Game Development: Starting with Recreating the Anime Game Style

Chapter 86 The Acquisition Was a Natural Success

noon the next day.

Akihabara, Japan.

Anyone with even a slight understanding of Japanese anime culture should be familiar with this name.

Since the rise of otaku culture in the 1990s, this place has always been known as a holy land for otaku.

However, once you actually arrive in Akihabara, you'll find that the "otaku" vibe here isn't as strong as you might have imagined.

Aside from the anime characters replacing celebrities in the advertisements, this is essentially just a commercial area, located in Sotokanda 3-chome, Chiyoda Ward, not far from Akihabara.

That is the location of Noz Limited Company.

The name Noz Co., Ltd. might not be familiar to many people, but mentioning TYPE-MOON or FATE will instantly make the company seem much more familiar.

The Japanese name "有限会社ノーツ" (Nootsu Co., Ltd.) uses "ノーツ" to correspond to the English word "Notes," which originates from Kinoko Nasu's early work, *Notes.*

Therefore, it can also be called Notes Ltd., which is the entity behind the TYPE-MOON brand and is mainly responsible for the commercial operation of works such as the Fate series and Tsukihime.

And it's near this company.

A maid café called Moe Moe Girl Fragrance.

"Eat? Of course you're eating. I think this curry omelet rice with the help of a maid is pretty delicious."

In a private room at the maid café, Li Suhao and Shiokawa Yosuke looked at each other in bewilderment.

It wasn't that they couldn't eat, but watching Chu Chen eat omelet rice with a spoon, they felt that Chu Chen's current image didn't quite match his behavior from the past two days.

Especially Yosuke Shiokawa.

Because he had spent a long time in the Japanese industry, he had been the one to receive Chu Chen from the moment Chu Chen got off the plane a few days ago.

He has witnessed it firsthand these past few days.

No, it's less about witnessing and more about having my understanding overturned.

When he first met Chu Chen, he thought the other party was too young, and even wondered if the other party was just lucky to have created a game like "Final Front".

But he soon changed his mind.
He quickly understood what Li Suhao meant by "monster".

Almost as soon as Chu Chen got off the plane, he and Li Suhao began a "major search".

Having already gathered the information, Li Suhao began calling Japanese animation companies one by one, including some that he couldn't get through to.

Chu Chen was able to get through.

The Japanese business logic is to cater to different tastes; either you are highly respected and older, or you are highly capable and hold a high position.

Moreover, this strength must be within their "visible reach".

If it were a month ago, or more precisely, before "Final Battlefront" was released in Japan, even if Chu Chen had become a huge star in China, he probably would have had a very hard time meeting these people.

Even if you do see them, the other person might not care.

But now, with "Final Battlefront" having stayed on the Japanese bestseller list for two weeks, and with Japanese media buzzing about this "new dark horse," the situation is quite different.

Chu Chen's status in the Japanese game and anime circles has also risen accordingly.

Sometimes, the logic of how this world works is just so absurd.

Hong Lingyun was certain that Chinese companies could not directly negotiate with Japanese animation companies.

However, when Starry Sky Games was no longer just a Chinese company, this certainty became a joke.

Why was Azur Lane able to get an animation studio to produce an anime in its previous life? It was because its Japanese server reached the top, which allowed Azur Lane to open up a network of connections in Japan.

Regardless of the animation quality, at least they produced an animation with the quality of a TV anime.

Two weeks ago, Chu Chen was unable to do this.

Two weeks later, the situation has completely reversed.

When Chu Chen called in person, most animation company presidents answered the phone, whether out of politeness or curiosity.

In just one day, with the help of the information previously compiled by Li Suhao, Chu Chen confirmed the animation company that had taken over the outsourcing work from Xingchen Games.

The next day, he brought Shiokawa to visit him.

At this time, Chu Chen's impression on Yan Chuan was that he was capable and decisive.

What followed was the acquisition meeting that became part of the "incredible events" of his career.

When Chu Chen learned that the other party was poorly managed and owed three months' wages, he was very surprised because, in his opinion, the other party was capable of producing several animations in version 1.0.

Putting everything else aside, their drawing skills are definitely not a problem.

In addition, Chu Chen gave a full 500 million for version 1.0.
How could the losses be so severe?

A little inquiry revealed that the middleman had pocketed 400 million in one go, only paying IMS 100 million, and even that 100 million was to be settled in three installments.
Secondly, although IMS has good animation skills, they lack high-end talent; important positions such as director, scriptwriter, and director are vacant.

