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Chapter 180 0177 [Three Kingdoms Kill: Going Global]

"Mr. Chen, this is Mr. Liu Yumin, Vice President of ChineseNetDragon. Mr. Liu is also the representative sent by Softstar Entertainment, a Taiwanese company, to participate in this exhibition."

Standing in front of Chen Guiliang was a man in his thirties.

He was wearing a suit but no tie.

"Hello, Mr. Liu." Chen Guiliang shook hands warmly.

Liu Yumin smiled and said, "Mr. Chen is young and promising. I've heard so much about you."

Chen Guiliang said, "I have long admired Mr. Liu. Many boys on the mainland grew up playing 'Dynasty Warriors'."

When asked about his proudest work, Liu Yumin said modestly, "That game is nothing special. I made it in my college dormitory, and it's already outdated."

"Not at all, not at all, classics never go out of style," Chen Guiliang flattered.

Liu Yumin was even happier after being flattered: "The game 'Swallowing Heaven and Earth' is also based on the Three Kingdoms theme, and I personally love the Three Kingdoms. I originally only planned to browse around when I came to Shanghai for this exhibition, but I didn't expect to discover your company's 'Three Kingdoms Kill'."

Chen Guiliang asked, "Is Softstar Entertainment the one that wants to be the distributor, or is Chunghwa Telecom Entertainment the one?"

Liu Yumin said, "The Hong Kong and Taiwan distribution rights for 'Three Kingdoms Kill' will be acquired by Chinese GamerSky. When operating in Taiwan, we will definitely leverage a lot of resources from Softstar Entertainment."

"How does Mr. Liu plan to cooperate?" Chen Guiliang asked.

Liu Yumin said, "The online game and physical cards of Three Kingdoms Kill in Hong Kong and Taiwan were jointly acquired by Chinese Game Dragon. The total licensing fee was US$25, with Game Science receiving 20% ​​of the revenue from the online game and 5% from the physical cards."

"Isn't that too little?" Chen Guiliang said.

Liu Yumin explained, "After all, 'Three Kingdoms Kill' is a card game, while the Hong Kong and Taiwan market is dominated by MMORPGs."

Chen Guiliang shook his head: "You can't calculate it that way. In the Hong Kong and Taiwan MMORPG market, Lineage II is currently the only dominant player. If you were to distribute a similar game, you would be more likely to fail. Three Kingdoms Kill can open up a new track and attract players by bypassing Lineage II. Moreover, cheating is even more rampant in Hong Kong and Taiwan than in mainland China. Many games are killed by cheating. The game mechanism of Three Kingdoms Kill can naturally save a lot of trouble from cheating."

Chen Guiliang was telling the absolute truth.

If he had created a mainstream online game, it would have been difficult to sell it to Hong Kong and Taiwan. "Three Kingdoms Kill" perfectly fills the gap in the Hong Kong and Taiwan markets.

Liu Yumin realized this, which is why he was eager to contact Game Science and even called Softstar Entertainment and Chinese GamerSky to discuss the matter.

If you don't act quickly, the three-day promotion will likely be snapped up by other agents.

Da Yu and Tian Yu are also here this time; they are both Liu Yumin's competitors.

Liu Yumin asked, "How does Mr. Chen plan to cooperate?"

Chen Guiliang said, "The total licensing fees for the online game and physical cards of the Three Kingdoms Kill game in Hong Kong and Taiwan amount to US$80. I want a 30% cut of the online game and a 15% cut of the physical cards."

"impossible."

Liu Yumin shook his head repeatedly: "The licensing fee for Taiwanese manufacturers to distribute mainland online games has never exceeded US$30, and the revenue share has never exceeded 25%. The revenue share for physical card games has never exceeded 12%."

“Mr. Liu, let me remind you. What you want is the online game and physical cards for both Hong Kong and Taiwan, not just a pure online game license for Taiwan. The $80 licensing fee I’m charging you is already very cheap,” Chen Guiliang said.

Online game agency fees consist of two parts: authorization fees (prepayment) and revenue sharing.

The licensing fee is partially paid upon signing the contract and settled in full before the game's release. This is what's commonly seen in news reports: a company spends tens of thousands of dollars to acquire the distribution rights for a certain game.

Revenue sharing is usually paid quarterly. Sometimes, a minimum guarantee is required, meaning that even if the game flops and loses money, a minimum fee must still be paid to the developer every month.

Overseas agents also use the "license fee + revenue sharing" model for physical trading cards.

Chen Guiliang was only responsible for collecting money and providing the original artwork to the Hong Kong and Taiwan agents. The remaining operations, such as converting to traditional Chinese characters, printing, and sales, were entirely handled by the agents.

