637 Struggle's False Marketing and Unorthodox Pricing

September 3rd, Saturday…

Tengda's new game, Struggle, was officially released!

In Shanghai…

He An, who had just finished tending to work, arrived home and prepared to rest.

He intended to go to Jingzhou and continue teaching Boss Ma last Friday, but his own Mengguo Games had run into some problems. He had thus ended up trying to deal with the problems until yesterday.

So his lesson with Boss Ma was postponed until Friday.

Although it had been unexpected, He An thought that the timing was good. That was because Tengda's new game, Struggle, was put up for sale today!

He An was filled with expectations for the new game.

After all, Boss Pei had already done several standalone games earlier, and all of them had become benchmarks for domestic standalone games. He had achieved new heights, especially in terms of conceptualizing and depth.

This time, He An—like all other gamers—expected Struggle to be a large-scale action game. That was why he was hopeful.

It came just in time as He An was worrying about what to teach Boss Ma in his last lesson.

Everything that he had said before had been a summary and generalization of the lessons he had accumulated as a game designer over tens of years. The lessons had been filled with valuable insights.

From ideation to creation and then to sales and marketing, He An had already addressed them over.

However, it was precisely because the content so far had been rich and valuable that he was having difficulty finding anything else to talk about for the last lesson. If the content for the last lesson fell short, it would be meaningless.

It was just as well that Tengda was providing him with more material!

Since He An still had a week before his lesson with Boss Ma, he could use the time to analyze Tengda's new game through and through.

Perhaps he would be able to obtain inspiration from the game or the game would trigger some of his sealed memories. Then, maybe he would be able to find something valuable to teach.

Now that he had finished work, He An preparing to play games to relax.

He switched on his computer and accessed the official platform. Indeed, in the most eye-catching recommendation spot on the official platform's front page, it said: 'Tengda's new game, Struggle, is up for sale!'

However, there were only beautifully written words and no promotional poster.

It was a little strange.

Ordinary games would put up promotional posters on their advertisement spots, so that the beautiful scenes and characters in the game would be displayed for all to see. That would give gamers a better first impression and attract more of them to play it.

"Boss Pei is really stubborn. He is living up to his name indeed."

Thinking nothing much of this, He An clicked the words.

Other game designers would have been expected to stick to the customs of advertising. However, there was no need for Boss Pei to. All things aside, the words 'Tengda's new game' on the front page would cause gamers to press it at once.

When he arrived at the game's details page, He An suddenly realized that something was amiss. That was because the details page was finally displaying the game's synopsis and images!

The game was introduced in this manner:

In reality, no matter how much one struggles, they would not be able to escape their destiny.

There were many promotional screenshots of the game as well. They were beautiful, and the artistic style made a lasting impression, but the only problem was… the scenes and characters in the screenshots were worlds apart from everyone's expectations!

The background was modern, and there were many foreigners wearing clothes that one would normally see in real life, including suits, T-shirts, and sweaters.

He An was confused.

What happened to the large-scale action game?

Indeed, some action games made use of modern material, but those were often set on mysterious islands or lost ancient ruins. None of them had been set in the city!

From the promotional screenshots, He An could tell that the game was nothing like action games!

What was even more confusing were the introduction and the game's Mandarin name.

'In reality, no matter how hard one struggles, they would not be able to escape their destiny'?

That was so depressing!

Yes, that was true to a certain extent. Most people were helpless in real life, and real life didn't change according to one's will.

However, that did not mean that this kind of fatalism should be promoted!

Life was filled with unhappy events, but people should try hard to live a good life no matter what. That was because there was no giving up or exiting. People struggled, not to live a better life than others, but so that they would live a better life than before.

What's more, the English and Mandarin translations of the word 'Struggle' meant slightly different things!

In English, Struggle had many meanings. Before this, everyone had thought that the game would be an action one. Thus, they subconsciously assumed that 'struggle' meant to combat and fight.

However, in Mandarin, it was translated as 'to strive', which rid the gamers of their initial thoughts completely. At once, it exposed the game's true theme!

With this opening, He An became stunned by Boss Pei's actions, and he had not even entered the game. At this point, more intelligent gamers would have realized that they had been bluffed by the advertisements.

"Did Boss Pei use realistic themes and then become afraid that nobody would play it? Is that why he resorted to false marketing?

"It can't be.

"He would not be able to lure gamers in this way, and it wouldn't help his sales. Instead, it would backfire and ruin his own reputation. He would lose out significantly."

He An was confused.

At that moment, he suddenly realized something. He retrieved all of Tengda's promotional material at the height of its publicity campaign.

After reading the promotional material, he looked back at the game's introduction.

He did this three more times.

Then, he understood.

"Boss Pei… did not engage in false marketing. He was telling the truth. At most, he was just misleading everyone.

"What kind of new strategy is this?"

He An realized that the content written on the game's details page completely matched the game's actual content!

