Restart life

Chapter 549 0537 [Actors Actually Came to Work as Showgirls]

While Youke is aggressively opening overseas subsidiaries, Tencent is not idle either.

However, Tencent plays the acquisition game.

For example, Tencent acquired a 48.4% stake in Epic Games in the United States. This company owns the Unreal Engine and later developed Fortnite.

There's also Kakao Corp. of South Korea, which has acquired a 13.84% stake from Tencent. Kakao Talk, a product of this company, can be understood as the Korean version of WeChat. Furthermore, the company also has a gaming platform, which allows Tencent Games to launch a counterattack in the Korean market.

Tencent has even set its sights on Blizzard!
However, Tencent did not directly acquire Blizzard. Instead, it planned to participate in a consortium to acquire a 25% stake in Blizzard. Once the transaction was completed, Tencent would indirectly hold a 12% stake in Blizzard.

In recent years, Tencent has also participated in the global release of "CF" and attempted to replicate the QQ Games platform model throughout Southeast Asia.

Take the Vietnamese online gaming market as an example; it's practically controlled by Tencent!

Tencent is the largest shareholder of the agency that distributes "Future Era" in Vietnam, while Youke is the second largest shareholder.

This aggressive overseas expansion has brought Tencent enormous revenue. However, third-party reports only calculate Tencent Games' domestic and international revenue, completely omitting its acquisition expenditures.

Therefore, Tencent Games has ascended to the top spot in China's online game industry!

However, Tencent's overseas investments are far from recouping their costs. A single investment can easily reach hundreds of millions of US dollars, and to indirectly acquire a stake in Blizzard, it would require investing over a billion US dollars.

Seeing that Youke was making good money selling web games in the Middle East, Tencent released three web games to the Middle East last year.

This year, Tencent is again eyeing the Japanese market for its browser games and is currently working urgently on reskinned versions. They really do whatever Game Science does.

Even in esports, Tencent is following the trend of Youke.

Last year, Youke's "Oracle Era" announced the launch of the NPL league.

Tencent's "League of Legends" quickly announced the creation of the LPL league.

Although the number of online players for League of Legends in China has been reduced to only one-tenth of that for Oracle Era, Tencent is still determined to fight Chen Guiliang to the death!

After reviewing the ten-year history of ChinaJoy, a reporter from 17173 asked, "This year, the competition among large-scale MMO games is fierce, with five high-quality titles launching their open beta tests during the summer. It seems that Youke doesn't have any new projects in this area?"

Chen Guiliang said, "We are currently focusing all our efforts on updating and maintaining 'My Own Swordsman'."

Reporter: "Are you pessimistic about the future of MMO games? The market share of MMOs has almost fallen below 50%."

Chen Guiliang: "The diversification of games is a good thing. The era of MMOs dominating the market is over. From the very beginning, Youke has been making all kinds of games. You could even say that 'Wulin Gaiden,' which was released in the last two years, is Youke's only traditional MMO."

Reporter: "But the self-developed engine for 'Wulin Gaiden' is very powerful. Why not use this engine to make two more similar games? Don't you think it's a waste, Mr. Chen?"

Chen Guiliang: "What you're describing is reskinned games. Although Youke's web games have a lot of reskinned products, that's because web games have a short operating cycle. For large-scale online games, we prefer to make high-quality games that can be operated for a long time. Instead of making a few reskinned games, why not focus on making 'Wulin Gaiden' a good game?"

Reporter: "But the later maintenance and updates don't require so many top talents. If no new projects are launched, these talents will be idle."

Chen Guiliang: "I don't think so. We treat every expansion pack for 'Wulin Gaiden' as a new game, so as to ensure that the game quality does not decline."

Reporter: "Of the new games announced at this year's ChinaJoy expo, which one is Mr. Chen most optimistic about?"

Chen Guiliang: "I don't comment on other companies' games."

Reporter: "There are rumors that Youke has secretly started a new project, but hasn't announced it yet. Is this true?"

Chen Guiliang: "Youke is launching new projects every year."

Reporter: "I'm not talking about those small projects."

Chen Guiliang: "Guess."

Reporter: "Mr. Chen has become more low-key in the past two years. He used to start promoting projects from the very beginning. Now he's keeping it a secret."

Chen Guiliang: "The CEO complained about me, and President Qu blamed me for being a big mouth."

Chen Guiliang remained calm during the interview, but Youke's marketing and operations departments were on high alert this summer, with many of Youke's games running promotions.

Tencent's Blade & Soul has been heavily promoted, while Snail Games' Age of Wushu has finally been released after much anticipation.

Giant Interactive's "Wizard's Wrath" and Shanda Games' "Rift" are both touted as the biggest enemies of "World of Warcraft" in Europe and America.

Even Shanda's remake of "Legend of Mir 2" has caused a stir among veteran MMO players.

Moreover, there's World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, which is currently under review, and A Chinese Ghost Story 2, which NetEase has been operating for over three months.

"My Own Swordsman" is under full-scale attack.

Putting aside other factors, Blade & Soul and Age of Wushu will undoubtedly maintain peak concurrent users of over 50 after their open beta launches. This equates to attracting millions of players at once.

There must be quite a few players of "Wulin Gaiden" who have gone to try out these two competing games. It would be terrible if the other game retained their players.

Tao Chenggang and Shi Yuzhu were under even more pressure. "I shouldn't have fucking been an agent for Korean games!" Tao Chenggang complained, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

Chen Guiliang asked, "Is it a cheat/hack issue?"

