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Chapter 318, March 0315: [Let's all snipe Chen Guiliang!]

Chen Guiliang strolled towards the summit forum venue.

When I passed by the Sohu booth, I found that not only was Zhu Hong surrounded by onlookers, but the "six catgirls" also caused a sensation.

Six beautiful women were dressed in hot pants and tube tops, with cat ears on their heads and cat tails trailing behind them. Four of them were even wearing leopard print fabric.

Chen Guiliang couldn't help but glance at the stage a few times, only to find that one of the catgirls looked a lot like Ariel Lin. She had the appearance of a well-behaved girl, yet she wore a wild leopard print outfit; the contrast was simply amazing.

There's also a catwoman who not only has a great figure but also strikes all sorts of seductive poses, with extremely provocative expressions and movements. Her name is Gu Zhen, a student at the Shanghai Theatre Academy.

Many of the beautiful women at Sohu today were selected directly from the Shanghai Theatre Academy.

Zhang Chaoyang really knows how to have fun!

"Quick, take a picture of him! Quick, take a picture of him! That man is here again!"

A commotion broke out.

The commotion was caused by an unremarkable-looking man.

He'd already earned the nickname "Hug Guy" because he'd wander around the various booths, approaching any pretty woman he saw and asking for a hug. Many showgirls couldn't refuse, so he'd hug one every few minutes on average.

This made many restless but reserved old perverts extremely envious.

"Damn it, I really want to kill him."

"That son of a bitch actually went to Azhu for a hug? Damn, Azhu agreed!"

"..."

This "hug guy" is actually creating hype, using an alternative way to become an internet celebrity.

You can also enjoy yourself at the same time.

Chen Guiliang walked past Sohu's booth and soon arrived near Shanda's booth.

The grand showgirl lineup was all about quantity; dozens of scantily clad girls stood in a straight line, motionless. Their overall looks were just okay, but the formation was quite spectacular—I wonder which clever person came up with that idea.

The planners must have frequently used a one-stop service for selecting concubines.

To attract attention, manufacturers are employing all sorts of unique methods.

Audition Online invited VCGilr, a string duo under Emperor Entertainment Group. Kickball invited Huang Jianxiang, who is "not a one-man show".

"Audition World," which has a similar gameplay to "Audition Online," has even brought in Korean star Bae Seul-ki and Qi Wei, who has risen to fame in the past two years. They've also brought in the main cast of the TV series of the same name.

Shanda's DOA OL was the most creative, as it's an online game based on the game "Dead or Alive." They set up a separate booth, complete with a swimming pool and beach chairs, and even transported several tons of sand to the site. A group of beautiful women in bikinis were playing in the pool.

Even the most perverted men would want to go swimming after seeing this.

Compared to its peers, Youke's activities this year were planned too conservatively.

Upon arriving at the main forum venue, gaming industry leaders were chatting and interacting.

As soon as Chen Guiliang made his appearance, several CEOs or executives from game companies came over to congratulate him on winning an international award for the game "Seven Nights," which was a product of the company he had invested in.

Chen Guiliang also congratulated the other party on the game's great sales, saying that everyone was happy to help.

Chi Yufeng, the CEO of Perfect World, was surrounded by people asking him about the precautions for the game company's IPO in the US. Every year is different, so asking Chi Yufeng for information was more appropriate than asking Chen Tianqiao or Ding Sanshi.

Tao Chenggang had always stood by Chi Yufeng's side, and he also had the idea of ​​listing Bailian Technology on the stock market.

Finally, the summit forum officially began.

The first speaker was Director Kou from the State Administration of Press and Publication, who emphasized the cultural responsibility that online games need to bear. He encouraged online games with cultural depth and resisted those with vulgar content. He also stressed that an anti-addiction system for online games must be launched this year. He then encouraged original, high-quality games, saying he would personally help them go global.

This sets the tone for the industry.

The second speaker was Chen Tianqiao.

"Shanda firmly supports the State Administration of Press and Publication. In the next two to three years, Shanda will shift from focusing on game distribution to focusing on domestically developed games..."

"To encourage original Chinese games, Shanda formulated the 18 Plan, the 20 Plan, and the Fengyun Plan, raising 20 billion yuan in cash to complete these three major plans..."

The 18th and 20th plans have been discussed previously.

