Chapter 266 History is divided into "before" and "after" at this moment
"How much do you think this product, Metaverse Intelligent Control, will be priced at?"
"I guess it will reach six figures. After all, it is a new product that has just been released, or A brand-new product that has never appeared before. "
At the press conference, two people in the investment circle were whispering. They both felt that the price of brain-computer terminal equipment is definitely not cheap. Many peers, including people in the technology circle, also think so.
Although the price has not been announced yet, Yuanjie Intelligent Control has spent a lot of money to open "brain computer Internet cafes" nationwide, which has given a signal from the side that this product is not cheap.
Otherwise, as a company that “sells shovels”, Metaverse Intelligent Control will not enter the market in person, but will let traditional Internet cafe business owners purchase and open stores.
Obviously, this shows that even if a traditional Internet cafe merchant opens a store, the cost will be very high, which is definitely far higher than that of opening a computer Internet cafe.
In other words, the retail price of brain-computer terminals is likely to be unaffordable for mass consumers.
Many people in the industry feel that if the price of the brain-computer terminal cannot be lowered after it is released, it will still become a niche product.
People from all walks of life generally speculate that the price of this product is over 100,000 yuan, or even more expensive.
This price can be enough to buy an ordinary private car, but considering that the brain-computer terminal is a newly born and extremely epoch-making technological product, with its unprecedented experience and stunning display, this price is well worth it even if it is expensive.
Buy new rather than old, buy early and enjoy it early, buy late and get a discount. This has always been the case with technology products.
…
As the press conference entered the price announcement phase, Lu An announced it directly without hesitation.
"We provide three versions of the first-generation brain-computer terminal product, the basic version, the enhanced version, and the super-enhanced version. The guide price of the basic version is 50,999 yuan, the enhanced version is 62,999 yuan, and the super-enhanced version is 75,999 yuan."
The large screen on the stage also released a price reference chart simultaneously.
"What? So cheap?"
"What? So expensive?"
When the price was announced, both groups were shocked. People in the investment and technology circles thought the price was too cheap, while the mass player consumer group saw the price and said it was too expensive.
The feelings of the two groups are very different.
The former generally believed that the price of a brain-computer terminal would not be less than six figures, but the lowest price was 50,000 yuan, which far exceeded their expectations.
As for the majority of gamer consumer groups, they had a psychological expectation that this product would be expensive from the beginning. After seeing the price announcement, although it was not as expensive as they expected, the basic model also costs 50,000 yuan, which is still too expensive for most ordinary consumers.
This price is not low, but it is not an astronomical figure. The general public can still afford it if they bite the bullet and buy it.
It just seems a bit too luxurious, after all, it is not a necessity of life.
However, for hardcore technology product enthusiasts or hardcore gamers, they are absolutely willing to be extravagant. Even if their income is not high, they can still spare 50,000 yuan if they borrow a consumer loan and eat instant noodles for a few years.
As for those rich guys, they must be in the super enhanced version.
Fu Ge does not care about price, but pays more attention to experience and emotional value. Even a DIY desktop computer can cost hundreds of thousands.
Such a comparison, in Brother Fu's eyes, it even feels cheap, the top version only costs over 75,000 yuan.
At this moment, the barrages in the live broadcast room of the press conference have become rich and diverse.
There are many people who type "Excuse me" barrages, but there are also many people who type "Buy, buy, buy" barrages.
With the country’s population base of 1.4 billion, there are many people who cannot afford it and many people who can afford it.
At this time, Lu An's voice echoed throughout the audience again.
“Frankly speaking, if it is a C-end business, this pricing is in a rather embarrassing position. At a price of 50,000 yuan, it is difficult to open up the market scale and quickly popularize the product. It cannot scale up the volume, and the net profit per unit price cannot be increased.”
“Those who can accept the price of 50,000 yuan and will not hesitate to buy it will also buy it if I sell it for more than 100,000 yuan. If the price of the basic model is raised to more than 100,000 yuan, for Metaverse Intelligent Control, it can make greater profits.”
"But we still chose to price the product at an embarrassing price of 50,000 yuan. Why?"
Lu An paused for a moment, walked a short distance on the stage, and then looked at the audience and the camera.
“Because we hope that once the brain-computer terminal is released, everyone can experience this new product. At this price, you may not be willing to spend money to buy one and take it home, but we will find a way to make it possible for you to use it at a low cost.”