The misunderstanding had only developed because of the mention of 'motion capture'. Everyone had mistakenly thought that Tengda had spent a huge sum on motion-capturing because it had been creating an action game!

Yet, it turned out to have realistic themes.

Crazy! Why would you need motion capture for realistic themes? Do you have too much money and nowhere to spend it?

If this had been some other game designer, He An would have lashed out and cussed, thinking that this had been false advertising all along.

When He An had been teaching Boss Ma before, he had said that a game's publicity would either make or break a game. If the game's advertising and the actual game were mismatched, a destructive blow would have been dealt to the standalone game.

The result?

The advertising for Boss Pei's new game and the actual game were mismatched! What's more, it was ridiculously mismatched!

He An was troubled and perplexed. Boss Pei had committed a mistake that he had always known to be low-class. Yet, all the more, he did not dare to believe it.

Who was Boss Pei?

He was a talent at sales! He could find the best way of marketing every single game, and he understood how to create conversation among gamers.

Yes, this must be another special advertising tactic!

However, He An would only find out exactly how special it was after playing the game.

He An prepared to purchase it and then discovered another confusing thing. He had to purchase the dual protagonist modes separately?

When he clicked the purchase button, an introductory window popped up. One was the rich version, and the other was the poor.

The drawing on the rich version was of a business elite in a suit. He was swirling his glass of red wine while looking out of a full-length window, into the city, from the penthouse of a skyscraper. He looked like the prince of the world as if he held everything in the palm of his hand.

The words said: 'Born in a wealthy home, your struggle would be unbelievably smooth. However, fate is unexpected. In the face of death, everyone is equal. If you are a rich person, I don't suggest you buy this game, or it would feel very boring.'

Price: 19 yuan (Original Price: 29 yuan)

The drawing on the poor version was of a peasant in torn and tattered clothes, holding nothing in his hands. As the cars drove by on the busy street, he looked up at the skyscraper in front of him, with his back view emitting hints of envy.

The words said: 'Born in a poor home, your struggle would be filled with pain, suffering, and helplessness. Your determination could change your fate, but fate is unwilling to be changed by you. No matter whether you are a rich or poor man, I don't suggest you buy this game because you would be meaninglessly overwhelmed with negative energy."

Price: 79 yuan (Original Price: 99 yuan)

The buttons for each version were separate. Obviously, one could only purchase either one. Moreover, there was no option for He An to buy both games.

He An did not understand the purpose of this. Wasn't it just clicking one more button?

He would buy the rich version before he bought the poor version.

However, when he tried to click the button for the poor version, a pop-up window appeared.

"There are no second chances in life. If you want to experience both types of lives, you would not get to enjoy the discounts. Both versions would be sold to you at the original price, and you have to pay a total of 29+99=128 yuan for this purchase. Are you sure about this?"

He An studied the words closely. As his lips parted, his expression became shocked; his mind filled with question marks.

What was the meaning of this? Was Tengda messing around?

This pricing model was completely novel to He An, despite all his years as a game designer and his vast knowledge!

Other dual protagonist modes could be found in the game, and players could usually choose which character they wanted to be once they entered.

Yet, this game had separated both dual protagonist modes!

On top of those, both of them were priced differently. One was 79 yuan and the other was 19 yuan—almost four times cheaper!

Would the poor version really have four times the content of the rich version? Obviously not!

The most ridiculous thing was that buying both versions would prevent one from enjoying the discounts. They would have to pay 128 yuan, which was six times more than if they only bought the rich version!

To He An, this pricing strategy was extremely ridiculous. That 19 yuan was obviously too cheap, but 128 yuan was too expensive. Wouldn't it have made more sense to sell each game for 98 yuan?

Was the pricing strategy out to push gamers to only buy the rich version?

What's more, the synopses seemed cruel.

The rich version seemed to hint at a bad ending, and wealthy people were advised not to buy it.

On the other hand, the poor version stated upfront that one could not change their fate. That would be a bad ending as well, and both poor and rich people were advised not to buy it.

Didn't that amount to everyone?

Absurd!

He An decisively hit the purchase button.

So what if it's expensive? Do I look like someone who doesn't have 128 yuan? I'll buy the games at their original price—I'll be happy to!

I insist on seeing what exactly you're hiding in your poor version!

He An guessed that, since this game had a dual protagonist mode with two versions, both versions must have been connected. For all he knew, there would be hidden scenes or endings that would only be available if one bought both versions.

The more He An thought about it, the more he felt like things would be as he imagined.

If both versions were entirely unconnected, there would be a huge problem.

Gamers who would mindlessly buy gamers were among the minority. Most gamers would be influenced by the reviews and comments online.

If the first batch of gamers bought both versions but found zero hidden scenes or endings, they would surely curse and swear. Subsequently, nobody would repeat the same silly mistake.

