Is it not a galgame?

Pokeni is simply the king of output, constantly shaking up the entire world and the gaming industry.

Even an earth dragon cannot turn over as diligently as Qing Zhiyuan.

Basically there is an earthquake every year and a earth-shaking change every three years. So far, this little engine of Pokeni has given everyone a very strong sense of push back.

As a result, many game manufacturers are unable to adapt.

"If I hadn't caught up with Pokeni, I wouldn't know where I would have been left behind by the times."

"This isn't a hitchhiking ride, it's a rocket!"

"If Pokeni continues to develop at this rate, we can even build spaceships in the future. I mean the kind that can really chase our dreams among the stars."

"It's terrible, it's terrible."

……

Just when the world was shocked and horrified by the open source of Paradox's Pioneer Engine, Qing Zhiyuan had already led his soldiers to the next opportunity.

When it comes to smartphones, Iwata was quite efficient. Not only did he find some retailers in the United States and China, he also teamed up with LG in South Korea to develop mobile phone screens for Paradox.

Although LG thinks they are crazy, why refuse if there is money to be made?

But in this case, except for the relatively cheap prices offered by downstream retailers in China, such as the mobile phone body, internal mechanical components, etc., Pokoni basically outsources everything that can to China.

The remaining parts are hard nuts to crack, and China's current strength does not allow it to crack them.

For example, the mobile phone screen was outsourced to LG, the chip part was outsourced to Nvidia, and the operating system is still being digested internally. Poaching is not smooth, but we have managed to recruit two or three core operating system experts from some large American companies.

However, apart from the Chinese part, other costs have gone up.

This also means that the first version of the smartphone will have to be sold at a higher price to be profitable.

"So, how much do you estimate it will sell for?" Qing Zhiyuan asked.

Iwata frowned, estimated, and responded somewhat uncomfortably, "It's hard to say now, but it will definitely be more expensive than the game console. It's very likely to be priced at around $400. Even without considering tariffs, Japan will sell it for around 40000 yen."

Qing Zhiyuan didn't say anything, but thought silently.

According to the current research and development progress of smart phones, large-scale production should be around 04, which means it is expected to be released at the end of 04.

2004 US dollars in 400 is roughly equivalent to 5000 RMB.

But, this is 04!!!

Qing Zhiyuan's mouth curled up slightly, "400 US dollars still has a lot of room for improvement."

"I am pessimistic. After we have established the market and gained the right to speak, technological progress may be able to reduce costs. It is unlikely now."

"No, Iwata-san, you misunderstood me." Qing Zhiyuan said with a smile, "I mean there is still room for increase. We can definitely set the initial price at 600 US dollars!"

"Huh?!" Iwata was shocked.

Didn't you expect the president to be so crazy?
"The price of mobile phones on the market is generally around $400, and Nokia's flip phones can be sold for nearly $500," Qing Zhiyuan said with a smile, "There is no reason for us to sell cheaper than them."

Moreover, you should know that the first generation of iPhone was released in 1!
We are 3 years ahead of schedule, which makes it a unique and rare product.

"By positioning the price higher at the beginning, we have room to make mid- and low-end smartphone products," said Qing Zhiyuan.

what……

It turned out to be the case.

Iwata was slightly stunned, then he immediately understood, "President, you are far-sighted and thoughtful."

Qing Zhiyuan curled his lips and said, "My goodness, how come a guy like you with thick eyebrows and big eyes like Iwata Satoru has learned to flatter people?"
……

In addition to leaving room for future price cuts and mid- and low-end products, Qingzhiyuan has another important consideration when pricing the device at $600.

If the mobile phone manufacturers in Europe and the United States become jealous by then, we might get into trouble and the United States may very likely increase tariffs.

Then leaving enough profit margin is a precautionary measure.

Of course, who doesn’t want more profits?

As long as Pokeni can get the lion's share, they will have enough funds to fight.

It is not easy to be the one who makes the rules.

"correct."

Before the meeting ended, Qing Zhiyuan suddenly remembered something and kept Iwata Satoshi and Operations Director Takahashi Kazuma.

“Didn’t we perform as an orchestra at an electronics show before?”

"Uh-huh."

Iwata Satoshi and Takahashi Kazuma blinked their eyes, their hands still on their notebooks, ready to write down the president's opinions and suggestions at any time.

"I think we should find some world-class symphony orchestras to hold Pokeni's own concerts regularly."

