NCCnovel Chapter 350: Let's see how sharp EA's sword is.
Chapter 350: Let's see how sharp EA's sword is.
The car drove into the underground parking garage of the residential area. Shen Yuege parked the car and helped Lu Ran take his crutches.
As the two walked towards the elevator, Lu Ran suddenly said, "Yue Ge."
"Um?"
"Why did Tan Yu choose Xingyue Studio for his marriage proposal? Why not somewhere else?"
Shen Yuege thought for a moment: "Because that's where Xu Manxue's career started, it has special significance for her."
"Yes. Then when I choose a wedding venue, I also want to choose a place with special meaning."
Shen Yuege glanced at him: "Where?"
Lu Ran thought for a moment and said, "I haven't decided yet. But I'm sure I will.
The elevator doors opened, and the two stepped inside. As the elevator ascended, Shen Yuege suddenly said, "Lu Ran."
"Um?"
"Take care of things with EA and Sakura Games first, then think about the wedding. Don't get distracted."
"understood."
The elevator doors opened, and Shen Yuege helped him out.
The corridor was quiet, with only the sound of two people's footsteps and the tapping of canes on the ground.
As she reached the door, Shen Yuege took out her key to open it. Lu Ran, standing behind her, suddenly said, "Yuege."
"What's wrong now?"
"Do you think EA's games will steal users from League of Legends?"
Shen Yuege pushed open the door, glanced back at him, and said, "Didn't you say that the two types of games don't conflict? People who like shooting games and people who like MOBA games are not the same group."
"That's true in theory. But people's time is limited. If he spends an hour on EA games, he'll spend an hour less on League of Legends."
"So what do you plan to do?"
Lu Ran entered the room leaning on his cane, changed his shoes, and sat down on the sofa: "Let's take a look first. Let's see how EA's games are doing, see the user feedback, see the data trends. Only by understanding the opponent can we defeat them."
Shen Yuege sat down next to him: "Haven't you learned a lot today? You watched the beta test videos and read the review articles, so you should have a good understanding now, right?"
"Watching videos and playing games are two different things. Tomorrow, when EA's game is released, the first thing I'll do is download it and play it myself. Only by playing it myself can I know exactly what's good and what's bad about it."
"Your leg isn't fully healed yet, how could you sit for so long?"
"It's just a game, not a marathon. You can just sit there and move your fingers; your legs won't get in the way."
Shen Yuege didn't say anything more, and stood up to go to the kitchen to pour water.
Lu Ran leaned back on the sofa, picked up his phone, opened TUTU, and looked at the data for "League of Legends".
The peak number of concurrent online users was 2.2 million, slightly lower than the same period yesterday, but the decrease was not significant and was within the normal fluctuation range.
User activity has not declined significantly; those who want to play games are still playing games.
But things might be different once EA's game launches tomorrow.
Lu Ran turned off his phone, leaned back on the sofa, and stared at the ceiling.
EA.
He knew better than anyone what those two letters represented in the gaming industry.
In its previous life, EA was one of the world's largest game companies, with each of its titles, such as Battlefield, FIFA, and The Sims, selling tens of millions of copies.
The EA in this world is similar to the EA in the previous world.
They have money, people, technology, and experience.
They set their sights on the Chinese market and came up with a meticulously crafted product.
This isn't an opponent like Sakura Games' "Samurai Warriors"; it's a true behemoth.
But he wasn't afraid.
Because in the Dragon Kingdom's territory, the Dragon Kingdom people have the final say.
No matter how big EA is, it's still an outsider.
They have no foothold, no distribution channels, and no user base in the Chinese market.
Although Perfect World is their partner, Perfect World's own products are not very good, so it's hard to say how much help they can provide.
But TuTu Technology is different.
TUTU has hundreds of millions of users, League of Legends has tens of millions of players, and Three Kingdoms Kill is about to launch its open beta.
Tutu Technology has established a firm foothold in the Chinese game market, with its own user base, channel resources, and brand influence.
Foreign monks are better at chanting scriptures, but they are also prone to getting sick from not adapting to the local environment.
No matter how good EA's games are, it's uncertain whether they will suit the tastes of Chinese players.
EA may not know what Chinese gamers like or dislike.
Their game is designed for the global market, and China is just one of those markets, not the only one.
All of TuTu Technology's products are tailor-made for Chinese gamers.
Lu Ran knew what Chinese players liked. He also knew what Chinese players disliked.
This is the advantage of being based in one's home country.
Shen Yuege came out of the kitchen carrying two glasses of water, handing him one: "Still thinking about EA?"
"Hmm." Lu Ran took the water glass and took a sip. "I'm wondering what the situation will be like after EA's game goes live tomorrow."
"What kind of situation do you foresee?"
Lu Ran thought for a moment and said, "In the short term, it will definitely have an impact on League of Legends. EA's games are too good; the graphics, maps, and freedom are all top-notch. Players will definitely try them out, and the data will fluctuate. But this impact won't last long because although the users of the two games overlap, their core user groups are different. People who like to play competitive games will find open-world games boring after a few days and will still come back to play ranked matches."
"What about in the long term?"
