Tokyo: Being coveted by my wife, I just want to play games

Chapter 382 FIFA!

During the two days in Osaka, Fuyukawa Che had a fulfilling and happy time.

After accompanying Kaori Akiyama to meet with some memory and screen suppliers, Toshikawa Tetsu also brought Kaori Akiyama back to Tokyo. The first thing they did after returning to Tokyo was to watch Himawari Izumi perform at the World Cup match at the Tokyo National Stadium.

Tokyo is the core city of Japan and also the largest tourist city in Japan.

Although Izumi Himawari didn't hold concerts to make money like other singers and stars, she has become the most popular female singer in contemporary Japan with her continuous release of new albums in the past two years, and has a great influence on the world. In other words, just like G-Dragon and Girls' Generation in Korea, Beyonce and Adele in the American music scene, and Andy Lau and Jackie Chan in the Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainment circles, Izumi Himawari is now a well-known name card of the Japanese cultural industry.

Especially after the start of this year's World Cup in Korea and Japan, and the release of her super classic album including "Cup of Life", "Waka·Waka", "We Will Rock You", "Riding on the Back of a Silver Dragon" and "Dragon Fist", she has now become a well-known international superstar, with countless fans all over the world fascinated by her.

but
Although she is already famous, to be honest, because she has never held a concert and has only been in the industry for a short time, Izumi Himawari does not have the aura of a super international celebrity. Moreover, she is not performing before the World Cup.
This can be said to have truly attracted worldwide attention!
So, on the day of the performance at the Tokyo National Stadium, which was also the day when the Japanese team played against the Belgian team, this girl was extremely nervous backstage.

It was not until Dongchuan Che rushed back from Kyoto and went backstage that he pulled the nervous little girl into the cubicle, pressed her against the door and spanked her, and after an in-depth conversation, that Izumi Himawari, who was flushed all over and slumped on the sofa, finally relaxed.

But it should be said that although Izumi Himawari gets nervous easily, this is mainly because she is a pessimistic person who easily overthinks and easily scares herself before things actually happen. In fact, when things really happen, she can calm herself down.

The performance was a success. In front of more than 60,000 spectators in the Tokyo National Stadium and countless viewers around the world watching the live broadcast, Himawari Izumi, wearing a cute princess dress, performed the song "Riding on the Back of the Silver Dragon" to the fullest.

What’s interesting is that this game was between Japan and Belgium, playing at home, and most of the fans at the scene were Japanese fans, and Japan has a very strong cheering culture.

The human tsunami and ocean of fluorescent lights formed by the 40,000 to 50,000 people in the audience was indeed spectacular, especially when the song reached its climax. In the box, where he was discussing matters with the Director-General of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Mr. Takemoto Tamon, and the Secretary-General of FIFA, Mr. Thomas, Toru Fuyukawa also felt a surge of emotion.

Yes, the Secretary General of FIFA, the President of the Japan Football Association, Kozo Yamato, and the Director of the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs are all here.

These three internationally influential leaders gathered together, and they also invited Dongchuan Che to join them. Of course, it was not just a simple chat. The main reason was that they all hoped that Dongchuan Che would take over the naming rights of "FIFA" from the well-known game manufacturer EA!
To be honest, when Dongchuan Che received this invitation a few days ago, he was stunned for a moment.

It's not for any other reason, but because
"I'm really sleepy, so I'm sending you a pillow."

In the luxurious stadium box, Dong Chuan Che sat by the floor-to-ceiling window and looked at the bustling stadium outside. He took a sip of oolong tea and chatted cautiously with the three senior officials, while his mind was spinning rapidly.

There are various branches in the gaming field, such as JRPG, ACT, farming simulation, etc., but the most profitable and popular tracks in Europe and the United States are still guns, cars, and balls.

As for guns, he plans to produce "Overwatch" and "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" after "World of Warcraft" and "Pokemon" are released. In addition, if the company has talent, he can also produce the "Battlefield series" simultaneously.

He does not plan to work on the car aspect alone, but plans to integrate the strengths of classic racing games such as "Horizon" and "Need for Speed" into his future Asian version of "That Game 5".

