Chapter 48: The Place They Stood Had Changed
Chapter 48: The Place They Stood Had Changed
Ah... the combat really looks exactly like The Land Of Fantasy. Though the graphics feel a bit more refined?
In truth, there were quite a lot of differences, but from the perspective of someone only just examining it for the first time, that was how it appeared.
Cheon Wooil frantically sent troops around, moved supplies, and dispatched trade caravans while desperately trying to maintain his territory. Since this was his first time playing, expanding his power was out of the question. He was simply doing his best to survive.
Even so, he became immersed enough to momentarily forget that this was supposed to be a demonstration play session for contract negotiations.
Of course, part of that was because the game itself was fun, but an even bigger reason was that it perfectly matched Cheon Wooil’s tastes. He had always liked this sort of strategy game.
“Assistant Manager?”
“Yes? Ah. Right.”
At first, Hyein had watched with satisfaction, but when the demonstration dragged on too long, she carefully called out to Cheon Wooil, making him realize just how deeply immersed he had become.
“...It’s extremely fun.”
Strictly speaking, excessively praising the other side’s game was not ideal in negotiations like this. But considering the way he had already behaved, he could not exactly start saying strange things now.
I don’t know if it’ll become as huge a success as the last game, but there’s definitely demand for this.
Only belatedly did Cheon Wooil recover some of his composure and properly evaluate the situation. One thing was certain: this was a game they absolutely needed to secure. He himself already felt like buying a copy to play once it officially released.
However, whether it was as safe a card as an RPG was another matter entirely.
Maybe overseas it would be different, but Korea’s market was still immature. Many people were only just beginning to discover the fun of gaming, while the number of core gamers remained small. That made it difficult to predict how much interest people would show toward an unfamiliar genre like turn-based strategy, especially one with relatively complex systems.
At least it had the advantage of being recognized as the developer behind The Land Of Fantasy.
Because of that, simply throwing around overly generous revenue-sharing percentages felt dangerous.
“It’s definitely a fun game. However, the genre is somewhat unfamiliar, so... how about forty percent?”
“Even considering the success of the previous title, forty feels too unchanged.”
“Then... forty-one, no, forty-two percent, perhaps? There are still risk factors involved. And it’s difficult for me to say this, but the previous contract already had a fairly high percentage for a first agreement, so there are limits to how far we can raise things on our side.”
Cheon Wooil practically wore a pleading expression. Of course, it was partly a skill as a businessman and industry professional, but it was not entirely an act either. Distributors absolutely did not simply sit still and steal developers’ profits.
Even the forty-two percent he just mentioned could potentially create losses for them if sales did not perform well enough.
Hyein thought quietly for a moment.
In truth, neither Hyein, Insu, nor Seongcheol had particularly high expectations regarding the revenue split. As Cheon Wooil himself had mentioned, they already knew the previous title, The Land Of Fantasy, had received an unusually high distribution percentage. That fact had become even clearer after negotiating contracts with overseas distributors afterward.
Since they had already started with such favorable conditions, it would naturally be difficult to raise them much further. Furthermore, they had received useful information from Hyun Soft when attempting the American contract, so unless something unusual happened, they had already intended to sign with Hyun Soft again.
Isn’t this acceptable enough?
Hyein’s goal had simply been to avoid setting a bad precedent by signing under exactly the same terms again, so she only intended to negotiate a slight increase. And the other party’s attitude also felt sincere enough that after pretending to deliberate for a moment, she accepted.
“Alright. Then let’s go with forty-two percent.”
Cheon Wooil’s expression brightened instantly. Of course, that too was partly one of his negotiation skills.
Thus, the domestic contract was concluded immediately. It had admittedly proceeded rather smoothly, partly because both Insu and Hyein did not place especially high importance on the domestic market.
Compared to America or Japan, Korea’s market size was simply too small. Even so, because it was still their home base and possessed future growth potential, they had not ignored it entirely.
However, Japan and America were different stories altogether.
First came TechnoShock’s response.
“Yukiko!”
“Yes?”
“Parallel Soft released a new title.”
“Yes...”
“What are you doing?! Hurry and prepare the business trip team!”
Manager Isao immediately dispatched subordinates to Korea. Within TechnoShock, Parallel Soft’s status had become extremely high.
Naturally, a studio that had produced a game successful not only in Japan but also in America deserved tremendous treatment. But more importantly, Parallel Soft had effectively acted as a relief pitcher during one of TechnoShock’s crises.
At the time, TechnoShock had not been on the verge of collapse, but it had clearly been heading toward severe instability. Then the Korean-imported game The Land Of Fantasy, released in Japan under the title Fantasy World, became a major hit and extinguished the immediate fire.
And sending representatives like this was not merely an act of courtesy. They had done the same thing previously. Once people received a certain level of treatment, failing to repeat it afterward made disappointment feel twice as severe. And now Parallel Soft’s status had grown even larger than before.
“Ah! You were Mr. Takahashi, correct?”
“Yes! I’m honored you remembered.”
Since he had already heard that the company representative had changed to the wife, Takahashi did not appear flustered and instead focused directly on Hyein. Since the game itself needed to be demonstrated, the negotiations took place inside the development room.
Naturally, Insu simply sat quietly in one corner, pretending to be the CEO’s son while observing everything.
“Thank you for coming all the way here.”
“Not at all. It’s only natural.”
After exchanging greetings, they moved straight into the demonstration.
As expected...
That was Takahashi’s reaction after playing the game for a while. The genre was somewhat different, but the form and quality of Fantasy World remained fully alive. No, it had clearly evolved even further.
