Rebirth Tokyo 1986

Chapter 454 Good News Arrives

Just as Masato Takeshita was busy working on MP3 music, good news came from across the ocean.

"Oh, really? The other party is willing to sell now?"

"No problem, it's just cash."

"Okay, I'll be right there."

After hanging up the phone call from the United States, Masato Takeshita excitedly pumped his fist.

"Great! We don't need to worry about Starsea Games' position in the PC market for the next 15 years."

After months of negotiations, Starsea Group finally managed to poach Blizzard Entertainment's talent. The cost was also much lower than the young man had anticipated, requiring only $5.39 million.

Now, StarCraft Games will be the most well-known and representative of the highest level of PC gaming in the future.

"Uchida-san, please inform Asuka, the executive director in the legal department, and the information department... We're flying to the United States tomorrow morning at 9 a.m.

The young man was very eager and immediately notified the secretariat.

He wanted to finalize the contract as quickly as possible to avoid Blizzard's parent company backing out.

"Yes, President!"

Upon receiving the order, Miho Uchida immediately contacted the high-ranking officials who had been called upon by the youth.

She then personally notified the company's private jet management department and the company's bus drivers.

Make preparations for takeoff in advance and pick up the vehicle early.

Of course, passports and such should also be processed as soon as possible.

In short, everything must be arranged carefully to avoid any oversights.

Because of the tight schedule, Masato Takeshita only briefly told a few senior executives over the phone what he was going to do in the United States.

Therefore, shortly after boarding the plane, he pulled Asuka Ryo and others aside for a meeting.

The meeting's main focus was, of course, on completing the acquisition of Blizzard as quickly as possible to avoid any disruptions.

Although the young man was in a hurry, considering the time difference, he and his subordinates rested for two days before officially heading to Blizzard.

During the journey, he asked Kalinsky in a low voice.

"So, what's the attitude of Blizzard's management and employees?"

"Their attitude is very good. Both Blizzard headquarters and Blizzard North have high expectations for us."

The blizzard is divided into two parts: the blizzard headquarters and the northern blizzard.

The main division primarily develops RTS games. Warcraft and Starcraft are among its titles.

Blizzard North, on the other hand, focuses on RPG games, and the famous Diablo series is one of its products.

"That's good, that's good. Employees are the greatest asset."

Masato Takeshita was very happy because Blizzard's success was entirely due to the support of this group of geniuses.

The reason why Blizzard's Diablo series never had a Diablo 3 was because Blizzard's parent company offended the management of Blizzard North.

Then most of the employees who made Diablo 2 left, leaving no one to develop this hugely influential IP.

Blizzard headquarters is also not doing well. Several key managers and planners left, causing the games to get worse and worse.

The saying that Blizzard's products were always top-notch has slowly become a joke.

"Don't worry, President. When we were negotiating with Blizzard's parent company, we always requested that Blizzard send a representative as well."

"At the same time, we also frequently chat with relevant personnel at Blizzard to explain our company's acquisition and investment philosophy."

Kalinsky is well-versed in the gaming industry, so he naturally wouldn't focus solely on acquisitions like an outsider would.

The part he spent the most time on during this acquisition was actually communicating with people from Blizzard Entertainment.

The main purpose is to reassure everyone.

Of course, nothing is more impressive than taking action.

Therefore, he often invited Blizzard executives to visit StarCraft's US studio.

The results were excellent, and Blizzard's recognition of StarCraft continued to increase.

Blizzard had had enough of the pain of being frequently interfered with by its parent company, so it naturally welcomed Starsea Group.

"Great, that's how it should be. Many gaming veterans have their own ideas, and we should learn to respect their choices."

"Yes, the chairman is right."

Kalinsky nodded, feeling fortunate to have joined such a company.

Unlike at Sega, where there was a disunity within the company.

He said that this was the way to attract more American gamers, but the Japanese headquarters disagreed.

Negotiations were held in the morning, and the contract was signed in the afternoon; the deal was completed quickly. From then on, Blizzard belonged to StarCraft Games.

The signing went very smoothly, so the young people were very respectful at the evening party.

Although I don't drink alcohol, I still took a glass of red wine as a gesture.

