Tokyo: My obsession with China led me to become the king of Japanese entertainment.

Chapter 313 The Monkey Head Effect: Justice Will Prevail! (2 words in two parts)

"What?! ONEOKROCK is coming to Hakimi?"

"This topic is over!"

"However, wouldn't it be more appropriate for Brother Lian to say that?"

"You're overthinking it. I was lying next door and didn't participate in this part of the story."

When Monkey Head clearly stated that he wanted to bring ONEOKROCK to Hakimi after terminating his contract, the most intense reaction came not from Jun Sakurada or Hideaki Takizawa, but from the boys of I-scream.

Monkey Head is also a legend within Johnny's Entertainment, a legend that cannot be openly proclaimed but is renowned in private.

After all, he is the only case in the entire history of Johnny's Entertainment to have left the company and been blacklisted when he was still at the bottom, yet he still managed to fight his way back to the top.

Other Johnny's former employees who left the company, such as Tomohisa Yamashita who just left this year, were already top stars when they left, taking their existing fan base with them.

Only Monkey Head, when he retired, was severely criticized and basically had no popularity of his own.

Although his rise to fame was influenced by many objective factors, such as his superstar parents, it did not prevent him from becoming the best representative of "never underestimate a young person's potential" in the hearts of countless young Johnny's fans.

Oh, now we also need to add Sakurada Jun.

Now, Jun Sakurada has successfully brought ONEOKROCK to Hakimi, and it wasn't even through his invitation, but rather the monkey head (Sakurada's nickname) who chose to join.

This is a very effective boost for several former Johnny's kids.

After all, if Monkey Head was able to leave the club when he was still insignificant and then break through the encirclement, why couldn't Hakimi, led by him and Run Ge, break through?

Look, even before the transfer has been officially announced, the slightest hint of news is enough to boost Hakimi's team morale to a whole new level.

Not only that, the chubby boy was so excited that he practically stuck to the monkey's head.

"Really? Are all the OOR fans coming? Can I open for your concert?" This fan's mentality is just too much.

"What's the point of warming up the venue? It's more like opening a betting pool!" Monkey Head laughed and scolded.

He had met Vaundy a few times and was a close friend of Sakurada Jun, knowing that the latter was also a talented genius who might become a promising player for the Red and White Song Festival in the future.

So they didn't put on any airs of seniority at all.

Opening acts are usually jobs that musicians of a lower caliber take on. For example, Jun Sakurada opened acts for V6 when he was still a trainee.

For artists of similar stature or those you have high hopes for, it's more respectful to hold concerts directly with them.

"Playing against 00R—" The chubby guy was so happy he almost fainted, and he felt even more that his job change was absolutely the right decision.

In the original timeline, he would also face off against Oor in 2024, but by then Vaundy would already be famous worldwide, so he wouldn't be nearly as excited as Vaundy, who was still just a potential rising star at the time.

Keep in mind that it's the end of 2020, and OOR is still one of the top five streaming services in J-pop.

He was originally in the top three, but in this life he was pushed down by Jun Sakurada.

Another excited person was Hideaki Takizawa.

"That's great. Besides Sakamoto, the agency now has another senior colleague who can give orders and keep things under control."

During this time, with the help of his younger sister, Hideaki Takizawa had basically figured out all of Hakimi's affairs, and overall, he was quite satisfied.

The team is young and energetic, free from corruption and redundancy, and all its operations are progressing very well.

However, it's not without its flaws. For example, Jun Sakurada is too unpretentious and casual, Ryo Chiki's abilities are limited, and Kawazu...

And most of the time he was only in charge of Fujii Kaze's operations.

This resulted in the firm lacking a senior figure with sufficient authority to maintain order and stabilize morale when necessary.

Hideaki Takizawa is capable of this task, but it would be best to have a few more people involved.

Monkey Head and his companions were clearly an unparalleled fit.

They produced two prodigies, Jun Sakurada and Ao Sawaki, and a large number of people in the agency are their fans.

