Senior executives from Nintendo, Gunpei Yokoi and Shigeru Miyamoto, came to Wanhui Media Company together and planned to inspect its game subsidiary, The9.
What is the reason that makes the executives of the world's gaming giants put down their identities and come to a game software company that does not have any works yet?
It turns out that in 1994, 32-bit consoles such as 3do, ss, and ps were successively released, and large-capacity, high-definition next-generation games became the focus of people's discussion. However, gb, which had no technical advantages at the beginning of its development, was criticized by people.
Cynical and sarcastic, mainstream game media are also pessimistic about the prospects of GB. The annual sales of GB consoles in Japan have plummeted from more than 3 million units to 1.81 million units, and the number of software sales has also dropped from nearly 18 million units to 10.3 million units.
The console market is facing a severe test, and the home console market has also encountered strong competitors. Nintendo has begun to fall into an unprecedented crisis.
The rapid decline of GB made Hiroshi Yamauchi and Gunpei Yokoi very anxious. In addition to investing heavily in the research and development of Virtual Boy, Nintendo also began to actively explore new selling points of GB.
The ninth city's "Pokémon" undoubtedly made Nintendo's executives see the future. First of all, this game is adapted from the "Pokémon" comics and animations that are already very famous in Asia. Even Japanese comic fans are
There are so many that it has been rated as an anime on the same level as "Dragon Ball" in Japan; secondly, this game emphasizes the fun of communication and allows for battles, which is undoubtedly a very big selling point.
Gunpei Yokoi and Shigeru Miyamoto visited the entire Wanhui Media Company under the leadership of Long Jingchang, President of Wanhui Media, and Gao Kelin, President of The9 City.
After going around, the two of them were very surprised. This media group is really awesome. In the comics industry, it is feared by its Japanese peers, and in the media industry, it is the number one in Hong Kong. Now it has entered the game field and software field in a big way. It is simply admirable for them.
Enterprising spirit.
Yokoi Gunpei is engaged in technology, so he asked directly: "The software talents in Xiangjiang are weak. I wonder if your company has a way to deal with it?"
Long Jingchang said with a smile: "Hangjiang can graduate thousands of engineering college students every year, which is enough to meet local requirements; at the same time, we have also introduced overseas talents to join us. In our company, the Japanese comics industry,
There are quite a few software engineers.”
In fact, there are indeed thousands of engineering college students graduating in Xiangjiang every year, about 1,500 to 2,000. This number is still increasing. It is expected that by the end of the 1990s, more than 2,500 people will graduate every year.
There is not a shortage of talent, what is lacking is a culture. Everyone is used to making quick money, so they have not focused on technology, and their practical application skills are too poor. New technology emphasizes the spirit of innovation and research, and most Hong Kong people pay attention to immediate benefits.
, lack of research spirit.
Lin Zuhui is subtly changing this situation. He has spent huge sums of money donating special funds to several universities and colleges. At the same time, he has established a company to conduct research in various aspects, and also established a high-tech capital - Jingwei Capital.
In addition, Xiangjiang can also introduce Indian software talents to join in to strengthen the strength of local software. Exporting software is very convenient, as long as you have good products.
Yokoi Gunpei said: "If your company is interested in developing in Japan, we can strengthen cooperation and provide technical support!"…
What a good idea. Wanhui Media's IP is very valuable. It's very cost-effective to kidnap it and send it to Japan.
It's a pity that developing Xiangjiang's technology industry is Lin Zuhui's general policy. How can his subordinates not understand the truth?
Therefore, Long Jingchang said with a smile: "The ninth city's market is the global game market, so we can only use Xiangjiang as our headquarters. When the time is right, we can go to Japan to establish a business unit."
Yokoi Gunpei responded with a smile: "I was thinking that with a boss like Mr. Lin Zuhui, there must be executives like you. You have great ambitions, but Xiangjiang is too small."
Long Jingchang said nonchalantly: "It doesn't matter that Xiangjiang is small. Our boss invested in Blizzard Entertainment in the United States. They developed million-selling games like "Warcraft". Facts have proved that capital will drive the progress of the industry."
He moved out of Blizzard Entertainment because he wanted to prove that his boss was a leader in the game field.
The domain has already achieved a lot, lest Junpei Yokoi feel that the boss is playing games.
Sure enough, Gunpei Yokoi and Shigeru Miyamoto shut up!
Next, everyone came to the "Pokémon" project department.
Gao Kelin said: "At present, we have nearly 200 kinds of cute Pokémon, and the research and development of game software has also made great progress, but it is still not possible to communicate information. If your company can provide technical support, I will
I believe it can be transplanted to the GB game console in half a year and become a big selling point of the game console."
