Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 357 US-Japan DVD Alliance
Ginza, Tokyo.

Aaron and Sony President Nobuyuki Idei had lunch together.

"Sony also played a crucial role in the formation of the DVD Alliance."

Nobuyuki Idei smiled. "Back then, Sony lost the battle for videotape formats to JVC's VHS, which has always been a sore point for Sony."

"The advent of DVDs has brought another revolution to home entertainment, and the formation of the DVD Alliance is in everyone's best interest."

Doesn't Sony want its MMCD standard to be the only one?
Of course we want to, but unfortunately the SD standard led by Toshiba also has no shortage of support. Faced with pressure from Hollywood and companies like Microsoft, IBM, and Intel, merging the standards is the best option.

Moreover, Sony's home video game console, the PlayStation, launched last year, has been a huge success, having a significant impact not only on Sony but also on the entire gaming industry.

The medium for PS is CD. If DVD were to appear, using DVD as the medium would be even more convenient.
Sony's agreement to merge with Toshiba's SD standard is partly due to this reason: in order to make the PS surpass Nintendo's handheld consoles and sweep the gaming industry, Sony also hopes to launch a unified DVD standard as soon as possible!

Aaron took a sip of coffee, glanced at Nobuyuki Idei, and suddenly asked, "How is Mr. Akio Morita's health?"

Nobuyuki Idei paused for a moment, "After suffering a stroke two years ago, the chairman moved to Hawaii to recuperate and resigned from all his positions."

"Aaron, do you wish to visit Mr. Akio Morita?"

Aaron shook his head. "Since the old man is recuperating in Hawaii, let's not disturb him!"

"Sony's PS game console, which was launched at the end of last year, was truly an eye-opener. The gaming industry is really enviable."

As an important sector of the entertainment industry, besides movies, television, music, and toys, games are definitely an indispensable part;
Japan has a highly developed gaming industry, with Nintendo and Sega going without saying, as well as Capcom. Now, Sony's entry into the gaming field has been a big surprise!
Nobuyuki Idei shook his head. "Sony is just a newcomer to the gaming industry; we mainly produce game consoles right now."

"Dawn, if you're interested, we can totally collaborate on developing computer games!"

Sony Computer Entertainment, which Sony established last year, is specifically targeting the gaming industry.

Dawn releases many hit movies every year, many of which are good material for game adaptations. It's not unfounded that Nobuyuki Idei wants to collaborate with Dawn on game development.

"Co-developing games?"

Aaron smiled. Dawn isn't going to take such big steps yet; investing in a game studio would be a good option!
"Let's talk about it later. Right now, things are still a mess at Universal."

Nobuyuki Idei nodded. "Sony welcomes cooperation with Dawn at any time!"

After meeting with Nobuyuki Idei, Aaron headed to Narita International Airport.

Hong Kong River, Repulse Bay.

Aaron leaned back on the sofa, flipping through the newspaper in his hand, and asked, "Has filming for 'Rush Hour' started yet?"

Wang Zhuxian, standing to the side, shook her head. "Filming will officially begin at the end of the month. We'll shoot in Hong Kong for a week, and then the crew will head to the United States!"

Wang Zhuxian suddenly remembered something, "Oh right, the new film produced by Ms. Xu Feng and directed by Chen Kaige, 'Temptress Moon,' has had its North American distribution secured by Hollywood's Miramax."

"Besides, the movie hasn't finished filming yet, and the male and female leads are the same actors from 'Farewell My Concubine.' Aren't you interested?"

Aaron shook his head. "Dawn just acquired Global Company. They're very busy right now. They don't have time to think about these things."

With layoffs and resource consolidation underway, Dawning Pictures and Universal Pictures, despite releasing a considerable number of films, have naturally paid less attention to overseas art films. "Oh, by the way, this year mainland China imported three Dawning Pictures films: *Speed*, *Bad Boys*, and *Toy Story*."

"Both 'Speed' and 'Bad Boys' have grossed over 3000 million RMB at the box office."

"However, the highest-grossing film is the Hollywood film 'True Lies,' which grossed 1 million RMB. Even Jack Cheng's 'Rumble in the Bronx' only grossed 9500 million RMB."

"The Fugitive," released at the end of the year, was the first Hollywood blockbuster to be released under a revenue-sharing model, while "Rumble in the Bronx," released earlier this year, was the first Hong Kong blockbuster to be released under a revenue-sharing model!
Aaron nodded. "Right now, the market over there is still small. Let's wait until the economy develops first."

Hollywood has little interest in mainland China right now; its main focus is competing with Hong Kong films for the Japanese, Korean, and Southeast Asian markets.
One strategy is to attract top film talent from Hong Kong to make films in Hollywood, and John Woo has already made a good start!

"By the way, the VCD market in China is getting bigger and bigger now. Is there any progress on your investment in the factory?"

Wang Zhuxian nodded, "I've got it! The former head of a radio manufacturing company started his own VCD factory, and I've invested in it!"

Aaron put down his newspaper. "Hmm, electronics manufacturers from Japan, the United States, and Europe have formed a DVD standards alliance."

"The golden age of VCDs in China will probably only last a few years."

"DVD can be considered an upgraded version of VCD."

Wang Zhuxian was taken aback. "Then should I still invest in a VCD factory?"

Aaron explained, "Yes, VCDs were invented in China. We only need to buy the chips; there are no standards, and production is simple and cheap."

"Once DVDs are released, China will only earn money from contract manufacturing; the bulk of the patent fees will have to be paid to the US and Japan."

"You won't make much money. What do you think the US and Japan are developing DVDs for?"

Of course, it's all about reaping as much profit as possible from the DVD market!
VCDs can make a fortune while DVDs dominate the videotape market!
Wang Zhuxian asked, "Then, what should I do?"

"Hmm, let's promote that VCD brand heavily through advertising. See which TV station has the most viewers and buy advertising space directly!"

"That would require appearing on CCTV."

Aaron smiled, "Then go for it! Haihua Investment Company is your backer!"

"In addition, MCA has changed its name to Universal Music and is expanding into the Asian market. If you are interested in mainland China, you can become an agent!"

"Really?" Wang Zhuxian hugged the man's neck. "You know, I own two music and video stores in Beijing."

"Well, what's the big deal? If you can set up a record company, Universal Music will definitely support you!"

As Aaron spoke, he reached out and stroked the woman's thigh. "King Records in Japan, Shanghua Records in Taipei, and Capital Artists in Hong Kong are all targets that Universal Music is currently acquiring."

"Global is one of the top six, and the Asian market cannot be ignored."

Especially in the Japanese market, Panasonic has already laid a foundation, and what Sugon needs to do now is to expand on the basis of MCA Japan;
Bertelsmann, the last company to enter Asia, has already gained a share of the market. Universal Music, on the other hand, is backed by Dawn Universal Entertainment and has abundant resources!

(End of this chapter)