Most importantly, they have a systematic and comprehensive experience in dealing with the American adventures that Sakurada Jun has absolutely no interest in.

These will be of great help to Hakimi’s future overseas strategy.

Not to mention they are one of the few super bands currently qualified to hold tours at the five major stadiums, with the top tier of offline appeal.

If there were a round of matches against each other, Hakimi's younger brothers and sisters would be able to experience a stadium-level venue in advance.

This drinking session was worth it; we managed to bring in a heavyweight right away!

"Then I look forward to your guidance in the future, Vice President Takizawa!" Yamashita Toru, who was still at the table, laughed and raised his glass.

Clearly, this wasn't just a spur-of-the-moment decision by Monkey Head; the four members of the band had probably discussed it long ago. Rather than going independent, they preferred...

It's more fun to bring fans to Hakimi.

"You're too kind! It's just something I did for you! Let's have a drink!"

"What a mess of faces." Looking at the clinking of glasses at the dinner table and the fan meeting in the living room, Jun Sakurada couldn't help but facepalm.

In Hakimi, an agency primarily focused on music, the addition of ONEOKROCK has had an incredibly significant impact.

Well, actually he was excited too.

Let's talk to Xiaoqing about this later.

Based on my memories from my previous life, Monkey Head officially announced his departure from the company around April 2021, so he was probably able to join Hakimi around February or March.

There's still a lot of work to be done then.

"So, in your heart, is the entertainment industry your main job, or the gaming industry?"

Sakurada Jun turned around and saw that Kojima Hideo, who smelled slightly of alcohol but was clearly still quite sober, had already sat down.

As a game designer, he is much more restrained when it comes to drinking than those heavy drinkers and business tycoons. A little drinking is fine, but too much drinking will harm your health.

Besides, he was fifty-seven years old after all, so the young men in their thirties didn't dare to give him too much.

After having had his fill of drinks, Hideo Kojima sat back down next to Jun Sakurada.

In the end, it's just the two of them who work in the game industry at this venue. The announcement of the golden joystick will have to wait for a while. Let Hideo Kojima go and chat with Minami Hamabe. — Normally, he would definitely have gone up there wearing a support shirt.

But when Jun Sakurada sat down next to him, he immediately felt a sense of boredom.

Let's talk about game-related things with my younger brother.

"Why are you suddenly asking this?" Jun Sakurada was taken aback.

"Actually, I just feel that your popularity in the entertainment industry seems to be much better than in the gaming industry. You're quite low-key there."

It's not that Jun Sakurada doesn't do promotion, but he's not as enthusiastic about socializing as Hideo Kojima. Apart from promoting his own games, he only made a few appearances at offline awards last year.

But apart from that, he wasn't as keen on exchanging ideas as Hideo Kojima.

This is not unusual; most game developers prefer to work in seclusion and create products, and Hideo Kojima is a minority.

But it was precisely because he knew about Jun Sakurada's extensive connections in the entertainment industry that Hideo Kojima became increasingly curious.

Since he has already made a name for himself in the entertainment industry with this approach, why has he become relatively low-key in the gaming industry?

"On the one hand, the product needs to be polished. I wouldn't dare to go out and chat with others if I didn't have some solid tools on hand. Making games is much harder than writing songs, especially after the scale increases."

Jun Sakurada didn't shy away from the topic.

"Secondly, I'm not actually keeping a low profile at all. On the contrary, I've been quite busy lately."

"For example?"

Does investing in Xiao Gao and Gang Sang's studios count?

"Danganronpa's Kodaka? His latest anime, All About Akudama, doesn't seem that great—are you sure you can break even if you invest in him?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but the original team that polished Danganronpa back then is still there, and they are indeed putting a lot of effort into polishing the next work, even taking out loans from banks for it."

"Given his do-or-die attitude, I think we can trust him a little."

Hideo Kojima nodded slowly. He knew the name Kazutaka Kodaka, and he had worked with talented people like Kotaro Uchikoshi in Kodaka's studio.

"Anything else?"