In this situation, the revenue share for physical card games is very low. Lesser-known card games may only receive 5%–8% of the revenue.

Liu Yumin did not quote a price arbitrarily, but instead felt that "Three Kingdoms Kill" was not well-known, so he gave the lowest market price in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

"The licensing fee is $30, with 25% going to online games and 8% to physical cards." Liu Yumin raised the price slightly.

Chen Guiliang said, "Why don't we both think about it again and talk about it another day?"

"Okay." Liu Yumin felt that he had been sincere enough, and other Hong Kong and Taiwan agents would not offer more than him.

He had just left when Shen Youbin came in.

After exchanging pleasantries, Shin Yoo-bin gave his quote: $30 for the licensing fee in South Korea for both the online game and physical cards of the Three Kingdoms Kill game, with a 20% cut for the online game and a 5% cut for the physical cards.

Chen Guiliang looked at Liang Bin, who was in charge of the translation: "Are you sure you didn't make a mistake in your translation?"

“That’s it, that’s all the Koreans said,” Liang Bin said.

Chen Guiliang shook his head: "Too low."

Shin Yoo-bin said, "There are only two companies in Korea willing to distribute Chinese games. One is us, and the other is Grigon Entertainment, which distributes 'Swordsman Online'. Unfortunately, Grigon Entertainment is poorly managed and is about to go bankrupt. Currently, only we are willing and capable of distributing 'Three Kingdoms Kill'."

Well, it's a unique business, so they're fearless.

This is difficult to negotiate; they have no competitors.

Chen Guiliang argued with Shen Youbin for a long time, only managing to increase the licensing fee by $5, refusing to budge on the revenue share for online games, and increasing the revenue share for physical cards by 3%.

However, Chen Guiliang is only willing to sign a two-year contract, and he will definitely increase the profit sharing when the contract is renewed.

Shin Yoo-bin readily agreed. If the game "Three Kingdoms Kill" succeeded in South Korea, he would have done a great service to the company, and renewing his contract would simply mean receiving more money. If "Three Kingdoms Kill" failed in South Korea, then he would say nothing.

Both parties immediately drafted a letter of intent and invited the event organizers to hold a very simple signing ceremony.

The actual contract will be signed in a few days, requiring careful consideration by the legal representatives of both parties.

The letter of intent roughly states that Frenchic Software will act as the licensee for Game Science's *Sangokusha Online* and its physical card game. The license is limited to South Korea and will last for two years. The total licensing fee is $35, with 20% revenue sharing for the online game and 8% for the physical card game. A formal contract will be signed within two weeks, and the breaching party will be required to pay a $3 penalty.

The junior leaders from the organizing committee who participated in the signing ceremony were very pleased, as every transaction facilitated at the exhibition was a political achievement for them.

Taiwan's Daewoo and Hong Kong's Skylux have also been in contact with us one after another.

Their offer was even lower than Liu Yumin's!

On the third day, Chen Guiliang also signed a letter of intent with Liu Yumin: the Hong Kong and Taiwan agency rights for the game "Three Kingdoms Kill" would be packaged and licensed to Chinese GamerSky for a period of three years. The total licensing fee was US$35, with 25% going to the online game and 8% to the physical card game.

Whether it's Hong Kong, Taiwan, or South Korea, Chen Guiliang's sale this time was a "fire sale."

Consider it pioneering work, and we'll discuss renewals later.

The employees who came along were extremely excited. Their own game had gone global, and they had even earned US dollars in foreign exchange!

"Why are you circling around me?" Chen Guiliang asked.

Xu Fengyin laughed and said, "I just want to confirm whether the Three Kingdoms Kill characters I drew can really be seen by players in Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea?"

“Yes,” Chen Guiliang said.

Xu Fengyin then asked, "And what about your daily routine?"

Chen Guiliang said, "No one has contacted us yet. Why are you asking about my personal life?"

Xu Fengyin said, "Most of the comics I read since I was a child were slice-of-life comics. Of course, I want my own works to be able to break into the slice-of-life comics market."

"A very realistic dream," Chen Guiliang said.

...The second day of the event was a public experience day.

At 9:00 a.m., the venue opened, and a large number of game enthusiasts flocked in.

The booths of companies like The9, Sony, and Microsoft were almost bursting at the seams with gamers. They were there to play World of Warcraft, as well as PS2 and Xbox console games.

The Youke booth was deserted.

Xu Fengyin yawned and said, "Why is there no one here?"

