Chapter 2326: Treating the symptoms but not the root cause of social problems

Now Zhou Buqi basically understands what is going on with South Korea’s Nexon gaming company.

A rare opportunity.

When doing business, the most important thing is to seize the opportunity to buy the bottom. The so-called bargain hunting means taking advantage of a weak spot, taking advantage of your illness and killing you.

With Nexon's size and strength, it is unlikely that he will be killed. There is still a great opportunity to reach an in-depth cooperative relationship at a strategic level.

Although Nexon is currently experiencing some crises, these are all short-lived.

Game companies in South Korea are actually similar to those in China, and they are very flexible.

Nexon now mainly operates computer games, just like EA and Ubisoft in Europe and the United States. However, Europe and the United States have little pressure, slow operation, and low efficiency, making the transformation difficult.

Nexon can't. It can quickly complete its business transformation and compete in the field of mobile games. Especially since it has so many classic game IPs, it is too easy to succeed.

In another year or two, Nexon may be freed from its current predicament.

You have to seize this opportunity now.

Zhou Buqi said: "Changyou's current strategy is just like Ziweixing International. You would rather suffer from indigestion than overeat and drink. Once you eat it, you will digest it slowly later. If you don't eat it now, you won't be able to eat it in the future." Opportunity.”

Ren Yuxin had this attitude and said with a smile: "Yes, I have also contacted Nexon's boss Jin Zhengyu. His attitude is rather ambiguous and he seems to be interested in promoting cooperation."

"oh?"

Zhou Buqi thought he needed to step forward.

Ren Yuxin said: "Strategic cooperation is beneficial to both parties. With the opening up of Korean games in recent years, foreign games have entered the Korean market, which has impacted their local games. In the past, the games that dominated Korean Internet cafes were South Korea's "Paradise", "Dungeon Fighter", "Cross Fire" and "MapleStory" are different now."

Zhou Buqi asked: "What did you replace it with?"

Ren Yuxin smiled and said: "According to data from the research agency Gametrics, the game with the highest share in Korean Internet cafes is Blizzard's "Diablo 3", with a share of 26%. Followed by "League of Legends", with a share of 26%." It’s about 15%.”

""League of Legends"?"

Zhou Buqi was very happy when he heard this.

"League of Legends" is a game owned by Changyou. It benefited from an acquisition in the United States when Lao Zhang was in power.

This is very significant.

Changyou is now the largest sponsor and organizer of e-sports in the world. The prize money for this year’s “League of Legends” competition reached an astonishing US$4 million.

Relying on the attraction of the event, this game has become popular all over the world, and its market share is almost as high as that of "DOTA2", another competitive game owned by Changyou.

However, as a major country in e-sports, South Korea does not seem to be interested in the game "DOTA2". From "DOTA1" to "DOTA2", there are not many Korean players.

Well now, South Korea has finally caught up, and "League of Legends" has finally captured the hearts of Korean players. Once you are immersed in it, it is not that easy to get rid of it.

"League of Legends" has been fine-tuned and transformed by the domestic team. The stickiness and playability of the game, as well as its grasp of human nature, are too strong. It is only a matter of time before it surpasses "Diablo 3" in the Korean market.

Ren Yuxin said: "Yes, "League of Legends", the operating threshold of this game is lower than that of "DOTA2", and it is easier to get started."

Sun Wanran came over to report that Jin Zhengmin, the president of Nexon's North America region, had been waiting for half an hour and was a little anxious.

"Let him wait!" Zhou Buqi took his time and continued to talk about some game ideas with Ren Yuxin, "South Korea's travel restriction order actually has no practical significance. No matter how strong public opinion is, no matter how opposed it is to the game industry The expansion will not have any effect. This is a strategy that treats the symptoms but not the root cause. It is impossible for them to cure the root cause. Nexon has experienced a short crisis and will definitely recover soon."

Ren Yuxin smiled and asked: "Then what is Ben?"

Zhou Buqi said: "Society."

"ah?"

"From an average point of view, South Korea should be the world's largest gaming country. Regardless of player density, players' average daily game time and game consumption, it is basically the first in the world. In front of South Korea, Japan can only It’s No. 2 in the world.”

"Well, society." Ren Yuxin immediately understood the meaning of the big boss's analysis. "The popularity of the game industry is directly related to the degree of social pressure."

Zhou Buqi said: "Yes, games are fantasy. They can be released in the virtual world to relieve the pressure in real society. South Korea has strict hierarchies, high work pressure, lots of overtime, and strict rules. Games are the best way to escape. . Just like Japan. The domestic economy has not developed yet, and on average for everyone, the development of the domestic game industry does not seem to be enough. But as long as the domestic economy continues to develop in the long term, it will only be a matter of time before it becomes Korean and Japanese. In essence, they are all Confucian social ethics, public order and good customs, upper and lower classes, if young people don't rely on games to escape, what else can they rely on?"

