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Chapter 205 0202 [Three Kingdoms Kill Continues its Overseas Expansion]

Brother Ma sat below, his expression calm, but his heart filled with helplessness.

Tencent's performance in the online game market in 2005 was rather poor.

The Korean game they were distributing was still barely surviving.

The self-developed game "QQ Fantasy" reached 66 concurrent users within just one month of its open beta launch. However, the number then plummeted, and has now fallen below 20.

Many QQ users only stayed to activate the "Fantasy" tab on the panel. They stayed for a while, but found the gameplay of "QQ Fantasy" boring, and gradually chose to quit the game.

User retention rate is very low!
Ren Yuxin, who had just become the vice president of Tencent Interactive Entertainment, whispered to Pony Ma, "Our online player count for 'Hero Kill' surpassed that of 'Three Kingdoms Kill' half a month ago."

"Find a way to keep the players engaged," Little Ma instructed.

Ren Yuxin readily agreed, but felt somewhat uncertain.

During this period, the daily active users of "Hero Kill" have also been declining.

By leveraging QQ to drive traffic, Tencent Games can quickly attract players, but it has always been unable to retain them for long.

It's a very strange phenomenon, and Tencent is still investigating it internally.

This involves the concept of "retention rate," but in this era, there is no clear statistical standard for retention rate.

Generally speaking, the average retention rate of online games in 2005 is three to four times that in 2025. This is because there aren't many online products that can attract players; as long as the game experience is good, users will be willing to continue playing.

The monthly retention rate of World of Warcraft is approximately 35%.

Fantasy Westward Journey is even more impressive, with a monthly retention rate of nearly 40%.

And in "Three Kingdoms Kill", it reaches a terrifying 50%!

Because of the gameplay of Three Kingdoms Kill, it is possible to make good use of fragmented time.

During the breakout sessions this morning, Qu Guohao's speech impressed many of his colleagues.

He said, "The daily active users of 'Three Kingdoms Kill' have consistently remained around 30, often exceeding 40 during holidays! Moreover, the average daily online time for 'Three Kingdoms Kill' users is only 45 minutes..."

These words caused a commotion in the meeting room.

This data contradicts common sense in the industry.

To maintain daily active users, the game must be hardcore.

Users spend an average of 45 minutes online per day, which clearly falls into the category of light gaming, making it easy for users to stop playing one day after another.

So, how did "Three Kingdoms Kill" achieve this?
Ren Yuxin of Tencent Interactive Entertainment was listening to the speech at the time.

He also found this hard to understand. "Hero Kill" clearly had the same gameplay as "Three Kingdoms Kill," yet it surpassed "Hero Kill" in user numbers by leveraging QQ's user base. Why did "Hero Kill" rise so quickly to its peak, and now it's rapidly declining?

……

Chen Guiliang walked out of the Advanced Mathematics exam room.

Easy.

Because if you don't know, you simply don't know; there's no need to waste your brainpower thinking about it!

Qu Guohao called almost at the last minute: "Boss, there's a Japanese guy named Tanaka Tsubasa who wants to talk to me about distributing 'Three Kingdoms Kill Online'."

"What company?" Chen Guiliang asked.

“GamePot,” Qu Guohao said, “they are also in talks about Swordsman Online. I spoke with Mr. Liu from Pixel Software, and the Japanese are offering them a very low agency fee.”

Chen Guiliang asked, "How much of each?"

Qu Guohao said, "We gave $10 to 'Swordsman Online' and $5 to 'Three Kingdoms Kill Online'. The revenue sharing is fairly normal, but there is no guaranteed minimum fee."

"Try to negotiate for another $20,000 or $30,000. If that doesn't work, you can sell it for $50,000," Chen Guiliang instructed.

Qu Guohao was incredibly surprised: "This is far less than the agency fees from South Korea and Hong Kong and Taiwan. Xiao Rizi really likes the Three Kingdoms theme, and 'Three Kingdoms Kill' is very likely to become a huge hit."

