If we're talking about who the biggest culprit in the Western gaming industry is, the answer couldn't be clearer.
Atari, of course.
But Atari destroyed the past of the Western gaming industry.
And then there's this even more outrageous guy who destroyed the future of the Western gaming industry.
--Electronic Arts EA).
Westwood, PopCap, OriginSystems...
If the company name is still unfamiliar, their renowned works are truly world-famous.
Westwood Westwood's Command & Conquer and Red Alert series.
PopCap's Plants vs. Zombies.
And OriginSystems' Ultima, the pioneer of European and American CRPGs.
Many excellent studios have closed down after being acquired by EA due to "strategic adjustments".
This worst game company in the world almost single-handedly destroyed the future of the Western game industry.
However, at this time, EA was only a company that had been in operation for two years.
Although it already has several best-selling titles and "EA Sports" as a money-making tool, it still has a long way to go before becoming a true behemoth giant in the future.
Texas, Austin.
From the moment Lin Lixin met Richard Garriott, he knew that this man was definitely a strong one.
He has at least more of a regal air than Caneghem.
Although she is only 26 years old, her forehead is already shiny and her hairline is no longer visible from the front.
As for his attributes, aside from lacking medical knowledge, he is also an almost all-around talented individual.
" Lord British! It's so nice to see you. I've finally met my idol!"
Lin Lixin called out Garriott's nickname in the circle and said something polite.
"Hard to say, I think I'm the one who successfully chased after my idol."
Richard laughed heartily, feeling an instant connection with Lin Lixin.
"Mr. Lin, would you like to port our game Ultima IV, which we are currently developing, to NovaBox?"
This request is not unreasonable; in fact, the Ultima series has always been multi-platform compatible since its inception.
Even the Ultima, released in the 1980s, was compatible with a host of mainstream PCs such as Apple II, C64, DOS, and MSX.
Porting the game to another platform is not a bad thing; it's an opportunity for them to sell more copies.
Even if Lin Lixin hadn't come to see him today, he was already prepared to make a special trip to GAMENOVA to purchase the license for third-party development.
Including the holdings of NES and NovaBox, Ultima will definitely sell far more copies than in the past.
etc,
Thinking about this, Richard suddenly realized the hidden problem.
Lin Lixin's special visit to me is probably not just a simple matter.
"Mr. Lin... do you want to sign a NovaBox exclusive agreement for Ultima?"
This was the only reason that could convince him.
The overt and covert competition between NES and NovaBox is obvious to everyone.
Lin Lixin certainly wants to get rid of this opponent as soon as possible.
No wonder they came to my door in person.
Having figured this out, Richard was now somewhat conflicted.
Exclusivity means giving up the equally vast NES market and the huge PC market, which would be a losing proposition even if it were to join Gamenova.
"Exclusivity? No, no, Mr. Richard, I simply want to invite OriginSystems to become our third party."
"Hmm? Aren't you worried about Nintendo and the others?"
Why worry about a machine that can only display a maximum of 13 colors simultaneously and has a processor clock speed of only 1.8MHz?
Lin Lixin shrugged, displaying an indifferent attitude.
"Only NovaBox in this world has the capability to showcase the grand world of Ultima."
Players who enjoy the NES may not be able to accept the hardcore nature of traditional RPGs, nor may they like its hardcore graphics style.
But NovaBox is different.
Its core user base consists precisely of these hardcore gamers.
Even if they were to buy it, players would prefer the full-fledged version, or even the version of Ultima that surpasses the PC version, rather than the stripped-down version on the NES.
With minimal effort, two of the three major Western RPG studios officially joined GAMENOVA as third-party studios.
But thinking of this last one, Lin Lixin suddenly felt a headache coming on.
This company's works can be considered the progenitor of dungeon crawling games and an undisputed living fossil of CRPGs.
Even later dominant JRPGs like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy were profoundly influenced by it.
Its name is: * Wizardry *
However, Lin Lixin's dilemma wasn't that he was worried about the licensing fee being too expensive, but rather that his company, Sir-Tech, was facing a problem.
An exceptionally rebellious and unconventional game company.
We insist on independence, focus on game quality, and will never be acquired by a large company.
It must be said that this is absolutely a company worthy of respect.
But idealists usually don't end up well.
Sir-Tech fell into financial difficulties in the late 1990s due to the rapid changes in the electronics industry, and ultimately collapsed at the dawn of the new millennium.
Logically speaking, Sir-Tech's philosophy and Lin Lixin's ideas should be very compatible, and the two sides should have a lot in common.
The problem is, he's representing GAMENOVA, and who knows if he'll be mistaken for a hostile takeover bully and create a bad first impression.
Besides that, the most troublesome issue is that Sir-Tech's headquarters are located in Canandaigua, New York State.
New York State is adjacent to New Jersey, the home base of Nintendo of America (NOA), making it an undisputed enemy stronghold.
"Get out! Get out! Take your crappy machines and get out of here!"
Lin Lixin had just arrived at the conference room door when he heard several angry roars coming from inside.
Then, another, more composed middle-aged male voice came out to argue his case, with a barely perceptible accent.
Lin Lixin raised an eyebrow and was led to wait aside amidst the awkward expressions of the receptionist.
After a while, a figure suddenly pushed open the conference room door and walked out, with a typical Japan face and a striped suit.
Lin Lixin was slightly taken aback, his eyes narrowing.
It was Minoru Arakawa!
Although he still wore a professional smile, the details in his eyes and brows clearly showed that he was not happy, and was obviously suppressing his anger.
It seems I've arrived at just the right time.
Without Tetris and Zelda, Nintendo is probably in a hurry to find a few titles that can hold their own.
Unexpectedly, they also set their sights on RPG games and even approached America developers.
However... it seems the talks didn't go very well.
That's great! NOA has paved the way for them in advance, successfully implementing the strategy of building suspense before praise.
Now all he needs to do is produce the exact same cooperation agreement as the one he showed the first two companies.
Lin Lixin stepped forward and extended a hand to him, wearing that irritatingly harmless smile.
"Mr. Minoru Arakawa? Thank you so much, thank you so much."
"Um?"
Minoru Arakawa, who was still angry, merely shook the outstretched hand politely, without even glancing at him.
After leaving the company, Minoru Arakawa seemed to sense something and looked back.
The young man who had inexplicably approached them earlier was now carrying a briefcase as he stepped into Sir-Tech's conference room.
"Hiss..."
Minoru Arakawa felt that something was off.
He had initially assumed that the person was one of the Sir-Tech staff members responsible for his handover.
Something seems off now...