Wang Yi waved his hand, and a series of data appeared on the large screen behind him:
"'Defend Pomelo' is a very classic and highly replayable tower defense game. Since its release, domestic users have exceeded 220 million, and global users have exceeded 400 million!"
"It's an extraordinary success, thank you all for your support!"
"And 'Happy Match' is an epoch-making match-3 game."
"Match three or more identical small animals together to eliminate them!"
"The gameplay is simple and fun, but it's not easy to pass the levels!"
"Without further ado, please welcome Gulinaza to demonstrate a round for everyone!"
The lights came on, and Gulinaza appeared on stage in a sapphire blue Zhenyou evening gown, like a fairy descended to earth.
Her graceful figure and stunning beauty instantly captivated the entire audience.
"Wow! So beautiful, who is she?"
A gasp of exclamation spread through the venue.
"Gulinaza, just signed with Xingyi Media, becoming an artist under Director Wang."
"Director Wang has good taste; with this beauty, it's hard not to become popular."
"Indeed, arranging a beautiful woman to play a game, Director Wang knows how to play!"
Zhao Xiaodao had already joined the cast of "Nirvana in Fire" and had too many scenes as the female lead to be free.
Gulinaza, playing Qin Banruo with fewer scenes, was pulled by Wang Yi to endorse "Happy Match."
This way, "Happy Match" could also help boost the popularity of the newly debuted Gulinaza.
After all, "Happy Match" was a blockbuster game that could reach eight or nine hundred million domestic users, and by then, Gulinaza's popularity would skyrocket.
Since Gulinaza signed with Xingyi Media, Wang Yi naturally took extra care of her.
There was no other way; Gulinaza's acting still needed improvement, and she couldn't quite handle being a lead actress.
Wang Yi planned for her to be a supporting actress while also becoming a celebrity game streamer, promoting Xingyi Games, developing along two lines.
Wang Yi clearly knew that in the future, live streaming would explode in popularity, and the fame and income of top streamers would completely overshadow many second, third, and fourth-tier celebrities, and even some first-tier celebrities.
Gulinaza didn't have to insist on struggling in the acting field she wasn't good at; she could leverage her looks and develop along two lines.
Gulinaza winked at Wang Yi, then looked at the audience:
"Hello everyone, I am Gulinaza, a signed artist of Xingyi Media. I am also one of the celebrity experience officers for 'Happy Match.' Below, I will demonstrate the game's gameplay for you!"
Saying this, Gulinaza took out her xphone 1: "Xiao Ai."
"I'm here."
"Open 'Happy Match.'"
"Okay, it's open for you."
The screen displayed the "Happy Match" interface.
Accompanied by cheerful background music, Gulinaza played the game while explaining it.
This thoroughly captivated both the live audience and online viewers watching the stream.
Some were engrossed in "Happy Match," finding the game very fun.
But others were simply captivated by Gulinaza's long, white legs!
Even many netizens who weren't interested in such games ended up downloading "Happy Match."
There was no helping it; no matter when, the "beauty economy" was always hot.
This was also why female influencers were so popular in the previous life.
However, those influencers were far inferior to Gulinaza.
After one round, Gulinaza still wanted more:
"Oh, I missed that one, I failed!"
Wang Yi smiled slightly:
"This score is already very good, enough to beat 90% of the live users and 90% of online viewers!"
"Boo!"
The crowd at the scene booed.
The bullet comments in the live stream also showed opposition.
Wang Yi smiled; this kind of interactive effect was exactly what he wanted:
"Alright, since everyone thinks they can play better than Gulinaza, then tomorrow night at 8 PM, Gulinaza will start a live stream on Xingyi Video and PK with everyone online! Let's see how many people can surpass Gulinaza then!"
"Okay! No problem!"
"Who's afraid of who!"
"I'm downloading it now!"
...
Looking at the bullet comments on the side screen, Wang Yi smiled slightly, knowing this was a sure thing.
