Chapter 103: Server Down
Chapter 103: Server Down
The opening day of Earth Channel was a week away.
Earth Resource's shopping mall and cloud businesses were expanding day by day.
The growth rate was frightening, but in truth, it was only felt through numbers.
In comparison, Earth Channel was about creating a space that the public could enjoy together.
- Vice President Jeong Beom-tae: Dramas, movies. The works produced by Dream Art Rainbow have been uploaded. Variety shows are being added as editing is completed.
- Kim Shin: Good work.
Dramas, movies, variety shows.
Several works were debuting on Earth Channel, and they had also secured the broadcasting rights for classic masterpieces made long ago in Korea and the United States.
- Kim Sang-gi: The gaming team is ready to broadcast anytime.
The Earth gaming team had recruited a host of popular gamers in Korea.
Famous gamers were just waiting for Earth Channel to open its doors.
“Shin. What do you think about creating a game subscription system too?”
“A game subscription?”
“There's no rule that only broadcasting can have a subscription system. Games can be subscribed to as well.”
“Like PlayStation?”
Oh Myeong-woo suggested.
To enjoy a gaming console like PlayStation, you used to have to buy game cartridges.
With the connection to online services, internet downloads became possible, and later, a subscription system was created.
A system where old games and a few popular titles were released to subscribers each month.
“The games our company owns. And if they want, we can offer other companies' games through the subscription too.”
“So you're saying people can subscribe to everything—movies, shows, and even games.”
“Wouldn't that be fun?”
I thought about Oh Myeong-woo's proposal for a moment.
Even people who loved games found it difficult to buy every single one.
There were definite advantages to enjoying games through a subscription model.
You might try a game you thought wasn't your type and end up getting hooked.
“A subscription system sounds good, but will the game companies agree?”
“We can just pay a fee every time a user plays a game. We're also going to distribute games on Earth Channel as cheap downloads, so we'll minimize the commission.”
He suggested that they pay a usage fee when users played games and keep the game distribution commission below 10%.
A $5 subscription fee wouldn't be enough to break even, so they decided to create a separate tier for game access, priced at $10.
“The identity of Earth Channel is 'enjoyment.' Let's do it.”
The $5 and $10 plans.
When it came to setting the prices myself, my conscience wouldn't let me charge a lot.
We were a latecomer compared to Netflix, and the amount of content on Earth Channel in the early days wasn't that large.
If we charged a high price right from the start, we would be shunned by users.
‘I initially planned to start small, but things have gotten out of hand. We're going to be deep in the red for a while.’
It seemed unavoidable that the deficit would match the scale of the investment.
Then, I happened to see a message from Na Sang-guk in the Arcor group chat.
- Na Sang-guk: No matter what the Earth Channel subscription fee is, I think I'll watch it.
- Park Hwa-young: Even if it's $30?
- Na Sang-guk: Yep! Considering all the money Kim Shin has made for us.
Up to this point, I had just thought of it as a nice compliment.
$30 could be considered the amount you'd give at a friend's wedding or funeral.
- Na Sang-guk: I'd be fine with a $100 plan. But could you give out Source Coins like the shopping mall does?
‘Source Coin?’
- Na Sang-guk: It's expensive to buy Source Coins directly. It would be great if Earth Resource released them themselves.
The Earth Shopping Mall gave out Source Coins equivalent to 5% of the purchase price.
Compared to shopping malls handing out 10% coupons left and right, it was a modest promotional event, but the price of Source Coin had exceeded $5.
If you bought something for $100, you received 5 Source Coins.
But if you sold these Source Coins on an exchange, you could get $25.
- You can buy things 25% cheaper on Earth Shopping Mall!
- Let's go! Go go go!
- Besides shipping, it's a total steal.
- The holy land of credit card churning!
Since they could get Source Coins, cases of people needing quick cash churning credit cards by buying electronics on the Earth Shopping Mall began to pop up.
They would buy items at a 25% discount and then sell them as new-but-used to get cash.
And a few months ago, the price of Source Coin surpassed $10.
- Half-price discount mall lol
- The generosity of spending 2 million won and getting 1 million won back in Source Coins.
- You buy luxury goods at a department store? You should buy them at Earth Shopping Mall!
- This is crazy. If you don't sell the Source Coins and hold on until they double in price, isn't that like getting 100% of your money back?
- This place is the holy land.
- It's cheapest to buy your phone from Earth Shopping Mall and sign up for an MVNO.
- Don't exchange your Source Coins with Earth Resource, sell them on a crypto exchange!
- Small crypto exchanges don't support it, but the major ones do.
Even Korean crypto exchanges began to support Source Coin trading.
The "Kimchi Premium" appeared, causing it to trade at a slightly higher price than the international market rate.
- I replaced my computer at Earth Shopping Mall. Got a new phone too. But why do I feel like I've won at life?
- This is the most satisfying shopping I've ever done. Love seeing my Source Coins pile up.
- Pfft. Are people still collecting Bitcoin? I've bet my life and gone all-in on Source Coin.
- I bought all new appliances for the house. My wife was about to smack me on the back, but then she found out I got them for half price and gave me a kiss.
- Newlyweds, get your wedding furnishings at Earth Shopping Mall!
Earth Shopping Mall was fastest in Korea, but orders flooded in from all over the world.
It was a structure where the higher the coin's price rose, the greater the merit of buying from the Earth Shopping Mall became.
Earth Resource ultimately redeemed them for $1, so there was no loss even if the coin's price went up.
Nevertheless, the shopping mall's entire inventory would sometimes sell out, and the severe credit card churning began to disrupt the existing distribution order.
There were almost no purchases under $50 per transaction, and many people would fill their carts with all sorts of items, spending over $2,000 at a time.
