NCCnovel Chapter 357 I am your fall
Chapter 357 I am your fall
After hanging up Lu Ran's call, Chen Mo stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in his office, looking at the gray sky outside, feeling as happy as if it were New Year's Day.
He took out a pack of cigarettes from the drawer, lit one, and took a deep drag.
He had quit smoking for six months, but today he wanted to make an exception.
Sakura Games' data declined by 25%.
The number spun in his mind several times, and each time it made him feel comfortable.
It wasn't because he had a personal grudge against Sakura Games; it was because he felt his judgment had been validated.
Previously, when he was advocating for cooperation with Tutu Technology and boycotting Sakura Games within Tencent, some people in the investment department said behind his back that he had received benefits from Tutu Technology, that he had been fooled by Lu Ran, and that he had a narrow vision and could not see the global trend.
He had heard these words before, but he remained silent.
Because he knew that arguing was pointless.
No matter how much you say, no one will believe you.
Only by producing tangible results can we silence those people.
Now the results are out.
Sakura Games' "Samurai Warriors" saw its data decline steadily, while Tutu Technology's "League of Legends" remained stable and even managed to recover despite the impact from EA.
This comparison is more convincing than any verbal argument.
Chen Mo stubbed out his cigarette, sat back down at his desk, turned on his computer, and pulled up the quarterly data report for Tencent Games' East China branch.
The report was just released last week, and he has read it several times, but each time he reads it, he feels confident.
The total number of game users in East China has decreased slightly by about three percent in the past month, mainly due to the diversion of users to EA's Wildlands.
However, Tencent Games' market share in East China not only did not decrease, but actually increased by two percentage points.
Because of the deep integration between League of Legends and Tencent's account system, most users remain within Tencent's ecosystem.
Users log in to League of Legends with their Tencent accounts, watch live streams and browse communities on TUTU, and switch between various products, never leaving Tencent's ecosystem.
This is why Chen Mo insisted on cooperating with Tutu Technology in the first place.
It wasn't because he particularly liked Lu Ran as a person, but because he had done the math.
Tencent didn't invest a lot of resources in its collaboration with Tutu Technology, but the returns were clear—users spent more time on the platform, their activity levels increased, and their willingness to pay became stronger.
These data are all real and verifiable, and they are written in the report so that anyone can see them.
What if Tencent had chosen to partner with Sakura Games back then?
Chen Mo had imagined that scenario.
Tencent invested a large sum of money, acquiring less than 10% of Sakura Games' shares, and obtained the distribution rights for "Samurai Warriors" in the Chinese market.
And then what? Within a month of its release, "Dynasty Warriors" had lost more than half of its users, Tencent's money went down the drain, the investment department was devastated, and in the end, he had to clean up the mess.
Luckily, we didn't take that road.
Chen Mo leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and began to plan what to do next.
The East China branch's performance ranks among the top three within Tencent, a position he has held firmly for a long time.
However, he had a falling out with the investment department because of the Sakura Games incident. Although the higher-ups did not explicitly state which side they were on, it would still affect his reputation within the company to some extent.
it's good now.
The data came out, and his judgment was correct; the investment department's judgment was wrong.
He doesn't need to say anything; others will naturally see it.
He estimated that with the personnel reshuffle at headquarters early next year, he would have a chance to be promoted again.
It's not about leaving East China, but about taking on more responsibilities based on the existing foundation in East China.
There aren't many people like him within Tencent who have both business experience and strategic vision; the higher-ups should be able to see that.
But all of this is contingent on his cooperation with Lu Ran not going wrong.
Chen Mo opened his eyes, picked up his phone, and scrolled through Lu Ran's WeChat chat history.
The two didn't have many conversations, but every single one was very practical.
There were no empty pleasantries; they got straight to the point and ended the meeting there.
Chen Mo liked this communication style very much.
He's not the kind of person who likes to build relationships, nor is he good at forming close friendships with others.
His logic is simple: you show me the results, I'll show you the results, and we'll let our abilities speak for themselves.
Lu Ran happens to be that kind of person, and the two of them work together very smoothly, without wasting time on trivial matters.
He thought for a moment and sent Lu Ran a message: "President Lu, there's a game industry exchange meeting in East China next month. Would you like to come and give a presentation? It won't be long, just twenty minutes will do. We can talk about our experience in operating League of Legends."
