On May 1, 1975, An Qi and Lei Shengli came to Chen Zhiwen's separate conference room with the compiled data.
This is a data on the traffic after being stored in dozens of bars in the United States. It is compared with the data of the mainstream arcade Arkanoid on the market under the same environment.
"7.3 times, this number is really scary." Chen Zhiwen looked at the conclusion and said with a smile.
"This number can only be used as a reference. This is a new game of ours. It is naturally more attractive than Arkanoid, which has been on the market for more than half a year." Lei Shengli said, at the same time, there was an arcade machine, Snake The number of coins earned was 7.3 times that of Arkanoid. When he got this number, he was shocked. Even for a new game, it is very attractive to have this kind of attraction.
"We must also take into account the serious shortage of the number of our arcade machines, which will also increase the proportion of data. However, we must also consider the issue of the upper limit of the number of players on one machine. There may be more people who want to play, but when we see people If it’s too much, then give up.” An Qi also continued.
"Then we can only wait until it is launched in batches to see the situation. Production capacity must also be improved quickly. In addition, let the American team collect quality problems and report any abnormality, and then send engineers to analyze the reasons." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
He naturally knew that this kind of classic game would definitely become popular. In this era, there were too few entertainment projects. There were only movies, TV series and large-scale sports games. But these are not something you can experience anytime you want, and these entertainment products are also They are all one-offs. It is interesting the first time, but the interest will drop sharply the second time. Most people will not even watch it a second time.
But the game is special. People can control the game characters. Different people will have different results in different times. This brings great variables to the entertainment. It is different every time. This is the greatest fun and attraction. , the previous table tennis was successful because even if it was played by the same person, the process and results would be different every time, and they were controlled by the players themselves.
The same is true for Arkanoid, but the settings of these two games determine that they will not change much in different games, while Snake is much better. A map will be under the control of the software. Rewards will appear at different locations, and each reward will affect the player's operation, which creates countless possibilities.
Of course, the same problem will arise. The more you play it, the more it will become boring. But as long as there are more variables, players can persist for a longer time. For bar owners, this means that more people will play repeatedly. , the income will naturally be higher.
As the bar owner's income increases, the demand for arcade machines will naturally be higher, and Midea will naturally be more profitable.
"The factory will have 500 arcade machines shipped next week. Our pricing in the United States has not yet been determined. According to the recent feedback data from the United States, the sales department now hopes to introduce them to many bars. The demand is huge. We You can order one for 3,500 US dollars, and it comes with loan cooperation with Citigroup. If the market is still in short supply, you will need to increase the price from the terminal. If the demand drops in the future, you can discount and reduce the price." Lei Shengli said with a smile.
Since joining the company, Midea has been unable to make a profit. Although the sales of fans and radios are still very good, they are all based on volume. The basic profit has been reduced to only a few cents per unit, while air conditioners and refrigerators These two big players have suffered losses due to the decline in market share in the Middle East, especially the research and development of various new technologies, which have been burning money.
Although there are enough reasons, comparing several businesses of Red Bull and Galaxy is still too dazzling. Now we finally have a hugely profitable product.
"Okay, let's take $3,500. What is our cost now?" Chen Zhiwen then asked, similar to the sales logic of cars, which can be imitated on many products. If the sales are good, the terminal will increase the price; if the sales are not good, there will be a discount.
Moreover, this is a commercial product, not for civilian use. Chen Zhiwen doesn't care about reputation. On the contrary, if he owns a car brand, he may not necessarily use this trick.
"In order to optimize the game interface, Mr. Woz added several more chips and electronic components. Currently, due to the small output, the cost is estimated to be around US$1,500. In the future, when the output is reduced, the purchase cost will be reduced a lot, estimated to be reduced to US$1,300. This does not include the terminal sales costs in the United States. Currently, the Red Bull team is responsible for it, but if the scale becomes large, we still have to do it ourselves or find dealers in the United States." Lei Shengli has already done this. I made relevant preparations and spoke the answers fluently.
"As for dealers, we still have to find them. Even if we have the contact information of many bars in the United States, we can't really contact them one by one. However, this can also be a reason to lower prices for dealers." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. .
Even if telecommunications and mobile phone technology develop to the extreme in later generations, it is impossible for a company to directly contact all terminal channels, which will exhaust itself. Furthermore, no matter how large a company is, it is impossible to understand all regional conditions, only local Professionals know best. Sharing some profits can ensure the maximum sales volume and solve some minor problems at the same time. This is the most suitable business cooperation model.
"Arcade machines are a new industry and there is no ready-made stable supplier. Who should we look for?" Lei Shengli said with a frown.
"Don't worry, our production capacity won't increase so quickly. In the early days, we relied on Red Bull's channels and the relationship with these bars, which was enough for us to cope with it for a while. During this time, we can choose the right channels." Chen Zhiwen said calmly.
In fact, this issue of dealers has been considered before, but it is not suitable to finalize the product before it is released or has not been verified by the market, because the contract signed in the early stage will definitely bring the channel party more profits. This is an inevitable rule for new products to be launched. It is an almost eternal truth that channels are king. Unless it is in the early stages of the development of the entire society and there is a shortage of various materials, the manufacturer has the final say, such as in the mainland ten years later.
Now, once the arcade machine proves to be popular, the right to speak will go to the manufacturer. The channel side will beg for goods, and the price cannot be determined here.
Lei Shengli nodded and said: "That's right. At present, the market size of arcade machines is not small. The number of all bars in the United States is estimated to be no less than 50,000. In addition, some other places can also put arcade machines. The total benefits It’s still very big, and we need to find a few partners with connections and resources in the United States.”
"Of course, the stronger the connections, the better. As long as I can ensure that my arcade machine sells well in the United States, I can make some profits." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
The current arcade machine market is not large. Atari's annual turnover is only tens of millions of dollars. In the eyes of big American capital, this amount of money is not small, but it is not too much. But what the arcade market is most lacking now is: It is a hit game. Once this game appears, the market will explode immediately.
In the previous life, Japan's Taito Company's Space Invaders was the first game to detonate this market. However, sales in the US market exceeded 100,000 units a year, and net profits exceeded US$100 million, completely detonating the industry.
In Chen Zhiwen's opinion, the game Snake is much better than the boring masturbation game. At least Snake has become a representative game on feature phones in later generations. It is not attractive at all, and neither is Nokia or Motorola. I would choose it, but there is a gap of 4 years from Space Invaders in 1979, so it may be a little different, but there shouldn’t be much problem in the general direction.
Snake should also be able to detonate this market, and if it succeeds, it will naturally need to find some capable partners. Chen Zhiwen actually hopes that people with this vision will come to his door. It is not just that the other party comes to his door as if he is asking for help. Rather, I hope for long-term cooperation with someone who has the same vision and goals and has the resources.
(End of chapter)
