Chapter 1635: The Prospects of Online Games

"This Lee Boo-jin, she's not easy to handle."

The next morning, Dong Chenxi specifically called Zhao Fusheng.

"What's up?"

Zhao Fusheng asked, somewhat puzzled.

He hadn't expected that in just one day, Dong Chenxi would already find Lee Boo-jin difficult to deal with.

"She's watertight in her speech, and always trying to pry information out of me." Dong Chenxi said with a wry smile. "Compared to her, that Lee Jae-yong is much easier to handle—clearly he's been well sheltered."

"She's older than you, you know."

Zhao Fusheng said helplessly to Dong Chenxi, "Don't underestimate him. That guy is a legitimate Samsung heir. For one thing, with all he's absorbed from childhood, do you really think he knows nothing? Be careful—he might be playing the fool to catch the wise."

This was his honest opinion. As for Lee Jae-yong, Zhao Fusheng simply didn't believe the guy was an easy mark.

After all, true heirs of wealthy families receive elite education from childhood, plus deliberate grooming by their elders. These people can't possibly be fools.

So what Lee Jae-yong displayed was likely a facade.

To be precise, maybe he was doing it on purpose.

Zhao Fusheng didn't think a chaebol who could defeat his own family members to become Lee Kun-hee's heir would be a clueless greenhorn.

Anyone who believed Lee Jae-yong was a fool would be the real fool.

"I understand." Dong Chenxi, reminded by Zhao Fusheng, quickly caught on. She nodded. "But Lee Jae-yong asked to see you. What should we do?"

"Just because he wants to see me, I have to oblige?"

Zhao Fusheng sneered and said flatly, "Ignore him. Start negotiations tomorrow and lay out our terms."

"So soon?"

Dong Chenxi was taken aback. "Don't we let them tour first?"

"No need." Zhao Fusheng shook his head and said firmly, "Since they've come, they naturally want to be open with us. So you be straightforward too, understand?"

Dong Chenxi thought for a moment, then smiled. "I get it."

Having worked with Zhao Fusheng for years, she was usually accurate at reading his mind. Now his meaning was clearly to set a trap for the Lee siblings.

But no matter what, Dong Chenxi knew that facilitating the cooperation was paramount.

News had come from Alibaba that they were aiming for an IPO within the year.

That meant before the listing, disputes over the company's equity would intensify.

So, regardless, this cooperation was imperative for Future Investment.

...

...

After arranging this, Zhao Fusheng wasn't idle. At Future Technology, the agency rights for World of Warcraft were expiring this year, and Blizzard intended to raise the licensing fee. This issue also troubled Zhao Fusheng.

Because he knew well that online gaming was a crucial part of future internet business.

But the problem was that although World of Warcraft still had many loyal players, it was no longer a mainstream game.

It was like Legend of Mir 2—though many still played it ten years later, you had to admit it was no longer mainstream.

"What are you busy with?"

Zhao Fusheng called Dong Guoxiang.

"Nothing much." Dong Guoxiang was a bit surprised that Zhao Fusheng had called him.

He was now in charge of the company's audit department, organizing personnel to review the finances and administration of various subsidiaries.

"Let's have lunch together."

Zhao Fusheng said to Dong Guoxiang, "I have something to discuss with you."

Dong Guoxiang paused, then nodded.

At noon, they met at a restaurant.

"What's up?" Dong Guoxiang asked Zhao Fusheng curiously.

He thought Zhao Fusheng had a task for him. Since he now headed the audit department, he was the best person to secretly investigate any corruption in the company.

"Don't overthink it." Seeing this, Zhao Fusheng knew he had misunderstood. He waved his hand and said to Dong Guoxiang, "I want to talk about Future Technology."

"Future Technology?"

Dong Guoxiang was startled. "What happened?"

He really hadn't expected Zhao Fusheng to want to discuss Future Technology.

"It's like this..."

Zhao Fusheng slowly explained the situation, finally saying to Dong Guoxiang, "I'm considering whether we should continue to license World of Warcraft. To be honest, I'm undecided about this game."

Only then did Dong Guoxiang understand why Zhao Fusheng wanted to meet.