"The rest of the big projects are basically in China. We're currently recruiting and building up our team. Once I finish filming these projects, I might consider making some big moves."

Upon hearing the word "China," Hideo Kojima's eyes suddenly lit up: "Speaking of China, you were probably one of the first producers to praise that Black Myth, right? Was that film made with the real deal, or was it just a trailer misleading?"

As we all know, Hideo Kojima is a big fan of Black Monkey, and he has been following him since the first trailer in 20.

But he won't dare to boast so much until 24, when the game releases offline gameplay footage and a final trailer, and the game's quality is basically guaranteed. Currently, there's only one gameplay demo of Black Myth: Wukong, so even Hideo Kojima has to be cautious.

"From what I understand—and I guarantee it—Feng Ji and Yang Qi are really going all out." Sakurada Jun nodded confidently.

"If it weren't for their reluctance to accept foreign investment, and the fact that some large Chinese capital firms had already started investing in Youke, I would have definitely invested a bit to join in the fun."

No joke, if Feng Ji and Yang Qi were willing, Sakurada Jun would definitely join in without hesitation.

Although Jun Sakurada and Feng Ji established a friendship and contact information after August, and even finalized a small collaboration, a black monkey collaboration easter egg will appear in Jun Sakurada's future games.

However, GamerSky is still reluctant to let foreigners get involved in the game itself.

If you can make 100% domestically produced goods, why bother with brands like Baiyao that are 99% Chinese?

This is also a small regret in Jun Sakurada's heart.

"Since you've said that, I'm relieved." Hideo Kojima smiled.

He genuinely likes the art style and visual style of Black Monkey, but he's afraid this thing will be another classic example of a misleading trailer.

Now that Jun Sakurada has given his assurance, we can confidently boast about it from now on.

After all, Jun Sakurada didn't spend any money on Yuko, so his praise must be for someone with connections.

"Speaking of which, if I remember correctly, Chinese gamers seem to refer to your game as '99% domestically produced'?"

Hideo Kojima suddenly remembered something and became even more curious.

"After all, I'm not Chinese. Although I'm an expert on China, my bloodline doesn't match up." Jun Sakurada smiled.

"However, there is not much difference in sales. Chinese players are not so particular about these things. As long as you are willing to make things they like, they will buy them."

"I'll have to ask you for advice on this—"

As they chatted, their conversation gradually shifted to lessons learned from the Chinese market.

Hideo Kojima listened attentively. In the entire Japanese game market, there is almost no one like Jun Sakurada who is completely dedicated to the operation of a single overseas market and has achieved such incredible results.

Everyone knows that Chinese people have strong purchasing power, especially in recent years with the rise of PUBG and the pandemic, which have led to a significant increase in the number of Steam users and various console users in China. Game companies know that China is a cash cow and have all benefited from it to some extent.

But Jun Sakurada is truly unique in that he can consistently gain a large following among gamers.

Jun Sakurada himself had no intention of keeping anything to himself.

Ultimately, he didn't have any special tricks up his sleeve; it all boiled down to one thing: sincerity.

The requirements for Chinese players nowadays are actually very low:

A good game shows basic respect for Chinese players, doesn't include any biased content, and is localized in a way that makes it understandable; then Chinese players will be willing to buy it and take a look.

If you're willing to add some Chinese cultural elements, as long as it's not drastically altered, then we're willing to give it a try.

If they're truly willing to delve into what Chinese people love, then rave about it! Buy it all!

A prime example is "The Master," which was made by a Korean team, but it wasn't exactly perfect.

There was no Chinese dubbing at the beginning, it was released on Epic Games Store instead of Steam, and the content contained some "Western imagination of China".

But based on its authentic White Eyebrow Fist fighting style and its overall decent and undistorted Chinese style, Chinese players would be willing to buy it in droves.

However, even with such low requirements, so many manufacturers still cannot meet them.

Small studios with limited resources can save costs by using machine-translated subtitles. As long as the machine translation doesn't affect the game itself, players will tolerate it.