Lacking the ability to independently produce animation, they can only outsource. And for animation production companies, your drawing skills are more of a bonus; whether you can afford the price is the fundamental factor in securing the contract.

After confirming this information, Chu Chen directly quoted the company president 5000 million yen, which is about 300 million RMB.

Seeking acquisition at a fixed price.

He didn't hesitate for a second before accepting the offer, and for the owner of an animation production company that was already on the verge of collapse, there was really no reason for him to refuse.

With things having reached this point, there's not much to say about the subsequent negotiations. Throughout the process, the only thing Yosuke Shiokawa couldn't understand was why Chu Chen insisted on having this team stay in China for two months.

On the way back, he asked the same question.

Chu Chen's answer was simple: because of the risk.

Acquiring an animation company is not like establishing a Japanese branch. The Japanese branch has Li Suhao, a revenue-sharing mechanism, and its operational content is provided by the headquarters. Therefore, it shares the same profit goals as Xingchen, and they are all in the same boat.

But the animation production company was different; Chu Chen had no connection with that group of people.

Moreover, due to the limited time they had been in contact, the only thing Chu Chen knew was that their animation production capabilities were decent; they had once produced cutscenes for "Final Front" 1.0.

But Chu Chen didn't know which people among them were usable and which were not.

If Chu Chen were to acquire it directly, problems were very likely to arise.

Don't be fooled by how readily these people agree now; it's only because Chu Chen promised to settle their previous wages.

Three months' salary is no small sum; each person can earn at least 60 yen.

So at this moment, they were quite grateful to Chu Chen for being willing to pay them. But when they actually received their owed wages, the situation changed.

A new company can be born simply by a senior employee raising their voice.

Perhaps after the new company is established, it can turn around and approach Chu Chen to ask if he needs outsourcing services.
Although this is unlikely.

However, there are indeed such cases in reality.

Chu Chen dared not gamble, nor could he gamble. Right now, "Final Front" was at its peak in popularity, and the next few months would see a surge in viewership.

Various auto chess games are about to be launched, and heavyweight anime-style games such as "Honkai Impact 3" and "Onmyoji" will also be launched one after another.

Chu Chen cannot afford to falter at this crucial moment.

The animation production company, which serves as the core emotional output point of the game, is very important to Xingchen. Chu Chen must ensure the quality of at least one or two versions of the animation.

During these two months, Chu Chen was able to establish contact with this group of people, understand their interpersonal relationships, and make personnel adjustments.

On the other hand, since the other party is located in China, Chu Chen can guarantee the quality of the subsequent animation.

Two months later, Xingchen had gained strength and they had gotten used to it. So what if someone raised their voice and let him go?
Simply put, it's about trading money for time.

For Chu Chen, these thoughts and ideas were things he had already figured out before he came, and with the public beta of "Final Frontline" bringing in a sudden surge of funds.

Therefore, for Chu Chen, the difficulty of this matter was not actually in buying back the animation studio.

The real question is how to manage and use it after you buy it.

However, Yosuke Shiokawa felt that Chu Chen's efficiency was a bit too fast.

This leader was completely different from anyone he remembered or had encountered in his previous ten-plus years of professional life.

Which of those leaders doesn't spend ages in the meeting room discussing a single punctuation mark? Which of them doesn't go through an incredibly long process of "internal communication" before making a decision?

Acquire a company in a single day?
He was still wondering to himself whether he was being too presumptuous.

But that's exactly what happened.
It can only be said that from this moment on, Chu Chen became somewhat unfathomable in the eyes of Yosuke Shiokawa.

but.
Blinking back to reality, I see this man excitedly saying, "As expected, when you get to Akihabara, you have to go to the maid cafe," "Hey, do you guys think the maids really say lines while eating?" "They're not as cute as I imagined..."
Yosuke Shiokawa felt somewhat silent again.

No, Mr. Chen... don't you think the difference in your image before and after is a bit too big?

And don't keep staring at the maid!
what is this?
A cute contrast?

In addition, there's the purpose of their visit today.

This makes the difference even more noticeable.

"Mr. Chen, do you really think Type-Moon will agree to our idea? It doesn't seem very reliable."

Just as Yosuke Shiokawa was lost in thought, Li Suhao took a bite of his omelet rice and voiced his question.

"I don't know, but since we're already here, we might as well give it a try."

Chu Chen's tone was relaxed.

After securing the animation production company, Chu Chen didn't rush to leave, except for the Japanese version of "Don't Do Challenges" that he was originally scheduled to record.

Chu Chen also plans to try acquiring a batch of Japanese IPs.

The three of them came here today mainly to obtain the adaptation rights for FATE.

(End of this chapter)