"You must have guessed what I am going to say. Yes, it is the "Metaverse Experience Center" sub-brand that Metaverse Intelligent Control is vigorously promoting."
"In fact, just think of it as an Internet cafe. The difference is that its equipment is a brain-computer terminal." I think everyone can afford to pay tens of dollars to play in the Universe Experience Center. "
"So, we set the price of 50,000 yuan for this purpose. This price can support the investment of small and medium-sized enterprises in the main area to open stores and operate brain-computer Internet cafes. If the price is higher, you will not make much money by opening a brain-computer Internet cafe, or the price of using the computer for an hour will be tens of yuan, which will not be tolerated by mass consumers."
"If a small and medium-sized merchant opens a computer Internet cafe with a price of 50,000 yuan, the cost of dozens to hundreds of machines is expected to be in the range of 3 million to 6 million."
"This can achieve a very good balance between the two. Merchants can make money, and consumers can enjoy the experience of this technology product for the first time at a lower cost."
After Lu An said this, both investors and people in the technology circle suddenly realized.
They were actually very confused about this pricing choice just now. It is indeed neither high nor low, which seems very unreasonable. It can neither achieve small profits but quick turnover through mass popularization, nor can it harvest more profits from the niche high-end market. No matter how you look at it, there is something wrong with this pricing.
But as Lu An explained it, it makes sense, and the pricing is just right.
An industry insider at the scene couldn't help but said: "So, it seems that Metaverse Intelligent Control's main positioning of brain-computer terminal products at this stage is not the B2C model, but the B2B model..."
The so-called B2C is a "business-to-customer" model, which is commonly referred to as the business retail model of businesses selling products and services directly to consumers.
B2B is "business to business", that is, both the supply and demand sides of the transaction are business owners.
It can be seen that Metaverse Intelligent Control's current main customer group for brain-computer terminal products is small and medium-sized business owners who are preparing to open brain-computer Internet cafes.
Sell the product to them, they go to the Internet cafe to open the computer, and then they provide services to end consumers.
The majority of players and consumers who were watching the live broadcast of the press conference said that this is possible and gave Lu An crazy likes.
At this moment, countless players began to search to see if there is a Metaverse Experience Center in their city.
I would hesitate to buy a brain-computer terminal that costs tens of thousands of yuan, but I would not hesitate to spend dozens of yuan to play in a brain-computer Internet cafe for a few hours.
Lu An smiled and said slowly: "Why do we want to create the sub-brand of 'Yuanverse Experience Hall'? It does not mean that we want to monopolize the business of this track, but to provide a model and standard for this new track."
"Of course I'm not hiding it from everyone. When we created this sub-brand, we also considered that many traditional Internet cafe owners may be worried about losing money. After all, investing in a brain-computer Internet cafe with the same number of seats is several times the cost of a traditional Internet cafe."
"Anyway, I am very confident that if you open a brain computer Internet cafe now, it is equivalent to the computer Internet cafe you opened at the turn of the millennium. At that time, every one you opened was very popular. I believe that if you open a brain computer Internet cafe now, it will definitely be popular."
Even though the investment cost is several times higher, judging from the game sessions displayed at the press conference, this is definitely a superb experience that countless gamers cannot refuse.
The key is that this product is not cheap.
This determines that the market consumer group of Brain Computer Internet Cafe will be extremely strong and prosperous for a long period of time.
Even though the current traditional Internet cafe industry is not as prosperous as it was in the past, there are still about 100,000 Internet cafes in the country. Computer Internet cafes can do everything that computer Internet cafes can do, but the experience that computer Internet cafes can provide cannot be done by computer Internet cafes.
At this moment, many owners of Internet cafes have decided to start one. With such a big opportunity in front of you, it depends on your courage.
But they still have another concern, and that is the competitor Yuanjie Intelligent Control.
Lu An also seemed to understand these business owners who were interested in opening a store, and he said in an orderly manner: "The main reason why Metaverse Intelligent Control is building this sub-brand is to dare to be the first. In fact, if someone is willing to do it, we don't want to enter this track ourselves."
"So, the Metaverse Experience Center will not expand crazily."
“Let consumers across the country have two Metaverse experience centers in any city in the country, even in small counties, to ensure that ordinary people who want to experience it can play it locally.” Hearing Lu An’s words, some bosses who were willing to open stores, with his promise, their worries disappeared.
There are even bosses who firmly believe that this track can make a lot of money. Now they no longer hesitate and decisively start preparing to open a store.