Regardless of how Gulinaza's acting career developed in the future, her position as a celebrity streamer was secure, and she wouldn't lack popularity, traffic, or recognition.
With traffic and recognition, she wouldn't lack roles either.
In fact, the live streaming industry began in 2005, but that was the 1.0 era of live streaming.
It was mainly PC-based live streaming, divided into chat room and concert modes, with single content, primarily singing, dancing, and chatting.
It wasn't until 2014 that the mobile internet boomed, and live streaming also experienced a surge, spreading from online to offline.
Live streaming content also diversified significantly, adding games, e-commerce, variety shows, and other content streams in addition to singing and dancing.
A trend of "live streaming for all" emerged, marking the 2.0 era.
During this stage, not only did major video platforms launch live streaming sections, but live streaming platforms like Huya, Douyu, and Panda also appeared, reigning supreme.
In 2017, after being refined by capital and policy, live streaming transformed again, entering the 3.0 era.
Live stream shopping became a new growth point, and entertainment content live streaming expanded into all aspects, including but not limited to trimming donkey hooves, fishing, cooking for elderly villagers for free, encountering female college students at art school entrances...
Although some live streams contained more scripted elements, the content became more interesting.
In the previous life, it was 2014 when major video platforms truly began to vigorously develop the live streaming field.
Now, at the beginning of 2012, Wang Yi was already laying out his plans.
Nothing more than this: the essence of competition among video platforms was competition for users; to put it plainly, it was about grabbing territory and people.
In addition to acquiring popular exclusive dramas, self-produced dramas, and self-produced variety shows, live streaming was also a path for Wang Yi.
In the future, celebrities under Xingyi Media would take turns live streaming, which would not only bring immense traffic and users to Xingyi Video but also enhance the celebrities' recognition and popularity.
Why do many celebrities fade out?
It's because they have no new roles, no exposure, no traffic, and their careers decline.
The entertainment industry is that ruthless.
However, live streaming on Xingyi Video was a new channel to maintain popularity and increase exposure.
Even without an ongoing drama, streaming in their free time could provide exposure, attract traffic, and stabilize popularity.
Creating a gimmick and arranging a trending topic was enough; they wouldn't fade into obscurity.
And Xingyi Video could leverage this early layout to firmly secure the top spot in the live streaming 2.0 era a few years later.
It could also use this to promote Xingyi Phone, Xingyi Games, Xingyi Video, Xingyi Music, and even Meiyou and Zhenyou's clothing, cosmetics, and other products!
And those influencers signed and cultivated by Meiyou would also be brought to Xingyi Video for live streaming, and even live commerce.
Simplest example: seeing Gulinaza and other celebrities using xphone 1, x buds, playing "Happy Match," and wearing Zhenyou clothing in their live streams would make fans follow suit and buy xphone 1, x buds, and play "Happy Match"...
Then, adding the "little yellow cart" (e-commerce link), they wouldn't have to worry about sales not skyrocketing.
Currently, products like xphone 1 and x buds have ample production capacity, and orders can be increased at any time.
Increasing sales through celebrity live commerce is also a way out!
Wang Yi looked at Gulinaza:
"Thank you, Gulinaza. Tomorrow night at 8 PM, Xingyi Video will launch a live streaming special zone, and 'Happy Match' will also launch a limited-time 'Challenge Gulinaza' event. Everyone can enter the game and PK with Gulinaza, and a score leaderboard will be published. The top 1000 on the leaderboard will receive gift packs, and the top 100 will receive grand gift packs!"
"Furthermore, we are simultaneously launching the Android client, iOS client, PC client, and web client for 'Happy Match'! Non-Android users can also participate, everyone is welcome!"
Gulinaza waved to everyone:
"Thank you for your support. Tomorrow night at 8 PM, let's play 'Happy Match' together in the Xingyi Video live stream, don't be late! And don't you dare lose!"
"Waiting for you, Goddess, I will definitely win you!"
