novelhk Chapter 65 All RPGs Under Heaven Are in Our Hands
Chapter 65 All RPGs Under Heaven Are in Our Hands
If we were to ask 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 an even more outrageous character 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's Command & Conquer and Red Alert series.
PopCap's Plants vs. Zombies.
And OriginSystems' pioneering European and American CRPG, Genesis.
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 the money-making tool 'EA Sports', it still has a long way to go before it becomes the true behemoth giant it will become.
……
Austin, Texas.
From the moment Lin Lixin met Richard Garrett, he knew that this man was definitely a strong one.
He has at least more of a regal air than Kanheim.
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.
"King of Britain! It's so nice to meet you. I've finally met my idol!"
Lin Lixin called out Garrett'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 upcoming game, Ultima IV, to NovaBox?"
This request is not unreasonable; in fact, the Genesis series has been compatible with multiple platforms since its inception.
Even the original Genesis, released in 80, 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 at all; it's an opportunity for them to sell more copies of the game.
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, Genesis will definitely sell far more units than in the past.
and many more,
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 Genesis?"
This was the only reason that could convince him.
The open and covert competition between NES and NovaBox is obvious to everyone.
Lin Lixin must also want to get rid of this opponent as soon as possible.
No wonder he 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 large PC market, which would be a loss 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 ability to showcase the grand world of Ultima."
Players who play 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 happens to be this group of hardcore gamers.
Even if they were to buy it, players would prefer to buy 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: Witchcraft
However, Lin Lixin's concern was not that its licensing fee was too expensive, but rather that his company, Sir-Tech, was facing difficulties.
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 an absolutely admirable company.
But idealists usually don't end up well.
Sir-Tech fell into financial difficulties in the late 90s 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 definitely have a lot in common.
The problem is, he's representing GAMENOVA, and who knows if he'll be mistaken for a bully trying to make a hostile takeover and create a bad first impression.
Besides that, the most troublesome problem is that Sir-Tech's headquarters are located in Canandaegua, New York.
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 aside to wait quietly amidst the awkward expressions of the reception staff.
After a while, a figure suddenly pushed open the conference room door and walked out, with a typical neon face and a striped suit.
Lin Lixin was slightly taken aback, his eyes narrowing.
It was Arakawa Minoru.
Although he still wore a professional smile, the details in his eyes and brows clearly showed that he was not happy and was 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 found American domestic manufacturers.
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 smug, harmless smile on his face.
"Mr. Arakawa Minoru? Thank you so much, thank you so much."
"Um?"
Arakawa Minoru, who was still angry, merely shook the outstretched hand politely, without even glancing at him.
……
After leaving the company, Arakawa Minoru 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……"
Arakawa Minoru 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?