"In the long run, it depends on whether EA can retain users. There's a problem with open-world games: once the content is exhausted, players get bored. No matter how big the map is, there will always be a day when you've explored it all. No matter how many quests you have, there will always be a day when you've completed them all. Once players have experienced all the content in the game, what's left? Unless EA continues to update and release new content, users' enthusiasm will gradually fade."
Shen Yuege sat down next to him: "What about League of Legends? It'll run out of content eventually, right?"
"League of Legends is different." Lu Ran put down his water glass. "The core of League of Legends isn't the content, it's the people. Every game you face a different opponent, and every game requires you to rethink and make new decisions. People are the most unpredictable factor, so every game is a new experience. This kind of experience can't be created by simply piling on content."
Shen Yuege thought for a moment and nodded: "That makes sense."
Lu Ran leaned back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling, his mind starting to wander back to EA.
Tomorrow will be a tough battle.
But it's not just a tough battle for him alone; it's a tough battle for the entire Tutu Technology.
He needs Lao Wang to keep an eye on the server, Xiao Yang to keep an eye on user feedback, Lao Zhao to keep an eye on public opinion, and Zhou Mingzhe to keep an eye on the overall situation.
Everyone is in their own position, and everyone has their own task.
What he needs to do is to play all of EA's games himself, figure out what's good and what's bad about them, and then he can formulate a strategy.
He picked up his phone and sent a message to Zhou Mingzhe: "Brother Zhou, EA's game launches tomorrow. Have the tech department keep an eye on the servers. There might be a lot of users online at the same time, so we don't want it to lag."
Zhou Mingzhe replied instantly: "It's all arranged. Old Wang added three more servers; it can handle it."
"What about the operations department?"
"Xiao Yang had made contingency plans. After EA's game was released, there would be a lot of discussion on TUTU, so she arranged for people to monitor the comment section and deal with negative opinions in a timely manner."
"What about the marketing department?"
"Old Zhao has contacted the media, and after EA's game launches tomorrow, a batch of comparative reviews will be released. This isn't about criticizing EA to praise us; it's an objective comparison so users can make their own judgments."
After reading it, Lu Ran replied with a "good" and put his phone aside.
Shen Yuege, observing his expression, said, "You've already made all the arrangements, what are you still worried about?"
"It's not worry, it's..." Lu Ran thought for a moment, unable to find a precise explanation, "It's that feeling, you know something big is about to happen, and all you can do is wait for it to happen, and then react after it happens. The waiting process is the most painful."
"Then don't wait anymore. Go to sleep. When you open your eyes tomorrow, something big will happen."
Lu Ran laughed: "You're right. Go to sleep."
He stood up, supporting himself on the sofa armrest, and walked towards the bedroom with his cane.
"Lu Ran".
"Um?"
"What do you think will happen when EA's game launches tomorrow?"
"I don't know," Lu Ran said, "but I hope it's good."
Shen Yuege was taken aback: "You want it to be good?"
"Yes. When it does well, it forces us to do even better. When it does poorly, we become complacent. The stronger the opponent, the stronger we become."
Shen Yuege was silent for a while, then said, "You think about things differently from others."
"Because I've seen even stronger opponents," Lu Ran said.
Shen Yuege didn't ask where they had met before, but simply squeezed his hand gently.
The two sat quietly on the bed, neither of them speaking.
The night outside the window was deep. Winter nights come early in Shanghai. It was not even eleven o'clock yet, and it was already very quiet outside.
Shen Yuege didn't go back to her room; she just stayed there quietly.
Lu Ran closed his eyes, his mind starting to race with thoughts of tomorrow.
EA's new game features a semi-open world, a large map, and a high degree of freedom.
He had previously watched the beta test videos on his computer; the graphics were indeed exquisite, and the map was indeed large.
Players can do many things in the game, such as hunting, fishing, building houses, farming, and interacting with NPCs.
However, in Lu Ran's eyes, it was still a new game genre, and not yet mature enough.
He had played many similar games in his previous life and knew the power of this type.
It's not the kind of fast-paced game you get tired of after a couple of days; it's a deep game that can get you hooked.
Players invest a lot of time and energy in the game, managing their virtual world in a very professional manner.
This type of game isn't a direct competitor to League of Legends, but they compete for the same thing—users' time.
A person only has 24 hours in a day. Working, eating, and sleeping take up most of that time, leaving only a few hours.
For every hour he spends on EA games, he spends an hour less on League of Legends.
This is competition, not direct confrontation, but a more covert and persistent competition.
EA.
These two words swirled in his mind many times, and as they swirled, his previous thoughts resurfaced.
If EA can create open-world games, so can Tutu Technology.
We're not doing it now; we'll do it when we have enough manpower.
He had a ready-made plan in mind; every open-world game from his previous life was a blockbuster that had been proven successful in the market.
Given enough manpower and time, he can make them in this world.
As a transmigrator with a cheat-like advantage, it would be somewhat shameful if I couldn't stir up a bloodbath in this world.
But not now.
Tutu Technology is currently short-staffed and can't even keep up with the existing projects, so where would they find the manpower to start new projects?
Therefore, he needs the Chengdu branch, those new employees, and time for them to grow.
Once everything is ready, it will be time for Tutu Technology to unleash its full potential.
Lu Ran smiled slightly and closed his eyes.
Tomorrow, let's see just how sharp EA's sword is.
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