In the meeting room, the aroma of coffee wafted. After initial pleasantries and exchange of impressions, Qin Feng and Lin Haoming's conversation delved into deeper topics. Mr. Lin shed his politeness, revealing his acumen and curiosity as a business heir, while Qin Feng was happy to elaborate on his true grand vision to this potential, heavyweight partner.
"Mr. Qin, you just mentioned 'building a world' and 'mainstream culture,' which is a very impressive vision," Mr. Lin leaned forward slightly, his gaze focused. "But from what I've observed, the current business model of the esports industry still seems highly dependent on game revenue and tournament sponsorships. How do you view its sustainability and ability to break out of its niche?"
This was a very core question, directly addressing the ceiling of esports commercialization.
Qin Feng smiled faintly and responded calmly, "Mr. Lin sees it clearly. That is indeed the case currently. But what we aim to do is elevate esports from a 'derivative' of the gaming industry to an independent'sports industry' with strong self-sustaining capabilities."
He picked up his tablet, bringing up a few charts: "Look, this is the business model pyramid of traditional sports. The bottom layer is broad public participation (our player base), and moving upwards, commercial value is realized through media rights (tournament broadcasts), tickets, sponsorships, and derivatives (merchandise, IP licensing). At the top, built on a massive fan economy, are club valuations, celebrity commercial value, and so on."
"What we are doing is replicating and innovating this model." Qin Feng's finger traced the screen. "league of legends provides the foundational participation and competitive content. The National Tournament has validated the appeal and media value of the events. But this is not enough. We also need to build our own stable content distribution and fan interaction platform, which would be the 'media rights' and 'ticketing' segments of our ecosystem."
Mr. Lin pondered, "Are you referring to... live streaming?"
"Not just live streaming, but live streaming is the most important and direct medium currently," Qin Feng affirmed. "Currently, we rely on third-party live streaming platforms, which carries risks. We don't have complete control over content distribution, and user experience, data value, and commercialization models are all constrained. More importantly, we cannot provide esports fans with a pure, deeply immersive 'home'."
He paused, then unveiled his long-brewing idea: "Therefore, I am considering having Riot Games lead the effort, in conjunction with capable and visionary strategic investors, to jointly build a vertical live streaming platform focused on esports content."
This idea made Mr. Lin's eyes narrow. He instantly recognized its strategic significance—this was not just about adding another revenue stream, but about controlling the 'voice' and traffic portal of the esports ecosystem.
Qin Feng continued to elaborate: "This platform will not only broadcast league of legends tournaments. It will gather top-tier esports content from around the world, including other potential game tournaments, professional players' first-person perspectives, high-quality match reviews and analysis, esports variety shows, behind-the-scenes club stories, and a vast amount of user-generated content (UGC). It will be an exclusive community for esports enthusiasts, a digital space built around esports culture."
"We can leverage Riot Games' content production advantages and tournament resources as the core attraction, quickly gathering the most dedicated esports users in the initial phase. Then, through more immersive viewing experiences (such as multi-angle views, data visualization), closer fan interaction mechanisms (such as deep ties with players and clubs), and value-added services based on esports data, we can form strong user stickiness and platform barriers."
Mr. Lin quickly assessed the feasibility, market size, and potential risks of this plan in his mind. The investment would undoubtedly be huge, and challenging the position of existing streaming giants would not be easy. However, what Qin Feng described was a blueprint for controlling the lifeline of the ecosystem and tapping into the deeper value of esports, with an imaginative scope far beyond a simple game streaming channel.
"Mr. Qin, your vision and foresight impress me," Mr. Lin mused for a moment, then gave a cautious and professional response. "However, building a brand-new live streaming platform involves technology research and development, content operations, marketing, and especially competition with existing giants. This is a very significant strategic decision. The business model, return on investment cycle, and risk control all require extremely detailed evaluation. Please forgive my frankness, but for such a business collaboration, I need time to consider it carefully."
This response was within Qin Feng's expectations. If Mr. Lin had immediately agreed with enthusiasm, it would have made him feel that the other party was not mature enough.
"Of course, I understand." Qin Feng smiled and nodded. "This is a decision that requires careful consideration. We are not in a hurry. Mr. Lin can go back and ponder it slowly, combining what you've seen and heard today."
The meeting ended in a friendly atmosphere, full of unspoken possibilities. Qin Feng personally escorted Mr. Lin to the company entrance.
Sitting in the back seat of the luxury car returning to his residence, Mr. Lin looked at the urban neon lights flashing past the window, but his mind constantly echoed Qin Feng's words, replaying every detail he had seen at Riot Games.
The passion for the product in the eyes of the young employees, the roaring excitement of the audience in the tournament highlights, Qin Feng's confident and fervent gaze when talking about the future of esports... All of this formed a stark contrast to the traditional business world he was familiar with, filled with reports, leverage, and land bidding.
He opened his portable tablet and once again pulled up data reports on league of legends and the esports industry. The more he looked, the more he realized that what Qin Feng pointed to was indeed a vast blue ocean. This blue ocean was not only in the user scale but also in its unparalleled influence on the younger generation and its cultural and commercial value that had not yet been fully tapped.
Controlling the content distribution platform... If this move succeeded, it would be equivalent to seizing the throat of traffic for the entire esports ecosystem, and its strategic value would be immeasurable. Although the initial investment would be huge and competition fierce, once a barrier was formed, the subsequent returns would be continuous and monopolistic.
Risk and opportunity, like the two ends of a scale, swayed violently in his heart.
The car slowly drove into the villa area, about to reach its destination. Just as the driver was preparing to park, a flash of determination crossed Mr. Lin's eyes. He took a deep breath, picked up his phone, found the number he had just saved, and dialed it without hesitation.
The call was quickly connected.
"Mr. Qin, it's me, Lin Haoming." His voice was clear and firm, without the hesitation he had shown at the end of the meeting. "On the way back, I thought it over carefully."
He paused, then said word by word, "Regarding the cooperation to establish an esports live streaming platform, I believe we can cooperate."
"I believe we should indeed seize the opportunity given by this era and jointly build that 'home' for esports that you spoke of."
On the other end of the phone, Qin Feng seemed unsurprised, only a faint smile was heard.
"Excellent. Then, Mr. Lin, I look forward to our next meeting, where we can begin to discuss the specifics of how to proceed."
In the night, a strategic cooperation that could potentially change the future landscape of Chinese esports quietly took its substantive first step with this concise phone call.