The Fengyun Plan involved acquiring established game companies, such as Rongcheng Jintian Technology, which cost Shanda over 100 million yuan. Its games included "Fengyun OL" and "Legend OL".

Although the company was acquired, the 23-year-old entrepreneur ran away with some of the R&D staff. They started a new company, created another impressive game, and sold it to Shanda for over 100 million yuan the following year.

Difficult to stretch.

First, Dingguo Technology's "Seven Nights" won an award, and then Jintian Technology sold its product for over 100 million yuan.

The city of Chengdu has been spurred into a surge of entrepreneurs, and within the next two to three years, hundreds of game development companies are expected to emerge. The core team members are mainly from Sichuan University and the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China.

Many students from Sichuan University and the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China develop games in their dormitories before they even graduate.

As a result, Chengdu gradually earned the nickname "City of a Thousand Games," and at its peak, it truly had over a thousand game companies. Moreover, most of them were game development companies.

Besides Shanda, other companies like Perfect World have also set their sights on Chengdu. Major domestic game developers are constantly sending people to Chengdu to acquire the development companies there.

Unlike later on, when people mention Chengdu, the first thing that comes to mind is gay dating.

After Chen Tianqiao finished his speech, Ding Sanshi took the stage.

Next up is Zhang Chaoyang.

Just as Zhang Chaoyang stepped onto the stage, the attendees did not look at him, but instead all looked at Zhu Jun of Jiucheng.

In previous years, at various game-related events, the first three speakers were invariably Chen Tianqiao, Ding Sanshi, and Zhu Jun.

How did Zhu Jun fall behind this year?
Could it be that The9 has really fallen out with the State Administration of Press and Publication because of the rectification issues of the new World of Warcraft expansion?
Zhu Jun's face was somewhat gloomy. Zhang Chaoyang had already begun his speech, discussing e-commerce, online communities, portal websites, and gaming communities. He claimed that Sohu would actively respond to the State Administration of Press and Publication's call, focusing on developing its own domestically produced games and dedicating itself to spreading excellent Chinese culture.

As the conversation progressed, it shifted from "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" to the Olympics...

Show off as much as you want!
Ever since becoming the exclusive online sponsor of the Olympics, this guy has always brought up the 08 Olympics, no matter where he appears or what topic he's talking about.

"We are a portal matrix and also the builder of the official website for the 08 Olympics. We have a team of several hundred people working on the Olympics, so our Olympic strategy is a huge strategy..."

"Throughout the 08 Olympics and related internet-related events, it's likely all connected to Sohu. We'll be expanding our entire technical team... And speaking of the role of games in this strategy, casual games are quite suitable for the Olympic strategy... We will be launching sports-themed casual games..."

The audience burst into warm applause.

There's no way around it; the Olympics have to be done right, and it's certainly something for the Chinese people to be excited about.

The new expansion for World of Warcraft is being held up in the review process because the Olympics are approaching, leading to stricter censorship of game content. Any content that might be considered suggestive or offensive must be modified.

But Nine Cities' sensitivity level is negative; can this thing be fooled? You might fool Director Kou, but who will Director Kou fool? There's pressure from above!

Zhu Jun sat below, listening to Zhang Chaoyang's speech, his expression growing increasingly grim.

Ding Sanshi's expression was equally subtle. NetEase was one of the three giants in the anti-Sohu alliance for Olympic coverage. Just a few days ago, he was giving instructions on how to attack Sohu, and today he's here applauding Zhang Chaoyang's boasting.

Everyone assumed that after Zhang Chaoyang finished speaking, it would be Zhu Jun's turn.

The next person to speak was Chi Yufeng.

Everyone thought: Zhu Jun is doomed!

As a person who is bound to be among the top three speakers, Zhu Jun has been unable to take the stage this year, showing no respect whatsoever to the State Administration of Press and Publication.

Zhang Chaoyang was talking about the Olympics, while Chi Yufeng was naturally talking about the overseas expansion of games.

He talked at length about traditional Chinese culture and said that as long as the game is of high quality, it will be easy to expand into overseas markets. Perfect World has already been sold to 16 countries and regions around the world.

He then went on to talk about his experience of listing his company in the US, and how American investors were captivated by Chinese-made games…

Director Kou listened with a beaming smile, clearly enjoying this kind of story.

It was finally Zhu Jun's turn.

