Chapter 318: Chapter 316: Boss, I Think Youâve Gone Crazy
Translator: 549690339
Right before itâs time to leave work, Lincoln unexpectedly remembers that heâs the boss of Cloud Dream.
He takes a break to open the office software created by Mavis, glancing at the dynamics of the management team over the past week.
After browsing through them briefly, thereâs basically nothing interesting to see.
The only thing that caught his attention was Jeromeâs itinerary and journal.
A row of taverns, bars, customs stores, and nightclubsâŠ
It felt like he was living in Kabukicho, leaving Lincoln dumbfounded.
He scrolled the page to the top once more, confirming again: this really was Jeromeâs submitted trip log, not Fredâs.
Lincoln had previously thought that the game companies in Izumo were difficult to deal with, making Jeromeâs work hard to carry out, which was why he and his team stayed there for a week.
Now it seems that the Izumo counterparts were not difficult, but rather too easy to deal with, and entertained them too well!
As a result, Jerome was completely enjoying himself, right?!
How unreliable!
Indeed, for such important work, sending subordinates should never have been the right choice; it should have been the boss himself!
âSigh, I wonder what Fred would think if he saw this itinerary?â
Lincoln immediately wanted to take a screenshot and send it privately to Fred.
But considering that âSpeed Chaseâ was in its final stages and required a careful and cool-headed leader, he didnât send it to provoke him in the end.
Looking at the records carefully, itâs not like Jerome didnât do anything.
The background investigation of Izumo game companies went very smoothly, but there were some difficulties in acquiring IPs.
There are a lot of famous IPs here, but the easy ones to buy are not very well-known.
Owners of the famous ones are generally unwilling to sell, and acquisition resistance is very high.
This was the main reason why Jerome was stuck in Izumo for a long time.
However, according to his daily report, he would only stay until Sunday at most. If there was still no breakthrough, he would leave half of his subordinates to continue trying, bringing the other half to Baekje to conduct a background investigation on potential partnering companies.
Lincoln opened the panel and searched for Baekjeâs featured industries, especially the places where their businesspeople usually go when discussing business cooperation.
As a result, he could hardly find any information.
He estimated that there were probably no special industries, so he ruled out the idea of going on a business trip to see the world⊠no, enriching the sensory database.
Leaving a word of encouragement, âGood luck,â Lincoln closed the office software and happily prepared to leave work and go home.
However, before logging off, he suddenly thought: Mirage Console sales would break 100 million units tomorrow, and he would also take the opportunity to launch [Mirage 2.0].
For such an important matter, it seems like he should discuss it with Jerome, the marketing manager?
Anyway, Jerome was a professional, at least much more professional than him. fđżeđČđđČbnđšđđl.com
For such critical matters, itâs always better to listen to a professionalâs opinion.
Lincoln looked at the time, and there were still 15 minutes left before the end of work. He decisively called Jerome.
âDootâ dootââ
After two ringing sounds, Jerome answered the phone.
â This was within Lincolnâs expectations, as it was only 5:00 PM, and nightlife hadnât even started yet.
According to Jeromeâs schedule reported in the last few days, his work had mostly not started yet at this time.
âHello, boss? Whatâs up?â Jerome asked bewilderedly.
Since he was on a business trip, he had submitted serious work reports every day, but the boss hadnât even read them, let alone asked about it.
It went on for a week, and the first dayâs report was still marked as âunread.â
He felt like he wasnât on an important business trip for the company, but rather being exiled.
Why did the boss suddenly change his mind and remember us today?
Lincoln looked at the time and got straight to the point: âSo, tomorrow the Mirage sales are going to break 100 million units, and I plan to take this opportunity to launch [Mirage 2.0] wireless version.â
âHuh??â Jerome was stunned by this news and couldnât follow the conversation for a moment.
âWhen players see the second generation of the console coming out,they might be less willing to continue buying the first generation, so the 15 million units from this batch might have poor sales.â
Lincoln, not noticing Jeromeâs astonishment, continued, âMy idea is to sell them at a lower price. If the price is still causing poor sales, then hold some events and sell them overseas. Because the latest generation of consoles, for a short amount of time, might not be able to meet domestic demand. What do you think?â
What do I think? I think the boss must be crazy!
Jeromeâs heart was breaking.
âBoss, think twice!â
âWhy?â asked Lincoln, puzzled.
âThe console is upgraded just a few months after purchase, and the first-generation consoles in the hands of players will immediately depreciate. Players will revolt!â Jerome didnât bother asking Lincoln why he was in a hurry to release the second generation.
Most likely, it wouldnât be for business purposes anyway.
So he skipped this useless step and went right into explaining the pros and cons to Lincoln.
âDepreciation issue? Itâs simple, just refund them the difference according to the price-protection measures. That should do it, right?â
On the other end of the line, Jeromeâs mouth dropped open. He wanted to ask: Boss, have you calculated how much money youâd have to put in for this?
A hundred million units, even if the difference is just a hundred, youâd have to refund $10 billion!
Thatâs outrageous!
Whatâs even scarier is that Lincoln might not lower the price by that little.
