Free Web NovelChapter 1246: Chapter 1169 “Online Business Model”
Sunday 27 March 2001.
Microsoft Offices USA.
Microsoft offices were unusually crowded despite it being Sunday morning. Bill Gates wanted a complete report covering the first two weeks after the X-box release, and because of how important the situation was, he immediately scheduled emergency meetings without caring that most employees were supposed to be resting.
As a result, Microsoft engineers, finance executives, marketing leaders, and game division managers all had no choice but to come anyway, even if many of them clearly looked exhausted and reluctant.
Some arrived while still holding coffee cups with tired expressions. Some quietly complained under their breath about losing their Sunday. Others were still wearing casual weekend clothes because they had been called in so suddenly.
But regardless of their personal feelings, nobody dared ignore Bill Gates when he personally demanded a meeting.
Especially after the X-box launch.
The atmosphere across Microsoft right now was simply too important for anyone to relax.
Bill Gates leaned back in his chair before looking toward the marketing team. "So... how are the X-box sales after the first two weeks of release?"
The marketing team lead quickly nodded. "Overall, the results are satisfactory, especially in the United States and Europe. Both the console and our launch titles are selling well there. The failure of iPlay also helped us significantly because we quickly emphasized that comparison in our marketing campaigns."
He then projected a global sales graph onto the large screen, showing X-box sales performance across different regions around the world.
Several areas were highlighted positively.
North America looked strong. Europe looked stable.
But the moment Bill Gates looked toward Asia, his expression slowly frowned.
Japan. Korea. China.
The sales numbers there were noticeably lower than expected.
And honestly?
That immediately bothered him.
"Why are the numbers so low in Japan, Korea, and China?" Bill Gates asked while frowning at the graph on the screen. "Those are strong gaming markets, right? As far as I know, ZAGE consoles and games usually dominate those regions. We even have dedicated teams there, don’t we?"
Bill Gates genuinely could not understand it.
These three regions were practically famous for being massive ZAGE consumer markets. The gaming culture there was enormous, especially among younger audiences, so logically there should have been a huge number of potential X-box customers as well.
Yet despite all that potential, the sales performance in those regions looked strangely weak compared to North America and Europe.
And honestly?
That discrepancy immediately bothered him far more than the others in the room.
The marketing team lead let out a tired sigh before answering. "To be honest, boss... that actually explains the problem really well. These three regions somehow genuinely LOVE ZAGE games almost like cult culture at this point."
He adjusted his glasses before continuing more seriously.
"Most players there are already deeply invested in the ZAGE ecosystem. They buy ZAGE consoles, play ZAGE games, follow ZAGE communities, and even spend most of their free time inside ZAGE online games now. Especially after ZAGE released RAN Online last week."
Several people inside the meeting room immediately reacted after hearing that title.
RAN Online.
Even Microsoft had already begun hearing constant reports about the game.
The marketing lead continued, "And yesterday they released another major title too, but honestly? RAN Online itself is already causing huge problems for us. Or more specifically... ZAGE’s online games in general are becoming the real threat."
His expression became more complicated afterward.
"Honestly, boss... I think the lead of the game division can explain this part better than me."
Then the lead of Microsoft’s Game Division began explaining more seriously.
"Let me explain it properly. These online games have an extremely smart business model. Basically, players only need to pay a subscription fee of around three dollars, and after that they can access all of ZAGE’s online games. Right now I think there are already four major titles connected to the service: Ragnarok Online, Gunbound Online, Audition Online, and now RAN Online."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"And the dangerous part is that even when new games are added, the subscription price itself does not really increase. That makes the entire ecosystem feel very cheap and attractive for players."
Several people inside the meeting room slowly nodded.
Honestly, from a customer perspective, the value sounded absurdly good.
The Game Division lead then pointed toward another chart.
"But what truly makes this business model dangerous is not only the games themselves. It’s the cosmetic system."
Bill Gates narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Cosmetics?"
The Game Division lead nodded.
"Yes. These games sell cosmetic items that mostly exist only to make characters look cooler, more stylish, or more unique. They usually do not provide massive gameplay advantages, but somehow players become heavily attached to them anyway."
He sighed before continuing.
"And honestly... we underestimated how powerful that emotional attachment could become."
Another employee inside the room added quietly, "Players don’t just play these games anymore. They socialize inside them."
That sentence immediately made the atmosphere slightly heavier.
The Game Division lead nodded again. "Exactly. These online games are becoming digital social spaces. Players spend hours inside them with friends, guilds, classmates, and online communities. Because of that, appearance suddenly becomes important."
He then pointed toward screenshots from RAN Online and Audition Online displayed on the projector.
"Players want to stand out. They want rare outfits, stylish hairstyles, cool accessories, glowing weapons, unique animations, and limited costumes because those things create identity and social status inside the game world."
Another marketing staff member added, "And because the cosmetics are relatively cheap individually, players psychologically think they are harmless purchases."