Chen Di, who cosplayed as Cao Cao, said, "Our location here isn't good. And most players go straight to the games from the companies they're interested in. If it were me, I'd definitely go play the new PS2 games."

Chen Guiliang didn't participate in the chat, and instead played "Three Kingdoms Kill" with Yang Shuo.

A few minutes later, someone finally shouted, "Come quick, look! Sun Shangxiang and Zhen Ji are here!"

Four or five young people ran over with cameras and took a bunch of pictures of Xu Fengyin and the other female employees.

Wow, this Zhen Ji is so beautiful!

"Absolutely a 1:1 replica."

"The chest is too little exposed, it's far worse than in the game."

"Don't you know how to judge a book by its cover? I think she's even prettier in person than in the game."

"..."

Xu Fengyin was both shy and proud, and subconsciously puffed out her chest, letting the players take pictures.

Zhang Jiabin, one of the employees who cosplayed Liu Bei, couldn't help but complain: "Hey, you guys could at least take some pictures of the men too."

"Alright, take one for the Imperial Uncle too."

"That's too perfunctory. At least find a better angle. Take another one. Only the virtuous and wise can win people's hearts."

"Where are Diao Chan, Da Qiao, and Xiao Qiao? And what about Zhu Rong, who just joined the game?"

"There aren't that many female employees."

"..."

Someone sat down at the computer next to Chen Guiliang and greeted him, "I'm a big fan of the game. Are you on the China Telecom or China Unicom server?"

“I play them all,” Chen Guiliang said.

The person didn't enter the game room, but instead watched the Three Kingdoms Show and skins: "Damn, this account is amazing, all the Three Kingdoms Show and general skins are full. Zhu Rong's Nanman Queen skin is so damn hard to get, I could synthesize a whole one with the fragments I've drawn."

Chen Guiliang is still a person of conscience.

Some newly released generals, as well as top-tier Three Kingdoms Show items and skins, can only be obtained by opening treasure chests. However, there are universal fragments as a safety net, allowing unlucky players to synthesize them using fragments.

For free-to-play players who really don't want to spend money, logging into the game daily will earn you fragments, and completing daily tasks will also reward you with fragments. Over time, without spending a single penny, you can use fragments to synthesize generals, skins, and Three Kingdoms special effects.

However, for top-tier skins and ultimate Three Kingdoms-themed items, the free fragments are definitely not enough.

"How many boxes did you draw?" Chen Guiliang asked.

The man said, "Fifty or sixty."

Chen Guiliang retorted, "Then you have a really dark face."

This guy was so focused on the game that he didn't even glance at Chen Guiliang.

In the afternoon, there was a Cosplay competition with more than 50 participating teams.

The audience below the main stage was packed, just like at a concert.

One group after another appeared, eliciting gasps of amazement from the audience.

Although there weren't many onlookers at the "Three Kingdoms Kill" booth, there were quite a few "Three Kingdoms Kill" fans in the audience. This is because those who have the money and time to attend the game expo largely overlap with the "Three Kingdoms Kill" player base.

When Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan led their troops out, a cheer erupted from the audience.

Cao Cao took a few steps forward and stopped. The lyrics came from the speakers, and many audience members shouted along: "I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me!"

"Where is the Wei general? Men, protect the emperor!"

"Hahahaha!"

Lines, some embarrassing and some domineering, were shouted out in unison by the audience along with the speakers.

Many viewers were confused by them.

"What game is this? It looks like a lot of people are playing it."

"I know, it's the Three Kingdoms Kill game. But I've never played it, so I didn't know there were so many lines."

"I'll download it and play it later."

A single cosplay show can significantly increase the number of users for the game "Three Kingdoms Kill".

Of course, the most sensational event was the World of Warcraft cosplay team.

The entire stadium erupted in cheers and wild celebrations.

"For the tribe!"

"For the Alliance!"

"Kill the League dogs!"

"..."

Chen Guiliang sighed with regret. In this era, there was nothing else that could rival World of Warcraft.

The upcoming events include a CS (Counter-Strike) competition, a Warcraft III exhibition match, and more. Sky, who is currently enjoying immense popularity, has also been invited.

Yang Shuo observed everything with curiosity.

He graduated from junior high school in the countryside, studied car repair for half a year, and then served in the army for more than three years. He never dreamed that such a wonderful world existed.

After watching a street dance show, Yang Shuo fell in love with it.

He thought it was cool.

Everyone was tired, but they had a lot of fun and left Shanghai with a sense of reluctance.

Xu Fengyin returned to Beijing with her team. As soon as she arrived at the company, her colleagues said, "You're famous now."

"what?"

"Your cosplay photos have gone viral."

(End of this chapter)