However, many products that are clearly from large studios, or even large-scale AAA productions, would rather go to great lengths to produce dubbing in a dozen or so less common European or American languages ​​than add a Chinese version.

This attitude, which expects the Chinese people to accept, is truly laughable.

Jun Sakurada wasn't worried at all that someone would learn his methods and try to steal his market share. On the one hand, Chinese people didn't lack the money to buy games from his Hakimi family.

On the other hand, he had already established his brand and reputation in China, so when others followed suit, people would think that he had set a good example.

He desperately wanted a group of manufacturers from Japan and even the world to follow him and dominate the Chinese market.

Once it's rolled up and generates industry benefits, his life as the leader will be even better.

As they chatted, they became increasingly engrossed in each other. Hideo Kojima is a producer who is extremely skilled in operations, and no matter how modest Jun Sakurada is, his operational ideas are several years ahead of the rest of the world.

In this era, a five-year lead is enough to bring about earth-shattering changes.

They had talked about it before at TGA, but time was limited and their relationship wasn't deep enough, so it was just a brief conversation.

As a result, over the course of the year, especially after Jun Sakurada tricked Hideo Kojima in the matter of Minami Hamabe, causing him to witness their first on-screen kiss up close in the movie theater.

It infuriated Hideo Kojima at the time, but afterwards, their friendship did indeed grow much closer.

As the two men chatted more and more happily, several drunkards looked at each other and tacitly gave them ample space to communicate.

It wasn't until the monitor in the living room started playing the online live stream of the Golden Joystick Awards ceremony that Hideo Kojima reluctantly turned to the TV.

"Well, even though I could guess the final result, I still want to witness it for myself."

"Congratulations in advance to Sakurada for winning this year's Golden Joystick of the Year!"

"Then I must wish Kojima-san good luck in his endeavors," Sakurada Jun chuckled.

Hideo Kojima hasn't released many new games in 20 years, but a certain Class A war criminal publisher, 505 Games, brought Death Stranding to PC this year.

Therefore, the PC version of Death Stranding was able to participate in the Golden Joystick Awards that year and won several awards, including a Game of the Year nomination.

If I remember correctly, I also won an award.

This is also why Jun Sakurada was willing to invite Hideo Kojima; it would be too awkward to invite him if he couldn't win any awards.

However, despite everyone being mentally prepared, when the Golden Joystick Awards actually began, the first award announced had a delightful effect: "The Last of Us Part II won the 2020 Golden Joystick Award for Best Narrative! With 23% of the votes!"

"Hey, there are boos coming from all over the villa."

With Jun Sakurada leading the way, the gaming atmosphere at Hakimi was surprisingly strong. In addition, the pay was generous, so almost every artist, including several trainees, was able to buy themselves a game console.

Among them is PS4, and quite a few people have played The Last of Us Part II. Even those who haven't played it know just how bad the game's reputation is.

If it were any other award, people would accept it, but to give Best Narrative to a game with a completely broken storyline, isn't that a bit too ridiculous?

Especially since this game is Run's competitor this year, the boos were even more intense.

On the contrary, Jun Sakurada and Hideo Kojima, both industry insiders, appeared much calmer.

It goes without saying that if the Golden Joystick is truly determined not to give the final year's award to The Last of Us Part II, then in order to appease Sony's anger, they will definitely have to take a back seat.

Therefore, The Last of Us Part II will only win more awards more frequently in various smaller categories.

As for the best narrative, which is of a higher quality, it is absolutely indispensable.

The narrative is terrible? But their narrative technique is very advanced.

And you've seen the vote count yourself, so tell me if it's strong or not.

As for how much the players will argue about this god-like ratio, sorry, that's not something Gold Joystick needs to worry about.

They're only responsible for shifting the blame.

Sure enough, as awards were announced one by one, it basically won all the ones that were even remotely related to The Last of Us Part II.

Only games like Fall Guys that are completely unrelated to the game can win awards like Best Multiplayer Game or Best DLC.

Besides The Last of Us Part II, another game is also quietly wreaking havoc.

"The winner of Best Mobile Game is Hundred Demons Cards!"