"But the problem," the Game Division lead continued, "is that those small purchases accumulate constantly. A player might only spend five dollars at first... then another five later... then another ten because of limited-time cosmetics or rare event items."
He adjusted his glasses.
"And eventually, many players end up spending far more money on cosmetics than they ever spent on the original game subscription itself."
Several executives inside the room looked visibly uncomfortable after hearing that.
Because from a business perspective?
The model was brilliant.
And terrifying.
Bill Gates frowned deeply while staring at the presentation. "Interesting... so players actually love spending money on cosmetics in these games," he muttered, almost unable to believe what he was hearing. "They are not buying power. They are buying identity, status, and self-expression."
For a brief moment, the room became quiet.
Then Bill slowly leaned forward, his eyes sharpening with both shock and fascination. "That is... disturbingly genius."
Several executives glanced at one another.
Bill Gates looked genuinely flabbergasted now. The more he thought about it, the more terrifyingly brilliant the model became. A cheap subscription brought players into the ecosystem, the games kept them socially attached, and cosmetics quietly encouraged them to spend again and again without feeling forced.
"Honestly," Bill continued, his voice lower now, "this might be one of the smartest business models I’ve seen in gaming so far. Do we have data on how much ZAGE roughly generates from this?"
The marketing team lead nodded before handing him the report.
Bill Gates read the numbers.
Then he froze.
His expression changed instantly.
’This much?’
The estimate was only a rough guess, but even that rough guess already looked insane. The numbers were not just good. They were the kind of numbers that made everyone in the room suddenly understand why ZAGE was pushing online games so aggressively.
Bill Gates then looked toward the Game Division lead again. "For our next game, are you confident we can create something like this ourselves? Because honestly... this is a business model we absolutely need to approach."
The lead engineer nodded seriously. "We’re trying, boss. But we still need to think carefully about how to approach it properly. We do not want to release some half-finished imitation just because ZAGE succeeded with it."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"And honestly... we’re already discussing something even more aggressive internally."
Bill Gates narrowed his eyes slightly.
The engineer adjusted his glasses. "Instead of making cosmetics cheap like ZAGE, we’re thinking about creating premium cosmetic ranges instead. More expensive items. More exclusive items. Cosmetics designed specifically to make players feel elite for owning them."
Several people inside the room immediately looked surprised.
But the engineer’s expression slowly became greedier the more he explained the concept.
"Think about it, boss. If players are already willing to spend money just to look cool... then there will definitely be people willing to spend even more money to look superior."
The room became quiet.
The engineer continued with increasing excitement.
"Limited cosmetics. Premium effects. Exclusive animations. Rare event-only appearances. Things normal players cannot easily obtain. The rarer and more prestigious the item becomes, the more players will desire it."
One marketing executive quietly muttered, "Digital luxury products..."
The engineer immediately pointed toward him.
"Exactly."
Now even several finance executives were visibly interested.
Because suddenly, they no longer saw cosmetics as simple decorations.
They saw recurring profit.
Massive recurring profit.
"Of course," the engineer continued more carefully, "we still need to figure out which genre would work best for this model. MMORPGs are the obvious answer, but online shooters, sports games, and social games could potentially work too."
Bill Gates stayed silent for several seconds.
Then slowly... he nodded.
And honestly?
That reaction alone made several people inside the room nervous.
Because when Bill Gates agreed with something, Microsoft moved very aggressively.
"You’re right," Bill finally said. "If ZAGE proved players are willing to pay for identity and social status... then there is no reason we cannot push that even further." freёweɓnovel.com
His eyes slowly sharpened.
"And if we do this properly..."
Bill Gates leaned back slightly.
"It could become bigger than simply selling games."
Bill Gates nodded slowly. "I understand this will take time, so keep me updated on every major development."
Then his expression became more serious.
"And despite all of this, we need to push much harder in Korea, Japan, and China. Increase marketing movements there immediately."
Several executives quickly began writing notes.
Bill continued, "And let’s start using celebrities too. We’ll hire major celebrities from those countries and pay them to promote the X-box brand. Even if we cannot dominate immediately, planting the seed early is important."
The marketing division immediately understood what Bill Gates meant.
Brand familiarity.
If Microsoft wanted to challenge ZAGE in Asia, people first needed to emotionally accept X-box as part of their gaming culture.
"And meanwhile," Bill continued while pointing toward the screen, "our next major releases should include games inspired by Japanese, Korean, or Chinese themes and aesthetics. We cannot keep approaching those markets with only Western-style strategies."
The room became quieter after that statement. It showed just how seriously Bill Gates was taking the Asian gaming market now.
Several engineers widened their eyes slightly before reluctantly nodding and writing down their boss’s new requirements. Some of them already understood what this meant internally: more pressure, tighter deadlines, and more aggressive expansion.
But nobody argued. From a business perspective, Bill Gates was absolutely right.
And so the meeting continued. Overall, the first two weeks of X-box sales were still considered successful by normal standards.
But little did they know... major trouble for X-box was already approaching.
To be continue
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