NCCnovel Chapter 223 One Week of Defense and Counterattack
Chapter 223 One Week of Defense and Counterattack
Three days later, the "WeChat Gaming Platform" was launched on schedule.
Lu Ran sat in the office of TuTu Technology, staring at the back-end data panel, his expression more solemn than ever before.
Daily active users: 18,347,892
It has decreased by a full three million compared to yesterday.
And it is declining at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Mr. Lu," the operations engineer's voice was trembling with tears, "our server load has come down, CPU utilization has dropped from 90% to 50%... but this time it's not because we optimized it well."
Lu Ran nodded: "I know, it's because the users have left."
He opened TUTU's comment section, and the screen was filled with "Sorry, Rabbit, I'm leaving":
"WeChat sends out red envelopes every day, and you can get money by playing Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game). I just can't resist the temptation..."
"I don't want to leave either, but that's real money!"
"I've had my rabbit for a month, and today I fed it for the last time. I'm so touched."
"Don't leave upstairs! You can also exchange points for skins!"
"Points are no match for cash! A three-yuan red envelope from WeChat goes directly to my account; I can buy a bottle of Coke with that."
"I'm different. I just take advantage of the deals over there to buy skins here."
"That's a new idea upstairs. I also want to visit both places, but unfortunately I don't have time. Oh well, I won't go there. I'll stay here and take care of my rabbit."
Fortunately, it's not a one-sided loss.
However, Lu Ran knew that the users who actually left probably wouldn't keep in touch with anyone in the community.
Users who can send messages are actually potential customers, but Lu Ran can't afford to engage in a money war.
He knew that many users were only leaving for the red envelopes. He understood that, but it was still hard to bear seeing users leave.
"Brother Zhou," he turned to Zhou Mingzhe, "how are our points redemption results?"
Zhou Mingzhe pulled up a panel: "The participation rate is okay, with about six million users redeeming the skin. But the retention rate... isn't very optimistic. Many users left after redeeming the skin, accounting for about 30%."
%.
In other words, some people take the skin and run, fleecing others after they've taken all the benefits.
"This is even with Rabbit supporting us," Lu Ran said with a wry smile. "Without Rabbit, our daily active users would probably be halved today."
Zhou Mingzhe pushed up his glasses, unusually remaining silent.
He knew Lu Ran was telling the truth.
WeChat's move is ruthless—giving away tens of millions of red envelopes every day for seven consecutive days. They give away red envelopes for playing Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game), Temple Run (another popular Chinese card game), and Rhythm Master (another popular Chinese card game). Users get one yuan just for logging in; one yuan for playing a game; and one yuan for winning a game.
They throw money around like it's free.
They also introduced a "friends' red envelope" feature—inviting friends to register earns both parties five yuan. This was an even more ruthless move, directly leveraging WeChat's social network to attract millions of new users overnight.
"Mr. Lu," Zou Xin rushed in from the door, his face ashen, "TUTU's download numbers have plummeted! Today's new users are only a third of yesterday's!"
Lu Ran nodded, not too surprised.
Expected.
WeChat's move is not only about grabbing existing users, but also about intercepting new users.
New users who originally wanted to download TUTU changed their minds after seeing the red envelope on WeChat.
"Is there any other bad news?" he asked.
Zou Xin hesitated for a moment, but still said, "Yes. Three of our GG suppliers called today to say they want to suspend cooperation."
Which three?
"Huangmi phones, Genki Forest, Perfect Diary," Zou Xin said. "They said that WeChat's prices are lower and it has a larger user base, so..."
"So they kicked us out," Lu Ran finished for him.
Zou Xin nodded awkwardly.
Lu Ran took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair.
The sponsorship we recently secured, the positions we placed with guys inside TUTU, and the collaborations we've already negotiated with several guys—three of them are now planning to leave.
Although the remaining few companies haven't left yet, they will eventually leave if users continue to churn.
"President Lu," Zhou Mingzhe said with a worried expression, "what do we do next?"
Lu Ran did not answer immediately.
He stared at the ceiling, his mind racing.
WeChat's move was clearly well-prepared. Giving away tens of millions of red envelopes every day for seven consecutive days—that means at least 70 million yuan has been spent.
Seventy million.
He only had 20 million in his account.
What can we use to compete with them?
Moreover, the other party is investing money from two companies together. If I dare to follow suit, they will definitely increase their investment.
"Brother Zhou," he suddenly sat up straight, "how's the progress of 'Seven Heroes of the Jianghu'?"
Zhou Mingzhe was stunned for a moment, then quickly pulled up the progress chart: "The cross-network latency issue has been basically resolved, but the villain character animation system is still being debugged, and it is expected to take another week."
"One week..." Lu Ran murmured, "The WeChat Weibo red envelope campaign will be almost over in a week. It'll be perfect to launch then."
Zhou Mingzhe asked, "You mean, we'll hold out for a week?"
"Right." Lu Ran stood up and walked to the whiteboard. "From now on, focus on defense. We'll increase the rewards for the points redemption event, with unlimited rare skins available. Log in every day to collect points. At the same time, we'll launch the 'Left-Behind Rabbit' event in the community—check in every day for seven consecutive days to receive a limited-edition badge."
"medal?"
"Yes, it'll be called the 'Watcher' Medal," Lu Ran said. "Only users who log in during these seven days can claim it. It will be discontinued and never be available again."
Zhou Mingzhe nodded thoughtfully: "Is this playing the nostalgia card?"
"That's right," Lu Ran said. "Since we can't compete on money, we'll compete on emotional connection. We need to make users feel that staying isn't a loss, but an honor."
He paused, then added, "Also, notify the operations department to post more tear-jerking content these next few days. For example, pin that post about 'The Girl Living Alone and Her Electronic Rabbit,' make it a featured post and push it multiple times. Let users know that what they're missing isn't just a game, but also the rabbit that's been with them for a month."
Zhou Mingzhe jotted down a few notes in his notebook, then looked up and asked, "What about GG Merchants?"
"Let's leave it for now," Lu Ran said. "Once 'Seven Heroes' is released and the users return, they'll come back on their own. There's no point in begging them now."
Zhou Mingzhe nodded and got up to assign tasks.
Lu Ran sat back in his chair, looked out the window at the Shanghai sky, and let out a long breath.
Defend for a week.
It's easier said than done.
WeChat is throwing money around every day, while TUTU is losing users every day. Three million a day, that's twenty million a week—at that point, TUTU's daily active users might not even reach ten million.
But no way.
Fighting head-on now is suicide.
All we can do is endure it.
Wait until the other side runs out of money, wait until their users get tired, and wait until "Seven Heroes Jianghu" is launched.
"Mr. Lu," the maintenance guy's voice rang out again, "there's a situation..."
Lu Ran's eyelids twitched: "Speak."
"In the TUTU pet community, someone started a 'Left-Behind Rabbit Alliance'," the maintenance guy handed over the tablet. "Now there are over a million members."
Lu Ran took the tablet; on the screen was a newly formed circle.
The group owner is a user with the ID "Rabbit Guardian," and the pinned post reads:
So what if WeChat is throwing money around? I only have one rabbit!
The number of comments below has exceeded 10,000:
"+1! I'm not leaving! My bunny will wake me up!"
"I'm not leaving either! My rabbit can talk nonsense, but can the pet on WeChat?"
"They don't even have pets! What do they have to compare with me?"
"The Left-Behind Rabbit Alliance, assemble! Let's stay together for these seven days!"
Lu Ran flipped through the messages one by one, and her eyes suddenly felt a little hot.
Ultimately, someone will like what you make yourself.
I haven't lost yet.
...