Chen Guiliang said, "We'll talk about it when it gets popular. Just do as I say."

“Okay.” Qu Guohao still intended to negotiate for more than $10.

Chen Guiliang couldn't explain this.

In another timeline, the game "Three Kingdoms Kill" was introduced to the public three times by Xiao Rizi.

But whether it's physical cards, PC games, or mobile Three Kingdoms games, they all failed!
In the gaming world, "Three Kingdoms Kill" has become a classic case of the "Eastern IP trap".

The game is running very diligently, even adding warlord cards like Oda Nobunaga and Takeda Shingen, and bringing in top-tier voice actors like Rie Kugimiya. But nobody plays it!
The players there have been exposed to too many Three Kingdoms games and regard "Three Kingdoms Kill" as a low-budget fan-made work.

Furthermore, the gameplay of "Three Kingdoms Kill" did not align with Xiao Rizi's board game habits. Players disliked the spy mechanic, leading to its removal and the introduction of only 3v3 matches.

The following day at noon, Qu Guohao called again: "The licensing fee has been negotiated to $6, with a 20% cut of the game revenue and no guaranteed minimum. They don't distribute physical cards."

“Okay, sign it,” Chen Guiliang said. “When you come back, try to promote it as much as possible. Don’t talk about how much the agency fee is, just say that after South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan, ‘Three Kingdoms Kill’ has successfully entered the small daily market! Also, talk to Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press and ask them to cooperate in the promotion when they sell physical cards.”

Qu Guohao said, "I had a chat with the Koreans yesterday. 'Three Kingdoms Kill' isn't very popular in Korea; it's barely profitable. They're about to release a new hero called 'Yi Sun-sin.' I looked at Yi Sun-sin's skills, and they're incredibly overpowered. I'm sure it will affect the game's balance."

"Who cares? Let the Koreans do whatever they want," Chen Guiliang said.

Compared to its lackluster performance in the South Korean market, "Three Kingdoms Kill" has become a huge hit in Hong Kong and Taiwan!

Both physical cards and online items have sold out. Chen Guiliang said, "Next year's Three Kingdoms Kill National League will invite universities in Hong Kong and Taiwan to participate. The Hong Kong and Taiwan events will be operated by ChinaNetDragon. If they are willing, we will also give them the Macau agency rights. Then there will be three competition zones: the North Zone, the South Zone, and the Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan Zone."

"Are there two slots for the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions as well?" Qu Guohao asked.

Chen Guiliang said, "When the final offline competition is held next year, there will be three spots each in the North and South regions, and two spots for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, which will be called the top eight in the country. This is a gimmick, and also a political achievement for certain departments. You need to contact the government."

Qu Guohao smiled and said, "The imperial court will definitely be very pleased that universities from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong are holding a university competition together."

If next year's national college league includes university students from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, leaders in certain departments will probably be overjoyed.

The State Administration of Press and Publication will also feel very prestigious, and when the game license system is implemented in the future, it will be easier for Game Science to obtain a license.

“It would be even better to bring Singapore in, as Singaporean universities would be in the same competition zone as Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan,” Chen Guiliang said. “At that time, the national university league will be changed to a global university league, and we can gradually bring overseas Chinese communities into the game as well.”

Qu Guohao said, "Singaporean game companies also attended this industry conference. I made some contact with them, and they seemed a bit hesitant."

Chen Guiliang said, "We can lower the licensing fee and revenue sharing a bit, let's expand first and then talk about the rest. Let's shorten the contract term and give the other party the priority right to renew as compensation."

“Okay, I’ll go talk to them again,” Qu Guohao said.

……

Another day passes.

Qu Guohao called back, sounding excited: "Cubinet Interactive is willing to distribute 'Three Kingdoms Kill,' and they have a very peculiar additional condition!"

"Don't keep me in suspense," Chen Guiliang said with a smile.

