Huayu: This producer has no bottom line.

Chapter 132 Should it be TV series first, then film, or film first, then TV series?

The Tsinghua University conference room on the 15th floor of the Sohu Building.

The last time I saw Zhang Chaoyang was at that teahouse on the North Third Ring Road.

For more than a month, Ren Pingsheng immersed himself in the world of film.

"Tianlong 2" was successfully delivered, "Li Xianji" entered post-production, won the Best Short Film award at the Golden Rooster Awards, and connected with Teng Huatao, acquiring the copyright package for four million.

Most importantly, the 40 million from Tencent and iQiyi went into Shengpingshi's account.

As a condition of this financing, Tencent naturally acquired those three domain names, bringing significant changes to the previously stagnant internet world.

In late April, Tencent Weibo launched its public beta test.

Although Ma Huateng maintained a defensive posture strategically, the passive advantage of this combination of moves was simply too great.

Weibo, weibo, weibo.com.

When most netizens want to view "microblogs", their three most instinctive input behaviors will first lead them to the t.qq.com page.

Once on the page, you can log in with your QQ number with one click. There is no complicated registration process, and it is completely barrier-free and has zero friction.

This silky-smooth, almost imperceptible experience allowed Tencent Weibo to effortlessly capture a large number of users.

As for whether these users can distinguish between Xinlang and Penguin,

Even in 2026, some people still can't distinguish between Steam and the Steam platform, let alone in 2010!

Many people stayed without really understanding why, and coupled with the built-in module entry in the QQ client and the reliance on the social relationship chain that QQ has cultivated over many years, Xinlang Weibo's first-mover advantage was severely diminished.

Weibo, needless to say, came quietly and left quietly.

Sohu Weibo isn't doing much better, which is related to their proactive reduction of promotional efforts this month.

So when Ren Pingsheng came to Souhu today, he wasn't surprised that Zhang Chaoyang had brought so many people.

He sat down opposite Zhang Chaoyang and looked around.

Changyou CEO Chen Dewen, Sogou CEO Wang Xiaochuan, and Sohu Video CEO Deng Hua.

Games, search engines, and videos—the four major strategies for reshaping the search engine proposed by Zhang Chaoyang—are represented here, along with the heads of three of them.

The only one missing was the person in charge of Web 2.0, or rather, Weibo.

No, actually it does count, because Zhang Chaoyang personally oversaw the Weibo project.

This setup doesn't seem like they're just talking about "Ghost Blows Out the Light".

"Look at this first."

Without exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Chaoyang pointed to a stack of printed documents on the table.

Ren Pingsheng opened it and saw a document titled "Sogou Browser 2.0 Product Upgrade and Mobile Layout Plan".

He listened to the advice.

The new plan is to abandon the fierce competition with Xinlang in the Weibo arena and instead focus on PC browsers while making early preparations for mobile browsers.

Leveraging Sogou Input Method's hundreds of millions of installations as a traffic driver, Sogou's editorial content and news information are directly aggregated into the browser's homepage navigation.

Instead of relying on social media viral marketing, they will focus on content-driven engagement.

Users don't need to actively search; they can simply open their browser to see content curated by Sohu editors.

Essentially, it is about grafting the advantages of the portal era onto new tools and platforms.

Ren Pingsheng continued flipping through the pages and saw a line of text highlighted in red: "Public beta version expected to be released in June."

Zhang Chaoyang looked at Ren Pingsheng, "Xiao Chuan has done the research, and everything you mentioned last time has been implemented. Do you have any other ideas?"

Ren Pingsheng smiled and closed the document. "That's all for now. I'm just an amateur, so I only made a suggestion. It's up to President Wang to decide how to implement it."

The topic of the browser was only touched upon briefly, which was Zhang Chaoyang's way of showing his sincerity in listening to advice, and also a warm-up for today's meeting.

Now comes the main event.

"Regarding the film and game synergy of 'Ghost Blows Out the Light'," Zhang Chaoyang tapped the table, "I have no objection to you saying the movie will not be released until 2014. I had someone do market research, and it is indeed as you said, the current number of screens cannot support a very high box office volume, so it needs to be nurtured for a while."

"But you, Devin, can talk about the games."

Chen Dewen flipped through the documents in his hand. "President Ren, there's an unavoidable problem with your idea. The game adaptation rights for 'Ghost Blows Out the Light' are held by Shanda, but Shanda itself is already operating a 'Ghost Blows Out the Light' game. They can't possibly give us the copyright, so the film-game synergy is simply not feasible."