"That's right, I'll practice my skills tonight, even if it means no sleep."
"PK with a beautiful celebrity, just thinking about it is exciting."
"It's not that CF and DNF aren't fun, it's just that 'Happy Match' has more female celebrities!"
Looking at the soaring popularity on the side screen, Wang Yi smiled; "Happy Match" was a success.
It was likely that the number of users would reach an astonishing height today and tomorrow.
It should be known that the user base and market prospects of "Happy Match" were even more formidable than "Defend Pomelo."
In the previous life, "Happy Match" alone had 800 million domestic users.
Now, with Wang Yi launching it first, and cross-promoting with Meiyou and X chat, how many global users would it attract?
As for revenue, it was even more incredible.
While it might not reach the 5 billion annual revenue of CF and DNF, 1 to 2 billion was certainly not a problem.
"Happy Match" in the previous life was a global hit, with monthly revenue once exceeding 200 million.
The press conference continued:
"That's all for the game section. 'Happy Match' will not disappoint anyone."
"XUI2.0 has also undergone a comprehensive upgrade. For example, the best Sogou Input Method is directly built into the input method, the best Amap is built into the map, and the browser and search engine also have Sogou Search built in, which will never block competitor friends or restrict user permissions!"
Li Yan's mouth twitched:
"He's taking a jab at me again!"
"There's also Xiao Ai AI Voice Assistant, which is smarter than Siri, and xcloud Cloud Service, which is more affordable and powerful than iCloud!"
"Currently, XUI2.0 has been fully pushed out. All xphone 1 users can upgrade online with one click to experience the powerful Xiao Ai Voice Assistant!"
"In addition, Meiyou has also upgraded to version 5.0, fully integrating the Sogou Search Engine to create Meiyou Baike!"
"In the future, all gender-related issues and maternal and child health issues can be searched through Meiyou and Sogou. It provides authoritative advice from chief physicians and vice presidents, which is the most comprehensive."
"Of course, authoritative physicians' advice is just advice. For specific consultations, you should still visit nearby top-tier hospitals and not believe in Putian system advertisements on certain platforms. Some platforms even profit from 'human blood steamed buns' (blood money). Some hospitals are bottomless pits of deception!"
"I, Wang Yi, hereby declare that our Sogou Search will never do such a thing. We would rather lose money than accept Putian system advertisements. Sogou Search only aims for conscientious search and sincere service."
For a moment, netizens were startled:
"'Human blood steamed buns,' Putian hospitals, which platform is that?"
"Which platform could it be? Of course, it's that giant that takes any advertisement to earn ad revenue!"
"Damn, that's ruthless, even accepting ads from rogue hospitals. Trash, no bottom line."
"I was cheated by them, cut that skin, searched for Putian system, and they swindled me out of 18,000, and it was the most traditional method! Damn it! It would only cost 1,000 at a top-tier hospital."
"Scary, I'll have to use Sogou Search in the future, it has a conscience."
"Yes, Director Wang's character is trustworthy, he wouldn't profit from 'human blood steamed buns.'"
Li Yan's face was ashen: "..."
"Publicly attacking them, Baidu is in big trouble. If this gets on trending searches, then it's real trouble."
"With this, Baidu Search will probably lose users again, and Sogou will gain them."
Indeed, many users began uninstalling Baidu and switching to Sogou!
Wang Yi's words were a direct hit to Baidu's vital point.
But what Li Yan was most worried about was Amap's next big move!
So far in the press conference, the heavyweight content hadn't yet arrived.
Wang Yi continued:
"That's all for XUI2.0. Everyone can upgrade and experience it themselves."
"Next, let's announce our annual strategic product!"
"Here it comes! Amap's big move is here!"
Li Yan was a little nervous, very worried that Wang Yi would come up with another big move to strike Baidu Maps.
Xiao Mage also became interested, saying calmly:
"The main event is here. After seeing Amap's new move, we'll decide whether or not to acquire Baidu Navigation!"
