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Chapter 580 0568 [Science Fiction]

This summer in Shanghai is very hot, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius during the ChinaJoy electronics show.

None of the chairmen of major game companies attended. Some game companies even had their presidents absent, with only a vice president present.

It's not because the weather is too hot.

Starting this year, CEOs of major game companies will generally no longer personally attend the ChinaJoy expo.

In the past, everyone was willing to come, largely because they were very familiar with Director Kou; a single phone call from him was enough to warrant a visit. After Director Kou was transferred, this situation continued for two years, and this year no one felt the need to go anymore.

Chi Yufeng, who loves participating in various activities, has been staying in Beijing this year without making any moves.

On the contrary, more and more people are coming from other industries.

This year, the three major telecom operators made a collective appearance.

Next year, Wang Zhongjun from Huayi Brothers will also come to join the fun, and even give a speech at the game summit forum in his capacity as the head of an entertainment company.

With a change in supervisor, the atmosphere has changed too.

The most anticipated new games at this year's ChinaJoy exhibition are Tencent's self-developed "Clash of Gods" and "Battle God".

Its promotional advertisements were everywhere, from Tencent's various platforms to other game websites and magazines, news about "Gods' Battle" could be seen everywhere.

The other version of "Clash of Gods" is a 10v10 MOBA game, which is a supplement and expansion to "League of Legends".

However, this version of "Clash of Gods" is modeled after "Oracle Era" and features a 5v5 format.

The game uses the Dou Zhan Shen II engine, boasting exquisite graphics, beautiful characters, and smooth controls... Tencent has been holding back for two years, determined to use this game to compete with "God's Oracle Era" and seize market share in the MOBA esports game genre!

And "Dou Zhan Shen" will also be released for public beta ahead of schedule.

Tencent is about to launch a major counterattack against Youke, declaring war on Wulin Gaiden with "Dou Zhan Shen" and on "Gods of War" with "Oracle Era". The two games will be officially launched in August and December respectively.

Youke couldn't just sit idly by and take the hits, so it officially launched "Special Forces Elite" at the ChinaJoy expo, which is basically a direct competitor to Tencent's "CF".

The two major domestic game giants clashed at this year's ChinaJoy expo, instantly attracting countless eyes. The new expansion for "Age of Wushu," which was initially generating considerable buzz, received little attention due to the battle between the two dominant players.

17173, always eager for drama, invited the heads of Youke and Tencent Games, who were attending the exhibition, to do a program together.

Reporter: "Are your two families going to fight this year?"

Qu Guohao: "We don't fight with anyone. Youke has always been focused on making games."

Cheng Wu: "Tencent Games' mission is to bring joy to players. This year, we've set up a 'three-no' booth: no stage, no celebrities, no performances. We only offer game demos, returning to the essence of games—joy!"

Reporter: "Tencent has unveiled many new games this year."

Cheng Wu: "Yes. Excluding mobile games and web games, there are 8 new games unveiled. These include 'Dou Zhan Shen,' 'Zhong Shen Zheng Ba,' 'Tian Ya Ming Yue Dao,' 'Ni Zhan,' 'Blade & Soul,' and 'Swordsman 2.' Some of these games will be launched this year, while others will be launched in the next year or two."

Reporter: "It seems that Youke has not released many new games this year, and most of them are mobile games and web games."

Qu Guohao: "We rarely showcase unfinished products. Especially for games that won't be launched for another year or two, Youke works diligently and meticulously on them."

Reporter: "Could you tell me if Youke has any new products in store?"

Qu Guohao: "No comment."

Reporter (laughs): "If Mr. Chen were here, he might have said it out loud."

Qu Guohao: "Maybe."

Reporter: "Among the newly launched MMO games in recent years, the best performing is Youke's 'Wulin Gaiden,' followed by Tencent's 'Royal Dragon.' However, neither of these high-quality games achieved a peak concurrent user count of over 90. Do you two think the MMO genre is losing its momentum?"

Qu Guohao: "Let me correct you. The peak concurrent users of 'Wulin Gaiden' have already exceeded 90, and our average concurrent users are very high and stable. With the release of this new expansion, the peak concurrent users of 'Wulin Gaiden' are very likely to break one million! Because you can fight against Japanese pirates, and a new naval battle mode has been added."

The reporter looked embarrassed.

Cheng Wu: "The MMO genre is indeed experiencing a market downturn. But as long as you can create high-quality games, players will be willing to support you. Whether it's 'Royal Dragon,' 'Dou Zhan Shen,' 'Moonlight Blade,' or 'Blade & Soul,' Tencent Games' MMOs are all high-quality."

Reporter: "Why does Youke use a self-developed engine for its new game 'Special Forces Elite'? There are many very mature shooting game engines on the market."

Qu Guohao: "In a few years, everyone will know that 'Special Forces Elite' is just a trial project for Youke. We'll accumulate relevant experience first, and the real masterpiece is yet to come."

What masterpiece?
Of course, it's PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds!
Yoko's newly released "Special Forces Elite" seems to be an attempt to compete with Tencent's "CF". However, its real purpose is to accumulate relevant development experience and train the team to create "PUBG".

……

Just as the gaming war between Youke and Tencent was raging, news suddenly emerged that ByteDance Music, together with hundreds of record companies, was suing Baidu Music for copyright infringement.

ByteDance Music posted on its official Weibo account: "Last year, we sent multiple lawyer's letters demanding that Baidu Music cease its infringing activities. Baidu Music currently has millions of songs suspected of infringement. This year, we have sent another lawyer's letter demanding that Baidu Music remove the infringing songs within two months, but we have received no response from Baidu Music to date. We have now formally filed a lawsuit..."

