The world begins with Hong Kong movies

Chapter 319 Huge Changes!
Soon, Uncle Shao and Fang Yihua saw the actual VCD player and dozens of discs with rich content.

As discs were inserted one by one into the DVD player, numerous ATV television programs played on the large color TV.

The most important of these is the high-quality TV series, such as "The Legendary Fok Yuan-gap"!
Besides TV dramas, there were also musicals and variety shows, all of which were among ATV's most outstanding programs.

What surprised Uncle Shao the most was that there was even a novel reading that combined pictures and text. It was utterly shameless!
He had heard that Wu Feng's publishing house had produced cassette tapes of all the best novels for listening to, and that they were supposedly selling quite well.

I have to say, looking at the pictures and listening to the text is quite nice, at least it's very friendly to an old man like him and someone with nearsightedness. I wonder who came up with this idea.
"These CDs are much more convenient than videotapes!"

After reviewing the contents of numerous discs, Uncle Shao couldn't help but comment, "Of course, the picture quality is still not as good as that of a VCR!"

"I don't think there's much of a difference!"

Fang Yihua disagreed: "At least, there's no need to recreate it after watching it!"

Unlike magnetic tape, videotapes can only be viewed from one side.

Once you've finished watching the videotape, you either need to manually or with the machine's help to restore it before you can watch it again.

How much are these CDs per disc?

Uncle Shao cut to the chase: "If it's as expensive as a videotape, then there's no need to put so much effort into promoting it!"

"A single note costs about three yuan!"

Fang Yihua took out an exquisite cylindrical DVD case and demonstrated to Uncle Shao how to put the disc in, while continuing to explain: "A movie is about two discs, and the price of five yuan is quite cheap!"

Is there still a profit?

Uncle Shao continued, "If you're only trying to gain publicity at a loss, you probably won't last long!"

Fang Yihua's expression was somewhat strange as she explained softly, "Currently, the cost of a single CD is around one yuan. Once production reaches a certain scale, the cost could even drop below fifty cents!"

"That kid surnamed Wu is quite generous!"

Uncle Shao sighed, "If it were me, I'd be satisfied with selling each disc for at least ten dollars!"

"Now that I've mastered such a great skill, I absolutely have to become a big fat man in one go, otherwise I'll have wasted this opportunity!"

In fact, in the 1990s and even the 21st century, the price of genuine DVDs sold in major cities in mainland China was at least 30 yuan.

The reason he said it was around ten yuan is that he had always lived in his hometown, a small county town, when he was young. He guessed that the CDs and tapes he could buy were all pirated, otherwise he wouldn't have such a deep impression of it.

"besides!"

Fang Yihua didn't respond, but instead took out a "BBK" learning machine. (It was actually a Subor learning machine, but the Subor trademark had already been registered by someone else, so she could only use "BBK".)
After connecting the learning machine to the large color TV, she pulled out a game cartridge from somewhere.

Once everything was ready, the game screen appeared on the large color TV screen, and the name was "The Great Hero Huo Yuanjia".

Then there was the side-scrolling family video game based on the storyline of "The Legend of Huo Yuanjia".

Fang Yihua clearly didn't know how to play, and soon the game's ending music played.

Uncle Shao naturally had no intention of playing this kind of game, but his eyes were wide open, clearly indicating that he had realized something.

"Many arcades on Hong Kong Island now have the arcade game 'The Legend of Huo Yuanjia', and I heard it's selling quite well!"

After Fang Yihua finished speaking, she took out the comic book and novel of "The Great Hero Huo Yuanjia" from the briefcase next to her, her face full of incomprehension.

Uncle Shao pondered for a long time before sighing and saying, "That kid surnamed Wu has squeezed every last drop of value out of the TV series 'The Great Hero Huo Yuanjia.' He's really something!"

"Yes, it's been almost ten years since this TV series aired, and it's still being used in this way, it's truly remarkable!"

Fang Yihua sighed, "Before, unless the TV station rebroadcast it, or someone bought a VCR at home, it was impossible for this TV series to maintain its popularity!"

"But video recorders are really expensive, and videotape rentals aren't cheap either!"

"At most, hundreds of thousands of families on Hong Kong Island own video recorders!"