Ye Yu next to him echoed:
"Yes, I really don't know what big move Amap Navigation will come up with, but Baidu Maps should be the one suffering, hahaha."
However, as they laughed, the smiles on their faces froze.
They only heard Wang Yi's tone shift:
"Xingyi Technology's 2012 strategic product, the brand new acquaintance social software — X chat, Changliao!"
Xiao Mage's mouth twitched: "???"
Ye Yu looked bewildered: "!!!"
"Waiting to watch Baidu's show, but you launch acquaintance social software to take on WeChat? Take on my Tencent?"
Xiao Mage's expression was incredibly varied.
Ye Yu across from him looked even more complex:
"Wang Yi is truly crazy. He's taking on Baidu over there, and here he's firing at Tencent! Alright, truly alright!"
As the old Director Ma, after a brief surprise, he smiled:
"It's fine, many people are doing social media these days. Baidu and Alibaba are both doing it, so Xingyi Technology isn't special. But social media is such deep water, can Wang Yi navigate it?"
"Exactly, our WeChat has QQ for traffic, and can log in directly with a QQ account. Their X chat is useless!"
Li Yan at Baidu headquarters even laughed out loud:
"Hahaha, I thought he was going to make a big move and continue to take on Baidu Maps."
"Turns out he wants to do social media and take on Tencent. It's hilarious, hahaha!"
The vice president opposite was also gloating:
"Social media is very deep water. We at Baidu have search engines as support and Baidu Tieba as a foundation, yet our three major social platforms — Baidu Shuoba, Baidu Hi, and Baidu Space — have all struggled. Let alone Xingyi Technology. I estimate X chat will be all thunder and no rain, and won't last a year!"
Li Yan fully agreed:
"Definitely, social media is extremely difficult to do. We at Baidu have repeatedly failed, X chat by Xingyi Technology will probably collapse in half a year!"
The press conference continued:
"X chat, boundless communication, unlimited chat!"
"Register and log in to X chat with your mobile number, enable contacts permission, and you can discover other relatives and friends using X chat. After adding them as friends, you can chat freely."
"Currently, 2G network speeds are very slow, and 3G plans are very expensive. When we don't have Wi-Fi, using social software for voice or video calls will consume a lot of data, and it might even be less expensive to just make a phone call!"
Everyone nodded in agreement; that was the current situation.
5 yuan for 30MB of data made all users fearful.
One video call, and you'd likely incur overdue charges!
This was also why the current WeChat didn't immediately launch voice chat and video chat features.
Even if mobile QQ had voice and video functions, few people used them because data was too expensive.
Wang Yi continued:
"For this reason, X chat has launched not only text messages but also voice messages, allowing users to chat without worrying about data!"
"In the future, whether it's long-distance lovers or relatives thousands of miles away, they no longer have to worry about huge phone bills from endless calls."
"Just download X chat, and you can send voice messages and chat unlimitedly."
"Even overseas, there's no need to worry about high international call charges. You can download and register for X chat to send voice messages and voice notes."
"Our X chat, English name X chat, can also be used overseas."
"And it integrates AI translation. Even if you don't understand messages from foreign friends, you can translate them into Chinese with one click. You can also enable automatic translation to automatically translate foreign messages into Chinese."
"Of course, some users might worry about receiving voice messages in situations where it's inconvenient to play them, preventing them from checking the content immediately?"
Everyone nodded:
"Yes, that's exactly the problem, it's very annoying."
"I hate it the most when my parents send me WeChat voice messages during class."
Wang Yi said with a smile:
"For this, X chat has launched a black technology feature: voice-to-text. If users receive a voice message and it's inconvenient to check, they can just convert it to text with one click."
"Wow! This feature is great, absolutely brilliant!"
"I love it, no more worrying about receiving voice messages during meetings."
Xiao Mage, however, frowned slightly:
"This feature is well done, better than our WeChat. Zhang Long, add this feature!"
