(Explosive) Lingjing Production VR Game Helmet - "Titan" Sold Out in Half an Hour!
February 25th, First VR Game "Stellar" Lands on Steam!
"Brothers, anyone know when Lingjing will restock their VR helmets? I didn't manage to grab one, damn it!"
"I'm willing to pay 25,000 for a VR helmet, interested parties please add v153****!!"
......
Because Lingjing was quietly working on something big and didn't do any pre-launch publicity, they simply posted a purchase link on their official account without a word. This resulted in many players being unable to snatch up the "Titan" helmets, leaving them filled with regret.
While a 100,000 access pod might require some hesitation, a 20,000 "Titan" helmet was an absolute steal. Especially after Tsinghua University released the behind-the-scenes story of the "Titan" from its conception to production, all the players who missed out regretted it immensely.
The 20,000 price point was almost the pure cost of the precision instruments, not even including Lu Li's creative fees or the improvement suggestions from Professor Wang Lunshan of Tsinghua University, which were practically priceless. When factoring in labor costs, a helmet selling for 30,000 or even 50,000 wouldn't be unreasonable.
Of course, selling at 100,000 with such costs would be considered exploitative. Even if all the parts were imported, most of the components were actually exported and then re-imported. This was also the fundamental reason why Bao Xue's access pods didn't achieve high sales volumes.
VR games aren't primarily about selling equipment; the sales model is centered around the games, with VR devices serving merely as an entry threshold. If you set that threshold too high, how can the ecosystem develop healthily? This is an unspoken rule among all major companies, and Bao Xue was certainly aware of it. However, their arrogant CEO, Bob, believed he was months ahead of global game giants, so he aimed to cash in.
From a business perspective, his actions to expand company profits were understandable, but the problem arose with the comparison. Lingjing sold a helmet for 20,000, while Bao Xue's access pod, with essentially only the helmet's components and a bunch of extra casing, was sold for 100,000. Without Lingjing disrupting the market, they could have sold a batch of products early with their superior technology. But Lingjing emerged. At least in Dragon Country, sales volume would be significantly impacted, especially after falling out with Wangyi, Bao Xue's reputation in the country worsened, and it was uncertain how well the games would sell when they launched.
It was only in overseas markets, without a similar competitor like Lingjing, that Bao Xue could recoup substantial profits. However, as the news from Dragon Country spread abroad, foreign players who felt ripped off severely cursed Bao Xue's entire company. Some angry players even showed up to their offices to protest.
As emotions escalated, Bao Xue was forced to quickly discount their prices by 20% and offer partial refunds to those who had already paid the higher price. This finally appeased the players' anger. With a nosedive in sales in Dragon Country and a fifth reduction in overseas profits, Bao Xue suffered heavy losses. They attributed this financial blow to Lingjing.
They even filed a lawsuit against Lingjing's overseas company in their home country, accusing them of malicious competition and driving down market prices. However, when Dragon Country submitted the total costs of raw materials and labor, the price was compressed to 15,000, including a 5,000 profit margin, leaving Bao Xue speechless. They could only swallow this bitter pill in silence and anticipate the launch of "Stellar" a week later to salvage their situation.
......
A week later.
Flowers bloomed, birds sang, and on such a pleasant and breezy day... Mo Zhi's "Titan" helmet arrived. She opened her livestream, setting a very enticing title: "VR Game Helmet - Titan Unboxing."
'Look what I found, a big treasure.'
'Didn't expect you to secretly order a VR helmet behind our backs.'
'Didn't manage to grab one, here to have a look and satisfy my cravings.'
'Hurry up, I can't wait.'
......
"Since everyone is so enthusiastic, I won't delay any longer. Let's get straight to the unboxing." Mo Zhi fixed the camera, found her tools, and with a rip— she opened the packaging, revealing an exquisite square box.
"Wow!" Mo Zhi lifted the outer box and inverted it, shaking it a few times, revealing the delicate square box inside.
"This... this robot printed on the box is so cool!"
"Bt-7274..." Mo Zhi looked at the name next to the robot and hesitated, "Could this be a hidden easter egg from the game developer?"
"I think this guy wearing the helmet and this robot seem to be combat partners." She pointed to the side illustration, "Look, doesn't it resemble a scene from the game?"
'You know, it really does!'
'So... can we look forward to the Lingjing version of VR games?'
'Bro, check the origin of the word Lingjing. Maybe VR games are the game developer's main battlefield.'
......
The curious viewers chattered incessantly as Mo Zhi continued the unboxing. After opening the box, she found an instrument wrapped in foam, with some loose parts beside it. Mo Zhi followed the manual to assemble the simple parts.
A dark green camouflage helmet – the "Titan" – was now assembled. She placed it on a display stand and shone a light on it.
"Tsk tsk." Mo Zhi looked at it from all angles, finally concluding, "Honestly, judging purely by its appearance, if you told me this was a motorcycle helmet, I'd believe you. High-tech carbon fiber material, with all the precision instruments concentrated on the top of the helmet, designed according to the model of the brain."
"Only this 'X'-shaped faceplate has some futuristic feel to it." She then picked it up and felt its weight, "It's not very heavy. It's hard to imagine this is the crystallization of our current cutting-edge technology."
'The real crystallization is the fingernail-sized Unreal Engine and the super-powered semiconductor motherboard inside. The rest are just designs for comfort.'
'Can you wear it now? Let's see what's inside!'
'Yeah, yeah, put it on and see.'
......
Unable to resist the audience's requests, Mo Zhi obliged.
"As instructed, find a comfortable position to sit or lie down, connect the instrument, ensure it's fully charged, and then press the power button." Mo Zhi spoke while operating, and finally, she lay down on the bed, put on the helmet, and pressed the power button...
[Detecting... Blood Pressure: Normal... Heart Rate: Normal... Neural Threshold: 97... Login Permitted]
[Logging in... Welcome to Titan, Lingjing Production is at your service... Login Successful]
Faint blue text flashed across her vision until the "Login Successful" voice sounded. Mo Zhi felt her consciousness sink, and her nervous excitement caused her to instinctively close her eyes. When she opened them again, her vision was filled with a hazy mist, giving her the feeling of ascending to godhood. She instinctively raised her hands, and then a pair of fair, slender fingers appeared in her vision, looking about ninety percent similar to her own. The palm lines were clearly visible, as if they were real fingers.
'Holy crap! Is this what the VR world looks like?'
'Host, can you see our bullet comments? If so, nod your head!'
'Host, say something.'
......