The Chaebol Who Flies From Space - Chapter 45



Only Noblemtl

45. Developing a game? (2)

“You didn’t just recommend Tencent. What company were you talking about?”

[You said Alibaba, right? It’s an online distribution company.]

“It seems like they’ve already received investment from other places. Do I really need to invest?”

[That’s why you should do it. China is a country where scammers are rampant. Rather than investing in the early stages of establishment, it is more stable to invest in a company that has some level of recognition.]

“Oh, I don’t know. Where is Alibaba’s headquarters?”

[The company is headquartered in Hangzhou and was founded in 1999. It was established in 2000 after receiving investment from Masayoshi Son. The size of the Chinese online shopping market is still small, but it is growing at an incredibly fast rate.]

According to Ariel’s analysis, it is a company that can be included in a Chinese investment fund along with Tencent.

“So if you include investing in Baidu, you’re investing in three companies in total.”

[I would also recommend other Chinese companies that are worth investing in.]

“Is it a good idea to invest in Chinese hardware companies?”

[There are companies like Haier, famous for their sweet potato washing machines, but I do not recommend them because the initial investment is huge and there is a clear limit to how much the stock price can rise. It is better to invest in Korean companies that make home appliances.]

“So what you’re saying is that China should only invest in IT companies.”

[Yes. The market size is different from Korea. The idea that one toothpick can be sold for 1 billion units in the Chinese market is not effective for manufacturing companies due to regional competition, but it works well for IT companies. It is a completely new market.]

While I was investing, I went to Shenzhen to visit the company.

When I told him I was coming, he set up a meeting place in a corner of the floor that was used as an office.

“I’m sorry for making space in such a mess. The company is making a profit, but it’s still just beginning.”

“It looks like they’re preparing a game distribution business here.”

Some game-related material caught my eye.

“We’re just starting out, so we have a lot to do and need to gather people, but things aren’t going as planned. Even when we contact them to distribute the game, they don’t respond well. Please help us a lot, Mr. Cho.”

After exchanging greetings, we got down to business.

“What did Naspers say when you said an investor showed up?”

Since South African media group Naspers owns nearly half of the shares, coordination of opinions was essential for a large-scale paid-in capital increase.

“I am willing to accept the dilution of my stake since the company’s value has increased in less than two years since I invested.”

“I thought those people wouldn’t object because the company’s value would go up. What do you think, Mr. Ma?”

To me, the opinion of Ma Huateng, who runs the company himself, was much more important.

“To be honest, I was a bit uneasy because a foreign company owned nearly half of the shares.”

I accepted the investment because the company seemed to be on the verge of bankruptcy due to lack of funds, but too much of the stake went to one place.

It’s natural for managers to feel anxious.

“Additional funds are also needed to enter the new game distribution business.”

“I knew it.”

The investment amount I proposed was enough to revitalize the company.

If the paid-in capital increase is carried out, the stake of major shareholder Naspers will be diluted to 35%.

“As you know, I have no interest in being involved in the management of the company. Please consider me as a financial investor.”

That was the biggest reason why Ma Huateng welcomed my investment proposal.

“Then, can you include that in the investment contract?”

“Of course it should be like that.”

There is a world of difference between saying it out loud and writing it down.

After we finished talking about investment, Ma Huateng asked.

“How do you know Brother Lee Rin? When we were in contact, he insisted that I definitely receive an investment.”

“We became close friends after meeting and investing in Maotai.”

“I see. Brother Irin is a very picky person when it comes to dealing with people. He’s not the type of person to become friends with someone he hasn’t met a few times.”

Ma Huateng looked like he wasn’t readily convinced by what I said.

Is that so?

He seemed like a different person when he met me and when he interacted with other people.

“Have you known your brother before?”

“We’ve known each other since we were young, but since our fathers were close, I only heard about it through word of mouth. Since Lee Rin-hyung went to a foreign university, it was hard to even see him.”

As the issue of stakes, which had sharp conflicts of interest, was amicably settled and the topic shifted to personal matters, Ma Huateng’s tense face became much more relaxed.

“I think it was the right decision to enter the game distribution business.”

“I think so too. I looked around to create a revenue model for the company, and the smell of money came from games.”

“Is that so?”

“I’m not bragging, but when you’re doing business, there are times when you have a strong feeling that you’re going to make money.”

“You are a natural born businessman.”

Among the rich, there are those who are in real business and smell the money.

It seemed that Ma Huateng was also of the same type.

“You recommend a game to distribute? Irin hyung praised it very highly. He is playing it himself, and he doesn’t know how time flies by while playing games.”

For some reason, he refused my offer to visit the company with me and seemed to be completely engrossed in a game.

He handed me the game CD he had prepared.

After receiving the CD, Ma Huateng called an employee.