Zhang Long frowned.
Since he started working on WeChat, ten thousand people had told him how to make WeChat! Telling him what features WeChat should add, and how to do it...
This annoyed him greatly.
For example, some asked him to implement voice calls, some video calls, some to add a WeChat read receipt feature...
Others wanted him to add self-destructing messages, and still others wanted a cloud drive function, with chat records backed up directly to the cloud...
If he listened to everyone's suggestions, WeChat would only turn into a monstrosity!
Therefore, Zhang Long refused all of them, with one sentence:
"I decide how WeChat is made!"
In fact, the voice-to-text feature was also suggested in the previous life, but Zhang Long still didn't care.
It wasn't until 2019 that WeChat launched the voice-to-text feature.
Even this time, he refused:
"Chairman, regarding how WeChat is made, we should maintain our own development direction and not be influenced by X chat!"
"You..."
Director Ma frowned, then nodded:
"Suit yourself!"
Director Ma had no way with such capable people.
"Thank you, Chairman, for your understanding."
Zhang Long breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, it was Director Ma, who respected him.
If it were Jack Ma, he would probably be forced to add it.
Wang Yi continued:
"Additionally, X chat has also launched the Moments feature. You can share where you go, what scenery you see, what happens to you, what you think, snippets of your daily life, and your photos by posting them to Moments."
"You can send not only text but also pictures, short videos, music, and share articles, reports, and so on."
"Perhaps some people might worry that sharing daily updates and photos will lead to privacy leaks?"
"Don't worry, X chat is acquaintance social media, so your Moments can only be seen by your added friends, not strangers. There will be no privacy leaks!"
The netizens were excited:
"Wow, this feature is good. Anyone can see QQ Zone, so I don't even want to post."
"Weibo is also visible to everyone, no privacy at all."
"This X chat feature is good. My life updates, I only want friends to see, so it's safe."
Director Ma, however, frowned:
"Zhang Long, what do you think of this feature?"
Zhang Long sighed:
"This feature is excellent. Our WeChat 4.0 version is currently developing it, but it's scheduled for release in late April, so we're a step behind."
Director Ma was silent: "..."
He muttered to himself:
"Released in April? They launched it on January 1st! Not just a step behind, you're nearly four months behind! By then, the dishes will be cold."
Zhang Long noticed Director Ma's concern:
"Chairman, don't worry, I'll have the engineers work overtime to develop the Moments feature and launch it as soon as possible!"
Director Ma nodded, saying earnestly:
"I thought X chat was just messing around, but now it seems they've done a very good job. Their 1.0 version already surpasses our 4.0 version, which is still under development. We need to work harder!"
"Yes!"
Zhang Long's expression was grim.
The venerable 'Father of WeChat' was under immense pressure at this moment.
He knew that in addition to the Moments feature, he also needed to create some new features that X chat didn't have, otherwise, WeChat truly couldn't beat X chat!
X chat, this software, was so powerful right from the start, not easy to deal with, and far from the trash software made by Baidu and Alibaba.
Li Yan also frowned:
"This X chat has something; it's much stronger than our Baidu social software."
The press conference continued:
"X chat focuses on acquaintance social media, but sometimes life gets boring, and people want to meet new friends. For this, we have launched the Xingyuan feature."
As he spoke, a vast starry sky appeared on the large screen.
"Each star in the galaxy represents a user, either bright or dim."
"Shake your phone, the galaxy sparkles, randomly connecting users who shake their phones at the same time, miles apart, connected by a thread of fate."
"Additionally, you can edit text and voice into Xingxin (star messages) and cast them into the glittering galaxy, waiting for fated people to retrieve them."
"Of course, users can also retrieve other people's Xingxin from the galaxy."
"Furthermore, there are randomly appearing colored Xingxin, which can limit the age, gender, and even hobbies of the recipient, making it more accurate to find like-minded friends!"
