Chapter 698: The Regulation of an Esports Environment

October 24th, Monday…

The Manage Loss Trainees meeting was held as scheduled last Saturday.

However, there was nothing worth talking about.

That was because the cycle had just started, and the various departments were just getting started on their projects. What’s more, everyone was sticking quite closely to Boss Pei’s instructions, and so they could not find any signs of generating profits.

Even if there were or if various departments worked together for a combined event, Pei Qian would only see them in the last month of the cycle.

Thus, Pei Qian could relax considerably for now.

Of course, even then, the Manage Loss Trainees meeting proceeded as usual. He could not afford to be careless.

Today was Monday, and so Pei Qian prepared to head to DGE Club for a visit.

Before this, Old Ma had done averagely in distributing cash through Weibo. However, the livestream had achieved considerable success. The old members of the DGE Club directed huge amounts of traffic to him, thus forming a virtuous cycle. Until now, Old Ma was still getting tens of thousands of new followers on his Weibo every day. It was very ridiculous.

Fortunately, online trends passed as quickly as they came. Old Ma’s popularity from appearing on the livestreams of DGE’s old members was slowly dissipating.

As for Old Ma’s current followers… most of them were only showing up for the money. For now, Pei Qian could not sense any threat.

Thus, Pei Qian decided to cut off Ma Yang and the DGE Club’s link for once and for all!

Once Old Ma noticed that he was gaining new followers at a slower rate, he might make an appearance as ‘Coach Ma’ on the livestreams of the DGE Club’s older members once again. Then, his number of followers might balloon once again. It was a significant hidden threat.

Pei Qian had to think of a way to dissipate the popularity that Old Ma was not meant to gain in the first place.

Thus, he headed towards the DGE Club to take extreme measures against Old Ma.

…

In the DGE Club, the ten new members finished their breakfast and prepared to commence their independent training.

The DGE Club retained that part of the training schedule because it had proven effective. Although it was boring, everyone took it very seriously.

When he saw Boss Pei appear, Zhang Yuan quickly stood up. “Boss Pei!”

Boss Pei nodded and walked into the conference room, with Zhang Yuan following closely behind him. Neither of them wanted to interrupt the members’ training.

“Boss Pei, do you have any instructions for me this time?” Zhang Yuan sounded slightly excited.

More than a month had already passed since the international invitational tournament ended. All the clubs had become relatively confused by now.

All of them had been burning money to poach people for the sake of the competition earlier. They had also been negotiating partnerships with Xing Le Livestream Platform, and the entire industry seemed to be buzzing.

The international invitational tournament had indeed put most of the teams in the spotlight. However, once the tournament ended, their popularity dissipated as well.

The next international invitational tournament would probably be a matter for the following year.

Thus, for now, members and clubs alike would have too little of a drive.

Zhang Yuan was no longer only in charge of DGE Club’s daily training schedule. He was also the communication line between various clubs and Tengda and had been put in charge of scheduling mock competitions for all teams.

It was obvious that no one was as keen. They played in a slipshod manner at mock competitions, and star players invested more energy in their live-streams instead.

The various clubs turned a blind eye to it and did not bother too much.

Zhang Yuan thought that it was only natural for everyone to relax after the competition. However, slacking off and wasting time like that was quite inappropriate.

Still, he did not have any solution to the problem.

Could Boss Pei be coming today… to fix this problem on his behalf?

Pei Qian sipped his tea and said, “I’ve already spoken to Boss Ma. He’s not allowed to continue live-streaming with DGE’s members anymore. He shouldn’t be interrupting their daily training.”

Zhang Yuan was stunned. “Huh?

“Er… Boss Pei, that isn’t a big deal. The clubs don’t have any particularly urgent training plans, and the team members have to live-stream either way. Inviting Boss Ma along would balance out the skills…”

Pei Qian: “?”

Zhang Yuan, whose side are you on?!

Pei Qian’s expression became stern. “How can you allow that? Our club is formal, and the members are as important as we are. Their task is to do well in competitions and not to play games with their boss.

“That’s why we have to be strict with ourselves and get our roles right. We can be managers, but we cannot be owners. There’s a crucial difference between the two, understand?”

Zhang Yuan instinctively straightened his back.

Was Boss Pei… just going by the books?

Was he this critical even with Boss Ma, his trusted right-hand man and best friend?

Strictly speaking, Boss Ma was acting inappropriately and using work resources to boost his personal fame by seeking to play games with DGE’s members.

However, on further thought, it was not that serious. Even the members didn’t think much of it.

Yet, Boss Pei had told Boss Ma not to come and interrupt everyone’s daily training. Personal relationships were one matter, but work was another.

He had to separate the two very clearly!

Zhang Yuan suddenly understood that Boss Pei was setting the standard and an example for the DGE Club and the entire professional circle of GOG!

The local esports industry had just taken off, and many clubs were filled with rich second-generation heirs. In terms of management, they did poorly. A few members played games with their bosses and forged good relationships to hold tightly onto their positions. Obviously, this was not desirable for formal clubs.

By being an example and refusing to make an exception even for Boss Ma, Boss Pei was undoubtedly sending a clear signal to the rest of the industry.

Obviously, Boss Pei was determined to legitimize the industry and other clubs!