And although the genre itself felt somewhat unfamiliar, enough systems resembled the previous title that adapting to it was not difficult.
More importantly, it’s fun!
The artwork and sound were excellent, but beyond that, the sophisticated systems transformed the fantasy of becoming a medieval noble from something light and flimsy into something possessing concrete realism, making immersion even stronger.
Takahashi personally disliked games that looked impressive on the surface but lacked substance underneath, and from that perspective, this game absolutely passed.
However, regardless of how satisfied he felt personally, revenue negotiations were a separate issue entirely.
“Forty-five percent would be difficult.”
Cold sweat formed on Takahashi’s forehead. Of course, he had already expected the success of The Land Of Fantasy to drive the percentage upward sharply. But this was still too steep a jump.
“The Japanese gaming market spends heavily on marketing costs, so there are limits to how high we can go.”
“...”
Hyein already understood Japan’s market characteristics to some extent. Before becoming interested in games, she had not known much, but after inheriting the CEO position, she had studied independently, and her husband had also enthusiastically taught her many things.
Still, whenever merchants claim they make no profit, it’s always a lie.
Her resolve wavered slightly, but she decided to hold firm a little longer. Besides, Hyun Soft had already promised a comparable percentage. Naturally, she could not mention that. Revealing revenue splits to other distributors violated contract agreements.
“I’ve heard that some games received as much as fifty percent.”
As the other side refused to back down, Takahashi desperately searched for persuasive material. But judging from Hyein’s attitude and the way she spoke, despite her young appearance, she clearly knew quite a lot.
If I try bluffing carelessly, she might use it against me instead.
Eventually, he decided to speak honestly.
“I don’t know whether I should say this, but if this had been a highly popular genre like an RPG, or a direct sequel to the previous game, then even if we couldn’t reach forty-five, we might still have found some way to approach it.”
“Didn’t you say the game was fun?”
“Ah, of course. I evaluate this game highly. But the market itself is cold-hearted. Because of that, we have no choice but to analyze things based on previous data as much as possible.”
The two continued pulling and pushing like this for quite some time, and after lengthy negotiations, they eventually settled on thirty-nine percent.
They squeezed us almost down to the absolute limit.
Takahashi felt somewhat bitter internally, but since the contract had ultimately succeeded, he smiled brightly like a proper businessman, and like a proper Japanese salaryman, and concluded the negotiation with a handshake.
Velocity Entertainment’s reaction afterward proved just as enthusiastic as Japan’s.
[You’re saying it takes three weeks just to receive the visa?]
“Yes.”
Since they could not confidently predict the exact development schedule, they had been unable to apply for visas in advance. This was only possible because they had submitted the application immediately after hearing the game was definitely complete.
At this time, traveling to America absolutely required a visa. Even then, things had become relatively easier only because overseas travel liberalization had occurred two years earlier in 1989.
[Then we’ll come to you instead.]
Velocity Entertainment practically did not hesitate before deciding they would fly over personally. Of course, since American citizens could enter Korea without visas, this was also the more practical choice. But if Parallel Soft had been some insignificant studio, there was no chance Velocity Entertainment would have acted this way.
This alone demonstrated both Parallel Soft’s success and how highly Velocity Entertainment valued the new title.
“Oh! So this is the development room?”
They genuinely arrived the very next day. Insu quietly waited in the development room after receiving advance notice by phone. Soon afterward, he heard footsteps climbing the stairs, followed by a large white man entering alongside his mother.
“Yes. Please come this way.”
As Robert followed Hyein inside, he glanced around the development room curiously. Considering this was supposedly the birthplace of TLF, it felt smaller than he had expected.
“You can simply run PLAY.BAT directly.”
“Ah. Yes. Then excuse me.”
After exchanging a short conversation, they began the game demonstration.
The atmosphere feels similar to the previous title.
It felt like an improved version of TLF. That was good news. Even though the genre was different, Robert believed this atmosphere alone could probably attract part of the previous game’s fandom.
Automatically generated maps? So they’re emphasizing the simulation aspect more heavily?
Robert showed no dissatisfaction whatsoever toward the turn-based strategy genre itself. It made sense, since the genre already possessed a fairly large fanbase in America and had been rapidly growing recently.
The illustrations are incredible!
The flow worked remarkably well: several atmospheric images established the mood early on, then sophisticated-feeling systems followed afterward, reinforcing a strong sense of realism.
This is far more serious than I expected.
Then again, thinking about it carefully, TLF itself had received praise for feeling as though it genuinely recreated a fantasy world through intricate systems. Perhaps there had never been any reason to doubt its depth or sophistication in the first place.
Maybe it was simply preconceived bias caused by the JRPG-like color palette and design style. In America, after all, JRPGs generally were not associated with particularly heavy or serious experiences.
Of course, no matter how complex systems were, they meant nothing if the game failed to integrate them properly. Robert concentrated intensely while analyzing the gameplay.
But no matter how closely he examined it, he could not really find any glaring holes.
The only thing obstructing him was the game’s difficulty itself.
It was not absurdly difficult or unfair, but unlike his initial assumption, he could not simply charge recklessly forward. Merely surviving the attacks and pressure generated by the systems and AI opponents already required significant concentration.
And that aspect was fun.
It genuinely felt like the game had successfully recreated the experience of surviving as a medieval noble.
Since becoming a one-man unstoppable force was impossible, encountering a powerful neighboring enemy meant entering another noble’s service as a vassal, growing under them, then eventually betraying them or declaring independence. Even those processes carried a surprising sense of depth.