âBoss, have you calculated how much money it will be to refund?â
âI plan to lower the price to 9000 dollars, so thatâs 1000 per unit, and 110 billion dollars for one hundred and ten million units. Sheeshââ
After arriving at the conclusion of 110 billion dollars, Lincoln immediately gasped.
He hadnât really thought about it, but now that he calculated it, it was quite terrifying!
Even for Lincoln, who increasingly didnât care about money, he inevitably felt a twinge of pain.
Hearing Lincolnâs gasp, Jerome breathed a small sigh of relief: As long as he knew it was hard to part with the money, there was still hope.
âI have a few ideas for you to consider, boss,â Jerome suggested, skillfully listing some common practices in the market.
âFirst, instead of giving cash refunds for the price difference, switch it to Cloud Dream account balances and use future game revenue to offset this expenditure. And 1000 dollars is indeed quite a lot. Itâs best to make it a little less, as the price of a blockbuster should be enough.â
âSecond, you can consider an exchange policy that allows players to trade in their first-generation consoles and some money for the second-generation console. The consoles collected can be resold at a discounted price or resold overseas.â
These two suggestions were based on Lincolnâs idea of âlowering the price,â but Jeromeâs own idea was actually leaning more towards not lowering the priceâ
âBut boss, my advice is still not to lower the price of the first-generation console and to moderately increase the price of the second-generation console. As long as the price doesnât go down, players wonât feel such a strong sense of loss, and their need for compensation will be weaker.â
âWhen an updated console comes with a higher price tag, players wonât feel that their console has depreciated; instead, theyâll feel that a more expensive, better new device has emerged. And this is actually normal business logic, and players should be used to it in their everyday lives.â
After finishing, he diplomatically reassured Lincoln: âBoss, I know you want to do more for the players, but you canât always be this sincere in business. Sometimes doing less can save a lot of trouble.â
âEven if you want to lower the price, you can do it later. Just donât do it so quickly and not at this critical juncture.â
After listening to Jeromeâs series of suggestions, Lincoln also fell into deep thought.
He had to admit, Jerome was professional and more comprehensive than Lincoln had initially thought.
Moreover, whichever suggestion he chose seemed smarter and more rigorous than what he had impulsively come up with.
âOkay, your suggestions are all excellent. I understand what you mean.â
After hanging up the phone, Jerome breathed a long sigh of relief. Having such a boss was indeed worrisome.
Fortunately, he managed to persuade him.
After Lincoln hung up, he seriously considered Jeromeâs suggestions and refined his own plans.
For the reasonable suggestions Jerome provided, Lincoln decidedâ
Iâll take them all!
Do not lower the price of the first-generation console, raise the price of the second-generation console by 2000 dollars!
But with the launch of the second-generation console, there is a first-month discount, slashing 2000 dollars!
âAfter the first-month discount expires, there will be a second-month discount!
After the second-month special ends, there is a special discount for the first quarter on sale!
In Lincolnâs plan, the increased price is just for show.
Moreover, all players who purchased the first-generation console will receive a 500 dollar cash balance in their Cloud Dream accounts.
It can be used for all Cloud Dream games, equipment, and venues!
Not to mention buying games and monthly cards, you can even spend the account balance directly at the Experience Store.
Even taking the account balance to Journey Prosthetics would allow you to use it directly towards the purchase of a prosthetic limb.
Itâs not easy to do an exchange policy, as itâs impossible to let players directly exchange their old consoles for new ones. Otherwise, the void price increase would be meaningless.
In that case, thenâ
Get 8000 dollars credit?
âForget it, 9000 dollars it is!â Lincoln shook his head.
For the collected first-generation consoles, remove the cables and replace them with wireless signal transceivers to directly upgrade them to the second generation.
Strictly speaking, itâs still a profitâŠ
This amount of money can upgrade Cloud Dreamâs after-sales service from âIf thereâs a problem, you can only return to the original factory for a replacementâ to âThere is at least one after-sales center in every provincial capital city.â
This can greatly reduce the time needed for console after-sales service and improve the after-sales experience for players.
Itâs like killing three birds with one stone.
âAlthough so far, the number of consoles that have actually gone through after-sales service is very few, less than a thousand in total.
But thatâs mostly because there hasnât been enough time.
Itâs better to prepare ahead of time to be safe rather than sorry.
After finalizing this part of the plan, Lincoln felt satisfied: Itâs really helpful to have a group of reliable employees!
The next time thereâs a big move like this, he would definitely consult more with his employees.
Otherwise, impulsively making decisions like this could lead to trouble sooner or later.
At the same time, countless media outlets in Daxia had already prepared their congratulatory messages for Cloud Dream.
They were just waiting for the second batch of Mirage consoles to go on sale the next day and sell another 5 million units before immediately sending out congratulations.
But obviously, in all the prepared drafts from the media, there would be no mention of the second-generation Mirage consoleâŠ
This is quite understandable.
After all, just yesterday, everyone debunked the news that [Mirage 2.0 is coming soon], knowing that it was just a misunderstanding caused by the confidentiality requirements of [Journey Prosthetics].
Even in yesterdayâs hot search list, [No Mirage 2.0] appeared!