"Huh?" The two of them looked up at President Qing at the same time.

game?

Having a concert?

……

Iwata Satoshi and Takahashi Kazuma also knew something about this. After all, they were all in the gaming industry and knew that many game companies held game concerts regularly.

According to the general public's thinking, holding a game concert is really crazy.

Generally speaking, people who give concerts are basically singers or musicians.

For example, Ayumi Hamasaki's solo concert or the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra's symphony concert.

Either it is very elegant or very popular.

But it is rare to hear of games holding concerts.

But in fact, the history of holding concerts in games is very long.

As early as 1987, Dragon Quest music producer Koichi Sugiyama personally held a "Family Classical Concert" every year to play Dragon Quest game music.

The music of Dragon Quest is considered a revolution in the field of video games because of its use of orchestral music.

Later, concerts were held for classic games such as the Final Fantasy series, Wizardry series, Dragon Quest series, Kirby series, Fire Emblem series, Donkey Kong series, and Super Mario series.

After entering the year 2000, because the Final Fantasy series had accumulated many fans over the years and players were very familiar with the music of the series, all parties saw the business opportunities and many orchestral concerts playing the music of the series appeared.

Generally speaking, only large companies have the ability to hold a series of concerts, such as Sony, Square, Nintendo, Capcom, etc.

Small companies are often powerless. Take the famous small Japanese company Falcom as an example. The company has accumulated rich music resources over the years and released many orchestral arrangement albums.

However, there has never been an orchestral concert held there. Only the orchestral recording album "FALCOM NEO CLASSIC From Studios In London City", which the company collaborated with the famous London Symphony Orchestra in the mid-90s, allows people to imagine the scene of a "concert".

"Nowadays, holding concerts in games has become a cultural phenomenon that cannot be ignored." Qing Zhiyuan said, "There are actually many benefits to having our games hold concerts.

The first is the enhancement of brand value. The Final Fantasy concert held last year is a vivid example. "Qing Zhiyuan said. This concert was the only one that used an orchestra and theme song performance as the theme, and almost all the classic Final Fantasy series theme songs appeared in this concert.

As the above concerts were held one after another, the music of the Final Fantasy series gradually became widely known, and even many people other than game players began to pay attention to the music of this series. Among them, Nobuo Uematsu's easy-to-understand melodies contributed greatly to this, which also made the music of this series become something like popular classical music.

Nobuo Uematsu personally participates, new songs often appear in the music selection, and CGs from the Final Fantasy series are also played on site.

It can be said that this is a benefit completely for fans.

Japanese audiences and players are not unfamiliar with this, and even welcome it.

……

Pokeni has so many ace IPs in its hands so far, but it has not held its own music festival, which is completely beyond the expectations of players.

In fact, according to the ideas of Satoru Iwata and Kazuma Takahashi, the president should have done this a long time ago.

It's just that everyone has been very busy before and hasn't been able to put it on the agenda.

Kazuma Takahashi agreed, "Game music has gradually become a cultural phenomenon that cannot be ignored, and game concerts have served as an important channel for the dissemination of game music. In recent years, they have appeared in many regions around the world and have become a hot topic among players.

And if you have some original music that's worth showing off, especially world-class game music, holding an unusual game concert will not only increase the popularity of the game itself, but also enhance the image and value of many game brands.

Think about it, Final Fantasy has received such high attention and praise from all over the world. In addition to the game itself, the spread of game music has also played an important role. "

"Yes, yes. The soundtrack of Final Fantasy has elevated the brand of this series by a lot, and its specifications have been raised all of a sudden." Qing Zhiyuan said with a smile, "This is the brand value enhancement brought by the concert."

"Moreover, once game concerts become a routine and a large scale, the concerts themselves can become a brand and provide high value." Qing Zhiyuan said, "Ayumi Hamasaki holds a world tour concert every year, so can we see a lot of sponsors' advertisements at every concert?"

Ayumi Hamasaki, who was made famous by Pokeni, has now become the number one actress in Asia. The title of "Workaholic" is not given for nothing.

Pokeni also sponsored some of her concerts, so naturally she got a share of the profits.

Nowadays, Pokeni Company actually makes a lot of money by organizing concerts for artists. In addition to selling concert tickets, part of the income comes from advertising.

“It’s just a continuing hotspot.”

The best advertising hotspots must be sustainable, such as the evening news, which must be broadcast at 7 p.m. every day. Its advertising effectiveness will be much higher.

