Chapter 2127 Looking forward to e-sports

EA has four major series, the "Need for Speed" series, the "Battlefield" series, the "FIFA Football" series and the "Star Wars" series.

After Boss Zhou dismantled it...

Depend on!

It really feels like dismantling EA as a whole.

"Battlefield" is a war game, and it is relatively niche. No matter how famous it is or how well-made it is, it will be difficult to achieve much success.

"Need for Speed" is a racing game, and this is the game track that Don Mattrick will focus on next. "Need for Speed" was originally a game he designed and developed back then, and now it's natural for him to surpass himself.

Not to mention the Star Wars series.

EA's "Star Wars" game series is actually very mediocre in production and is mainly aimed at the US market. Because the United States has little history and culture, "Star Wars" is the number one IP in the United States.

Therefore, although the reputation of this game is not very good and the game experience is average, it can still attract many players to consume due to its strong "Star Wars" appeal.

MSI Universal has already bought Lucasfilm.

The contract expires and will not be renewed.

You can restrain EA and end this series, making it impossible for EA to have new updates or new game versions.

Finally, the "FIFA Football" series is left.

Not to mention, this game is really difficult to deal with after the revision. A new engine was replaced, new gameplay was injected, and a card drawing mechanism in blind box mode was even introduced, which opened a window for game innovation.

If Zhou Buqi wants to take action against EA, he must attack the core link.

In particular, he was able to recognize the future potential of the football game.

Don Mattrick saw the determination of Boss Zhou. He was angered by EA and wanted to roll up his sleeves and start working with them!

Then you're welcome!

Although Mattrick was once an executive of EA, he is now the CEO of Changyou. This is the most basic professionalism.

And he's also very confident.

In his opinion, the biggest highlight of the success of the new version of "FIFA Football" is the introduction of a new model of Fantasy Team, which brings value-added income from card drawing, which is a major initiative.

But the inspiration obviously came from the blind box business of Chaowan Commune.

EA is considered an apprentice.

Boss Zhou is the master!

When a master educates his disciples, isn’t he just holding the reins in his hands?

Mattrick said solemnly: "Through licensing restrictions, the "Star Wars" game series can be killed. The same method can also be used on "FIFA Football."

"oh?"

"The first version of FIFA was launched in 1993. At that time, the license was obtained from FIFA at a bargain price, and the annual licensing fee was only a few hundred thousand dollars."

"Want to start with FIFA's trademark?"

Zhou Buqi reacted immediately and followed Mattrick's train of thought.

Mattrick smiled and said: "Yes, let's start with intellectual property rights. The licensing agreement between EA and FIFA is signed every 10 years. From 1993 to 2002, this was the first contract. From 2003 to 12 years, this is the second contract."

Zhou Buqi opened his eyes wide, "This year?"

Mattrick smiled and said, "Yes, this year."

Zhou Buqi took a deep breath.

I go!

Is this destiny, or is it really just a coincidence?

This year is the last year of the trademark licensing contract between EA and FIFA for the "FIFA" trademark!

If EA wants to continue to use the "FIFA" logo, it must sign a new licensing contract with FIFA from 13 to 22 years. If it cannot be signed, EA's "FIFA Football" game will not be able to use the name "FIFA" and will have to be renamed "EA Football".

Don Mattrick said: "If it were just a change of the name of the game, from "FIFA Football" to "EA Football", that wouldn't be a big problem. Players are playing games. The name is the same. But, this Licensing is not just the game name, but also includes many derivative business activities related to the game."

Zhou Buqi immediately thought of a very important point, "E-sports competition!"

Mattrick smiled and said: "Yes, it is e-sports. In this field, Changyou has strong strength. This is still your previous layout. "DOTA2" is now the most popular e-sports game in the world. This year, Changyou alone has authorized a total of 17 "DOTA2" e-sports competitions, and there may be hundreds of private, unauthorized small-scale competitions."

"DOTA2" is Changyou's game, and all intellectual property rights belong to Changyou.

In other words, all third parties that use "DOTA2" to conduct commercial activities to make money must have Changyou's permission in a legal sense.

For example, if a certain TV station broadcasts a scene of a "DOTA2" match without Changyou's approval, it is illegal; if a certain live broadcast platform has an anchor playing "DOTA2" live without Changyou's permission, it is also illegal.

Including offline related activities.