Since Nintendo is here, it will definitely provide technical support. Of course, it doesn't matter if they choose not to cooperate. The "Pokémon" game can be ported to home consoles or even made into a computer game.
Gunpei Yokoi and Shigeru Miyamoto watched the technical staff's demonstration carefully, and were very surprised because the game's picture quality was very good and the design was also very advanced, making it very tempting.
It's a good game!
In fact, Shigeru Miyamoto knew that there is also a game studio in Japan that has developed Pokémon games for several years; but Wanhui Media's comics have been around for three years, and if he supports that company, it will definitely cause infringement. After all, "Pokémon"
"Dream" already has a large number of fans throughout Asia, even in Europe and the United States.
"I can't believe that you, a game company established just over a year ago, can develop such an excellent work!" Shigeru Miyamoto exclaimed.
Gao Kelin said with a smile: "Our colleagues here are from the United States, Japan, and Hong Kong. Everyone has a very high level, so they are very confident in their products."
Gunpei Yokoi asked a key question: "With such a huge investment, aren't you worried about losing money? And even if your game is successful, it will be difficult to recover the investment cost, right?"
Long Jingchang said with a smile: "We are not worried, the funds are supported by the group! Secondly, we are making long-term investments and do not consider returns in the short term."
"I admire your spirit. If my guess is correct, you also considered this when you entered the Japanese-style comic industry."
Long Jingchang smiled and agreed.
In a large group, it is far easier to invest in a certain field than in a small company. If a small company invests in a wrong project, it will be a devastating blow.
Next, Gunpei Yokoi and Shigeru Miyamoto began to give instructions to the "Pokémon" project team. They would stay in Hong Kong for two days and promised that the "Pokémon" project team could go to Nintendo of Japan for technical support...
Of course, Long Jingchang did not take the two of them to inspect the two project teams of "Resident Evil" and "Legend" to avoid causing more trouble.
The9 is currently developing three games in total, and the entire company has hundreds of employees, so there are simply too many people to work with. Of course, maintaining and cultivating technical talents is the company's strategy, and there will be projects to do soon.
........
Early January, Mong Kok, Kowloon.
‘The Ninth City Internet Cafe was officially opened, attracting a lot of attention and reports from the media in Hong Kong.
‘Internet cafe, what is it?
Everyone couldn't help but ask, in fact, the world's first Internet cafe was opened in London in September last year. For this reason, Lin Zuhui secretly regretted why he didn't think of launching this thing first, which could more or less contribute to the '9th Internet Cafe'.
City, put up a sign.
Fortunately, it was not too late. The world's number one could not catch up, but Asia's number one finally caught up. So he asked people to invest in a large-scale Internet cafe with 80 units in Mongkok, Kowloon. You must know that this is Hong Kong where every inch of land is precious.
The economic effect is secondary, mainly to promote the Ninth City.
"How much does it cost per hour?" a reporter asked tentatively.
"60 yuan an hour," the staff said politely.
The reporter was immediately frightened. 60 yuan per hour was simply too expensive.
"What can we do?" another reporter asked.
"Learn computer software, read stocks online, and play games... There are good games to play, such as "Warcraft" from Blizzard Entertainment, which is very fun!"
Internet cafes are places for entertainment, although
Nowadays, a computer costs tens of thousands, but there are many rich people in Xiangjiang. Therefore, in the Ninth City, the main focus of Internet cafes is the game room, where entertainment trumps everything else.
"It's so expensive, there will be business!" the reporter said.
In fact, he was overthinking it. The machines in the Internet cafe were quickly occupied by people one after another. Then a staff member explained how to play to everyone. The scene became heated for a while. Several people started to follow each machine to watch the fun, or they were planning to use it again.
Take over for the time being from the person in front.
.......
There are many experts and scholars who still question the Cyberport. Most of them still believe that this is a project that uses high technology to package real estate.
But then again, the initial cooperation agreement between Lin Zuhui and the Hong Kong government was for him to purchase this 25-hectare land. Therefore, there were still not many people criticizing Lin Zuhui. Everyone was just not optimistic about this project.
And after Lam Zuhui spent a huge amount of money to acquire Kingston, everyone saw his determination to continue the cause of "revitalizing Hong Kong through science and technology."
In mid-January, Cyberport released a news that there were already many office companies interested in leasing Cyberport, including Matrix Partners, Xiaomi Technology, Kingston, The9, Compaq, Microsoft, and SmarTone
, Hong Kong Lenovo, Motorola, AI, Lucent Technologies, Apple Computer, Glone, ER Computer, ib Sybase, HP, Oracle, Kingsoft, Hua Wei... and more than 20 companies.
