PFC Chapter 137 Ash's Phone Call
Chapter 137 Ash's Phone Call
Chapter 137 Ash's Phone Call
Extremely arrogant, yet impossible to refute.
GAMENOVA has evolved to the point where it's no longer just a company that makes money by selling games.
Its tentacles, extending to various fields, are constantly providing it with a continuous supply of resources.
Even just looking at the gaming industry, the two ultimate blockbusters, Pokémon and Tetris, are enough to make GAMENO...
VA is stubbornly refusing to die.
Not to mention titles like "The King of Fighters," which have a large number of DLCs and have a steady stream of popularity.
Aside from semiconductors, Lin Lixin really couldn't think of any other business that could keep them short of money.
Come to GAMENOVA!
Lin Lixin extended an olive branch once again.
Sid Meier struggled to process Lin Lixin's shocking remarks, and much of his initial resistance had melted away.
Although he didn't understand business, he was very clear about one thing.
In today's rapidly evolving video game industry, the gaming sector will certainly not remain as atomized and fragmented as it is now in the near future.
EA, Activision, Sierra, OriginSystems —
When their development reaches a bottleneck, that threshold, the next phase of the video game industry will inevitably arrive.
Big fish eat little fish!
Giants continue to acquire and merge with smaller studios, gathering IPs and resources to grow even stronger.
As with other industries, capitalization is an inevitable trend.
The blue ocean era brought about by Atari's whale falls is coming to an end.
Did Microprose really have the ability to maintain stable navigation even in chaotic times?
Sid Meier could not offer an optimistic result.
If he really wants to develop his works freely, then Lin Lixin's suggestion is probably one of the few clear paths forward.
He didn't answer immediately, but looked at Bill beside him.
Noticing Sid Meier's gaze, Bill paused briefly before suddenly reaching out and patting him on the shoulder.
"Congratulations, bro. This is an opportunity that countless game developers would dream of."
"Bill, I—"
"Just agree to Mr. Lin's offer. I've been getting a bit tired of this lately, and I'm planning to open a sales company or something."
""
"Huh?" Lin Lixin scratched his head and looked at Bill. "Aren't you coming?"
"Huh?" This time it was Bill's turn to be stunned. "Can I come too?"
"Didn't I say? I'm here to acquire Microprose."
"But—Mr. Lin, I don't know anything about game development."
Lin Lixin looked at the two people in front of him, and their composition was exactly the same as his and Sam's back then.
"GAMENOVA is currently setting up its own distribution channels and needs some people with experience in this area. I heard that Mr. Bill single-handedly built up Microprose's sales?"
According to available information, Microprose's sales model was not the same as Sierra's.
They didn't approach a publisher; instead, Bill, a businessman, was in charge of lobbying.
To put it simply, he drove around the country visiting stores and actively promoting their products to them.
This approach is a bit silly, but surprisingly effective.
Before Microprose was even officially established, they made over $20 in just one year using this method.
Lin Lixin looked at Bill's stats. Although they were still far from Dell's outrageous numbers, it was still an A.
Top-tier talent.
Most importantly, he is more controllable than Dell.
As GAMENOVA grows stronger, Lin Lixin cannot rely on Silicon Oasis or Dell's completely independent sales channels forever.
He needs his own sales network.
Now the obstacles to the negotiations have been completely removed.
The three hit it off immediately, drafted a contract, and hurriedly packed their things to head to California.
When Lin Lixin brought Sid Meier to the office, he saw Will sitting there with a sullen face and a lot of hair on his desk.
It seems that the first week's results for SimCity really hit him hard.
"Hey, cheer up! You're still not satisfied after selling 50 units?"
"Mr. Lin————"
-
Will wanted to cry right there and then.
I thought I had met a kindred spirit and was about to prove myself.
The result was one of the lowest-selling games in Gamenova's history.
I've really been exposed.
"Don't rush. Once the hardware technology develops, you can add back the parts that were forced to be removed, and the sequel will definitely be a bestseller."
Ultimately, the PC gaming market is still very immature, and it's completely different from the market share that later dominated console games.
Not to mention that Will's truly top-tier simulation game, suitable for all ages, hadn't even been released yet.
Will's abilities are absolutely beyond doubt.
"Is this the designer of SimCity?"
Sid Meier, who was standing next to Lin Lixin, had clearly extracted the information from their conversation and looked at Will Wright with some surprise.
He had initially thought the other person would be a meticulous old doctor, or some kind of bookish pedant.
I never expected it would be a young man who was much younger than me.
"Yes, let me introduce you. This is Will Wright. Will, this is Sid Meier, who is now with GAMENOVA from today onwards."
"Mr. Will! SimCity is truly an excellent game, especially its interpretation of urban dynamics—"
"hey-hey----"
Hearing such praise, Will's earlier distress vanished, and he excitedly pulled Sid Meier aside to tell him about his design.
"Anyway, that's all for now. Sid, you two get to know each other better. Later, I have an idea I'd like to discuss with you. I call it '4X Strategy Game,' which is roughly—"
Before Lin Lixin could finish speaking, Sam suddenly walked out of the office and waved to him.
"Lin, it's Xiaozhi on the phone."
"Xiao Zhi? Why are you calling at this hour?"
He paused for a moment, then gestured for the two to continue their conversation before hurrying to his office.
"Feed?"
"Mr. Lin, there's a problem."
On the other end of the phone, Satoshi Tajiri's voice wasn't exactly anxious, but you could still hear some worry in it. "Nintendo released a new game today, Dragon Quest, developed by a third-party developer called Enix."
"They seem to be planning to use this work to suppress NovaBo's momentum."
"Nintendo went all out with its marketing campaign, covering almost every aspect without any blind spots."
"They even hired Akira Toriyama to design the characters and Koichi Sugiyama to compose the music; it was a very grand affair."
Lin Lixin frowned slightly as he listened to Xiao Zhi's account.
Dragon Quest, commonly known as DQ, is one of the three major national RPGs in Japan.
The other two are Final Fantasy and The Legend of Zelda.
This alone is enough to show its value.
If you calculate the timeline, DQ was created almost a month earlier than the original timeline.
This is a great work that has a dominant influence in Japan.
This work even laid the foundation for the unique style of Japanese fantasy in later generations, and indirectly had a profound impact on a wide range of cultural and entertainment fields such as comics and anime.