Top of the Great Era

Chapter 2237 Don't be afraid of floating clouds

Zhou Buqi is in London now, so he went to the Codemasters studio to ask.

The situation is actually not complicated.

This is a small company that mainly develops English version of car games, and its core markets are the UK and the US.The UK market is fine, the problem lies in the US market.

It's an operational problem.

Operators in the United States have reduced the promotion and publicity of their games, and the United States, as a country with the richest car culture, has car games from all over the world, and the competition is very fierce.

Once the advertisement goes down, sales will inevitably decrease.

This is a traditional computer game developer, and its income model is mainly based on selling genuine game software.

If you don’t give traffic, you’re going to draw your salary from the bottom of the pot.

Unless it has reached the popularity of "Tomb Raider" and has the fame of the movie, players can actively buy this game without smashing advertisements.

Florin, head of the Codemasters studio, told Zhou Buqi that if this situation does not change, the company's revenue in the US market this year will be reduced by at least 50%, and it will be difficult to exceed 1000 million US dollars.In the past year, the studio's revenue in the US market reached 1500 million U.S. dollars, and its net profit reached 700 million U.S. dollars.

Hearing such data, Zhou Buqi was a little dazed.

What the hell is this?

It's just a big business thing!

Is it worth Lao Zhang to make a phone call to talk about it?
unless……

Zhou Buqi immediately thought of something and asked, "Who will operate our game in the United States? EA?"

Florin said with a smile: "It's not EA. EA has its own "Need for Speed", which is a competition."

Zhou Buqi didn't believe it, "It's not EA, and it should have a deep business relationship with EA."

Florin nodded, "That's true. Originally, EA wanted to acquire Codemasters to deepen their competitiveness in the racing game circuit. It was through our relationship with the operator in the United States."

"I didn't run away!"

Zhou Buqi now understood what was going on.

It's amazing.

The CEO of EA is really broken.

Florin looked suspicious, "Is EA putting pressure behind?"

Zhou Buqi said: "It should be like this, how about it, can it withstand it?"

Florin said: "It's okay, the agency contract is signed every two years, and it will expire this year."

Zhou Buqi said with a smile: "That's fine. Changyou will complete the acquisition of Take-Two soon, and can open up the operation channels of the major game markets in Europe and America. When the contract expires, we will operate it ourselves."

Florin was pleasantly surprised: "Has the acquisition been completed?"

Zhou Buqi said: "The preliminary intention has been reached, and it is estimated that the United States has already released the news."

Florin said: "If that's the case, then it's better to terminate the contract."

Zhou Buqi was slightly taken aback, "How much is the termination fee?"

"20% of the previous year's transaction volume, about $300 million."

Florin felt that this was a huge sum of money, but in front of a game giant like Changyou, it was just tickling.

Zhou Buqi said bluntly, "Then terminate the contract! We want to become the world's largest developer of racing games, don't be distracted by such insignificant things. Don't be afraid of clouds to cover your eyes, and you are at the top level. "

He read a poem.

Fortunately, the style of Wang Banshan's poems is relatively simple and simple, the meaning is relatively simple, and the diction is relatively straightforward. It is enough to express it in English directly, and there is no threshold for understanding.

Florin said with a smile: "Take-Two's flagship game is "Grand Theft Auto", which is currently the best-selling racing game in the world."

周不器道：“双方可以结合，take-two下还有一个知名的体育运动品牌‘2K’。恰好Codemasters这里有F1的商标，不妨跟2K的品牌结合起来，不妨把《F1赛车》系列改版为《2KF1赛车》。”

There is also the second half of the sentence.

Just like "2KFIFA Football".

Making products is at the business level; making brands is at the strategic level.

Of course, Boss Zhou is more concerned about building the "2K" brand.Just like many domestic Penguin games, they all have to be branded with the "QQ" brand.

In the early days, it was guided by QQ traffic.

After it develops, it is not a simple traffic support, but a brand guarantee.For the same type of games, QQ games are better than other games.

Gradually, the "QQ" game brand was established. As long as the game with the title "QQ" is attached, it can often achieve certain results in the market.

Players extended their good understanding of the QQ brand in the past to new QQ-based games.

Zhou Buqi made the decision to "terminate the contract", and the matter was basically resolved.

However, this is only at the business level.

There is also an emotional level!
If it is a capitalist like Carl Icahn, there will be no more operations, without any emotional factors.If someone slaps you, if it is profitable, you will slap it back; if it is not beneficial to slap you back, then you will not slap it.The most taboo thing about capital operation is to act emotionally. The thinking of revenge is too low. It must be cruel and ruthless. It is not only cruel to others, but also ruthless to yourself.

If fanning back would damage one's own interests, then one cannot retaliate.

Zhou Buqi is not that kind of capitalist.

If an entrepreneur only measures everything by profit, he must not be a great entrepreneur. Being impulsive is both a disadvantage and an advantage.

The most important thing is to grasp the advantages and avoid the disadvantages.

This time, Zhou Buqi didn't care about his shortcomings.

Next, Zhou Buqi and Florin visited a new racing mobile game project of the studio - "Fast and Furious" authorized by Universal Pictures' famous racing game brand.

Development is still in early stages.

If all goes well, the beta version is expected to be launched in September-October this year.

Zhou Buqi stayed here for more than an hour before leaving.

He has other things.

It’s April. For some large companies, all financial reports of last year have been sorted out during this time period, and shareholders’ meetings are held.

Ziweixing digital media will also open.

This is not a listed company. It is very simple to operate, and it is more of a formality.Send a written notice to some important shares inviting them to attend the general meeting.

The other party responded that they will not attend for the time being.

Close the door, or talk to yourself.

If it is a listed company, it will be a little more troublesome, and many shareholders who are overwhelmed will rush in.Obviously their suggestions are all nonsense, they have no right to speak and influence, and they will not pass at all. They will still chatter endlessly, and they are fulfilling the rights of shareholders in the legal sense.

Ziweixing Digital Media has not yet been listed. Apart from the entrepreneurial team and company employees, the shareholders are several prominent European capital institutions. This kind of shareholders meeting will be very easy.

Then, Zhou Buqi set off for New York.

Gu Zanli still has a little more to say.

Last night, she lived in the new home of the big boss. It seems to be a palace, resplendent and full of antiques. Sometimes you have to be careful when serving tea, because the teacups may have a history of 100 years.

Gu Zanli didn't have enough fun, and said sincerely: "In this palace, three thousand beauties can't fit, and three hundred beauties are more than enough!"

Zhou Buqi said: "You want to exhaust me to death? It's enough to deal with you all day by day, and you are a bit busy, and there are three hundred beauties...Let's go, go to New York, and there will be opportunities in the future Come again."

On the plane, Zhou Buqi asked Ning Lu to calculate the time difference.

Picked the time at [-] o'clock in the morning Korean time, and spoke to Zheng Mengzhun, the boss of Hyundai Zheng's family.

Without even opening his mouth, Zheng Mengzhun understood what he meant, and said with a smile: "What about the FIFA trademark? I told you, it's a trivial matter. I haven't communicated with it yet. If you need it, please tell me. I will contact you temporarily." Just say it over there."

Zhou Buqi said: "Then as soon as possible, try to finalize it this month."

Zheng Mengzhun was a little surprised, "So urgent? There will be a European Cup this year. It's best to wait until the European Cup is over before finalizing it. Isn't it a bit rushed to finalize now?"

Zhou Buqi said indifferently: "Hurry up."

If you are in a hurry, you can be caught off guard.

(End of this chapter)