He An suspected that Boss Pei would not commit such a silly mistake. Thus, all the more, he was certain that there would unlock hidden scenes and outcomes if he bought both versions.

Until now, he had not entered the game yet. However, two out of four theories He An had thought Boss Ma had already been overturned.

Tailor the marketing strategy to the game's contents? No.

Choose a game genre that has a significant share of the market? No.

If this had been another game designer, He An would conclude that the game was finished even before entering it. It had gone down the wrong path from the beginning; how could it reach the finish line?

Yet, since it was Boss Pei, He An felt the need to play the game once through before making a conclusion.

Perhaps Boss Pei would give him an unimaginable surprise by overturning all the traditional concepts.

He An chose to play the rich version first.

…

There was a black screen, and a male voice narrated in English and in a dull tone. It wasn't a voice-over. It sounded more like a man muttering to himself.

"My father loves seeking wisdom within faraway Eastern cultures.

"Shortly after I matured, he repeatedly taught me two sentences from the far East. The first was 'the poor grow wits, and the prosperous grow a conscience'. The second was 'food comes before manners, and clothing comes before honor'.

"My father said that, in their original language, both sentences were short and sweet… and full of wisdom and philosophy.

"However, once translated to English, they would not invoke the same feelings.

"He told me that society is governed by the rules of the jungle. We are the high and mighty, but because of that, many people watched us and waited for us to fall and fail miserably.

"My father said never to trust those poor people—never ever.

"It's almost like, to my father, we were a different species from those poor folks in the lower tiers of society.

"I don't agree with that view.

"Of course, I can't argue with my father either. That's because I know that I nearly failed to enter the world and was nearly thrown off a skyscraper together with my mother because of a lunatic.

"My father said that it was a poor man.

"Still, I insist that he was just a lunatic."

Once the black screen and words disappeared, the game's image appeared.

It took the same over-the-shoulder perspective as most AAA games. He An could see a Western police officer in uniform, who was of quite a high rank at that.

He was in a shopping mall now, but it was empty. It was almost as if everyone had been evacuated.

From afar, he saw several police officers waving at him anxiously.

A few lines appeared on the wall to guide He An along. "As a hostage expert, you must negotiate with the criminals who have taken hostages."

He An couldn't spot a single criminal. He turned around and found that he could only walk towards the open window, next to where the police officers were standing.

The police officers beckoned anxiously.

Thus, He An quickly took control of the police officer and walked over.

The police officers immediately tied a safety rope onto him, put on vacuum climbing gloves and shoes, and then cleared access to the window.

"The pregnant woman is in danger, and the hijacker is very emotional. If our sniper shoots him, he might take the pregnant woman off the building with him. Chief Henry, please!"

He An made Henry crawl out of the window and used the suction climbing gloves and shoes to move upwards on the glass walls of the tall building. As he climbed upwards, he received new mission instructions on the glass walls at regular intervals.

'The hostage expert has arrived at the scene.'

'The hostage expert is ready.'

'The hostage expert is getting ready to negotiate.'

The higher Henry climbed, the clearer the shouting on the roof above became.

"Don't come over, or I will jump down!"

"Help, help…"

"Don't be nervous, please. I'm here to negotiate. We can offer a few conditions…"

The mad roars of the criminal, the wails and cries of the hostage, and the police officers' voices amplified by loudspeakers as they tried to appease the criminal… they all mixed together, causing one to feel inexplicably antsy.

Shortly after He An was notified that the hostage expert was 'getting ready to negotiate', Henry arrived at the top floor. He quietly moved so that he was directly underneath the criminal.

The criminal was holding a long table knife in his hand, which was pressed up against the pregnant lady's neck. They were both standing at the edge of the building.

The criminal seemed to be aware of the sniper's presence, but his right hand maintained a death-like grip on his knife as his left hand clutched the lady's neck. If he got shot, they would both fall off the building.

When Henry arrived underneath the criminal, he left his right climbing glove on the wall and retrieved his gun without making a sound. Then, he aimed it at the back of the criminal's head.

Bang!

There was a gunshot, and the criminal's head exploded. The hostage screamed as both of them swayed in midair!

'The hostage expert has ended negotiations.'

Henry reached out with his muscular right arm and held onto the pregnant lady while the criminal's corpse fell to the bottom of the building.

Just as the corpse fell, Henry caught a glimpse of his face.

The despair, panic, and madness that he had felt just before he died were still visible on his face. The mixture of all those emotions made him look ferocious.

The scene progressed in slow-motion and paused, just like in the movies. Then, the corpse kept falling, falling, and falling…

A split-second before the corpse landed on the ground, everything stopped and the screen went black once more.

"My mother was so frightened that I came into the world two weeks in advance.

"Some of my friends say that I was born with a golden spoon in my mouth. Others say that I was born at their finish line.

"I never denied this… because the suffering and striving of people like us cannot be turned into conversational topics with others.

"Few can understand the fight that people who were born at the finish line have to go through."