For an internet company, licensing an online game was a serious matter, especially for Chinese companies.

When Shanda licensed Legend of Mir 2, it rose rapidly. Future Technology also reaped substantial returns after licensing World of Warcraft. Seeing their profits, many companies grew envious and rushed to the US and South Korea to find online games, securing licenses indiscriminately.

And the result?

Facts proved that not everyone had the knack for making money, nor could everyone profit from it.

It's like making movies: being a director, Liu Ruoying could whitewash her reputation as a mistress and sell nostalgia to fool audiences for money, while Wu Kequn could only silently shed bitter tears and end in failure.

As they say, comparisons can be odious.

Dong Guoxiang, having led Future Technology for years, knew this well. So after hearing Zhao Fusheng out, he didn't respond immediately but fell into thought.

After all, this wasn't a small matter. The previous licensing fee for World of Warcraft was $50 million. Renewing for another three years would cost at least $70 million or more—no small sum, nearly 600 million RMB.

After a long while, Dong Guoxiang looked up at Zhao Fusheng. "I think we might as well give it up."

Huh?

Zhao Fusheng was startled, looking at Dong Guoxiang in surprise. He hadn't expected him to suggest abandoning the World of Warcraft license.

But Zhao Fusheng also knew that Dong Guoxiang was more qualified to speak on this matter.

Although Zhao Fusheng had set up Future Technology's framework, Dong Guoxiang had been its head for years before becoming the audit department director. He knew the company inside out and had the best grasp of market feedback.

"Tell me more."

Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and said to Dong Guoxiang.

This decision couldn't be made on a whim; he had to consider all opinions and circumstances before finalizing.

Dong Guoxiang understood this. He nodded and said to Zhao Fusheng, "It's simple: the market is starting to saturate."

He paused and added, "Even if it's not fully saturated, we have to admit that World of Warcraft's development is hitting a bottleneck."

Zhao Fusheng was stunned. Thinking it over, he realized that was true.

Dong Guoxiang's words were absolutely correct.

As far as he remembered, around this year or the next, Tencent would launch the Korean-licensed game Dungeon & Fighter, which would quickly become a favorite among young people.

Meanwhile, World of Warcraft would become a favorite of veteran players, so much so that years later when the Warcraft movie was released, it was those old players who came to support it.

Nostalgia, in the end, is sold to fools.

Because once nostalgia is tied to commerce, it ceases to be pure.

Though this might sound biased, most things sold on nostalgia—whether movies, games, or anything else—are ultimately meant to deceive nostalgic people into spending money to achieve their goals.

Whether it's The Fool Later or Love the Tomb, they all play the same game.

In this regard, the former Huayi Brothers played it best. From Back to 1942 to I Am Not Madame Bovary, and later The Eight Hundred, they constantly hyped and played the nostalgia card, reaching the pinnacle of shamelessness.

Yet the public fell for it. Outraged spectators flocked to the theaters, box office revenues were high, and the distributors made a killing.

That's business!

"Moreover, I think the domestic online game industry still has plenty of room for growth." Changing the subject, Dong Guoxiang said something else to Zhao Fusheng.

"Oh?"

Zhao Fusheng frowned. "Tell me more."

Clearly, Dong Guoxiang's words intrigued him.

After all, Zhao Fusheng had a clear understanding of the general trends in internet development, but he knew little about the gaming business—just a few common games.

If he had to analyze something in detail, Zhao Fusheng had to admit he might know less than an average programmer.

Zhao Fusheng never denied this, nor did he try to hide it.

Knowing one's strengths and weaknesses is not a bad thing for an entrepreneur.

Only by learning from others' strengths and discarding the dross can one truly succeed in business.

"Actually, there's not much to say." Dong Guoxiang hadn't expected Zhao Fusheng to value his opinion so much. He rubbed his head sheepishly and finally said quietly, "Look at Kingsoft—that's the best example."

Huh?

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback, then realized what Dong Guoxiang was driving at.

Pointing at Dong Guoxiang, Zhao Fusheng shook his head. "You've learned to be sly with me, haven't you..."

Dong Guoxiang's honest face broke into a smile, then he said seriously to Zhao Fusheng, "I really believe that domestic games still have hope."