For Warner Bros., the biggest problem with DC Comics is not losing money.
Instead, the value of the IP has been diluted time and time again.
This kind of bloodletting, like cutting flesh with a dull knife, is what Warner. fears most.
Now, they seem to have found an opportunity to turn the tide.
Well, to be precise, there should be two.
First, of course, is the Batman movie, which they have high hopes for.
Based on its quality, if its box office performance is decent, it might be able to revive DC Comics, which is currently in complete collapse.
This second opportunity came unexpectedly to the entire Warner board.
"Well, while theoretically I could forcefully push this forward, based on the principles of cooperation, mutual benefit, and friendly communication, I'd rather go through the formalities and hold a simple board meeting."
In the conference room, Lin Lixin sat at one end of a long table, smiling at everyone.
Beside him were several directors nominated by Lin Lixin himself.
Subtly, the entire conference room split into three forces.
On one side were the GAMENOVA faction, including Lin Lixin and Lucas, and on the other side were several Warner board members.
The remaining entity is naturally the board of directors of DC Comics.
The group of people just stared at Lin Lixin, who was sitting there with a smug, obnoxious smile.
This arrogant attitude is truly infuriating.
Grooves!
He took control of DC Comics, not Warner Bros. It's like he bought out Warner.
but----
Faced with a powerful patron who controls the printing press, even if people disapprove of Lin Lixin's attitude, they won't jump to conclusions at this moment.
Why is everyone smiling so awkwardly?
Lin Lixin glanced around. "Never mind, anyway, I'm here to let you know that Sega has a new IP, and I'm planning to have it collaborate with Dreamcast."
"You don't need to worry about anything else, just the side story."
"Wait, it's Sega, not Gamenova?"
The speaker is Jenette Kahn, a member of the DC Board of Directors and president of DC Comics.
"Yes, Sega is currently preparing a new game, and I think it has similarities in design to DC's ' The Flash,' so we could try a crossover."
"This----"
Jenette frowned slightly.
She had assumed Lin Lixin had some major plans for GAMENOVA.
Who would have thought that all this fanfare was just to promote a new work by an overseas company?
Lin Lixin took the newly released setting book out of his briefcase and tossed it onto the table.
"That's him, Sonic. In the lore, he's a very fast hedgehog."
"Hedgehog???"
Jenette picked up the design draft and stared at the big-eyed blue hedgehog on it, her face showing astonishment.
He's not even a superhero.
At first glance, it's clearly a children's cartoon character!
Forget about a crossover with " The Flash," just putting these two together would feel incredibly awkward.
Keep in mind that Wally Wes, the third the Flash, is a full 6 feet tall (183cm).
"It doesn't need to affect the main storyline of the DC Universe; a standalone short spin-off will suffice."
Lin Lixin continued to explain.
Even back in the era of Barry Allen, the second the Flash, parallel universes were already a common concept in DC Comics.
"For example, if he accidentally falls into Sonic's parallel universe because he's going too fast, and the Speed Force happens to malfunction, he can have Sonic help him solve the problem."
Okay
Jenette stared blankly at the blue hedgehog on the paper.
Indeed, the Flash storyline features a variety of parallel universes.
If we were to actually give him a side story, it would be completely irrelevant.
"But what exactly is the Speed Force?"
This time it was Lin Lixin's turn to be stunned. "Huh? Oh, me—I'm a programmer, so I like to talk about things in a more rigorous and well-founded way. I just thought that potion and stuff was too abstract, so I just gave the Flash's ability a random name."
That was close, I almost let it slip.
"Uh... okay, I understand, Mr. Lin."
Jenette. "But just how fast is this Sonic the Hedgehog? Without comics or movies, it's hard to really convey that sense of speed, isn't it?"
Speed has always been a false premise for video games.
While various optimization techniques can increase a game's frame rate, this is completely different from game speed.
Slowness and sluggishness have always been a difficult gap to overcome.
All of this is, of course, because the processor's limited frequency is simply insufficient to handle the excessively fast game speeds.
Even if it works, memory will be a major issue.
"A sense of speed?"
Didn't this hit the back of the hand?
In this era where film and CG technology is underdeveloped, the only way to express this mysterious and elusive speed is through media such as comics.
Although, in terms of its design, the Flash's mechanics are practically invincible and ruthless.
But if we're talking about expressiveness—
Lin Lixin was confident that even a movie could not compete with " Sonic the Hedgehog ".
"I'm worried that the current DC series won't be able to capture Sonic's agility."
Actually, the collaboration between Sonic and DC is nothing new.
The two parties did indeed collaborate on comic book projects before.
However, that was after the turn of the millennium.
By then, both the Justice League in the DC Universe and the characters in the Sonic Universe had matured and become established, each with its own fan base.