"Among them, it would be good if 30% of them would have the inclination and desire to rent videotapes to continue watching the TV series 'The Legendary Fok Yuan-gap'!"

"But after all the fuss the martial arts actors have gone through, the popularity of 'The Great Hero Huo Yuanjia' is likely to last for a long time!"

"First came comics and novels, then arcade and home video game cartridges, followed by DVD players and cheap CDs. I wonder how much this wave of martial arts performers can earn. I'm afraid it will definitely be no less than ten million!"

"To have such skills at such a young age, no wonder he has become one of Hong Kong's newest top tycoons in such a short time!"

Uncle Shao sighed, "We can't fall too far behind!"

"I think so too!"

Fang Yihua said excitedly, "To be honest, ATV is far behind TVB in the kung fu film field, let alone Shaw Brothers!"

"I'm thinking that if ATV's 'The Legendary Fok' can reach so many areas, many films from TVB and Shaw Brothers can do the same!"

"Especially the old kung fu films from Shaw Brothers, I think they have a lot of potential to be made into arcade games and home video game cartridges!"

She became more and more excited as she spoke, exclaiming, "Who knows, Shaw Brothers' vast film library might be able to have a second spring and make a lot of money!"

Uncle Shao was also very interested upon hearing this, and his eyes gleamed.

He has never truly given up on film.

Even after Shaw Brothers closed down, he would occasionally participate in the production and distribution of new films under the names of other film companies.

However, his performance remained lukewarm, and his enthusiasm gradually faded, though he still had a deep affection for Shaw Brothers.

If Shaw Brothers' vast library of old films could shine again, Uncle Shaw would not mind giving Wu Feng, a rising star in Hong Kong's business world, a boost.

Not to mention, he had also secretly watched ATV's financial programs and invested in the Little Life stock market based on their recommendations, which made him quite a bit of money.

From this perspective, he still has some trust in Wu Feng.

In fact, what Wu Feng wanted was Shaw Brothers and TVB's vast film library, ideally to fully utilize its value. He had naturally thought of what Fang Yihua had considered long ago.

Otherwise, how could related audio-visual entertainment products for "The Legend of Huo Yuanjia" have appeared on the market so quickly?

As Fang Yihua said, Shaw Brothers and TVB have an abundance of kung fu and martial arts films in their catalogs.

Many of them, although they look old and outdated, are still quite good for making arcade games and home video game cartridges.

The arcade industry in later generations, to be honest, shouldn't have shown signs of decline so quickly; the key reason was that the content and plot were not rich enough.

Games based on the Three Kingdoms period are incredibly popular; every single one they release becomes a massive hit!
The most classic games, such as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Sangokusenki", were staples in arcades and were almost always available.

Another one is "Journey to the West: The Legend of the Monkey King," which is a must-have in every arcade and is incredibly popular.

The reason these arcade games are so popular is because they have complete storylines, and they are quite captivating.

Aside from that, there aren't many story-driven arcade games that leave a lasting impression.

I lost interest in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles after a while, another one is the war game Metal Slug, and then there are the arcade fighting games.

It can be said that most of the story-driven arcade games that Wu Feng encountered in his previous life were rather unremarkable.

When it comes to storytelling, those from the Chinese cultural sphere are far superior!

However, Wu Feng's arcade industry in his previous life had little connection with the mainland.

The dominant position remains firmly in the hands of small businesses and Western game developers. Coupled with their limited capital, they naturally haven't actively participated.

But the situation is completely different now!
After Wu Feng's efforts, Hong Kong Island had become one of Asia's arcade game centers.

Thanks to a wealth of classic and high-quality action movies, arcade games in Hong Kong are thriving compared to those in other parts of the country.

At least in the arcade game genres of side-scrolling action and side-scrolling shooting, Hong Kong Island is second to none, if not the best in Asia, but even in the whole world.

Whether it's ancient times, the Republic of China era, or modern urban action films, Hong Kong films are of a very high standard.

This is why Hong Kong's film and television industry is more prosperous than in the normal world.

With arcade games and home video game cartridges as additional sources of revenue, Hong Kong Island's film and television industry is quite well-funded.

