressed in a business suit, a pencil skirt, and black stockings, who looked to be around thirty years old, walked in from outside the door.

"Boss, the number of players who have applied for beta testing access for our Plants vs. Zombies game has now exceeded 50,000."

"Four hundred of the five hundred qualification numbers have already been issued."

After entering Chen Feng's office, the woman reported the current situation of the backstage to Chen Feng.

Hearing this, Chen Feng nodded and gestured for the woman to sit down in the chair opposite him.

This woman works in the operations department of Fengyun Games and also serves as Chen Feng's secretary.

To be honest, it's a bit outrageous for a secretary to also be involved in operations.

But there was no other way; Chen Feng didn't have much money to begin with, so he naturally had to save as much as possible on personnel.

This woman is quite capable and can handle these jobs, so there's no need to pay her an extra salary.

After all, if Chen Feng's game development fails, he will face direct bankruptcy...

They don't even have the right to make a comeback.

Fortunately, judging from the current situation, it seems they have survived.

So now, all we have to do is wait for him to start reaping the rewards...

Across from Chen Feng, seeing that the boss remained silent, the operations manager looked anxious.

"Boss, that's a brilliant move! You've spent a fortune to hire the hottest game streamers to let us try out the game and get eliminated!"

"Our game is widely available online now, and many players are eager to play it. We've already had over 50,000 pre-registered players, and this is only the first day!"

"How about we just launch the open beta directly? Then set the price at 498. I believe many people can accept this price and will be willing to buy it."

The operations manager shared her thoughts.

Upon hearing this, Chen Feng frowned and shook his head.

"No rush, let them rush first."

"The closed beta test period cannot be shortened by even one day. You can go out and announce it in a bit. If there are no problems with the closed beta test, the public beta test is expected to start on the 15th of next month."

"Then you can have the planning department create some gameplay analysis videos and release them to increase the game's popularity."

Who says games can't use scarcity marketing?

First, generate buzz, and then release the game when players are completely hooked. This is the best way to maximize the game's popularity.

In this day and age, popularity equals money!

"As for the pricing issue, I've said this before: our game is free to play, and players don't need to spend a single penny to play it."

"Of course, if players want a better experience, they can spend money to buy in-game gift packs..."

"But……"

Even though Chen Feng had said these things many times, the operations manager still couldn't understand his advanced way of thinking:

"Boss, we're letting people play this game for free, and most of the people who come in are probably those who don't want to spend money."

"Expecting people to spend money on in-game items in a free-to-play game? How many of them would actually be willing to buy those things?"

"After all, the feedback I've gathered online is that many people are saying that you can complete our game without spending money, it's just a bit more difficult."

"Since it's possible to complete the game without spending money, many of them probably wouldn't be willing to spend any, right?"

The operations manager might think that her boss, despite having a talent for making games, is...

The game they made is really fun.

However, as a businessman, he was still too inexperienced.

He had absolutely no idea how to make money.

"That's none of your business..."

"well……"

This issue has been discussed many times, and Chen Feng is getting impatient.

But as he spoke, he sighed, and his expression softened:

"Sister Zhao, as I said, I have my reasons."

"Don't worry, I know you want to improve the company, and I know you're doing this for my own good, but since I dared to do this, I must have my reasons."

"You are definitely an experienced operations person, but your thinking is still a bit old-fashioned."

"Trust me, once the game officially launches, there will definitely be a lot of players spending money on in-game purchases!"

"There are even players who spend hundreds of thousands of yuan on in-game purchases!"

"The average recharge amount per person will not be lower than the price of 498."

"Most importantly, by using the gimmick of a free game, it can attract a large number of players, which avoids the situation in the old game model where many people were unwilling to spend hundreds of dollars to buy a game."

"No matter how fun your game is, players will be very cautious before they play it."

"Let me put it this way, money isn't easy to earn these days. What if a player spends hundreds of dollars on a game only to find it's not fun?"

"So many people want to play, but are deterred by the price, and in the end, these games end up being discounted and reduced in price."