Zhang Long was a bit annoyed:
"Isn't this just WeChat's 'Shake' and 'Drift Bottle'? It just has an extra colored Xingxin, a slight upgrade!"
But then, Wang Yi continued:
"X chat also launched the 'Nearby' feature."
Li Yan was somewhat speechless:
"'Shake' + 'Drift Bottle' + 'People Nearby' are all copied from WeChat; not much new. I take back my earlier compliments!"
Wang Yi continued:
"With the 'Nearby' feature, users can enable location services to not only see nearby X chat users, send private messages, and expand their social circles but also discover nearby food, scenic spots, and group-buying deals!"
Ever since acquiring Amap, X chat integrated Amap's data, and the 'Nearby' feature was directly built.
Moreover, while the current Amap doesn't do group buying itself, it provides map services to many group-buying platforms and has launched a "Search Group Buying" feature!
Any group-buying platform that uses Amap's services can display group-buying discount information on Amap, essentially becoming a group-buying traffic portal.
For group-buying deals purchased by users through Amap, the corresponding group-buying platform and merchant will give Amap a share of the profit.
It can be said that Amap doesn't burn money on group buying, but it can still earn money from all major group-buying platforms!
Which platform ranks higher and which ranks lower will then involve bid ranking.
Wang Yi won't personally enter the group buying arena, but he won't miss this wave of traffic!
Using "Search Group Buying" via 'Nearby' to strengthen X chat is the best choice!
The press conference continued:
"Currently, three group-buying platforms have launched on X chat's 'Nearby' feature, with more group-buying platforms to follow."
"In the future, no matter where X chat users go, they can discover nearby food, scenic spots, and various group-buying deals through X chat's 'Nearby' feature."
"They can place group-buying orders and explore nearby stores themselves. They can also invite a few friends for a nearby outing."
"Even if you don't know your way in an unfamiliar city, it doesn't matter. Select your destination, jump to Amap with one click, and navigate directly!"
Hearing this, everyone at the scene fell silent, then became overjoyed.
"Is X chat a new software? It's too powerful!"
"Exactly! If I thought it was a bit copied from WeChat before, this 'Nearby' feature is much more powerful than WeChat's 'People Nearby'!"
"WeChat can only see 'People Nearby'; X chat has not only nearby friends but also nearby outings, nearby food, and nearby group buying! Awesome!"
"It has Moments, voice-to-text, nearby outings, nearby food, nearby group buying! WeChat can't do any of these!"
"Incredible, WeChat developed for a year, iterating to version 3.0, and it's still not as powerful as X chat 1.0! Can't compare, really can't compare!"
"Goodbye WeChat, hello X chat, I'm going to get my whole family to join X chat!"
"Yes, join X chat, Director Wang is amazing, he never disappoints!"
Non-WeChat users looked completely bewildered: "What's WeChat? Never heard of it, it's not as good as X chat, so I'll just download X chat!"
...
Looking at these bullet comments, the atmosphere at Tencent headquarters was very oppressive.
Director Ma sighed:
"Zhang Long, what do you think?"
Zhang Long opened his mouth, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness:
"X chat is too powerful. These features, let alone WeChat 4.0, even 5.0 can't achieve them."
"Nearby outings, nearby food, we have Soso Maps, isn't that enough?"
Director Ma couldn't help but ask.
"Can't compare. Although Soso Maps and Amap are both maps, there's a huge difference. The number of POIs (points of interest) like restaurants, shops, and public facilities on our Soso Maps is less than one-tenth of Amap's; there's simply no comparison!"
Zhang Long shook his head:
"Especially new restaurants, Amap updates them in real-time, but we can't even find them on Soso Maps, or it still shows old restaurants that have already been transferred! It's precisely because of this that Amap has more than ten times our user base!"
"I see."
Director Ma fell silent.
NavInfo only provided underlying map data, but Tencent had to update POIs in real-time and develop navigation itself, so it simply couldn't compete with Amap.
(End of Chapter)