Putting aside other things, Cinema City has not yet parted ways. Even the fact that its major financial backer, Mr. Lui, is ill and has stepped down has not caused Cinema City to fall apart. On the contrary, its cohesion is constantly increasing.

There's no other reason than that producing arcade and home video game cartridges of the same name can bring a steady stream of cash to the company.

Meanwhile, by imitating the entertainment synergy model of Fengrui Films, the company has achieved considerable success in terms of revenue from novels, comics, and related products.

Under such circumstances, the three giants of Cinema City, who were only good at making comedies, were unwilling to part ways and instead bound a large number of promising film directors and screenwriters to the company through contracts.

Sometimes, Cinema City's film production is like advertising for the arcade game of the same name. However, the advertising model is to accumulate enough fame and popularity through theatrical releases, and then better promote the arcade game of the same name.

It's not just Cinema City; Golden Harvest is in the same situation!

Their main product is Cheng Shilong's thrilling action films, which are better suited for arcade and home video game cartridges, generating considerable revenue.

Otherwise, according to normal history, Cheng Shilong's "God Armed Series" only had two parts filmed, but now the script has been polished to the fifth part.

There was no way around it; those were astonishing profits in the tens or even hundreds of millions, enough to make even the so-called wealthy families of Hong Kong envious, let alone Golden Harvest itself.

If a movie becomes a huge hit, the revenue from related merchandise is estimated to exceed 100 million.

Under these circumstances, Cheng Shilong and Jiahe became even more closely intertwined!

Even though Hung Hsin-pao's career had clearly been declining, his career was experiencing a second spring, making him a hot commodity that both Golden Harvest and Debo were vying for.

With the addition of top-tier film companies like Wu Feng's Sharp Films, Liang Kun's Qiankun Films, and Sil-Metropole Organisation, the film industry on Hong Kong Island was extremely prosperous, far exceeding the level of the same period in normal history.

Many film companies have the time and energy to polish high-quality action and kung fu films, rather than simply producing shoddy and hastily made films.

Unless you're just looking to make a quick buck and leave, producing high-quality or even blockbuster movies can be a very lucrative business.

Even with a large influx of Taiwanese capital, at most only low- to mid-level film and television companies will be affected. Top-tier film and television companies like Golden Harvest and Sharp Pictures will not be affected at all.

Even if they can help with the money laundering, how much can a movie really make?

Compared to a high-quality film that generates revenue from various copyrights and merchandise, this is really just so-so.

To put it simply, at that time, arcades on Hong Kong Island had no shortage of side-scrolling kung fu games and action games. There were so many that the arcades couldn't even hold them all. Isn't that an exaggeration?

Only high-quality games can survive in arcades!
However, the surrounding Taiwan and Macau, as well as the small towns and the universe, are very open to action and kung fu arcade games that appear on Hong Kong Island.

Unless the graphics and storyline are so bad that they're outrageously bad, making millions by selling arcade machines shouldn't be a problem.

If we could sell Jiejie to Europe and America through other channels, the profits would be in the tens of millions, which is insane.

It can be said that at this time, any decent film and television company in Hong Kong was doing quite well and did not need any outside funding to interfere.

If we can produce a high-quality action film, the entire company could potentially rise to prominence overnight.

It's a pity that Hong Kong Island's status as Asia's renowned arcade game center primarily benefited film companies. While it did provide significant assistance to the two television stations, it wasn't quite as dramatic as some might think.

The main issue is that it's not easy to produce high-quality kung fu and action series with independent copyrights.

Wireless's main focus is on martial arts films, primarily those from the Jin Yong and Gu Jianzhi eras. Developing games or even related merchandise would present significant challenges due to copyright issues.

ATV, on the other hand, produced a high-quality martial arts series like "Reincarnated," but was ultimately ruined by TVB.

As for the two television stations, how can they turn their once-popular family feud dramas into appealing arcade games?
As for classic old movies and TV series, they are so old that they no longer have much popularity or viewership, so it's practically impossible for them to become bestsellers in arcades.

But now, the VCD player and inexpensive discs that Wu Feng has developed have solved the problem of old films lacking fame and exposure.

This was a rare opportunity, and Uncle Shao certainly wouldn't miss it easily. He quickly figured out the implications and gave Wu Feng an accurate answer right away!
(End of this chapter)