However, nothing is more important than Blizzard employees, even at parties and such.

So after chatting with a few people for a while, he took the initiative to walk over to Mike Mohan.

This is one of the three founders of Blizzard Entertainment, responsible for running this great company.

"Mike, can we talk?"

"Of course, Mr. Takeshita, it's my honor."

This is the boss's boss's boss, so naturally he has to treat him with caution.

Even if it's just a casual chat at a party, if someone asks you to go to Japan at a crucial moment, you have no choice but to obediently comply.

"There's no need to be nervous. I just want to know about the company's game development progress."

"Okay, got it."

Mike nodded, and then proceeded to give a detailed account of the company's game development progress.

The first game is naturally the StarCraft project, which is of utmost importance to the entire company and is currently in its final stages.

If all goes well, it should be available to players in March of this year.

“Very good. Xinghai Internet Cafe, a subsidiary of the company, will support you. You need to buy a copy of the installation for every computer.”

StarCraft will be the most popular competitive game in the world for the next few years.

By supporting Xinghai Internet Cafe, not only will it not lose money, but it can also attract more players to spend money at the internet cafe.

"Thank you, President. Our game will not disappoint you."

Mike is very confident in his game, believing it will completely change the current competitive game market.

The fighting game genre, which is currently at the top of the charts, will soon be pushed aside by its own StarCraft.

"Yes, I believe in Blizzard's capabilities."

He was a person from a later era, who knew the glory of StarCraft, and even had more confidence in the game than Mike did.

The only thing that frustrated him was that StarCraft would probably repeat the same story from the previous game.

The top players in the entire industry all come from South Korea.

Unfortunately, South Korea is currently the only country in the world that values ​​competitive games and trains professional players to a high standard.

Unlike other countries, where training is often done in makeshift teams, or even without such teams at all.

But now is not the time to consider these things.

Esports games will need at least another four or five years before they truly take off.

After introducing StarCraft, Mike then talked about Diablo II, the main project being promoted by Blizzard North.

The sequel to this game was only officially announced last year, so we're expected to wait a long time.

However, Blizzard North's Diablo 1 attracted countless users to Blizzard, and the game has sold over a million copies.

In a way, Diablo I, developed by Blizzard North, pointed the way for the development of many online games. Korean games like Lineage and Legend of Mir are also Diablo-like online games.

The results were outstanding, creating a huge wave in major online gaming countries like South Korea and leading the way in game development.

"Dark? It's a great game, and I believe the sequel will be even better."

"Yes, I believe it very much too."

Mike is one of the most qualified people to speak about Blizzard North's game development talent.

It was under his strong advocacy that Blizzard was able to complete the acquisition of Blizzard North that year.

After discussing several games in development, Mike began to introduce his company's newly established Battle.net.

He thought this thing had great potential and could increase user stickiness for the company.

"Battle.net? That's an interesting feature."

Battle.net—this is something the young man is very familiar with.

Back in the day, he left his mark on many online gaming platforms, including Haofang and VS, which were imitations of Battle.net.

However, he only played custom maps in Warcraft 3 back then.

For example, DOTA and Chenghai 3C, as well as various mini-games.

"Yes, I also find it very interesting. Countless people can battle against each other in it, which is also a great benefit to our game publishing."

Seeing Mike's smug expression, Masato Takeshita really wanted to say that Blizzard could open up Battle.net and then develop it in the direction of the Steam platform.

But after thinking about it carefully, I gave up on the idea.

Currently, internet speeds are still very slow, and playing games via download is far less convenient than using a CD.

We can talk about it after the internet speed improves.

Since Mike had already spoken, it was natural that Blizzard's other two founders would also have a chat.

In addition, the founders of Northern Blizzard should not be overlooked.

In short, he was not arrogant like the president of a giant company at all, and he was very approachable, chatting with everyone about games and the internet.

The results were very good, further solidifying Blizzard's interest in StarCraft.

In addition to psychological support, financial assistance is also essential.

Masato Takeshita said this at the first general meeting after Starsea Games acquired Blizzard Entertainment.

"I personally don't like making empty promises to my employees; I prefer tangible things, so I don't do anything superficial."