"Even if Shanda were to relent, given the dismal performance of the previous 'Ghost Blows Out the Light' game, it would be very risky for us to make another product based on the same IP."

"Mr. Chen, the reason why the Ghost Blows Out the Light spin-off series failed is because Shanda couldn't even copy it properly."

Chen Dewen raised an eyebrow slightly.

"They tried to emulate Dungeon Fighter Online (DNF) with a 2D side-scrolling fighting game, but the result was chaotic hit detection, unrealistic hitstun, and the combat felt like hitting thin air. Not only did they fail to capture the essence of DNF, they completely lost the adventure and puzzle-solving advantages of Ghost Blows Out the Light. Players come for Ghost Blows Out the Light, only to find it's just a knock-off of DNF. How could it not fail?"

Chen Dewen was stunned for a moment. Although he felt a little awkward being taught a game by an outsider, he had to admit that Ren Pingsheng had analyzed the reasons for the game's failure very thoroughly.

"As for copyright," Ren Pingsheng changed the subject, "aren't there MMOs too? Shanda can license the MMO copyright to Youqu under the specific title of 'Ghost Blows Out the Light Online,' so why can't they license it to you?"

Last year, Youqu was sued by Shanda for copyright infringement. The final settlement was that Shanda would give Youqu a separate 3D MMORPG exclusive.

The special authorization is independent of the 2D side-scrolling game operated by Shanda itself.

Chen Dewen was silent for a few seconds, then said, "But Youqu is already working on it. It wouldn't benefit anyone if we made another one with the same theme and type."

This was a perfectly normal business decision, but Ren Pingsheng had already come up with a countermeasure.

"We can wait and see."

In his previous life, "Ghost Blows Out the Light Online" was delayed multiple times due to the company's technical capabilities and funding issues, and was ultimately abandoned in 11, but he couldn't say it directly.

"Furthermore, our current plan prioritizes film and television products. The movie won't be released until 14, giving you ample time to observe Youqu's progress and see if they can successfully develop the game. If they succeed, we'll consider other approaches; if they fail..."

77

Ren Pingsheng didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was already very clear.

Chen Dewen glanced at Zhang Chaoyang, who nodded slightly, indicating that he should write it down first.

Changyou has managed to stabilize its position.

Just as Ren Pingsheng was about to continue the conversation, Deng Hua spoke up.

"Ren Pingsheng, I have a question."

As the CEO of Sohu Video, she is an extremely intelligent woman. She knows that she offended Ren Pingsheng before, and she also knows that Ren Pingsheng is now Zhang Chaoyang's favorite.

She wouldn't blindly play the bad cop, but as the business manager, she couldn't ignore the questions that needed to be asked.

"The world of 'Ghost Blows Out the Light' is vast, and the relationships between the characters are complex. According to normal development logic, why don't we first test the market with a series that has a lower budget and more room for trial and error?"

She looked at Ren Pingsheng and said, "Wouldn't it be much less risky to release the film once the audience has a solid understanding of it?"

This is an excellent question, well-reasoned and supported by evidence. In fact, if Ren Pingsheng were to plan from scratch, he would also choose to film TV series first and then movies.

But the problem is, I can't do it!

"Mr. Deng is right. It is indeed a more prudent approach to release the film after the TV series is shown."

Ren Pingsheng acknowledged her judgment, then changed the subject.

"But there's a prerequisite: the series must start from the beginning of the story."

Deng Ye frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

"The Ghost Blows Out the Light series consists of eight books: The Lost City of Jingjue, The Lost Caverns of the Dragon Ridge, The Insect Valley of Yunnan, and The Shrine of Kunlun. The first four books form a complete storyline, telling the story of the trio of protagonists from their first meeting to their eventual revelation of the truth. The beginning, development, climax, and resolution are all coherent."

"If your goal is to help the audience build an understanding of this IP, then you have to start with the Ancient City of Jingjue. You can't just show the audience the stories of the last four parts right away, otherwise you'll lose the purpose of nurturing them. It's like you can't film the Three Kingdoms without skipping the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the Oath of the Peach Garden. Those who haven't seen it won't understand, and those who have will curse you."

Deng Ye nodded. "That's true."

"So that's the problem," Ren Pingsheng spread his hands, revealing a helpless yet frank expression, "I only managed to buy the film and television adaptation rights to the last four parts of 'Ghost Blows Out the Light' from Shanda. The first four parts were already bought by others."

There was a moment of silence in the conference room.

Deng Hua was stunned, and Zhang Chaoyang was also stunned.

"How can I make an origin story without the rights to the first four films?"

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