Chapter 3194 Platform Game

Zhang Chaoyang was very happy, "How about it? Do you agree?"

Zhou Buqi said angrily: "I don't agree, is that okay?"

"That's good, don't make me look like I'm trying to seize power." Zhang Chaoyang was in a good mood, because he was sure that Sohu Video had a healthy track for development, "Don't consider me, just look at your own opinions. Do you want to do this?"

Zhou Buqi snorted, "I just pinched Li Zai Rong during the day, and you framed me at night."

Zhang Chaoyang smiled and said: "Don't blame me, it's mainly for the internal stability of Changyou. Now Changyou is developing so well. After the fourth quarter financial report is released, the market value will stably reach 100 billion US dollars. The development momentum is so Well, don’t let some internal differences affect unity.”

Zhou Buqi said "hmm".

Zhang Chaoyang continued: "One more thing you should not forget is that the game industry is so big. Last year, the total revenue of the global game industry was less than 90 billion US dollars, and Changyou accounted for 17%. This market share is already high enough."

Zhou Buqi said calmly: "Don't worry, the game industry has not really exploded yet. If you want to play games, you must first have the equipment to play games. The first step is to popularize smartphones first, and then mobile games. It’s taking the world by storm. It’s still in the stage of popularization of equipment, so don’t worry.”

"There should be a better track. Film and television works not only allow Changyou to use the game content library to generate revenue, but more importantly, it is the best marketing tool. There is nothing better than this." Zhang Chaoyang also got the evidence, " The animated film "Angry Birds" produced by DreamWorks Animation was released in May this year. After the trailer was released, the effect was so good that it directly increased the activity of the game by 140%!

"Oh? Do you have the data?"

Zhou Buqi's eyes lit up.

This is one of his main projects. An animated film adaptation is currently in production. There are also "Talking Tom Cat" and "Sonic the Hedgehog" in production, which are expected to be released next year and the year after respectively. An animated movie adaptation of the game is planned, along with Super Mario Bros. and Plants vs. Zombies.

These adaptation projects are all signed and confirmed by Zhou Buqi. They are all based on the same model. As long as they are completed, they can all be made into a long series.

Zhang Chaoyang smiled and said: "Yes, it's very eye-catching! Originally, the game "Angry Birds" was a bit outdated, and its popularity was decreasing year by year. As soon as the promotional video for the animated movie was released, the popularity of the game immediately increased again. "

Zhou Buqi explained: "League of Legends and DOTA2 still have to be made into animated films. They cannot be shown in cinemas. Whether it is "Angry Birds", "Talking Tom Cat", or future ones "Plants vs. Zombies" "Super Mario" "Old Brothers" are actually puzzle games for young people with rich story backgrounds. These themes can be adapted into family-friendly animated movies like "League of Legends" or directly made into live-action movies. , or it can only be made into an anime.”

"Is there still a theory to this?"

"Then you can't just sit around and mess around."

"Huh?" Zhang Chaoyang reacted, "You want to make "Super Mario"? Isn't that a Nintendo game? Are you making a movie for someone else?"

Zhou Buqi was angry and funny, "You have to make money when making a movie, right? 'Super Mario' is a world-class IP. As long as this project is signed, it will be a cash cow for Ziweixing Universal." A big series that can last for a long time , it's okay to make seven or eight animated movies in a row. You can't make movies just to promote the game company, right? Besides, the overseas operating rights of "Super Mario Bros." You were signed by me to come back and swim."

Zhang Chaoyang nodded, "Well, it is indeed a super IP."

Zhou Buqi said: "There are not many super IPs like this. They must be world-class games for everyone. In the entire Japanese game industry, 'Sonic', 'Pikachu' and 'Mario' deserve to be made into Hollywood-level games." Whoever can win it will make money. I have already won two of them.”

"Did it cost a lot of money?"

"No, it's all the same, the same terms of cooperation as Changyou. The game company publishes the rights, and the producer provides the funds. In the end, the movie is a big seller, and 25% of the proceeds go to the game company. However, this is not the case with "League of Legends" and "DOTA2" . This is not a super IP, Changyou must finance its production.”

Zhang Chaoyang said "Yeah", "That's okay, "League of Legends" will cooperate with Netflix, and "DOTA2" will cooperate with Peacock. Then let Sohu Video and your Twitch participate. Everyone will share the production funds, and each company will also It doesn’t cost much.”

Zhou Buqi said: "There has to be a distinction. "League of Legends" has made so much money for Changyou, how much money has "DOTA2" made? If the two animations have the same investment amount, how much money does "League of Legends" make for Changyou?" 》The team is not fair either.”

Zhang Chaoyang nodded, "Indeed, investment must be reflected, and differential treatment can stimulate enterprising spirit."

"The profit of "DOTA2" last year was one-tenth that of "League of Legends", right?"

Zhou Buqi had read the financial report and had the impression that this was the data.

Zhang Chaoyang sighed, "Game operations in Europe and the United States are still more complicated. "DOTA2" relies on the Steam platform to operate, and the two platforms take 30% of the annual income. Changyou also has to share 20% of the money it gets with Blizzard and IceFrog. In addition, the operating costs in Europe and the United States are much higher than in Asia, which leads to low profits, less than 90 million US dollars. The profit of "League of Legends" exceeds 800 million US dollars."

"League of Legends" is different.

This is an independent game.

It does not need to rely on Steam or any third-party platform to operate, which means that there is no need to be taxed 30%. This game is mainly based on the Chinese and Korean markets, and the game industries in these two countries happen to be unaccustomed to the most popular Steam platform in Europe and the United States.

Instead, it leaves huge profits for game manufacturers.

In addition, the infrastructure in China and South Korea is better and the labor cost is lower, which leads to lower operation and maintenance costs of the game. High income and low cost make the game "League of Legends" have a very amazing performance on the profit and loss statement.

However, "League of Legends" needs to rely on Steam to promote it in the European and American markets.

Gamers in Europe and America are used to relying on a platform.

Independent games have no market at all.

Even if some games are called independent games, they are actually platform games that rely on platforms.

This has led to the suffering of game manufacturers. If they don’t rely on platforms, they will have no traffic and no exposure. If they rely on platforms, at least 30% of their income will be taken away...

Fortunately, Zhou Buqi was quick-witted.

He had already taken action.

Steam, the world's largest game platform, now belongs to Ziweixing International. In the past year, including membership fees and game commissions, the revenue exceeded US$5 billion and the profit exceeded US$2 billion, which is the highest net profit among Ziweixing International's many businesses.

Zhang Chaoyang looked at him meaningfully, "If Steam doesn't take a cut from DOTA2, the profit of this game will double."

"It has nothing to do with me. This is the trend in Europe and the United States." Zhou Buqi shirked his responsibility, and then he was a little worried, "China has also learned from this. They complain every day that the 30% cut from iPhone is too high. They have set up an Android Alliance to take a 50% cut from mobile games. After the launch of Honor of Kings, there will be trouble!"

Zhang Chaoyang said, "Don't worry, you are the one who has the final say in the mobile phone industry!"

"Forget it, let's talk about this after they confirm it." Zhou Buqi waved his hand, "Anyway, the production costs of League of Legends and DOTA2 should be different. The profit difference is ten times, and the investment in the series is also ten times different. This is fair!"

It was the same in the previous life.

League of Legends made an animation, which is a big production, with an investment of $100 million per season. The plot is compact and the production is exquisite, which can be called a masterpiece.

DOTA also made an animation, but the investment was much lower, only $10 million, and the graphics and special effects were not so sophisticated. Fortunately, the plot is very good, and it can be regarded as a very good animation work.