But what self-developed games does Zhu Jun have?
He started by saying that The9 should respond to the call to develop its own games and spread Chinese game culture. Then he went on to talk at length about "Granado Espada," saying that The9 had already acquired the distribution rights for the game and was currently in technical handover with the Koreans.

He raved about Granado Espada, saying it was a game comparable to World of Warcraft.

Director Kou's smile vanished, and he listened quietly as Zhu Jun boasted about Korean games.

Regardless of whether it panders to the leadership, the theme of today's summit forum speech is "Promoting Advanced Culture and Creating a Harmonious Network".

Was Zhu Jun's speech off-topic?
Even when Shi Yuzhu later gave a speech, he talked extensively about the "Zhengtu" green server, saying that "Zhengtu" aimed to build a harmonious online game community and create a green domestic game.

Regardless of whether Shi Yuzhu is talking nonsense or not, at least he's willing to. Zhu Jun, at least make something up, right?

Chen Guiliang still holds considerable influence. After Zhu Jun came down, he went up next, even taking the lead in the speech order ahead of Lei Jun.

The distributors of "Audition Online" and "KartRider" are all ranked after Chen Guiliang.

Because "Three Kingdoms Kill" and "Seven Nights" have brought honor to Director Kou overseas, and today's speech theme is to promote advanced culture.

"The name 'Game Science' itself sets the tone for self-developed games from the very beginning. We treat games as a science, taking it seriously and responsibly, and adhering to objective laws..."

"China has a wealth of historical and cultural themes that game developers can explore. If we don't, Japanese and Korean companies will. Xiao Rizi alone has produced a ton of games based on the Three Kingdoms and Journey to the West themes..."

"Not only has 'Three Kingdoms Kill' been released in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea, but also in Singapore. Furthermore, through its Singaporean distributor, it has been distributed throughout Southeast Asia. Reportedly, 'Three Kingdoms Kill' has consistently ranked among the top five online games in the Vietnamese market..."

"Next, we are considering selling to the North American market, where there are a large number of Chinese players, as well as white and black players who like the Three Kingdoms culture..."

"Investing in Dingguo Technology was an unexpected yet inevitable outcome. We started building our mobile game development team last fall. Mobile games are also one of the future directions of the gaming industry... Although 'Seven Nights' is a horror game with a story set overseas, its core theme discusses a common human experience: whether a person can confront their past..."

"For single-player games, we've only made 'Plants vs. Zombies' so far. Not only did it sell well at launch, but the recently updated second chapter, priced at 2 yuan, has also seen many players make subsequent purchases..."

"Wulin Gaiden is a major IP, and after acquiring the copyright, we didn't dare to start development lightly. The project leader first attended history classes at Tsinghua and Peking Universities and researched relevant materials about the Ming Dynasty. Currently, we are conducting research on ancient architecture and traditional folk culture across the country. We want to bring an authentic Ming Dynasty into the game..."

"Once 'My Own Swordsman' is sold overseas, we'll give those foreign devils a little shock of Chinese history!"

Director Kou became happy again, "Look how well he put it! Games should delve into traditional culture."

"Future Era" will soon officially open for registration. This game belongs to the post-apocalyptic genre. However, it blends Eastern and Western cultures and has a positive and uplifting core. It doesn't attract players with gore and violence, but rather with the heroic spirit of humanity's united will and a rich storyline..."

After the speech, Director Kou led the applause.

He will lead the applause whenever he likes the content of a speech, and he has done so several times already.

The gaming moguls listening to Chen Guiliang's speech, however, had their attention elsewhere.

Game Science continues to increase hiring, and currently has nearly 200 employees, but it is still considered a mid-sized company.

This mid-sized game company is already developing game platforms, PC games, and mobile games, and I heard they even acquired an animation company.

Now they're releasing a side-scrolling fighting online game, and there's also a highly anticipated game called "Wulin Gaiden" that's been in development for who knows when.

Youke will definitely be a formidable rival in the future!

Once "Future Era" becomes a hit, GameSpot will definitely take off.

These big bosses, keeping an eye on the official launch date of "Future Era," decided to coordinate and hold events for their own games simultaneously.

On the day "Future Era" is released, you'll find that all the major game companies in China are having events!
Even Shih Yu-chu and Chi Yu-feng, who seem to have a good relationship with Chen Kuei-liang, are joining the ranks of those who are targeting "Future Era".

(End of this chapter)