The advertising effect of movies is not as good as that of TV series. A TV series can be broadcast for one month and its exposure can increase every day.

The movie is gone after one show, so its popularity is very limited.

This is also the reason why many game companies in the past were unwilling to advertise in movies, but instead preferred to advertise in TV series or continuously broadcast variety shows.

“If Pokeni holds concerts or even music festivals every year, the continued popularity and corresponding economic benefits will be considerable.

This is a bit similar to the linkage between film and games, except that it is on a small offline scale, with high ticket prices and high thresholds, so the hot spots and popularity are more concentrated.

However, taking care of the fans' emotions and spreading the value of Paradox's games is a higher level.

……

When Qing Zhiyuan said this, Iwata Satoshi and Takahashi Kazuma seemed a little excited, and both of them were thinking about how to run the music festival well along this line of thought.

"And game concerts are quite different from traditional classical concerts or pop concerts."

Qing Zhiyuan gestured with his hands, "If classical music is played here, at a relatively high position, and pop music is played here, a little lower, it's not about high or low, but the aloof feeling that the music gives people.

Our game concerts are somewhere in between.”

Moreover, as more and more game concerts are held, it will also greatly promote the overall image of the game industry.

It can make the general public aware of the artistic quality of games and change the negative image of games in the public domain, such as violence and bloodiness.

Moreover, through the invisible language of music and the special form of live performance, the distance between players and game music is shortened.

When a song in a game that gamers have heard countless times suddenly sounds on a theater stage, they may be moved to tears. This is an indescribable feeling.

Last year at the E3 exhibition, Pokeni's image was greatly improved because Tan Dun led the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra to play the soundtracks of several of Pokeni's classic games on the spot.

Of course, this is also because the quality of Pokeni's games and music itself is high enough.

"I understand." Iwata Satoshi and Takahashi Kazuma nodded.

What President Qing just said has been analyzed in great depth.

Music itself is a carrier of culture.

Pokeni's game music has an epic feel, and the game itself brings the audience closer, making it very suitable for concerts. And because Pokeni has a wide player base, there should be quite a few people coming in.

In addition, concerts and exhibitions are similar and can receive government subsidies for similar reasons.

Improve the city's image, boost the development of local tourism, sales of surrounding products, hotels, sales industries... all of these can be boosted.

And once the Pokeni music festival becomes a routine, it can create high brand value in itself.

"So should we hold a music festival and package the music from our games together and perform them at the festival?" Iwata asked, "Or should we take out a certain series of products and hold their own concerts?
Like, say, a Witcher concert?"

Ok……

“Both,” Qing Zhiyuan said. “The more mature and world-renowned IPs, such as Pokémon and Demon Hunter, have enough accumulation and can hold their own concerts. Other less well-known or relatively new game products can be put together to become a music festival.”

After discussing for a while, the few people were able to come up with a rough plan.

According to Qing Zhiyuan's expectation, a pokeni music festival will probably be held at the end of this year, and some powerful symphony orchestras can be invited to perform at that time.

But the specific time will definitely depend on how it is actually implemented.

In fact, it is more reasonable to pre-sell tickets half a year in advance, and it can also serve as a warm-up.

But now it seems that time is indeed a bit tight.

"How about this," Qing Zhiyuan said to Takahashi Kazuma, "We'll let you guys take charge of this matter. You can pull out a small team to do this, and then have Shimomura Yoko cooperate with you. All the company's music-related business, especially large-scale business like this, should go to him."

To be honest, Qing Zhiyuan was eager to find Hisaishi Joe, but unfortunately Hisaishi Joe was not a Pokeni.

But Yoko Shimomura is also very accomplished in music. She is a music giant in the gaming industry and has formed her own band before. Her strength should not be underestimated.

Maybe Xiacun will be very interested in this.

If things go well, Qing Zhiyuan plans to hand over all matters related to Paradox Club and music to Yoko Shimomura in the future.

The music festival is the first step, and in the future we can continue to build pokeni cultural activities around the game. It is also feasible to have a carnival every year.

When you make enough money, it's time to increase your value.

Becoming a cultural symbol, continuously exporting corporate value, and snowballing the fan base are the future strategies formulated by Qing Zhiyuan and Iwata.

"Okay." Kazuma Takahashi wrote it down in his notebook.

Everyone had almost finished their discussion, so Qing Zhiyuan disbanded the meeting.

……

...(End of chapter)