Qu Guohao said, "Their demand is that we obtain the agency rights for the Singapore region for three years. During these three years, the Southeast Asian agency rights for 'Three Kingdoms Kill' cannot be granted to any other company."

After thinking about it for a moment, Chen Guiliang roughly understood the other party's intention.

Cubinet Interactive, headquartered in Singapore, also operates throughout Southeast Asia. They are very optimistic about "Three Kingdoms Kill," but somewhat uncertain about its future.

Therefore, they only signed agency agreements for Singapore. They also forbade Youke from selling the Southeast Asian agency rights to other companies.

Once they've succeeded operating in Singapore, they'll spend money to buy the agency rights for the entire Southeast Asia region.

If it fails, there will be no follow-up.

Chen Guiliang asked, "How much agency fee do they pay?"

Qu Guohao said: "A $10 licensing fee, 23% of the game revenue. No guaranteed minimum fee. We will not be distributing physical cards for the time being."

“Damn it, they’re dreaming. They think they can lock up the entire Southeast Asia with just $10,” Chen Guiliang said. “Let’s shorten the term. If they don’t secure the Southeast Asia agency within 18 months, we have the right to sell it to a third party.”

……

This online gaming industry conference facilitated numerous cross-border transactions.

For example, games like "Fantasy Westward Journey," "Swordsman Online," "Perfect World," and "Three Kingdoms Kill" have been licensed to some foreign distributors. However, the licensing fees are not high, far less than those for Korean games.

Regardless of the selling price, as long as it sells, it can be used as a gimmick for publicity and, incidentally, to win the favor of the leaders.

When the leader from the State Administration of Press and Publication heard that "Three Kingdoms Kill" had been sold to Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, he made a special trip to Game Science to inspect it after returning to Beijing.

Chen Guiliang accompanied him throughout the entire process.

"This is our game platform, called Youke Interactive Games, which is currently divided into four categories."

"The first category is client-based online games, currently only 'Three Kingdoms Kill' is available."

"The second category is casual card and board games, which include dozens of games such as Dou Dizhu, Mahjong, and Chinese Chess."

"The third category is web pages and Flash mini-games. Any game enthusiast can create and upload mini-games, and the creators will be rewarded based on the game's activity level."

"The fourth category is single-player games, which are currently mainly domestically developed single-player games. Games such as 'Blade & Sword' and 'Qin's Legacy' are listed for sale here, with the platform taking a 25% cut."

"To avoid overwhelming players, the content of subdirectories will not be displayed when the Youke Interactive Game Platform is opened. Players can find the games they are interested in by clicking on the relevant categories."

The leaders of the State Administration of Press and Publication sat in front of the computer, played a gold mining game for a while, and smiled approvingly, saying, "You guys have a lot of ideas."

Chen Guiliang then led him to an office: "This is a new project we are developing, a free-to-play side-scrolling online game. While developing the game, we are also developing our own game engine."

The leader of the State Administration of Press and Publication nodded and said, "A self-developed game engine is very good. Many domestically produced games nowadays use foreign engines."

Chen Guiliang seized the opportunity to say, "Using foreign engines inevitably leaves us vulnerable to being held back. I think it's best to rely on ourselves."

"Self-reliance is the right thing to do." The leaders of the State Administration of Press and Publication were very satisfied with this.

From different perspectives and in different positions, one's starting point for looking at a problem will be different.

The Chinese online gaming industry is now flooded with Korean games, and now World of Warcraft, a major player, has entered the fray.

The higher-ups hope to vigorously develop domestically produced games.

The leaders of the State Administration of Press and Publication naturally had to implement this strategy; he even went to Perfect World (the developer of "Perfect World") for an inspection yesterday.

Chen Guiliang had someone bring over a collector's edition of the physical "Three Kingdoms Kill" card set, as well as specially made "Three Kingdoms Kill" merchandise: "These are small gifts we prepared for you, Director X, please keep them as souvenirs."

"Haha, then I'll accept it." The leader from the State Administration of Press and Publication accepted it with a smile.

(End of this chapter)