"Starting today, all Blizzard employees will receive a 10% raise."

Nothing is more effective than a raise, and thunderous applause immediately erupted in the conference room.

"Great!"

"awesome!"

Wow, cool!

Along with the applause came cheers from the employees.

At that moment, everyone had only one thought in their minds: it was wonderful to be able to join Starsea Games.

Not long after the blizzard subsided, the Spring Festival arrived.

Taking this opportunity, the young man gave himself a long vacation. He didn't return from his break until almost April.

On this day, Masato Takeshita sat in front of the television, watching his own station broadcast international news.

"The South Korean government has decided to accept all the demands of the International Monetary Fund."

"Allow foreign financial capital to invest and thoroughly develop the financial industry..."

After reading it, the young man didn't know whether to be sad or happy.

While the IMF's aggressive move was primarily aimed at supporting its backer, the US-based financial backer, it also objectively helped the Xinghai Group gain a better foothold in the South Korean market.

However, at the same time, South Korea's economic control by the United States will further compress Japan's economic development space.

The deteriorating economic environment in Japan is also a blow to Xinghai Group.

But he couldn't stop it, because a consensus had already formed within the United States: increase investment in South Korea and continuously target Japan's advantageous industries.

In key industries such as shipbuilding, semiconductors, electronics, and automobiles, South Korea will completely erode Japan's market share.

"Sigh, whatever, that's just how things are in Japan right now, there's nothing we can do about it."

The United States is too powerful, and Japan can only silently endure its suppression.

With the Xinghai Group in this life, life will indeed be much better than in the previous one.

But Heaven's will prevails; minor trends can be altered, but major trends cannot.

Japan's economy will be stronger than in the same period of its previous history, but it will only be able to barely survive. Only when neighboring countries along the coast rise will the shackles on its head loosen slightly.

Soon, Masato Takeshita kept everything to himself.

The world order is already set, so there's no point in overthinking. It's better to focus more on strengthening our own industries.

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

While Takeshita Masato was still filled with worry, Kikuno Shinji and Kalinsky had already led dozens of people to South Korea.

This time, they will travel to game studios of all sizes across South Korea to find potential investment targets.

Because of the humiliating terms they had just signed with the International Monetary Fund, the entire country of South Korea was in a state of anguish.

Kikuno Shinji and the others didn't dare to wander around South Korea, but went straight to the hotel that the South Korean branch had prepared here.

The next morning, after having breakfast and a short rest, the group headed straight to Nexon, currently the largest game company in South Korea.

The online game "Kingdom of the Winds," developed by this game company last year, is currently the most popular game in South Korea, with reportedly over a million registered accounts at its peak.

"Good morning, President Kikuno and President Kalinsky. I am Kim Jung-soo, President of Nexon. It's a pleasure to meet you. I apologize for not greeting you properly."

"Sorry, sorry!"

The president of South Korea's largest game company was somewhat humble when facing Starsea Group.

On the one hand, it was out of fear of the sheer size of the Xinghai Group, and on the other hand, it was out of admiration for the Japanese game industry.

That's right, it's out of admiration for the Japanese game industry.

Japan is currently the center of the global gaming industry.

Let alone Starsea Games, even any mid-sized game company would be met with admiring glances if they went to South Korea or Taiwan.

Even though South Korea has now shifted its game development focus towards online games, it is no exception.

At that time, Japanese game companies enjoyed a worldwide reputation.

When people hear that a game is Japanese, they generally assume it's a good game.

The only country that can still barely compete is the United States.

Even in the United States, there is a great deal of respect for the Japanese game company Nintendo.

"Not at all, President Kim, you're too kind. I look forward to your guidance in the future."

Just because someone is humble doesn't mean you should be foolish enough to follow their lead.

Both Shinji Kikuno and Kalinsky responded very politely.

They are here to invest and do business, not to offend anyone.

After some pleasantries, Kim Jung-soo led everyone into Nexon's rather modest office.

"Sorry, the company is quite small, so it looks a bit messy."

"It's okay, many game companies are like this in their early stages."

Kalinsky, being well-informed, didn't care about Nexon's cramped office environment, which is typical for most small and medium-sized game companies.

(End of this chapter)