"This leads to another even funnier thing, which is that many players simply don't buy at the beginning, but wait for you to offer discounts and then buy at a lower price. This model can make money, but not much."

"Just you wait, Sister Zhao! Our game will be a smash hit after the open beta!"

Chen Feng once again explained his ideas to Sister Zhao, who was also the operations manager and secretary, in a serious manner.

After all, Sister Zhao truly treats the company like her own home.

"Alright..."

"You might be right."

Sister Zhao sighed helplessly, but ultimately chose to believe Chen Feng.

Actually, Sister Zhao's family is quite well-off; they are even wealthier than Chen Feng is now.

This woman quit her job in operations at a large company and came specifically to work for Chen Feng because she thought he was talented. The moment Chen Feng explained his ideas, she was instantly captivated...

"but……"

As if she had thought of something else, Sister Zhao spoke again:

"Even if you wanted to use scarcity marketing to build up players' anticipation and desire, you don't need to wait that long, do you?"

"What if other game companies see our game is popular and start copying it?"

"They can also learn from our pricing model."

"If they seize the initiative, wouldn't we be doing all the work for someone else?"

Sister Zhao then raised a new question.

Chen Feng, as if he had anticipated Zhao Jie's question, wore a confident smile.

"It's fine, let them imitate if they want to."

"Once this marketing approach is launched, it will definitely have a huge impact on the existing game market, and it will inevitably be replicated by other game companies in the future."

"But right now, it's not that simple for them to replicate a correct and complete operating process."

"I would even dare to say that!"

"We've noticed an improvement in our condition now; we can survive by observing patiently."

"But if a company is blinded by profit and blindly adopts the same approach, it's going to be in big trouble!"

Chen Feng was quite confident in his statement.

A complete free game experience is not so easy to imitate.

In his original world, this game mode underwent countless improvements from its inception to its refinement.

These guys don't understand anything. They try to do things based on just a few ideas, and the final product will definitely be a mess.

First, you need to figure out what the players want.

In other words, you need to sell something in the game to get players to buy it.

And whether the pricing of your props is reasonable is also a very serious issue.

Just understanding the core concepts behind things like first-time recharge bonuses and monthly/quarterly cards isn't easy.

And the most crucial point!

Even if a pay-to-win system is introduced, there must be a limit; it cannot excessively ruin the gaming experience for free-to-play players.

For example, in order to force players to spend money to buy gift packs and items, you might set the game difficulty to the point where you can't play without spending money.

Anyone who dares to do this will surely face certain death!

Free game!

You have to be able to play without spending money, but the gaming experience will be worse than for players who spend money.

Ultimately, the core idea behind pay-to-win games is to give players a sense of superiority that comes from being rich, a psychological experience rather than the inherent value of the game itself.

Sometimes, those cool-looking skins are more valuable than in-game items that can increase combat power!

Because this is about the face of wealthy players!

In this kind of game, players at different levels need completely different things.

"Alright then, boss."

"I'll go talk to my colleagues in the planning department about the events and gift packs for the public beta launch."

Seeing Chen Feng's confidence, Sister Zhao didn't say anything more.

If all else fails, even if the game flops later on.

At worst, she could ask her dad to invest some more money and try to take over Fengyun Games again.

In short, it has now been proven that their game is definitely a good game and can make money.

However, there is no evidence yet to prove whether this model will work.

This made her feel both confident and uneasy, leaving her with very mixed feelings.

Chen Feng's extreme confidence has eased her tension considerably.

This man! He might actually be a genius in the gaming industry!

……

After Sister Zhao left, Chen Feng turned his attention back to his computer screen.

The screen still shows the live stream of game streamer Bao Ge.

He originally just wanted to pay Bao Ge to play for two hours and asked him to recommend it.

As a result, this guy played it for two days in a row.

I almost played games all night the night before, until after 4 a.m.

Then I slept for more than three hours, and then got up and started working again.

In just one day, Bao Ge has spent more than 5,000 yuan on this game, buying all the available gift packs and also spending 3000 yuan on silver coins.

Then, he pushed through the main story levels all the way to 4-8, currently leading all other game streamers in progress.

That's a really ruthless person...