430 Decisions (1/2)

Chapter 430: Decisions

Translator: _Min_Editor: Caron_

Inside the office building of Tencent was a busy scene. The occasional employee walking in the hallway didn't have the most optimistic expression. With company performance continuing to slide, employees sensed the risk of upcoming layoffs.

Yes, the lifespan of QQ wasn't the longest these days.

Once Future 1.0's messenger function came online, the number of active users on QQ trended negatively. The QQ project lead was so stressed that his hair almost turned completely white, but he was still unable to come up with a solution to reclaim the messaging throne.

What? User stickiness? That's right - when your friends, family, and friends on the internet all use QQ, it might be difficult to change users' messenger tool of choice. But when all your friends, family and friends on the internet already installed Future 1.0 and Future 1.0 happened to come out with a messenger function, was QQ really irreplaceable?

Especially since Future Technology used a ”shady” technique - friend synchronization technology!

WeChat and QQ could synchronize a phone's contact list, and Future 1.0's overpowering function could synchronize WeChat and QQ friend lists. So any user with Future 1.0, QQ, and WeChat installed, Future 1.0 would be able to sync all a user's friends with the click of a button and separate the friends based on the filter.

This move made the project lead of QQ curse Future 1.0's mother, but he couldn't do anything about it. Future Technology hadn't violated any laws - it synced friend lists with the user's permission and didn't pose any threat to QQ's functionality, nor did it trigger any laws regarding vicious competition.

At least for messaging software on mobile platforms, Future Technology already snatched more than half of all users. It was fortunate that QQ was still competitive because of its PC platform, but WeChat, which normally always had a stunning performance, suffered greatly.

The foundation that formed the skyscraper of Penguin Empire was QQ - all other products were based on this foundation.

And now, Future 1.0 was attacking the foundation itself.

”Boss, Future Technology has made a new move.” An assistant with square glasses walked in and slid a document gently in front of Ma Huateng.

He sat in front of his table with gloom all over his face. His eyes didn't leave the laptop screen at all.

It was an article reposted by News Net.

Future Technology had been promoting virtual reality technology lately. Ma Huateng was skeptical if they could make their money back with the massive campaign they launched.

He had some understanding of virtual reality technology. While the country had made some technology in the field domestically, compared to Google and Microsoft, there was still a sizeable disparity.

[Virtual reality MMORPG overseas is still in its infancy, yet you wanted to get ahead of the game - what's the point? Once they eat the meat, they will just take the leftovers and fry it, and it will still be delicious. What's the need for innovation? In a 1.3 billion market, copyright is nonexistent.]

[Foolish, how foolish.]

Ma Huateng shook his head.

If virtual reality MMORPG in internal testing was really as magical as they made it sound, it would be an unprecedented shockwave to the traditional MMORPGs on PC and mobile platforms.

What made it difficult was that the testing location of Godly Land was in Pannu Islands; there was no media coverage and no leaked photos. Penguin possessed only minimal information.

Was it the traditional sensory VR equipment or the rumored immersive virtual reality technology? There was great debate about this on the internet. Some people claiming to be internal testers said it was, in fact, the traditional equipment. But other internal testers stated that Future Technology had developed the legendary immersive technology.

Because there were no leaked photos, the Godly Land seemed mysterious.

”Boss?” the assistant spoke out.

”Is there any renowned virtual reality company domestically?” Ma Huateng let out a sigh.

”Wanghai Lexiang Technology Company. They just introduced the Deepoon virtual reality equipment which uses Samsung AMOLED 1080 high definition screen with 75Hz rate and 120-degree wide angle screen. It performed superbly during the CES exhibition.”

”Send people to discuss the acquisition,” Ma Huateng ordered.

”Yes.” The assistant nodded and left with quick steps.

It shouldn't be difficult to acquire the company - the virtual reality industry was never hot domestically, and the mild state meant there was a lack of capital in pursuit. If someone was willing to pay for their creativity, they were probably more willing to exchange their technology for cash.

Ma Huateng stood up and walked to the giant window.

He glanced down at Shen's streets as well as his reflection in the window. His eyes narrowed.

[Okay, since Future Technology has entered the virtual reality era, let me play with you then!]

…

The so-called Icarus paradox referred to an enterprise with a monopoly in the market and a fear of change; the company would be reluctant to conduct management, technology, and business model updates. This would make it difficult to adapt to the ever-changing environment and the company would lose its advantage with the arrival of new competition.

What was the Icarus effect? It referred to an enterprise already with a monopoly in the market using all its resources to prevent change from occurring. Examples could be seen by energy giants divesting from new energy resources or hostile takeovers of new energy companies.

But because of Future Technology's unbreakable share structure and excellent operating conditions, it gave the tech giants no vulnerabilities to target.

At the Microsoft headquarters in Seattle:

The chief executive officer, Satia Nadra, sat in front of his desk while staring at his coffee. He zoned out while listening to his assistant's report.

”… HoloLens' sales in July increased by 27%.”

When he heard this, he recollected his thoughts.

HoloLens was virtual reality equipment based on the Windows 10 design by Microsoft. It received a positive market reaction since it was introduced to the market in 2016, but the significant fluctuation in sales was a rare sight.

”… Till the market closed, Nasdaq's virtual reality sector all ended in the green. Due to virtual reality division, our company's stock also rose by 3%.”