Zhang Yuan could not help but feel immense respect towards Boss Pei. “Alright, Boss Pei! I’ll supervise the club’s training closely and make sure that they become legitimate. I will not let them get distracted by irrelevant matters!”

Pei Qian was stunned and momentarily speechless.

I only said that the team’s not allowed to play games with Old Ma and make him more popular than he already is.

I didn’t say anything else!

How the h*ll did you arrive at that?!

Forget it, forget it. The outcome will be the same either way.

Pei Qian quietly sipped his tea.

He had only come today to deal with Old Ma’s matter, and he had had no other plans.

However, since he was already here, he decided to check on the club’s status anyway.

At that thought, Pei Qian casually asked, “How have the DGE Club and the other clubs been recently?”

Pei Qian only asked this casually because the DGE Club and the other clubs could possibly backstab him.

Zhang Yuan perked up at once.

There it was!

Boss Pei is indeed here to offer me some guidance!

Zhang Yuan knew that Boss Pei had a bigger plan for GOG and the entire esports industry. He had only allowed them some free time in the past month so that they could relax after the international invitational tournament.

Was there a new plan now?

Zhang Yuan quickly organized his thoughts and began reporting to Boss Pei.

“Boss Pei, the DGE Club is still following the daily training schedule set earlier.

“The ten new members that we accepted are quite good. Although they haven’t fully adapted to the rhythm of the competitions, they’re getting much better under Huang Wang, Jiang Huan, and the others’ guidance.

“However, it’s only been a while. The DGE Club is one of the poorest in skill among the local clubs.

“As for the other clubs… they’ve already fully accepted DGE Club’s working hours and training methodology. Ever since they added physical training, their members’ physical health had shown marked improvements.

“Still… the clubs’ managing teams vary greatly. We can only guarantee that the DGE Club’s old members don’t get bullied, but we can’t interfere in other clubs’ internal affairs.

“Of course, the clubs have been showing me enough respect to avoid bullying our old members.

“The champions and core players would be given much more attention after the international invitational tournament. Now, all the clubs have resumed their mock competitions. In their spare time, the team members are allowed to host their own livestreams.

“However… since there are no competitions in the near future, the mock competitions have not been very effective. Everyone has been slacking off a little bit.

“Livestream platforms are developing at a rapid pace and offering higher prices to celebrity players who have not been signed.

“At the same time, livestream platforms and clubs have been working together more and more. Thus, while clubs generally get along well with one another, competition for outstanding players has been getting more intense.”

Pei Qian immediately became cautious.

Livestream platforms were offering higher prices?

Competition for outstanding players has been getting more intense?

That was not positive news!

Pei Qian knew very well that livestream platforms would only get increasingly popular, and the number of users would only increase. Once that happened, live streamers would see a surge in their own income as well.

What’s more, players in esports clubs were obviously of a higher tier than ordinary gamers.

Apart from live streamers with an obvious style of playing and a knack for putting on a good show, the majority still favored those with good skills.

That was because skills were the most important in esports. The lousy ones do not deserve any applause.

This meant that the clubs would be very valuable for business. There was room to generate profits through sponsorships and income from livestream platforms.

For now, the DGE Club was already standing at the peak of all the other clubs. That was the most ridiculous thing.

Based on that trajectory, would livestream platforms offer DGE’s members more expensive contracts? Would the club end up earning more money?

Would more sponsors come knocking?

When other clubs bought players from DGE, would they offer a higher price?

What if the transfer of membership fees went into the millions or tens of millions when the time came? What would Pei Qian do?

The DGE Club was already looking like paradise for many young internet addicts. Each time another club bought one member from DGE, everyone would fight one another to get accepted into the club. Each time the club sold a member, they would earn a significant sum of money. There would be no end to the madness.

What’s more, as the club became more popular, the environment would only get messier. Pumping in more funds in would create a bigger bubble, and the bigger bubble would only increase the DGE Club’s chances of generating profits.

For most clubs, popularity was a good thing. However, for Pei Qian, it was worth avoiding as much as possible.

Although it did not look that dangerous in the short-term, it was extremely risky in the long-term.

Pei Qian could not care less how much the other clubs were earning as long as DGE earned as little as possible.

Yet… how could he minimize DGE Club’s income?

He could not go overboard and reject all forms of income. He had to find reasons for every action.

Otherwise, he could go down another path. He could think of more ways to spend money, which would be equivalent to earning less over all.

Pei Qian fell into deep thought.

Zhang Yuan rejoiced inside. He was here—the thinking Boss Pei!

He did not dare to interrupt but quietly waited for the latter to finish thinking.

After some consideration, Pei Qian said, “Livestream platforms are offering higher prices, and competition between the clubs for outstanding members has been getting more intense. On a certain level, those are good signs… because they show that GOG’s esports circle is getting more and more attention.

“However, we have to be cautious of the risks that might come with it.

“Would players become obsessed with earning money if livestream platforms offer more remuneration than clubs do? Would they lose interest in taking part in competitions?

“Would there be unfair competition and tampering of contracts if competition between various clubs for outstanding members gets too intense?

“We have to guard against those things. If we fail that, all of GOG’s esports environment would be affected.

“I think that we should set up another department to simultaneously regulate all of GOG’s esports environment!”

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