America: The Godfather of Game Development
Chapter 137

Satoshi's phone call

1,231 words4 min read0 views9h ago
Next

Extremely arrogant, yet impossible to refute.

GAMENOVA has evolved into a company that makes money simply by selling games.

Its tentacles, extending into every field, are constantly providing it with a continuous supply of resources.

Even just looking at the gaming industry, the two ultimate blockbusters, Pokémon and Tetris, are enough to make GAMENO...

VA stubbornly refuses to die.

Not to mention titles like " The King of Fighters," which have a large number of DLCs and have a steady, long-lasting appeal.

Aside from semiconductors, Lin Lixin really couldn't think of any other business that could keep them short of money.

Come to GAMENOVA!

Lin Lixin extended an olive branch once again.

Sid Meier struggled to process Lin Lixin's shocking remarks, and much of his initial resistance had melted away.

Although he didn't understand business, he was very clear about one thing.

In today's rapidly evolving video game industry, the gaming sector will certainly not remain as atomized and fragmented as it is now in the near future.

EA, Activision, Sierra, OriginSystems--

When their development reaches a bottleneck, that threshold, the next phase of the video game industry will inevitably arrive.

Feeding Frenzy!

Giants continue to acquire and merge with smaller studios, gathering IPs and resources to grow even stronger.

As with other industries, capitalization is an inevitable trend.

The blue ocean era brought about by Atari's whale falls is coming to an end.

Did Microprose really have the ability to maintain stable navigation even in chaotic times?

Sid Meier could not offer an optimistic result.

If he truly wants to develop his works freely, then Lin Lixin's suggestion is probably one of the few clear paths forward.

He didn't answer immediately, but looked at Bill beside him.

Noticing Sid Meier's gaze, Bill paused briefly before suddenly reaching out and patting him on the shoulder.

"Congratulations, bro! This is an opportunity that countless game developers dream of."

Bill, I—

"Just agree to Mr. Lin's offer. I've been getting a bit bored lately, and I'm thinking of starting a sales company or something."

"Hmm?" Lin Lixin scratched his head and looked at Bill, "Aren't you coming?"

"Huh?" This time it was Bill's turn to be stunned. "Can I come too?"

"Didn't I say? I'm here to acquire Microprose."

"But—Mr. Lin, I don't know anything about game development."

Lin Lixin looked at the two people in front of him; their composition was exactly the same as his and Sam's back then.

"GAMENOVA is currently setting up its own distribution channels and needs some people with experience in this area. I heard that Mr. Bill single-handedly built up Microprose's sales?"

According to available information, Microprose's sales model is not the same as Sierra's.

They didn't approach a publisher; instead, Bill, the businessman, was in charge of lobbying.

To put it simply, he drove around the country visiting stores and actively promoting their products to them.

This approach is a bit silly, but surprisingly effective.

Before Microprose was even officially established, they made over $200,000 in just one year using this method.

Lin Lixin looked at Bill's panel. Although it was still quite a bit lower than Dell's outrageous stats, it was still an A.

Top-tier talent.

Most importantly, he is more controllable than Dell.

As GAMENOVA grows stronger, Lin Lixin cannot rely on completely independent sales channels like Silicon Oasis or Dell forever.

He needs his own sales network.

Now the obstacles to the negotiations have been completely removed.

The three hit it off immediately, drafted a contract, and hurriedly packed their things to head to California.

When Lin Lixin brought Sid Meier to the office, he saw Will sitting there with a droopy face and a lot of hair on his desk.

It seems that the first week's results for SimCity really hit him hard.

"Hey, cheer up! You're still not satisfied after selling 500,000 units?"

Mr. Lin----

Will wanted to cry right there and then.

I thought I had finally met a kindred spirit and was about to prove myself.

The result was one of the lowest-selling games in Gamenova history.

I've really been exposed!

"Don't rush. Once the hardware technology develops, you can add back the parts that were forced to be removed, and the sequel will definitely be a bestseller."

Ultimately, the PC gaming market is still very immature, and it's completely different from the market share that later dominated console games.

Not to mention that Will's truly top-tier simulation game, suitable for all ages, hadn't even been released yet.

Will's abilities are absolutely beyond doubt.

"Is this the designer of SimCity?"

Sid Meier, who was standing next to Lin Lixin, had clearly extracted the information from their conversation and looked at Will Wright with some surprise.

He had initially thought the other person would be a meticulous old doctor, or some kind of bookish pedant.

I never expected it would be a young man much younger than me.

"Yes, let me introduce you. This is Will Wright Will, and this is Sid Meier. From today onwards, they are all members of GAMENOVA."

"Mr. Will! SimCity is truly an excellent game, especially its interpretation of Urban Dynamics— "

"Hey-hey----"

Hearing such praise, Will's earlier distress vanished, and he excitedly pulled Sid Meier aside to tell him about his design.

"Anyway, that's all for now. Sid, you two get to know each other better. Later, I have an idea I'd like to discuss with you. I call it '4X Strategy Game,' which is roughly—"

Before Lin Lixin could finish speaking, Sam suddenly walked out of the office and waved to him.

"Lin, Satoshi on the phone."

" Satoshi? Why are you calling at this hour?"

He paused for a moment, then gestured for the two to continue their conversation before hurrying to his office.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Lin, there's a problem."

On the other end of the phone, Satoshi Tajiri's voice, though not exactly anxious, still betrayed a hint of worry. " Nintendo released a new title today, Dragon Quest, developed by a third-party developer called Enix."

"They seem to be planning to use this work to suppress NovaBo's momentum."

" Nintendo went all out with its marketing campaign, covering almost every aspect without any blind spots."

"They even hired Akira Toriyama for character design and Koichi Sugiyama for music composition; it was a very grand affair."

Lin Lixin frowned slightly as he listened to Satoshi's account.

Dragon Quest, commonly known as DQ, is one of the three major national RPGs in Japan.

The other two are Final Fantasy and the Legend of Zelda.

This alone is enough to demonstrate its high value.

If you calculate the timeline, DQ was created almost a month earlier than the original timeline.

This is a great work that has a dominant influence in Japan.

This work even laid the foundation for the unique style of Japanese fantasy in later generations, indirectly having a profound impact on a wide range of cultural and entertainment fields such as manga and anime.

End of Chapter
Prev
NovelSummaries
Next

Explore the wiki

Comments