The Mech Touch novel Chapter 404

A lot of publicity accompanied the release of every new original mech design. Throughout the galaxy, millions of different mech models appeared on the market each day. How would consumers be able to make sense of the deluge in new designs?

In practice, due to resource limits, license limits, and regulatory restrictions, most mech models competed solely in the state it originated from. While this cut away most of the competition, it still left Ves with thousands of competing designs that fought over the limited attention span of their potential buyers.

This time, Ves wouldn’t be able to enjoy the advantage of making his debut. Fortunately, the LMC of today was a lot bigger than when he published the Blackbeak design. Back then, he still based his company back at his old, cramped workshop.

Right now, the LMC not only owned three production system, it also expanded its payroll by several times. Many problems that seemed difficult to Ves to solve by himself could easily be handed off to the right departments in the company.

Gavin was his contact person in the Marketing Department, which had been tasked with the challenge of making the Crystal Lord a success. Even before Ves completed his design, the Marketing Department already laid out the groundwork for the upcoming release.

"The MTA will be done with the validation of the Crystal Lord in two weeks or so. How soon can you arrange a press conference to introduce our latest product line to the Republic?"

Gavin quickly referenced a data pad. "We are working with all hands on deck right now. In principle, we can hold the press conference at any time, but we’re still having trouble with inviting a sufficient amount of publications. Some of these news and media empires are really tough customers."

People interested in buying mechs rarely browsed the public catalog and sorted through the huge number of available models. They researched what they wanted on the galactic net and listened to advice from sources of authority.

News portals and mech portals formed a particularly powerful influences that could collectively make or break a new mech model. The key to making the market aware of his new product was to push it to the public consciousness through a combination of promotion and news coverage.

"Now that I’ve published my design, your progress in this area should go much faster, am I right?"

"That’s right! It always helps to have a concrete example to show off!" Gavin eagerly nodded. "I do have to say it’s a really smart idea for you to add such an attention-grabbing gimmick to your latest product. That already makes the Crystal Lord ten times better in terms of marketability."

"Added to that, its premium price point and its similarities to the Blackbeak line should also help with giving the Crystal Lord a boost."

Gavin looked a bit more hesitant at that. "The close relations between the Blackbeak and the Crystal Lord will definitely be an asset, considering that your first design is already so prominent. In the right circumstances, we can definitely enable the Crystal Lord to piggyback off the reputation of the Blackbeak. It’s only..."

"The price?"

"Yes. The price. Even for your vaunted gold label masterpieces, charging 90 million credits is price gouging even to me. Everyone in the Marketing Department is sceptical whether you can get the Crystal Lord to take off with such a greedy price point."

Ves shook his head. "I don’t agree. You have to be aware that the Mech Corps will call up the second wave of mech designers very soon. The number of gold label Crystal Lords on the market will definitely be a fraction of the gold label Blackbeaks currently in existence, and those already have a very magnanimous resale value."

"That resale value trended upwards over time. It’s something that happened organically. You can’t prematurely declare that your next product will instantly be worth the same."

"It’s a high price, but I think it’s more than fair considering what it brings to the table. The Crystal Lord is packed with value. In my opinion, the high price also serves as a symbol of its worth. If I charge any less, then the market won’t take my product as seriously."

"They might not think so highly of the Crystal Lord, but at least they can afford a copy." Gavin retorted.

"If they want a more affordable copy, they can set their sights to the silver and bronze label Crystal Lords. Sure, their chest crystals will only be half the size, but it still retains much of the capabilities of the gold label version."

"Even if they’re a little cheaper, it still won’t be easy to push them into the hands of our customers. Only you would think that there are buyers ready to snap up rifleman mechs valued at 65 and 75 million credits."

"Leaving the gimmicks aside, charging such a price is still reasonable if you think about how I’ve integrated a substantial amount of compressed armor into its design. Most other armored rifleman mechs are only partially clad with the same kind of armor!"

"Alright, enough!" Gavin sighed and rubbed his eyes. "You don’t need to convince me of the appeal of your new design. I just wanted to make you aware that most of the market will react the same as me when they first get to know our new product."

"I’m sure that you already have a plan to address those issues." Ves pointedly stated. He already let the Marketing Department know of the overall specs of his design as soon as he completed his draft design. If they hadn’t figured out how to overcome these issues, then what was Ves paying them for? "All I need to know is is your overall strategy. Do you have anything solid?"