If you want to hold a "DOTA2" competition in a certain e-sports competition, you normally need to pay a fee to Changyou and obtain Changyou's authorization before you can hold it.

Just like if you want to invite Manchester United and Juventus to play a game, the organizer has to pay.

The organizer organizes the competition and makes money by selling tickets or broadcasting fees.

However, games are a digital economy after all, so they are not quite the same.

First, it is difficult to manage and protect digital intellectual property rights, and there is too much piracy;

Second, piracy will only reduce revenue and cause no additional costs;

Third, piracy also has marketing value.

For example, there are videos related to "DOTA2" everywhere on TV stations, live broadcast platforms, and streaming media platforms, and almost none of them have obtained authorization from Changyou.

But Changyou will not care about them.

On the one hand, management and rights protection are too difficult. On the other hand, through the publicity and promotion of these platforms, the game "DOTA2" can become even more popular.

The more popular the relevant videos are, the more popular the games will be, the more players there will be, and the more money game manufacturers will make.

Therefore, Changyou still adopts a tacit, conniving, and laissez-faire attitude toward many infringements. For those e-sports competitions, as long as you come to apply, they will all be passed without charge; if you don't come to apply, you will not be held accountable.

This is free publicity.

Zhou Buqi feels that Mattrick has grasped the core key point, "Yes, e-sports will be a major trend and direction. The best competitive games must be promoted through e-sports competitions Mechanism! This is very important!”

Mattrick said with a smile: "Yes, the next step for League of Legends is to integrate it with e-sports competitions."

Zhou Buqi asked: "Does Changyou have an event preparation department?"

Mattrick had a headache. He felt that Boss Zhou's thinking was really leaping. He had always heard people say it before, but now he saw it. The topic went by really fast.

"Yes, but it's just for assistance."

"assist?"

"We will cooperate with some well-known competitions in the world and participate together. For example, the WCG competition is actually launched by Samsung. Changyou participates and invests part of it, so that our own games can have certain priority in it."

"This is so important!" Zhou Buqi was very concerned about this and took action immediately after returning. "Changyou is going to hold our own world-class e-sports competition. There must be relevant competition departments. "DOTA2" and "League of Legends" , are the best e-sports events. The more people compete, the more cooperation it means. Playing games is fun when many people play together."

Mattrick was slightly startled, "Really?"

Zhou Buqi said: "Of course we have to do it! Not only do we have to do it, but we have to be the best in the world! The prize money for the event must be high, and it must be the highest in the world! It is not only a powerful tool for game promotion, but also a powerful tool for future film and television, live broadcast and streaming media An important tool for business. Forget it, after this incident, I will organize more people and hold a cross-company industrial collaboration meeting."

Games have copyrights, and game competitions also have copyrights.

As long as Changyou's competition is held, countless players around the world will watch the live broadcast of the competition, or watch the video, or watch short videos of some classic clips.

At this time, you can restrict competitors through copyright.

For example, Twitch, a game streaming media owned by Ziweixing International, can obtain the broadcast rights of its own e-sports events. All players who want to watch games or videos must come to the Twitch platform.

Twitch will undoubtedly become the world's number one in the field of game videos.

Including short videos.

Even once games develop and e-sports events develop, films and TV dramas with related themes can also be produced.

First, we use various pirated platforms to build momentum, publicity and broadcast for the game for free. Once the game becomes popular, it can be counterattacked.

At this time, Changyou can appropriately collect rights, restrict third-party piracy, and promote various video platforms of its own.

This is a big idea.

Now that Zhou Buqi has entered the gaming industry, he must do some big things. The above ideas have already been successfully implemented in previous lives, and they have all been done by others.

He wants to do something different!

Something that can change the world.

Let’s start with football games!

Zhou Buqi narrowed his eyes, "The Football World Cup is the largest sports event in the world. Not counting cost performance, the 'World Cup' is the most influential sports event brand in the world. In the real world, there can be a real version of the World Cup; games There can also be a virtual version of the World Cup in the world, a World Cup based on e-sports!"

Mattrick thought about the FIFA brand, and came up with this idea, "That's right! The World Cup is organized by FIFA. If the e-sports World Cup is also organized by FIFA, then invite football associations from all over the world. Participate in...that is a football event that can truly affect the world! Even if it is a virtual football event! And the game that hosts the game event will be the most recognized football game!"