Finally, the ball.

Basketball is difficult, not because of the technical difficulties.

On the one hand, basketball is a native sport in the United States, and American politicians naturally hope that basketball games are made by manufacturers in their own country, which can generate a lot of tax revenue and jobs. If he does not get authorization from those NBA teams, he will not be able to make basketball games, otherwise it will be infringement.

On the other hand, the most well-known basketball game nowadays, the NBA2S series, is actually a bit like the Assassin's Creed series in its previous life. Although it is criticized by players every year, its sales are good every year.
The timing was not right, and Dong Chuan Che felt there was no need to squeeze in.

As for football
The most popular football game today is also called "FIFA".

This "FIFA" is not the same as the "FIFA" in the previous life. "FIFA" is the abbreviation of the International Football Federation. Any football game that cooperates with FIFA and obtains the title license can be called "FIFA".

Honestly speaking, if he just wanted the GOGO platform to capture more of the European and American markets, Dongchuan Che would not really want to make a football game.

There's no other reason than football games aren't actually that profitable.

The game manufacturer that is currently cooperating with FIFA is EA, a top European and American company. They have been cooperating with FIFA for 20 years, and the sales of the "FIFA Football" series have exceeded 20 billion US dollars!

Twenty billion dollars!
It sounds good, but the average for 20 years is less than $1 billion per year.
Revenue minus cost equals profit.

After deducting taxes and fees from the $1 billion, EA is estimated to have just over $500 million in the end. After deducting the platform's commission, even if the commission rate is very low because there is only one popular football game, after several deductions, EA is estimated to have less than $400 million in the end. But that's not the end yet.

Like football and basketball, game manufacturers need to purchase authorization from clubs and players before they can use portrait rights.

This is a huge expense, and if you want to play various European Cups, Asian Cups, and even the World Cup in the "FIFA Football" game, you will have to sign another contract with FIFA, the superior organization of these international cup competitions.

The previous contract between EA and FIFA was $1.5 million a year.

If we add in the image rights fees for various football clubs and players, which are probably no less than this figure, the Champions League, etc., as well as the employee costs, water and electricity costs, rent costs, etc. required for the company's operations, EA's annual revenue from the FIFA football series is actually very low, and even a problem in one operation may result in a loss.

This is actually why there are relatively few football games, but politicians are often more greedy than businessmen, because the politicians and officials in FIFA are essentially workers. They are not in charge of their own companies, and their terms are often several years each, so most politicians will make a lot of money during their term. As for the future, they will no longer be in office anyway, so the future is naturally not important.

The profits of the FIFA football series are relatively thin nowadays, but the current president of FIFA is still raising the price fiercely, raising the licensing fee of 1.5 million US dollars a year signed with EA to 2.5 million US dollars a year!
The profits are not high to begin with, and yet they have to charge an additional 100 million US dollars every year!
FIFA's approach has directly forced EA into a backlash, and now EA has simply shunned FIFA and is working on its own!
FIFA is in a panic now!

FIFA only has the authorization for the national team's continental competitions such as the Asian Cup, America's Cup, European Cup and the World Cup. Other clubs in the five major football leagues, including the authorization of top events such as the Champions League, are not within the jurisdiction of FIFA.

Now EA thinks his asking price is too high and has given up the national team game! This also gave Dongchuan Che the opportunity to enter the football game field, but it is not limited to this.

Japan has been vigorously developing the football industry in recent years, and it is not just empty slogans.

The Japanese government has not only verbally announced the slogan of "winning the World Cup within a hundred years", but has also given the green light to various policies in the field of football and provides a lot of subsidies to the football industry every year.

Without saying too much, in Japan today, even elementary school team competitions require referees to have a referee qualification certificate. Football coaches who lead elementary school football clubs also need to have a coaching qualification certificate, and they cannot be physical education teachers.

Even the leaders of the Japan Football Association have approached him, Toru Fuyukawa, hoping that he could make a football-related cultural product. Whether it is a game, a light novel or a comic, they will all be given the lowest tax benefits!

Taxes are the big expense.