Ren Yuxin sighed, then smiled, "China should still have a long way to go before the situation in South Korea and Japan. I have a statistics. The lower the fertility rate in a country, the more developed the game industry is. South Korea's The fertility rate is the lowest in the world, social pressure is too great, and young people are no longer having children.”

Zhou Buqi felt that this entry point was found very well.

If you want to analyze social pressure, it is sociology. No country will advertise how stressful the lives of its people are, but will appropriately beautify it. As a game company, it is difficult for Changyou to make the most accurate judgment. In such a huge global market, it is difficult to make appropriate choices to focus on key areas.

It is much easier to judge by the fertility rate.

The fertility rate of each country is clear data.

Rely on fertility data to make global choices and key strategies... and make precise investments. Rather than casting a wide net and rolling out a game all over the world, specifically targeting countries with low and declining fertility rates to promote it, you can save a lot of money and trial and error costs.

Zhou Buqi said: "Well, it makes sense. If young people don't have children or raise children, they will have a lot of time for themselves, and they will rely on movies, TV series and games to fill this gap to a large extent. As far as the current situation is concerned, It seems that China has also embarked on this path, which can be seen through the dramatic growth of the film and television industry."

Ren Yuxin said: "So the communication with Nexon this time should go smoothly. Koreans are more flexible than Japanese. I'm afraid it won't be feasible to imitate the cooperation model with Japanese companies such as Kapong, Nintendo, and Scarlett." However, it would be enough if we can strategically invest in the company and reach strategic cooperation.”

Zhou Buqi felt that Xiao Ren's thinking was surprisingly consistent with his own, "That's right!"

Japanese game companies are too old, severely rigid, and extremely difficult to transform.

Therefore, Changyou cooperates with Japanese game companies, obtains their well-known IP, helps them develop mobile games, and everyone earns a share in proportion.

This is awesome.

Changyou can basically control those Japanese games throughout the entire industry chain from upstream to downstream, which is very operational. In addition, mobile games are developed by Changyou. Over time, these games have become completely tied to Changyou.

It’s almost the same as Changyou’s own games.

Nexon is different. Koreans are more modern and open-minded about positive changes. It is impossible to hand over their own game IP to Changyou.

Games like "Kart Racing" and "Bubble Hall" must be self-developed mobile games.

But that's okay.

Changyou has channels.

Channels play a vital role in the game industry, just like channels play a vital role in the film industry. The reason why the six major Hollywood giants have been able to crush Hollywood independent film producers for a long time is because they have channel advantages and control the global film distribution system.

This is also the biggest difference between the game industry and the Internet industry.

If you want to make an Internet product and distribute it to the German or French market, there is no agency. You have to run it yourself.

The place is unfamiliar and the culture is different, so it is difficult for Internet products to grow in an unfamiliar environment.

Therefore, for small countries, it is difficult for the Internet industry to develop.

The Internet industry must be self-reliant and cannot rely on the power of the market. There is no other helper. It must handle everything from design to development, from maintenance to operation, and from pre-sales to after-sales.

Small countries with limited power often find it difficult to do so.

The gaming industry is different.

Such as South Korea.

South Korea just needs to develop the game.

Then, the games are handed over to local game agencies around the world for operation and maintenance. Korean game companies don’t have to worry about anything in the future, they just wait to collect the money.

This is much easier.

This is also the main reason why in many small developed countries, the Internet industry cannot develop but the gaming industry can achieve amazing achievements.

From an industrial structure perspective, it is easier to make game products than Internet products.

Changyou wants to get Nexon's game IP, and the two parties will cooperate to develop mobile games... This strategy is unlikely to succeed, and they will definitely develop it themselves.

But it does not matter.

Nexon has made the game, but it has to be handed over to other companies to represent it. Just like Nexon suddenly bought a large amount of shares of Game Orange, a game company in Baodao, starting in May this year, Game Orange is the general agent of Nexon Games in Baodao.

If you buy it, the upstream and downstream will be connected.

Channels in the gaming industry also have a strong say. As long as Changyou helps out at this critical moment and takes advantage of the trend to strategically invest in Nexon, that will be fine.

In the future, Nexon's games will be distributed globally and will be distributed by Changyou according to the terms of strategic cooperation between the two parties. At least you can get priority.

At least Nexon's games must be put on the steam game platform and use Ziweiyun's services.

This is the value of strategic cooperation.

I have strategically invested in you. From now on, your products will be on my platform and cannot be used by competitors... Ziweiyun has huge advantages in the streaming media and social fields, and it should also firmly grasp the gaming field. in hand.