Legal experts from various fields have stepped in to analyze the copyright dispute between ByteDance and Baidu.

Based on past precedents, they speculated that Baidu Music would definitely lose the case, but would at most have to pay one or two million yuan in compensation.

Discussions about this topic began both online and offline, quickly shifting to the argument that "the cost of infringement is too low, which indirectly condones music platforms' infringement."

The public outcry is clearly orchestrated by Byte Music to push for stricter regulations on online music copyrights. Chen Guiliang needs to create this buzz first so that the cultural industry fund can proceed with its subsequent actions.

Whether it's the case hearing and sentencing, or the ministries issuing their opinions, it's estimated to take more than a year and a half. "Boss, try this."

Qu Guohao, who had just returned from the CJ exhibition, handed Chen Guiliang a mobile phone and VR glasses.

Chen Guiliang asked, "What game?"

Qu Guohao asked in surprise, "Aren't you going to ask what this is first?"

“VR glasses, is it that hard to guess?” Chen Guiliang said.

Qu Guohao remarked, "I'd heard of VR technology before, but I never imagined that foreign companies would actually make games out of it. This game, 'The Room VR,' has just been released, and currently only has an Apple mobile version, and it hasn't been released in China yet. I spoke with them at the ChinaJoy expo, and the vice president of Fireproof gave me a copy."

Chen Guiliang put on the VR glasses and started experiencing the game. Although the device was still relatively crude, it was already quite amazing for people in 2013.

A unique experience unlike any traditional game!

After playing for a while, Chen Guiliang took off the VR glasses, shook his head, and felt a little dizzy.

Qu Guohao asked, "Should we enter the VR gaming field?"

“You can give it a try, but there’s no need to invest too many resources,” Chen Guiliang said.

Qu Guohao said, "Don't you think this is the future trend? Perhaps ten years from now, players will be able to play large-scale MMOs while wearing VR glasses."

Chen Guiliang said, "Before a major technological breakthrough, VR games will always be a niche market. If you really want to do it, you can learn from 'The Room VR' and VR-ify some of Youke's small games. The investment is not large, and you can create a buzz."

"Alright, let's try it out on a small scale first," Qu Guohao said, heading towards the VR glasses.

Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "Let me borrow it for a few days."

Qu Guohao muttered, "I haven't even finished the game yet."

"What did you say?" Chen Guiliang pretended not to hear clearly.

Qu Guohao said, "I told the boss to play as much as he wants, and I'll come and experience it after I've finished it."

"Thanks," Chen Guiliang said with a smile as he put away the VR glasses.

Qu Guohao got up to leave, cursing under his breath.

Chen Guiliang, however, put his equipment back on and thoroughly enjoyed playing the VR puzzle game.

If VR decryption is already available, is Butter VR far behind?
Japanese manufacturers need to step up their game!
The game wasn't finished yet when my phone rang.

Chen Guiliang took off his VR glasses and casually answered a phone call. Someone on the other end shouted, "Mr. Chen, 'The Three-Body Problem' won the Hugo Award!"

This is from Liu.

Chen Guiliang smiled and said, "Congratulations!"

Liu Cixin said, "I also want to thank President Chen for helping me find an English translator for 'The Three-Body Problem'."

“It’s nothing,” Chen Guiliang said. “I’ll throw you a celebration banquet when you come back to China.”

Chen Guiliang currently holds all the global rights to "The Three-Body Problem," and the profits from that are enormous.

We need to hype this up.

Thanks to Chen Guiliang's help in arranging a translator, The Three-Body Problem won the Hugo Award a full two years earlier than expected.

Its English translator, Liu Cixin, won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story last year and could directly recommend "The Three-Body Problem" to the judging panel. The novel opens with a description of the torrent of humanity, which greatly excited the judges, who almost unanimously voted to award "The Three-Body Problem" the prize.

Chen Guiliang went to his study, took a picture of the physical copy of "The Three-Body Problem," and then posted on Weibo: "Congratulations to Liu Cixin on winning the Hugo Award. I've read 'The Three-Body Problem' several times."

After posting on Weibo, Chen Guiliang called Xie Yang again: "Make arrangements. Give 'The Three-Body Problem' and Liu Cixin a full-scale promotion, and generate buzz!"

"Huh?" Xie Yang didn't understand.

Chen Guiliang said, "Check out my Weibo."

Then he called Qu Guohao again: "You guys take a look and see which of Liu Cixin's science fiction novels is suitable for adaptation into a game. It doesn't necessarily have to be a specific one; you can stitch together the worldviews of multiple novels."

Qu Guohao said, "Science fiction games have always been a niche market."

Chen Guiliang said, "Check out my Weibo."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Guiliang called his assistant again: "Help me contact Guo Fan, the director of 'Li Xianji's Adventures,' and arrange a time for me to invite him to dinner."

Guo Fan is currently preparing to film "My Old Classmate," with Gao Xiaosong as screenwriter and Lin Gengxin and Zhou Dongyu as the leads...

As for "The Wandering Earth," making this kind of thing is too complicated, and you need to figure everything out on your own, but you can start doing pre-production work now.

Besides providing ample funding for "The Wandering Earth," Chen Guiliang was also able to protect certain plot points from being cut. For example, the scenes of the resistance forces in the first film, once cut, caused the plot to feel abrupt and disjointed.

The scenes depicting the resistance were cut, not at the request of any leader, but because their length made scheduling difficult. A full 21 minutes were removed.

(End of this chapter)