The comprehensive tax rate for Japanese companies is close to 50%. Under such a high tax rate, Fuyukawa Che will not make much money from making football games, but the reason is still the same. He is not only a game manufacturer, but also a channel operator.

As long as the GOGO platform can seize more of the European and American markets, then even if a single football game doesn’t make money, it will be a huge benefit for him. However, the risks are also huge.

In the eyes of outsiders, Dongchuan Che has never made a football game. The development cost of a football game is very high, and before development, he has to buy authorization from various teams in the five major leagues.

To put it bluntly, if Fuyukawa Che wanted to make a football game from scratch and compete with EA's football game, then the cost, including various licensing fees and development costs, would probably start at 100 to 200 million US dollars. This is a huge risk.

In the eyes of others, Fuyukawa Tetsu has reasons to enter the field of football games, but they are not so sufficient. Therefore, Mr. Takemoto Tamon, the head of the Cultural Affairs Agency, Mr. Owada Kozo, the president of the Japan Football Association, and the Secretary General of FIFA appeared in this box today.

"30% tax reduction. Brother Dongchuan, you cut too hard."

After taking the document from Chika Ohara and looking at it, Commander Takemoto Tamon showed a look of pain on his face. He had dealt with Toru Fuyukawa more than once or twice, and he knew very well that Toru Fuyukawa was a black-hearted capitalist who looked gentle and kind, but in fact he was ruthless and profit-seeking. But when he saw this document, his expression was still not calm.

For no other reason, Dongchuan Che agreed to make a football game and would invest at least 500 million US dollars!

Half a billion dollars, and that’s just the development costs!
This is a big-budget production on a massive scale!

Not only will the most advanced technology be used to restore the technical characteristics of each player as much as possible, but Dongchuan Che also promised to build China's Magic City, Japan's Tokyo, the United States' Miami, and the United Kingdom's London in the game!
At that time, players will be able to control their characters in these cities and find other players to form a team together!
After seeing this promise, not only Takemoto Tamon, but the other two present were also shocked.

There is no other reason, it’s just too big!
Nowadays, football games are simply players buying and selling players, training players, and then playing games, but Dongchuan Che wants to build several big cities in reality! There will even be a single-player story mode!
"FIFA" directly became "That Game 5"!
This idea is too exaggerated!

Everyone present was shocked by Dongchuan Che's fantasy! Dongchuan Che just calmly poured a cup of cappuccino for Ohara Chika.

Honestly, if he was just making a football game, he wouldn't have needed to do it on such a large scale.
On the one hand, this is to compete with EA. You know, EA's football games are the only dominant ones in the football game field nowadays. Although players complain about it every year, they still buy it every year. It is difficult to shake EA's base without spending a lot of money.

On the other hand, this is also paving the way for the future.

All game materials can be reused.

For example, after completing "Elden Ring", when he subsequently developed games like "Dark Soul" with similar graphics and combat action modules, the development cost and cycle would be reduced a lot.

Similarly, when he was making the first expansion pack for FGO, he invested 300 million US dollars, and the development cost was very high. But such a high development cost was because he restored Tokyo almost one-to-one, so when he is making a football game now, if he wants to build a Tokyo in the game, all the building models, character models, water models, etc. made in FGO can be used with a little modification.

The company that has achieved the best in this regard should be Ubisoft in its previous life.

Ubisoft produced one Assassin's Creed every year in those days. In addition to the fact that Ubisoft has more than 10,000 employees worldwide, a big reason for the speed of production was that a large amount of material from Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla could be reused.

It's just that Ubisoft has become path-dependent in the later period, and dares not innovate in the gameplay content at all, and it's all about changing the soup but not the medicine. And it's also stupid, and it has to go to Asia to do some ZZZQ like Lao Hei, which is its own death.

With the lessons learned from the past, Fuyukawa Che will certainly not follow Ubisoft's example of sticking to the old ways. As the saying goes, take the essence and discard the dross. Ubisoft's method of stacking a large number of materials in the early stage and reusing them in large quantities in the later stage is not completely unacceptable. The main thing is that we cannot stick to the old ways in terms of gameplay and content.
The material library of these materials is actually the so-called game engine. In the future, if other game manufacturers want to use his game engine, they will also have to give him a commission of about 5%.