They firmly believe that the earlier they open a store, the more money they will make in a sack.
They also agree with Lu An's market size of 100,000 to 150,000, because the market size of Internet cafes is probably the same size.
Metaverse Intelligent Control has only opened 20,000 stores, accounting for only about 13% to 20% of the overall market size, leaving a huge market share of 80%.
The vast majority of players heard Lu An say that there should be at least two experience centers in a small county, and they also received five-star reviews. It would be quite uncomfortable if they had to travel to other cities to experience the brain-computer terminal.
Lu An continued: “At present, we have opened more than 3,700 ‘Metaverse Experiences’ across the country, basically achieving coverage of one city and one home. All counties are also covered, with at least one store.”
“These stores will officially open tomorrow, and in the last three days of the National Day holiday, all will be free of charge. They will be officially operated for a fee after the holiday.”
Most players once again praised the game, but this was expected by many people.
Because when a new Internet cafe opens, there is usually a free play event, which usually lasts for two to five days, with three free days being the most common.
Although the Metaverse Experience Center is not a traditional Internet cafe, its business philosophy is obviously similar to it.
Lu An said to the audience: "The product will also be officially launched tomorrow. You can buy it online, or go to Metaverse Intelligent's offline direct stores and Wanxiang Huitong authorized stores to buy."
Some netizens opened the official website of Metaverse Intelligent Control or the flagship store on the e-commerce platform. The product page is indeed available, but it is not yet available for purchase. It shows that the order cannot be officially placed until tomorrow.
As time goes by, the press conference has come to an end.
Lu An silently paced back and forth on the stage, as if he was organizing his words. The audience's eyes were focused on him.
After a while, his eyes scanned the whole place again.
"A few decades ago, the birth of the personal computer put unprecedented computing power into the hands of every individual. It tells us that power does not have to be concentrated in a huge computer room."
Ten years ago, smart computers The birth of the mobile phone has put the entire world's information in our pockets. It tells us that connection can be anywhere and anytime."
The only voice present was Lu An. He paused for a moment and looked at the brain-computer terminal used for display on the stage.
“Today, with the birth of this product, what it wants to say to the world is: the inner universe can also be explored, connected, and shared.”
“We look up at the stars and think about our position in the universe, and after today, we begin to have the ability to look at ourselves and think about the world around us. "The birth of this technology is not to allow us to escape reality. On the contrary, it is to allow us to understand reality more deeply and have the ability to shape a new reality."
Lu An's tone became sincere, with a sense of mission.
"It is a key, a bridge, a starting point, an invitation, inviting everyone here, inviting every curious soul in the world, inviting you to imagine with us."
“When education is no longer limited to words and pictures, but becomes a knowledge landscape that can be touched and immersed, how will learning be redefined?”
What does it mean? "
"When the artist's brush is directly flowing from the inner intention, what magnificent colors will human emotional expression bloom?"
Every question raised by Lu An is like a stone thrown into a calm lake, causing ripples in the hearts of every audience in the audience.
yes!
The advent of brain-computer terminal equipment is not only ushering in great changes in the fields of games and e-commerce shopping. The content scenes demonstrated at the press conference can only be said to be the tip of the iceberg.
"There are countless unknown challenges ahead, there are ethical boundaries that need to be carefully delineated, there are dangerous technical peaks that need to be continuously climbed, and there are potential risks that we need to guard against together." Lu An's tone was frank and serious, "This road, It requires us to be in awe, and even more, it requires us to maintain courage."
He opened his arms in a tolerant and open gesture, and the picture on the screen behind him was replaced by a door that slowly opened to the boundless stars.
“So, today, we are launching more than just a product.”
“What we are issuing is an invitation to join you in this great adventure.”
“What we released is a promise, promising to use our wisdom and sweat to use this technology to illuminate the way forward, to enhance the well-being of mankind, and to expand the common territory of all of us.”
His voice finally converged into a concise and powerful conclusion, which echoed in the venue and also passed through the audience. Through the live broadcast signal, it was delivered to the whole world:
"The door to the second world of mankind has been opened."
"The key is in our hands, everyone can go there."
"The journey begins now."
After the words fell, Lu An bowed slightly.
The audience was silent for a moment, and then the audience stood up again, and applause that was louder and longer than ever before broke out, like a tsunami, sweeping through the entire venue.
The lights turned on again, illuminating countless excited, pensive, and excited faces.
History at this moment is clearly divided into "before" and "after".
(End of this chapter)