At this stage, achieving a more advanced level of collaboration like in later generations is clearly unrealistic.
However, making a simple cameo appearance and creating a spin-off issue isn't a difficult task.
"That's all for now. If there are no objections, let's start preparing immediately. I'll send someone to work on the system structure later."
After saying that, Lin Lixin got up and left.
He had more important things to do than argue with Warner.
The goal of Sonic the Hedgehog was to compete with Super Mario Bros. and become a key project that would allow Sega to compete with Nintendo.
For this reason, no amount of effort is too much.
He didn't want to have to constantly dig out time to pull Sega along when Gamenova was already incredibly busy.
Therefore, Lin Lixin also had to meet a friend he had long wanted to see but never had the chance to.
A person with a lot of connections to the Sonic IP, and even he himself is a Sonic fan.
The other party will fill in the final piece of the puzzle for " Sonic the Hedgehog "—the background music.
Santa Barbara, California.
Neverland Ranch
A 2,800-acre estate with various facilities including a playground, zoo, and artificial lake.
A prime location with a cumulative investment of tens of millions of US dollars.
"My goodness, if this were in the Spencer Mansion, it would be absolutely magnificent."
Looking at this magnificent scene, Lin Lixin sighed sincerely.
Don't be fooled by the small investment; this land is definitely a prime piece of land.
However, Lin Lixin didn't come here to see the sights.
GAMENOVA has collaborated with many celebrities in the entertainment industry along the way.
From Schwarzenegger in the beginning to now holding the reins of a record company, GAMENOVA has an unimaginable number of artists at its disposal.
However, Lin Lixin was still not entirely satisfied with this.
Because there is a superstar of king-level status who hasn't boarded GAMENOVA's ship yet.
This is a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner whose mere sight of his fans can send them into a frenzy.
He is also a philanthropist who spent tens of millions of dollars to renovate an entire amusement park that looks like it came straight out of a dream, just so that children suffering from serious illnesses could play there for free.
"Mr. Lin, it's great to finally meet you."
His voice was soft, with a wonderfully gentle and elegant quality.
"No, no, no, Maikou, I've finally met you."
Lin Lixin greeted him with a smile.
This is Michael Jack's home.
The core and purest purpose of video games is to create happiness for players.
GAMENOVA is arguably the best at this approach.
No matter what age or type of player you are, you can always find the perfect game for you here.
In particular, the recent release of three excellent children's games on NovaSwift has further solidified GAMENOVA's position in the industry.
Hmm... MJ is roughly at that level in the music industry.
"This place was recently renovated, please don't mind."
Walking through the manor, you can occasionally see construction workers.
Although MJ moved in last year, with so many projects, it will still take some Kung-Fu Master to complete everything.
"Then I guess I've come to celebrate your homecoming."
Lin Lixin gazed at the construction crew in the distance, "Hey, why didn't they tell us they 'Umbrella us for this job?"
"Well, after all, the Umbrella hadn't been established yet back then, otherwise I definitely wouldn't have missed this opportunity."
"Okay, but remember to contact me next time something like this happens."
Lin Lixin smiled and looked away from the distance.
The scope for maneuver here isn't huge, but it can certainly influence quite a few things.
With a few simple arrangements, he could resolve everything quietly and without anyone noticing.
The meeting ended quietly.
Ultimately, GAMENOVA successfully obtained a large number of album licenses from Michael Jack's Miiac Music Publishing Company, officially joining the " Rocksmith " project.
They also received the opportunity to re-license subsequent works.
In a sense, Lin Lixin's trip wasn't just about creating background music for Sonic the Hedgehog.
Mijac can be considered an important part of Sony Music's future copyright library.
By planting a hidden stake here now, they can launch a sneak attack on Sony at any time in the future.
With this step, Lin Lixin's grand gift for SEGA's phoenix-like rebirth was finally complete.
Now it's time to let time work its magic.
February, on the eve of Presidents' Day.
In the past, President's Day was a good day for Gamenova to make some big news.
This time was no exception.
However, unexpectedly, this commotion was not about a new work.
Hmm—at least it's not a new game from Gamenova.
The new console Genesis NEO, jointly published by GAMENOVA and SEGA North America, has officially launched in North America.
Also launching at the same time was the already highly anticipated " Metal Slug ".
This is undoubtedly a seismic event for the gaming industry!
Can----
GAMENOVA was never meant to be a conventional company.
Is it too formulaic and predictable? I doubt it.
On the same day, DC Comics announced the release of a new issue, " The Flash Sonic ".
Following that, MJ announced that an unreleased track from his new album "Dangerous" would be featured as a surprise on GAMENOVA.
At the same time, following Genesis NEO's announcement, GAMENOVA directly revealed news of its new launch title.
The side-scrolling action game Sonic the Hedgehog is coming soon to a global release!