This is what is meant by sharpening the knife before chopping wood. The money he spends now will come back tenfold or a hundredfold in the future!

However, the politicians present did not know Dongchuan Che's thoughts. They were still immersed in the beautiful dream of "500 million US dollars development cost" that Dongchuan Che had drawn for them.

For Takemoto Tamon of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, if a game of this scale can achieve a sensation and allow the world to once again see the advancement and innovation of Japanese games, then not only will he be proud, but his political achievements will also look good.

For officials of the Japan Football Association, if this large-scale game can really succeed, it may allow more young people to be exposed to football and fall in love with football, which is also a political achievement.

As for FIFA's Secretary General
He is similar. With EA abandoning FIFA, his life will be much easier if he can get a strong player like Fuyukawa Che. After all, even if Fuyukawa Che is under EA's original 1.5 million US dollars a year contract, it is still 1.5 million US dollars!

If we don't talk about the gray income, the main source of funds for FIFA officials is actually very small. Without the source of funds, they can't even pay their salaries!
All parties involved in the cooperation have their own interests, so the negotiations are naturally easier. Although negotiations on such matters cannot be completed in one day, as the Japanese team tied Belgium 1-1 on the field, Fuyukawa Che also determined the general framework of the terms with several top architects.

He will naturally invest 30 million US dollars in development costs as promised, and the Ministry of Culture and the Football Association will find a way to lower the interest rate of this game named "FIFA One" by Fuyukawa Che to around 30%. As for whether it will be above 30% or below % in the end, it depends on whether Chika Ohara will continue to negotiate with the lower-level leaders of the relevant departments during this period.

As for the Secretary General of FIFA, they offered him a contract of US$1.2 per year, and would help contact the various clubs in the five major leagues and help him negotiate authorization issues.

This amount of content is neither too much nor too little.

By the time they finished talking, the game on the field had completely ended. The Japanese players and fans who had tied with Belgium to qualify were celebrating wildly.

"Hey, in the coming days, the focus of life will be on work again."

After seeing off several officials, Dongchuan Che walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and stretched.

Next to him, Chika Ohara, who was wearing an OL uniform and looked like a secretary, hugged her shoulders and walked to his side in high heels. She looked at the lively stadium with her big elegant eyes and smiled, "Don't be so ungrateful. This opportunity to cooperate with FIFA and get domestic tax reduction policies is not something that everyone can get."

Dongchuan Che held her in his arms and said with a smile: "Whether it is good or bad, it will depend on your ability. If you do well, I will reward you more tonight."

"I'm going to die! You keep saying these bitter things during the day!"

Oohara Chika rolled her eyes in annoyance, but did not break free from his embrace. Instead, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him lightly on the lips, "I know. Really, you've been out for several days, and Kaori still hasn't fed you enough."

"I [digest] quickly, you know that."

"Pfft! You pervert! All right, all right, let's go home quickly. Nanako and Sayuri are coming over for dinner tonight. I'm going to start the car first, you go pick up Xiaokui."

Ohara Chika pouted cutely, then turned and left the room. As the room became completely quiet, Dongchuan Che also looked at the lively stadium outside the window with excitement.

If the cooperation with FIFA is based on the previous Japanese tax rate of about 50%, the profit is not too scary. At most, there will be income every year. However, if the tax rate can be reduced to below 30%, the profit will be very considerable!

And
Football is actually very suitable for playing on handheld game consoles!

"Next year, the flagship game for the handheld console will be Pokémon, followed by FIFA, Hearthstone, and Minecraft in the second half of the year! The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will also be released at the end of the year. I don't believe that we can't snatch the cake from NICO and Big Silver! But"

"You have to eat your meal one bite at a time. You should prepare yourself for famine when you get home."

"Oh, busy again."

After drinking the oolong tea in the cup, Dongchuan Che complained, turned around and twisted his sore neck, and went downstairs to pick up Izumi Himawari who was watching the game with her best friend Yumi after marriage.

(End of this chapter)