SWNOVELXO Chapter 605 He Split Open
"Sony Games bought the exclusive agency rights to Kaibong's 'Operation Thunder Strike' for 30 million US dollars!"
"Leiya Games bought the exclusive agency rights to 'Operation Thunder Strike' in Western Europe for 42 million euros!"
"Yinchao Games for 46 million US dollars..."
When it came to showing off, Ding Sanshi and Ma Hua couldn't compare to Zhang Menglong, but in terms of business negotiations, as long as it wasn't someone as rich as Zhang Menglong, whose faucets at home flowed with oil, they were experts at ruthlessly devouring their competitors.
Their current position was clear—they were the ones seeking to secure the game's agency rights, not Tengxun Games and Wangyi Games begging them to represent it! If they weren't interested, there were other companies lined up, waiting for the chance.
Once they lost this game, it would be like losing the market's stickiness. The activity of their other games would also immediately start to decline—a risk they couldn't afford to take.
Merely from selling licensing rights, they had amassed hundreds of millions of dollars in cash flow, completely replenishing their recent losses in an instant.
And that was just the agency fee. Future in-game item sales and peripheral revenues would continue to flow into Huaxia in an unending stream of dollars and euros.
Furthermore, through negotiations, they had overturned many previously unfavorable agreements and even successfully secured much greater profit margins.
...
"These idiots, paying so much money for a game's agency rights, are really stupid," Michel muttered after a period of recovery. His hands had almost healed, though they still bore many noticeable scars.
"Boss, those companies either don't primarily focus on huge online games or have subpar development capabilities. Relying on others' games is always a last resort," Michel's assistant commented.
"Exactly," Michel confidently declared, "Even if we fail with this game, we still have many more self-developed games. 'World of Warcraft' will always be our unstoppable brand!"
"How are things going lately?" Michel inquired, "I've split up the entire 'Overwatch Battlefield' development team and invested millions of dollars in game development. If we don't see results, the director of R&D and the director of operations are up for replacement!"
"Don't worry, boss, the situation is quite good," the assistant reported, "We've increased our R&D team by half. The latest map update added three new maps and a new game mode. During this period, our game's online user count has surged 30% beyond our previous peak, and our revenue in the latter half of this month is nearly double that of the first half!"
"Also, because of the excellent recent gaming data, the three operators who were hesitant about representing our game contacted us these few days. Moreover, they have offered an agency fee that is 10% higher than before and also agreed to our commission rates."
"Hahaha, excellent, that's how it should be!" Michel laughed in satisfaction, "Shooting games are just a piece of the cake. If they want a piece, let them have it. We'll just stay out and continue our development. Since the market allows for all our games to perform well, we just need to excel in one."
"We'll give them the agency rights, but the agency fees need to be increased by 20% over the previous rate!" Michel declared, "If they're unwilling, let's find someone else. There are plenty of others eager to represent our games."
"Yes, boss!"
Michel contentedly sipped his tea, then began browsing on his computer.
"What is this game?" Suddenly, he noticed a new icon appeared on the Cashew Company market—its download count was zero, yet it was ranked first on the recommendation list.
Ususally, this meant either the game's developer was highly famous with a proven track record of high revenues, prompting the Cashew Company to offer them this prominent spot.
Or, the company splurged a fortune to secure this top spot.
Even so, in this battlefield-like app market, not everyone could simply pay their way to the top.
Michel curiously opened the game.
Developer: Tengxun Games, Wangyi Games
"Them again?" Michel felt an inexplicable panic inside, as if something were stuck in his throat.
"Multiplayer online role-playing game?" Seeing the game category, Michel's expression grew even more uneasy. Their 'World of Warcraft' was also a multiplayer online role-playing game.
"It can't be, how could such a game as a mobile game achieve anything? With such a small screen, it simply can't render the effects of a PC game!"
He continued reading the introduction.
"VR games, 'Operation Thunder Strike' developed by the original team!"
At that moment, Michel was stunned.
"Boss, something has gone wrong!"
Just then, an assistant rushed in frantically.
"What happened?"
"Boss, our official forum has been hacked!"
"What?" Michel stood up abruptly.
"What's the matter? Explain it to me carefully!"
"At exactly 8 p.m. tonight, our official forum suddenly experienced a surge of traffic from every country in the world, which was endorsing a game called 'King of Gods'."
Michel immediately opened the game forum. Because 'World of Warcraft' had undergone a revision during this period, many veteran players had returned, and the average number of online users had reached its historical peak, thus the forum's activity was also very high.
Magical Girl Michel: In this era, people still play 'World of Warcraft,' such an ancient game that hasn't been phased out yet?
Abyss Michel: Everyone, take a look at 'King of Gods,' a game with a brand-new engine, exquisite graphics, and a game map more than ten times larger than 'World of Warcraft.' Ordinary phones and computers can handle it.
Michel the Hermaphrodite: Download the game now and you'll have a chance to receive a special item "Michel's Mother's Sigh," and a luxury yacht is waiting for you!
...
"Zhang Menglong! It's you again, Zhang Menglong!" Michel clenched his teeth in anger, he didn't even need to guess who had hired these troll accounts.
But these IPs came from all over the world; he simply couldn't accuse Zhang Menglong of anything.
Initially, the players were dismissive of it, thinking if a game is well-made, then surely people will envy it, and after running for so long, the real veteran players, who are sentimental, wouldn't just switch because of a few words to this so-called 'King of Gods' over 'World of Warcraft.'
However, this game had hundreds of millions of players, and in 2014 alone, it was recorded that the number of characters exceeded 500 million!
Among these hundreds of millions of players, many downloaded 'King of Gods' out of curiosity, most of whom had previously downloaded 'Operation Thunder Strike' and purchased VR equipment.
Regardless of whether the game was enjoyable or not, they couldn't let their specialized equipment go to waste!
After trying it, they were stunned to discover that the game far exceeded their expectations; its quality was truly on par with 'Operation Thunder Strike' in the genre of survival games.
In comparison, 'World of Warcraft,' beyond the so-called nostalgia, was truly annihilated!
"I tried it, and this new game is really good, everyone should give it a try!"
"My God, this VR level is so real, I feel like I'm fighting in a brand-new world!"
...
Within just a few days, 'King of Gods' downloads surged from zero, even surpassing the initial downloads of 'Operation Thunder Strike'!
"Player activity decreased by 34%, revenue fell by 47.5%."
"Boss, those agents have already refused to cooperate with us, and I heard they've headed to Huaxia overnight."
"Boss, this quarter, although we're still investing more in 'World of Warcraft,' we've been hit by 'King of Gods' and our active user numbers keep dropping. Should we continue development?"
Michel stared blankly at the screen, he was utterly devastated!