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Chapter 396 0386 [Youke is already the second largest in the industry]

The scene at the annual game industry conference.

Deputy Director Sun of the State Press and Publication Administration was speaking, his long-winded speech making everyone drowsy. But in an instant, everyone in the room woke up, their expressions turning serious and even blank.

"According to the new regulations, the management of domestically produced online games will change from 'filing' to 'approval'... Whether it's an imported or domestically produced online game, it must be approved before it can be launched and operated..."

Chen Guiliang sat silently in the audience, thinking: It's here, it's finally here. Game licenses that used to be worthless, these are the real game licenses.

The State Administration of Press and Publication pulled this surprise attack on what was supposed to be a perfectly good game industry annual meeting.

Previously, game registration was rarely blocked; in fact, registration could be done simultaneously with launch. Only if problems arose during operation would the State Administration of Press and Publication require rectification.

In the future, if a game fails the approval process, it won't be allowed to launch, and you'll have to wait in line!

Representatives from major game companies expressed indifference, stating that their games wouldn't actually wait in line for review anyway. Even if they did, they could afford to wait.

The owners of small and medium-sized game companies present seemed to feel as if the sky was falling, each one bewildered and devastated.

They know all too well how inefficient the relevant departments are; it simply won't be approved in less than two or three months. If any problems arise along the way, three or four months will pass, and it could even drag on for more than six months.

Can small and medium-sized game developers afford to wait?

Such a long approval time could very well bankrupt a small factory!

Especially those copycat games; by the time the game licenses are approved, the craze will have already passed. What's the point of following the trend then?

Hmm, this seems pretty good.

Fewer shoddy copycat games will have a positive impact on the development of the game industry.

As Chen Guiliang listened, he turned his head to look around.

Neither Chen Tianqiao nor Pony Ma came today; they each sent their newly appointed CEOs, presumably wanting their CEOs to have more public exposure.

Shih Yu-chu also left, leaving behind the CEO to maintain appearances.

After the leaders finished speaking, ten company executives (or CEOs) were invited to the stage.

High-level dialogue.

The general manager of CCID Consulting served as the host, asking questions about the impact of the economic crisis on the online gaming industry.

Director Kou spoke first: "The economic crisis has a smaller impact on large enterprises, but it will definitely have a greater impact on small enterprises... On the other hand, the financial crisis has created favorable conditions for industrial resource integration, accelerating the optimization and integration of resources. This is a good thing; for an industry to mature, it must continuously integrate resources to make the industry even larger..."

After Director Kou finished speaking, he handed the microphone to the two ladies.

Shanda's new female CEO, Li Yu, said: "With the economic crisis, we need to stick together and strengthen cooperation. We have already started cooperating with Kingsoft. The games 'Swordsman World' and 'Swordsman Love 2' will soon be jointly operated by Shanda and Kingsoft."

There were many media reporters present, and everyone was taken aback when he said this.

They either operate it themselves or hand it over to Shanda for distribution. What's with Kingsoft offering two games for joint operation with Shanda?

How the hell do you calculate costs and profits?

Chen Guiliang turned to look at Li Yu and Qiu Bojun. Was their collaboration purely about complementing each other's strengths, or was it aimed at NetEase and Youke?
Ding Sanshi reacted the same way as Chen Guiliang, and involuntarily looked at the two of them.

Li Yu didn't say much and had already put down the microphone.

Chen Xiaowei then spoke.

She believes that innovation thrives during difficult times, and that economic crises can actually stimulate innovation. She also noted the severe economic situation abroad, predicting more foreign games will enter the Chinese market, prompting questions about whether to cooperate or compete.

Chen Guiliang thought to himself: The question Nine City should be considering is how to renew their contract with Blizzard. World of Warcraft is about to be stolen by Ding Lei!
Ding Sanshi took the microphone and spoke, his chubby face full of smiles, suggesting that NetEase was already in contact with Blizzard.

After he finished speaking, he casually handed the microphone to Liu Zhiping, the CEO of Tencent, who was standing next to him. He's the one who personally went to the US to acquire Riot Games.

Liu Zhiping said, "Our goal at Tencent is to open up markets globally. We can be a little bolder and see if there are any resources available overseas, especially in game operation and development talent. With the global financial crisis, foreign companies are having a tough time, making it a good time to go overseas and acquire resources..."

These words were spoken with great confidence, and the entire audience erupted in applause.

Most people thought Liu Zhiping was exaggerating, but Chen Guiliang knew he was telling the truth. Tencent was quietly investing in game companies in North America, South Korea, Southeast Asia…

Liu Zhiping handed over the microphone, which Chen Guiliang took and said, "I know what Mr. Liu is talking about. Our two companies have clashed in the US. Tencent is rich and powerful, and Youke simply can't compete. So for the next year, Youke will abandon the North American market and set its sights on the Middle East and Japan and South Korea."

Um? ? ? ?

Everyone present was filled with questions. Japan and South Korea were easy to understand, but what about the Middle East?
Also, Tencent and Youke clashed in North America?
There's more to this than meets the eye!

Only NetDragon's general manager, sitting in the audience, felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing this. Damn it, we're planning to sell web games to the Arab world; is Chen Guiliang going to jump on the bandwagon too?
After everyone on stage finished their brief presentations, the host asked a few more questions.

Soon it was the reporters' turn to ask questions.

A reporter asked, "Mr. Chen, what are Youke and Tencent competing on in the United States?"

Chen Guiliang smiled and said, "How about Mr. Liu speaks?"