“This is Jangjidong, a friend who started a business with me. He is in charge of the new business.”

Jang Ji-dong, who bowed to me and greeted me, installed the game with eyes full of anticipation.

While the game was installing, I explained the game’s contents to the two people.

“It’s an online game converted into a computer game. Community functions have been minimized due to capacity issues.”

“You can always take your time and work on it later.”

“Is there a problem with the game server?”

In order to distribute games, it was necessary to manage servers, which was difficult.

“That’s the problem. It’s not easy to find online game server administrators in China.”

Since online gaming is still in its infancy, it is not easy to find properly trained game server administrators.

It was the same everywhere.

In Korea, which was the first country to start distributing online games, we had to hire a server manager.

“Korea also has a shortage of people. It won’t be easy to find useful manpower.”

“It’s a headache.”

“If you take charge of distributing the game, we will do our best to secure as many personnel as possible.”

From the very beginning, when the business was just starting out, there was no way the company would have had any competent game experts.

While I was talking to Ma Huateng, the whole game was installed.

“Let’s see. An icon appears on the desktop. I’ll be a sorcerer, so you, Jidong, be a knight.”

Two friends were absorbed in a game.

Starting in the beginner village, I explored every nook and cranny of the game while working my way up through hunting and quests.

I couldn’t just sit there blankly, so I joined in. Every time I play a game, I feel like I’m playing a retro game that feels like an ancient relic.

Even in the space age, people play a lot of games.

The game is linked to brain waves, and once a war breaks out, millions of people gather.

Adult games are a must-have when boarding a pioneering ship because they allow you to feel the texture, touch, and even smell just like in reality.

As I joined the game, the progress became faster. Ma Huateng, who had been playing the game for a long time, was truly impressed.

“It’s amazing. It’s really fun. I especially like the sense of impact I get when hunting. As you said, the community function is weak, but it can be supplemented through distribution.”

Internet messengers were Tencent’s main business area. It showed its confidence in strengthening game community functions.

Jang Ji-dong expressed interest in additional updates.

“What are your plans for additional character development?”

“We will add two new jobs, one every six months.”

Even before signing the game distribution contract, the two showed great interest, but decided to sign the game distribution contract later.

This was because they had not yet officially acquired the IP of the original game. IP (intelectual property) refers to all copyrights that make up the game, including the game’s worldview, story, characters, monsters, images, background music, and videos.

WD Investment’s Jeong Gi-ha, deputy manager, came to us with good news.

“You came in person. You could have just told me the news of the takeover over the phone.”

“Where is that? Even if the boss doesn’t care about formality, the employees below him have a different stance.”

“How much did you decide to buy it for?”

There was a lot of pushing and pulling due to price issues.

The seller wants to charge a high price, and the buyer naturally wants to lower the price.

“I guess I was just wasting my time. I agreed to take over all the IP related to the game for 1 billion. I said yes and cut them off because they wanted to take over the company as well.”

“There is no need to take over since there are no game IPs left. Have you checked with the server administrator?”

“The person in charge of the game was looking to change jobs, so we scouted him. He decided to come over to us. He can work in China without any problems.”

“Wouldn’t it be okay to have just one?”

“The entire server management team is coming over. It looks like they’ve been taught a lot by the CEO.”

I wondered how he must have been in normal times, since he was the CEO who ruined a game that was doing well during the closed beta in an instant due to his greed.

“Why? Isn’t it hard to find a competent server administrator? Even though people criticize Fire Strike’s game operations, there aren’t any users who criticize its server management?”

“I heard that he was severely harassed by his boss for receiving a high salary without doing anything. I guess he thought it was normal because the game server was running smoothly.”

“That boss, isn’t he really crazy? That’s what it means to be a good worker!”

I started cursing on my own.

“That’s right. That’s because the work that server administrators do doesn’t directly involve making money. They probably think it’s funny because there are no problems with the servers. But they get paid a lot, so I guess they’re jealous.”

“There’s a reason why a failing company fails.”

“That’s right! There’s a reason why every company fails.”

At my words, Vice President Jeong Gi-ha’s eyes lit up.

I felt like I said something wrong.

“Since the CEO himself stepped forward and signed the M&A contract, there’s nothing for me to do. I thought investing in Moutai was a family affair and let it slide, but when you were acquiring Emma Brown, shouldn’t you have left the work to us? Didn’t you think of me at all when you were acquiring Emma Brown?”

Honestly, I didn’t think about it.

I kept silent because I thought it would hurt if I spoke my mind honestly.

“I guess you didn’t remember. I was hurt.”

I hated seeing old people have such a sour look on their faces, but I couldn’t say anything.

To be honest, it was my fault. I hired great M&A experts and then went off on my own.