After sending the message, he felt it was a bit inappropriate, so he deleted it and retyped: "The East China branch is hosting an industry gathering next month, and everyone coming will be from the gaming industry. Come and have a seat, and help me out. You don't need to prepare anything, just chat for a bit."
Lu Ran replied quickly: "Okay. Which day specifically? I'll arrange the time."
"Next month, the 18th. There's still over a month, no rush. Your leg should be better by then, right?"
"It should be better now. The doctor said that after two more weeks of rehabilitation training, I should be able to walk normally."
"That's good. I'll treat you to dinner when you come. There's a new Hunan restaurant that just opened in Shanghai; I've heard it's pretty good."
"I'll go if you treat me. I won't go if I have to pay."
Chen Mo couldn't help but laugh when he saw the message.
This Lu Ran, whose net worth is almost 10 billion, is still so stingy when it comes to eating a meal.
He replied with an "I'll treat" emoji, put his phone aside, and continued looking at the data report.
It was getting dark outside the window. Winters in Shanghai get dark early; the lights had to be turned on by 5 p.m.
Chen Mo sat in the dimly lit office without turning on the lights, staring blankly at the numbers on the computer screen.
A name suddenly popped into his mind—Wang Huabing.
Wang Huabing on Weibo.
Chen Mo felt a mix of emotions when he thought of this person.
Several years ago, he had a lot of dealings with Wang Huabing. At that time, Weibo was considered the leader in the social media industry, with hundreds of millions of daily active users. Everyone had to call him President Wang.
Back then, Wang Huabing was full of vigor and walked with a confident stride. When he sat down in a meeting, his aura was so overwhelming that no one dared to speak loudly.
But it's different now.
Since Tencent abandoned Weibo and switched to cooperating with Tutu Technology, Weibo's situation has become increasingly difficult.
Although Chen Mo didn't pay special attention to Weibo's data, he would still hear some rumors about things happening in the industry.
The gaming section on Weibo is almost deserted.
This is not an exaggeration, it's the truth.
League of Legends players discuss the game, watch live streams, and find teammates on TUTU. Although there are related topics on Weibo, their popularity is several orders of magnitude lower than that on TUTU.
Needless to say, most of the game streamers have moved to TUTU. The few who still post content on Weibo are just doing a perfunctory job, copying and pasting.
Users left, streamers left, and naturally, GG host left too.
Chen Mo remembers that at its peak, Weibo had nearly 300 million daily active users.
It's said that the number has now fallen below 200 million, but nobody knows the exact figure. Weibo doesn't release detailed data, but according to reports from third-party organizations, the trend is not optimistic.
Chen Mo could somewhat guess Wang Huabing's situation on Weibo.
When Tencent abandoned Weibo and chose to cooperate with TUTU, although the decision was made by higher-ups, Wang Huabing, as the head of Weibo's operations, had to bear some of the blame.
More importantly, Wang Huabing had been promoting the development of the gaming business within Weibo, making the gaming section one of Weibo's most important content segments.
Now that the gaming area has collapsed, his greatest achievement has become his biggest hole.
Chen Mo thought for a moment, picked up his phone, and found Wang Huabing's number.
The two people's chat history stopped more than half a year ago. The last message was from Wang Huabing: "Old Chen, let's get together sometime." Chen Mo replied with a "Okay," and then there was no further communication.
He hesitated for a moment and didn't call.
It's not that I don't want to fight, it's that I don't know what to say.
His relationship with Wang Huabing wasn't that close.
The two people had a working relationship, and when that relationship ended, their contact naturally ceased.
This is the norm in the industry, nothing special to say about it.
Moreover, he guessed that Wang Huabing was in a bad mood, and no matter what he said on the phone, it sounded like he was gloating.
Forget it.
Chen Mo put down his phone, picked up the cup on the table, and took a sip of water.
He guessed right.
Wang Huabing was indeed in a bad mood.
At this moment, Wang Huabing was sitting in his office in the Weibo headquarters building, with a freshly printed quarterly data report spread out in front of him, his expression as grim as if he had just eaten a bitter melon.
Every number in the report is declining.
Daily active users declined.
Monthly active users declined.
Average user time spent using the device decreased.
GG revenue declined.
The number of content posts published in the gaming section dropped the most, falling by nearly 40% compared to the previous quarter.
Wang Huabing even wanted to curse, "I'm your loser!"
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