[ Notice! Please refrain from buying unnecessary items just to obtain Source Coins. ]
They posted a notice, but the shopping mall's sales and profits continued to soar daily.
Once the price of Source Coin surpassed $10, no advertising was necessary.
- Alright. Let's gooooooo!
- Maxed out all 7 of my credit cards! Full bet complete!
- I told my mother-in-law I was buying her a gift, so my family pooled their money and I ordered a TV. Why did I have 500,000 won left over after buying her an expensive TV?
- When I spend money, I get Source Coins. I feel like I'm getting richer!
- Thank you, Kim Shin hyung. You helped me make money with US stocks, and when I spend money, you let me use Earth Shopping Mall and give me 50% cashback!
- Kim Shin for president!
More than 10 times the amount of Source Coins released through mining were being distributed through the shopping mall.
I thought that if a large amount of Source Coins were released, the price would drop, and the shopping mall business would normalize.
- Trading volume is increasing. Sweet!
- KOSDAQ never increases its capital like this. It's great that there are more Source Coins.
- I hope the day comes when we can buy ice cream with Source Coins.
The more Source Coins there were in the market, the higher the price went.
The world of crypto was something that couldn't be understood with economic logic.
As Bitcoin's price rose to the point where people were calling it "Cryptocurrency Season 2," Source Coin consistently maintained a price above $15.
The Earth Shopping Mall was encouraging waste through excessive credit card churning and the purchase of unnecessary items.
The situation was that they couldn't even handle the increasing sales volume.
In the end, to prevent abnormal hoarding, they adopted a system of placing a monthly purchase limit per person.
‘Giving out Source Coins...’
Na Sang-guk's idea didn't sound bad at all.
Coins were also an indispensable part of Earth Resource's business.
“Diane. Let's give one Source Coin as a bonus to everyone who chooses the $10 monthly plan.”
This was to stabilize the price of Source Coin. It was also an incentive to get as many users as possible to sign up for Earth Channel.
* * *
“Everyone's here.”
“Twenty minutes to launch.”
The employees at Earth Resource had all come to work, waiting for the moment Earth Channel would open its doors.
For the first time in a while, hundreds of employees were at the office, looking at the situation board.
[ Subscribers: 0 | Concurrent Users: 0 ]
The situation board on the wall displayed the number of subscribers and concurrent users for Earth Channel.
Oh Myeong-woo said, leaning back in his chair.
“Final tests were fine. We've done everything we can.”
“Yeah. It's not perfect, but... we still have time ahead of us.”
Content required steady investment and time.
The goal was to create entertainment on Earth Channel that people could enjoy even 10 or 20 years from now.
“Let's not feel too pressured. Earth Channel will become a fun enough place.”
“Yeah.”
I watched the time pass quietly while drinking my instant coffee mix.
Earth Channel was set to launch at 10 AM in San Francisco.
That was 2 AM in Korea.
‘Considering Korea's population, maybe about 2 million will show up? If people from the US log on too... starting with around 10 million would be a huge hit.’
Internally, we had set the benchmark for a massive success at 30 million subscribers on the first day.
‘The initial reaction is crucial.’
The operational direction of Earth Channel could change depending on the number of subscribers in the first month.
The amount invested in content would inevitably vary based on monthly revenue.
Even if we accepted an initial deficit, we couldn't just keep investing billions of dollars into an OTT service with only 10 million viewers.
*Ping!*
*Ping!*
Oh Myeong-woo's phone kept buzzing.
“Who's messaging you from Korea?”
“Jeong-yeon.”
“Huh?”
“You know, Earth Girls. She said they're going to do a live broadcast when Earth Channel opens. She's asking me to be sure to watch.”
“Really? What did you reply?”
“That I'm busy with work.”
Oh Myeong-woo, once a fan, now reacted with the indifference one might show a younger sister.
‘As long as you can live happily on your own, you don't need to get married.’
Looking at Korea alone, the marriage and birth rates were falling while the divorce rate was rising.
If you can live happily without getting married...
*Ping!*
My phone was getting messages too.
- Jin Yoo-kyung: I hope Earth Channel is a huge success! Make lots of money!
It was a text from Jin Yoo-kyung, so I casually dismissed it.
I hadn't dated much, so I wasn't very good at judging women.
Jin Yoo-kyung was pretty, capable, and from a wealthy family, but from the moment I met her, I'd only ever seen her as someone fun.
Moreover, while she was staying at my place, the thought that we'd have to live together if we got married just made me feel overwhelmingly pressured.
- Ellie: The anticipation for Earth Channel is huge. Analysts are predicting over 40 million subscribers on the first day.
- Kim Shin: Really?
- Ellie: Yes. There are even funds on Wall Street shorting Netflix.
I received some encouragement from Ellie.
- Tom: It's finally starting. I'll be cheering for you from Los Angeles.
- Kim Shin: Thank you, Tom.
Tom Cruise.
He was holding the premiere event for Top Gun at a hotel in Los Angeles with the other cast members.
The release had been delayed due to COVID, but it would now start showing on over 4,000 screens across the US at the same time it launched on Earth Channel.
It was a suddenly scheduled event, but it was possible because the releases of other films were being postponed one after another.
- Jo Soo-ah: You can do it. You've got this!
A message came from Jo Soo-ah.
She was someone who had liked and supported me all this time.
- Kim Shin: Thank you so much.
And then, 10 AM, the time for Earth Channel's launch, arrived.
[ Subscribers: 0 | Concurrent Users: 0 ]
“Huh?”
Even though it was past 10 o'clock, there was no change on the screen hanging on the wall.
We had planned for a worst-case scenario where only a few tens of thousands of people would log on.
But still, zero users? That didn't make any sense, did it?