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Chapter 65 : All the RPGs in the World Are in the Bag
If you were to ask who the biggest sinner in the Western gaming industry is, the answer is simply too obvious.
Of course, it is Atari.
But what Atari destroyed was the past of the Western gaming industry.
And there is an even more damn awful entity that destroyed the future of the Western gaming industry.
Electronic Arts, EA.
Е̃ n̄ ūm̊ā
Westwood, PopCap, Origin Systems...
If the company names still sound a bit unfamiliar, their famous works are truly world-renowned.
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Westwood's Command & Conquer and Red Alert series.
PopCap's Plants vs. Zombies.
And Origin Systems' progenitor of Western CRPGs, Ultima.
So many excellent studios were shut down due to strategic adjustments after being acquired by EA.
Eń ū m̌ã . і d̀
This worst gaming company in the world almost single-handedly destroyed the future of the Western gaming industry.
However, the EA at this time was still just a company that had been starting up for two years.
Although it already had multiple best-selling masterpieces and the cash cow that was EA Sports, it still had a long way to go before becoming the true bully giant of the future.
...
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Austin, Texas.
From the moment Lin Lixin saw Richard Garriott, he knew this man was absolutely a powerhouse.
Е n u mа̃_
At least he had more of a kingly aura than Van Caneghem.
Although he was only twenty-six years old, his forehead was already shiny, and his hairline could no longer be seen from the front.
As for his attributes, apart from not having medical skills, he was also an almost perfectly well-rounded talent.
"Lord British! It is truly a pleasure to meet you. I guess I have successfully met my idol."
Lin Lixin called out Garriott's title in the community and offered a polite greeting.
"Hard to say, I think I am the one who successfully met my idol."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Richard laughed heartily, feeling like they should have met sooner.
"Mr. Lin, you want the Ultima IV we are currently developing to be ported to the NovaBox?"
This request was not considered excessive. In fact, the Ultima series had been multi-platform compatible since its inception.
Even the first Ultima, released back in 1980, was compatible with mainstream PCs like the Apple II, C64, DOS, and MSX.
Porting it to one more platform was not a bad thing at all; rather, it was an opportunity for their game to sell a few more copies.
Even if Lin Lixin had not come to find him today, he had already prepared to make a special trip to visit GAMENOVA to purchase a third-party development license.
Е̃ nú m̃ a. іd
Counting the installed base of the NES and the NovaBox, Ultima would definitely sell far more copies than in the past.
Wait.
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Thinking of this, Richard suddenly realized the hidden issue within.
Lin Lixin making a special trip to visit him was probably not just that simple.
"Mr. Lin... do you want Ultima to sign an exclusivity agreement for the NovaBox?"
Only this reason could convince him.
Ѐ n̆ ù m̃.а
Anyone with a discerning eye could see the open and secret competition between the NES and the NovaBox.
Lin Lixin definitely wanted to eliminate this opponent as soon as possible too.
No wonder he came knocking on the door personally.
But having figured this out, Richard actually felt a bit conflicted.
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Exclusivity meant he had to give up the equally vast NES market, as well as the massive PC market. Even if it was to join GAMENOVA, the loss would outweigh the gain.
"Exclusivity? No, no, no, Mr. Richard, I just want to invite Origin Systems to become our third-party developer, that is all."
É num а̌
"Hmm? Aren't you worried about Nintendo and the others?"
"Why should I worry about a machine that can display a maximum of 13 colors on screen at once and has a processor clock speed of only 1.8Mhz?"
Lin Lixin spread his hands, putting on an attitude of complete unconcern.
"In this world, only the NovaBox has the capability to display the grand world of Ultima."
Players who play the NES might not necessarily be able to accept the hardcore nature of traditional RPGs, nor would they necessarily like its hardcore visual style.
But the NovaBox was different.
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Its core user base was exactly this group of hardcore players.
Even if they were to buy it, players would be more inclined to buy the full-blooded version, or even a version of Ultima that surpassed the PC version's performance, rather than a castrated version on the NES.
...
Without expending much effort, two of the three major Western RPGs officially joined as GAMENOVA's third-party studios.
But thinking of this last company, Lin Lixin suddenly felt a bit of a headache.
This company's work could be called the progenitor of dungeon-crawling games and was the undisputed living fossil of CRPGs.
W̄é bn̈ оv̇ е_l̆ En̄um̊а̄
Even the dominant JRPGs of later generations, like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, were profoundly influenced by it.
Its name was: Wizardry.
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However, Lin Lixin's difficulty with it was not because he was worried its licensing fee would be too expensive, but rather because of their company, Sir-Tech.
An exceptionally rebellious and maverick gaming company.
They insisted on independence, focused on game quality, and absolutely refused to be acquired by large companies.
It had to be said that this was absolutely an admirable company.
Еńum̀а. і̂.d̊
But the fate of idealists was usually not very good.
In the late 1990s, Sir-Tech fell into financial difficulties due to the rapid changes in the electronics industry and ultimately collapsed at the dawn of the millennium.
Logically speaking, Sir-Tech's philosophy should be very compatible with Lin Lixin's ideas, and the two sides would definitely have a lot of common ground.
But the problem was that he was coming on behalf of GAMENOVA. Who knew if he would be treated as a bully attempting a hostile takeover, thereby creating a bad first impression.
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Besides that, the most troublesome issue was that Sir-Tech's headquarters was located in Canandaigua, New York.
New York State was right next to New Jersey, the home base of NOA, Nintendo of America. It was undoubtedly enemy territory.
Е núm̀ӑ
...
"Get out! Get out! Take your broken machine and get out!"
Just as Lin Lixin arrived at the door of the meeting room, he heard several angry roars coming from inside.
Following that, another, more steady middle-aged male voice was arguing strongly on the basis of reason, carrying a faintly imperceptible accent.
Lin Lixin raised an eyebrow and was arranged to wait quietly to the side amidst the awkward expression of the receptionist.
After a long while, a figure violently pushed open the meeting room door and walked out. It was a typical Japanese face, wearing a striped suit.
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Lin Lixin was slightly taken aback, his eyes narrowing.
It was actually Minoru Arakawa.
Although his expression still bore a professional smile, the details of his brows and eyes did not look happy at all. He was clearly suppressing his anger.
It seemed he had arrived at just the right time.
Nintendo, having lost Tetris and Zelda, was probably in a hurry to find a few works that could hold the fort.
He did not expect them to also reach out to RPG games and even find a local American manufacturer.
Е n ůḿ_ă. і̌ d̆
It was just that... it seemed the talks did not go very pleasantly.
This was perfect. He let NOA step on the landmine for them in advance, doing the suppressing part of the suppress before praising tactic.
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Now he only needed to bring out the exact same cooperation contract he had shown the previous two companies, and that would be enough.
Lin Lixin took the initiative to step forward, extending a hand toward him, wearing that punchable, harmless smile on his face.
"Mr. Minoru Arakawa? Thank you so much, really, thank you."
"Hmm?"
Е̊ ǹ_ū m̄ ӓ
Minoru Arakawa, who was still in a fit of anger, only shook his extended hand out of courtesy, not even looking him straight in the eye.
...
After walking out the company door, Minoru Arakawa seemed to sense something and looked back.
That young man who had inexplicably approached him just now was currently carrying a briefcase and stepping into Sir-Tech's meeting room.
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"Hiss..."
Minoru Arakawa felt that something was not quite right.
En̂ ũ ṁа̊
He had originally thought that person was just some receptionist from Sir-Tech responsible for handing things over to him.
Looking at it now, why did it seem like something was wrong??
(End of Chapter)
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