Tao Chenggang nodded and then shook his head: "I finally understand why Shanda's games can't stop cheating. Damn it, those Koreans only care about killing the cheaters, not burying them. Besides the cheaters, the biggest problem is that they're too hard to learn!"

Tao Chenggang has been operating new games for the past few years. He initially tried to learn from Chen Guiliang and develop his own games, but most of them ended in failure, with only one game occasionally becoming a minor hit.

Envious of Tencent's "CF", Tao Chenggang also became the agent for the Korean game "Storm Zone".

This game is riddled with cheats and is too difficult to learn, so it's not popular with elementary school students at all.

Currently, Bailian Technology's main revenue still comes from "Quan Yu Tian Xia," followed by various reskinned mobile and web games. It also has two self-developed martial arts games, which consistently maintain around 10 concurrent online users.

Shih Yu-chu's Giants were in a similar predicament, and he and Tao Cheng-gang were like brothers in misfortune.

Tao Chenggang said with great envy, "Your open platforms are really amazing. All kinds of mini-games and mini-programs are practically breeding monsters. They inexplicably create a hit. Recently, that game 'Find You, Sister' has become a sensation."

"Haha, the power of the masses is limitless," Chen Guiliang laughed.

"Find You, Sister" is a casual mobile game released on the WeChat platform by an ID named zhangfan. It inexplicably became a hit!

Currently, only the HarmonyOS version is available; the developers are working on an Android version.

The two chatted as they wandered around the various exhibition halls.

Tao Chenggang said, "There are a lot more beautiful women this year, and their overall quality is a level higher than last year."

Chen Guiliang said, "It's the tenth anniversary, so everyone is taking it seriously and is willing to spend money. Not only beautiful women, but also handsome men have come out. We've hired quite a few male models to be gameboys."

"Damn, there were even pole dancers on stage. The lighting and music were perfect; I almost thought I'd wandered into a nightclub," Tao Chenggang complained.

Chen Guiliang said, "Looks like you've been to nightclubs quite a bit."

Tao Chenggang said, "There are a few nice girls in your exhibition area. Especially that one named Zhang Xinyu."

Chen Guiliang said, "This person is an actor who has played many minor supporting roles. This year, he voluntarily lowered his price to apply to be a showgirl, probably because he heard that I signed a showgirl role to star in a movie last year."

"You signed her?" Tao Chenggang asked.

Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "She hasn't signed yet. She's one of Feng Kuzi's people, but she can't integrate into the Beijing circle, so she's trying to find an opportunity here. I have to give Feng Kuzi a heads-up."

Tao Chenggang said, "Feng Kuzi will definitely give you face. Many game companies are investing in film and television now, what do you think about me getting involved too?"

Chen Guiliang said, "The water is very deep. I don't dare to invest recklessly. I only dare to use some washed-up or new actors to make my own films. If you want to do this, you can buy some IPs from Jinjiang and then hire a reliable director and behind-the-scenes team."

Tao Chenggang said, "I plan to adapt the game IP 'The Emperor' into a movie. I don't know much about film and television companies. How about investing in Tangren Media? I quite like the 'Chinese Paladin' TV series."

“You can give it a try,” Chen Guiliang said.

Tangren Media is currently undergoing restructuring, planning to shift its focus from Shanghai to Tianjin, which definitely requires a large injection of capital. However, Tao Chenggang only has funds, not film and television resources, so Tangren may not easily accept him.

Even if they accept, they'll have to pay a premium for the shares.

Zhang Xinyu strolled back to the science and technology exhibition area. While taking photos with players, she casually dismissed a few and ran up to Chen Guiliang, saying, "President Chen, I have already contacted Director Feng by phone. He is very supportive of me joining ByteDance Pictures."

Chen Guiliang nodded and said, "Okay. After the CJ exhibition, go to Beijing and sign a contract with ByteDance Pictures. If you can get roles with Huayi Brothers, you can continue filming those projects. But you need to adjust your schedule when the company needs you."

"Thank you, Mr. Chen!" Zhang Xinyu was overjoyed. She even deliberately stood closer to make it easier for reporters or passersby hidden among the players to take photos of her and Chen Guiliang together.

Chen Guiliang saw through her little scheme at a glance, smiled, and didn't say anything more.

At Chen Guiliang's behest, ByteDance's agents have been secretly contacting Zhao Liying. This actress's starring role in last year's hit drama "Boss & Me" made her impossible to poach with a regular agency contract; they'd have to set up her own studio.

The same goes for Yang Mi. After "Palace," she became incredibly popular, and they had to offer her the best treatment to poach her.

Back in the lounge, Tao Chenggang complained, "The State Administration of Press and Publication is becoming increasingly impersonal. We can't even get Director Song to come out to dinner."

Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "That's good. No one can be persuaded to come. It's fair competition for everyone."

Tao Chenggang said, "As people get older, they like to reminisce about the past. For the past two years, I've been constantly thinking back to when I first started the company. Back then, I was so busy that I didn't even have time to eat. Now, I've completely lost that passion. No wonder the games I make haven't become popular. Damn it, even I don't play the games from my company. How can I attract other players?"

"You could use half the energy you have for playing with women to manage the company," Chen Guiliang mocked.

Tao Chenggang said, "It's time to settle down."

Chen Guiliang glanced at his crotch: "Can't play anymore?"

"Get out!" Tao Chenggang roared.

(End of this chapter)