Just as everyone was about to cheer, they saw Jun Sakurada calmly wave his hand and say, "Don't rush, this is nothing."

Best mobile games are almost one of the most stable game types for Baiyaopai. Its game mode determines that its experience on mobile devices may even be better than on PC.

Jun Sakurada was very meticulous when he did the porting, adding many audiovisual effects that could only be achieved on mobile devices.

This is why the Hundred Demons card, which was first released on PC, failed to win the Best PC award, just like the Joker card in the previous life, but instead won the Best Mobile award.

As for the best PC

"The winner of the 2020 Best PC Game award is—Death Stranding PC!"

Good heavens, best mobile game launched on PC, best PC game launched on PS4, this world is in complete chaos.

Indeed, as a PC launch title, Hundred Demons failed to beat Death Stranding PC in the Best PC Game category, instead coming in second place in the vote.

Unfortunately, compared to awards like Game of the Year and Indie of the Year, PC of the Year doesn't garner as much attention.

Most importantly, The Last of Us Part II wasn't nominated for this award, so it naturally failed to provoke any rebellious sentiment among players.

And coincidentally, the emergence of the pandemic, the implementation of isolation and home confinement, almost gave Death Stranded a completely new sublimation.

This has led everyone to re-examine the game, and incidentally, it's a pity that it only achieved limited success last year.

With the support of such guilt votes and Death Stranding's own core fanbase, Death Stranding narrowly defeated Hundred Demons, shattering its myth of never losing a vote.

However, the two producers clearly didn't care about such things at all. They hugged with smiles, and Jun Sakurada sincerely congratulated Hideo Kojima, making Kojima smile very happily.

Anyway, once the award is won, it will be someone from 505games who will give the acceptance speech; it has nothing to do with Hideo Kojima himself.

After that, The Last of Us Part II continued its chart-topping run, and in addition, another game was quietly following suit.

"The winner of Best Indie Game is Hundred Demons!"

"The winner of the Best Breakthrough Award is—Baiyao Brand."

"The winner of the Judges' Choice Award is—Baiyao Brand!"

"This water is amazing!" Hideo Kojima exclaimed.

Almost all the awards that had nothing to do with The Last of Us Part II, but for which Hyakki Yako had been nominated, went to Sakurada.

The profits were pocketed.

Just like how LeBron fans believe Curry can't be too weak, otherwise a 3-1 scoreline wouldn't be explainable, if the Hundred Demons card can't convince the public except for having no awards this year, then the Golden Joystick will probably be criticized even more harshly.

In order to barely suppress some public opinion, it is necessary to create an atmosphere that "The Last of Us Part II is very strong, but Hundred Demons is even stronger".

Therefore, even the Golden Joystick Award, which Jun Sakurada had already won last year, was awarded to him again.

You should know that this award is essentially given to those unknown roadside talents who suddenly produce a masterpiece that makes them famous.

Jun Sakurada has already made a name for himself twice.

Does going from an independent breakthrough of the year to the best of the year count as a breakthrough?

It's just tough on the other games competing in the same year. The Last of Us Part II, which already dominates the charts, now has to contend with Hundred Demons Cards.

Finally, as the awards ceremony drew to a close, after a lengthy video clip: "The third place winner in the 2020 Ultimate Game of the Year awards is Genshin Impact! With 11.4% of the votes!"

"The Last of Us Part II came in second place for Game of the Year in 2020, with 13.5% of the votes!"

"The winner of Game of the Year 2020 is—Hundred Demons! With 17.8% of the votes, congratulations to Hakimi Studios!"

At this moment, cheers and applause finally erupted in the villa.

However, Jun Sakurada himself calmly turned on the comments.

He was watching the live stream in Japan, but the live stream source he chose was a live stream room on Ruizhan.

The densely packed comments above were remarkably consistent:

Justice will prevail!

First update, two chapters combined! I spent a little time writing some side stories for an older book, but I will definitely keep my promise of 10,000 words today!

So, could you give some of your monthly pass to Fish? I'm begging you!