Liu Zhiping said, "Both Tencent and Mr. Chen's Youke had their eyes on an American game company. After several rounds of negotiations, Youke gave up the idea of ​​investing."

"Which company is it?" the reporter pressed.

Liu Zhiping said, "It's a secret." Chen Guiliang said, "Tencent has invested in too many companies. Tencent has shares in the Vietnamese distributor of 'Future Era.' Everyone's talking about banding together for warmth these days, so our cooperation with Tencent can be considered an early collaboration."

Seeing that neither of them would reveal the specific company name, everyone present became even more curious.

Even the CEOs on stage were trying to figure out what they were up to.

Tencent has already suffered a setback with "DNF" and is now wary of Chen Guiliang. Tencent has dedicated personnel who monitor and analyze Youke's activities daily, and they have basically guessed that Youke is developing a Dota-like game.

Once market conditions are right, Tencent is very likely to launch League of Legends ahead of schedule.

At that point, Chen Guiliang will have no choice but to confront them head-on!

The second reporter, however, asked Qiu Bojun why he wanted to jointly operate the game with Shanda.

Qiu Bojun didn't answer directly, but joked, "Chen Tianqiao and I are high school classmates. We met for the first time last year and had a great chat. I'm too lazy to manage it anymore, so I feel very comfortable handing the game over to my classmate."

You two were having a really good time chatting. Everyone was having a blast on the dance floor, but you two were sitting in a corner having a private chat, and you even shooed the girls who were supposed to be drinking with you away.

Damn, the collaboration between Shanda and Kingsoft was actually negotiated in a nightclub that day.

We agreed to have fun, but you're talking about work instead.

The third reporter asked Chen Xiaowei, "Ms. Chen, has the contract renewal for World of Warcraft been finalized?"

Chen Xiaowei said, "The contract renewal won't be decided until June this year, because it will only be renewed after the contract expires, so there's no rush now. Without World of Warcraft, The9 will be The9 without World of Warcraft."

This kind of nonsensical literature, I don't know who he learned it from.

Saying it means not saying it.

Her rambling nonsense actually revealed that The9's contract renewal negotiations with Blizzard have not yet been finalized.

Chen Guiliang looked at Ding Sanshi and, wanting to stir things up, said, "Mr. Ding, why don't we contact Blizzard too? Maybe we can snatch Warcraft back."

Ding Sanshi's expression was somewhat unnatural, but he quickly smiled and said, "That's a good idea. NetEase does have the capability to distribute World of Warcraft."

Liu Wei, who used to sell Brain Gold with Shi Yuzhu, is now the CEO of Giant Group. He chimed in, "Giant Group has the strength too, everyone can try to grab a piece of the pie."

The three were chatting and laughing nearby, while Chen Xiaowei panicked: "Our cooperative relationship with Warcraft is good, and there won't be any surprises about the contract renewal. Our competitors should stop worrying about it."

No wonder I'm thinking about it!
Blizzard's reluctance to renew its contract with The9 is simply a ploy to raise prices and attract other Chinese companies to compete.

NetEase is definitely not the only company that has been quietly contacting Blizzard.

The fourth reporter then asked Chen Guiliang, "Mr. Chen, what do you mean by entering the Middle East market?"

Chen Guiliang said, "I think the people digging for oil over there are all very rich. Since they're rich, they definitely don't care about a few cents when playing games. They're all tycoons. I need to hurry up and earn some of their pocket money."

Zhang Chaoyang, the straight man, chimed in: "Foolish and rich, come quick! Right?"

Chen Guiliang slapped his thigh: "Hey, why did you blurt out the truth?"

"Hahaha!"

The reporters burst into laughter; these two were putting on a comedy routine right there on the spot.

Chen Guiliang, with a mix of shallow and deep... oops, more like a mix of truth and lies, said, "I do have high hopes for the Middle Eastern market and plan to sell 'Future Era' there..."

Upon hearing this, NetDragon's CEO felt much more at ease, as long as they weren't competing with other browser games in the Middle East.

Our Master Chen has never lied; he really does want to sell "Future Era" to the Middle East.

They simply omitted focusing on the browser game market.

Another reporter asked Ding Sanshi: "Mr. Ding, the statistics for the fourth quarter of last year were officially released yesterday. It seems that Youke's game market share has surpassed NetEase. What are your thoughts on this?"

Ding Sanshi said, "I congratulate President Chen."

Chen Guiliang said, "It was a fluke."

Youke has indeed surpassed NetEase and officially became the second largest player in China's online gaming industry yesterday—but NetEase has many other businesses in the gaming sector.

This is why Ding Sanshi was so eager to snatch World of Warcraft.

NetEase is currently only holding on with "Fantasy Westward Journey," while revenue from other games continues to decline. Furthermore, while "Fantasy Westward Journey" boasts the highest peak concurrent users, its average concurrent users only barely rank fifth (average concurrent user data is confidential and not publicly disclosed by companies). Revenue isn't as high as expected.

At this very moment, China's first president, Xu, is sitting in the audience.

Xu Shoufu deserves immense credit for the success of "Fantasy Westward Journey" and can be considered its number one contributor.

However, he has been away from NetEase for two or three years and now runs his own game company. Lei Jun provided Xu Shoufu with start-up capital when Lei Jun was still at Kingsoft.

After being reminded by the reporter, many people finally remembered that Chen Guiliang was already number two in the industry.

What a young and handsome second son!

(End of this chapter)