Soon, people discovered that Lam Cho-fai had extensive connections in the technology field and had already attracted a large number of tenants to the Hong Kong Cyberport.
Lin Zuhui took several CEOs to the Cyberport in Baguio Bay. The place was still overgrown with weeds; but he knew that in four to five years, it would become Hong Kong’s Silicon Valley and also become an important software industry in Asia.
City,.….
"President Chen, when will the construction of the Cyberport start?"
Chen Bin said immediately: "Construction can start in the first half of this year and be completed before the new millennium; the office part can be put into use by the end of 1998, and the residential part will be completed in three phases. The first phase will be completed by the end of 1998, and the last phase will be completed in 2002."
.”
Lin Zuhui nodded, and the construction period is acceptable. From this point of view, this project will still make a lot of money, of course on residential buildings. The office building part will be cheaper by then, probably less than half of Wan Chai. The price is in Hong Kong.
The government and New Era Group will negotiate and determine. In fact, Lin Zuhui can let the Hong Kong government determine it. New Era has no shortage of this money.
He pointed at the sea at Steel Wire Bay and said with a smile: "The environment here is so good. If Xiangjiang can develop into a software industry city, then this must be its cradle. They say that it is impossible for Xiangjiang to develop the technology industry. I think we should look at it
Look at Singapore."
Long Jingchang responded: "Singapore has a leader like Lijia, and Xiangjiang also has a leader like Boss. I am optimistic about the development of Xiangjiang!"
There is freedom of speech in Hong Kong, and there is no harm in chatting in private.
"It would be better to add a business leader! With my reputation, I can't be a Hong Kong leader."
The general manager immediately understood that the boss was talking about his romantic affairs, otherwise the boss's reputation is really the best person in Hong Kong. Putting aside the romantic affairs, there is almost no one who can compete with him when running for Hong Kong D.
Hong Kong idol!
Lin Zuhui is the richest man in the world, and he is expected to be re-elected for three years. Gates has no hope of surpassing him this year. This honor is huge. After all, it is a rare thing for a Chinese to be the richest man in the world.
Lam Cho-fai is the godfather of Hong Kong culture. With Hong Kong dramas, Hong Kong idols, and variety shows going overseas, the national self-confidence of Hong Kong people has been greatly boosted. After all, if the cultural industry can be exported, it means cultural self-confidence, which is a great face-saving thing.
Lin Zuhui is now a technology tycoon. He invested in the world's first Internet browser, spent huge sums of money to buy Kingston, founded Hong Kong's Silicon Valley Cyberport, and is the boss behind Xiaomi Technology. It is no exaggeration to say that he is a technology tycoon.
Of course, given your age and background, becoming the world's richest man from scratch at the age of 30 is a legend.
"The boss is not from Hong Kong, but he cares about Hong Kong people. Besides, people in Hong Kong regard you as their idol, and your influence is so great." Chen Bin said seriously.
Lin Zuhui shook his head and said: "I am not copying Hong Kong D's wishes. Hong Kong is my foundation. The better it is, the better I will be. Like New Era Group, it is precisely because of the huge profits in Hong Kong that we can complete
The global layout.”
Chen Bin nodded, Xiangjiang is also the foundation of New Era Group.
Everyone inspected it and exchanged opinions. The drawings were almost finalized. As early as when the project was proposed, Lin Zuhui had already hired a team of top designers to start the design and planning.
After two hours of inspection, Lin Zuhui left reluctantly. In fact, whenever there is a big project or project, he always feels a sense of accomplishment.
Back in the office, he suddenly remembered that since he was determined to build Xiangjiang into a "software industry kingdom", he couldn't just invest in the game industry. He had to come up with several world-class software as an introduction.
Soon, he thought of q, which is qq in the mainland.
He quickly took out a pen and paper and began to write down the information.
"I hope it can be developed before Israel!"
"After this product is developed, it can be sold directly to American companies and there is no problem in making hundreds of millions of dollars!"
"Talent is important, but I wonder if technology is difficult?"
"Go to the United States to recruit a few powerful software engineers, and then lead the team in Xiangjiang to develop together!"
"Let Jingwei Capital invest directly in this project team."
Soon, Lin Zuhui figured out a way!
If it can really be developed before Israel, not only can it earn hundreds of millions of dollars, but more importantly, it can invigorate the software industry in Hong Kong. At that time, it will mobilize the enthusiasm of talents in Hong Kong and facilitate the introduction of more talents to Hong Kong.