The hot sales of "Manga King" is good news for Yulang Organization, but this is not the only good news for Yulang Organization recently.
In February, Yulang Agency launched a new comic book "Legend of Sword and Fairy".
With its fresh and beautiful painting style, humorous character settings and grand world view, "Legend of Sword and Fairy" helped "Yulang Comics" weekly sales easily exceed 130,000 copies, breaking its own sales record.
After that, for two consecutive weeks, sales of "Yulang Comics", a serialized version of "Legend of Sword and Fairy", continued to rise.
Exceeded 150,000 copies.
The success of "Legend of Sword and Fairy" is largely due to its ability to capture a wider potential audience.
Hong Kong comics have developed rapidly since the 1970s, such as "Bruce Lee", "Dragon Tiger Gate", "Drunken Master" and "Heroes of China"
A series of works with violent styles and explosive male hormones have become popular.
While these works opened up territory for Hong Kong comics, they also invisibly limited the aesthetics of Hong Kong comics, locking the audience to the young male group of 10^25 years old.
Yulang Institution's current highest-selling product is "Heroes of China" by Ma Rongcheng. The single volume sales are about 220,000 copies. This group is behind this sales volume.
The biggest difference between "Legend of Sword and Fairy" and Yulang Agency's previous works is that it not only has the kind of wild imagination that men love, but also has delicate, touching and soul-stirring emotions.
It is an exaggeration to say that it is suitable for all ages, but killing both boys and girls is not a problem.
The popularity of "Legend of Sword and Fairy" not only eclipses the popular new work "Legend of the Emperor" a year ago, but also
And it’s also a record.
Before it, the emergence of any comic under the Yulang Agency could increase the sales of "Yulang Comics" to such an exaggerated level.
Therefore, Yulang Organization couldn't wait to release the single volume of "Legend of Sword and Fairy" in March. Within one month of its release, the sales volume of the single volume easily exceeded 270,000 copies.
As a comic that has just been published not long ago, the sales volume it achieved is enough to prove the excellence of "Legend of Sword and Fairy", and it also proves that the strategy of Yulang Agency is completely correct.
Of course, opening up a new track does not mean that Yulang Organization has given up on the old track.
In the past March, Yulang Organization announced the launch of the "Great Cartoonist" project and invited cartoonists and comic lovers from Chinese-speaking countries and regions to contribute.
If the submitted work is successfully shortlisted for the "Great Cartoonist" program, the cartoonist will receive a Hong Kong dollar contract from Yulang Organization and become the company's exclusive contracted cartoonist.
In addition to the "Great Cartoonist" project, Yulang Organization also released its annual report in March.
Although the local comics business saw sales fluctuations in the second half of last year, the overall revenue of the local area still increased by 3%. In a market where Yulang Organization has a near-monopoly, it is not easy to achieve such growth.
This number cannot be said to be surprising, it can only be said to be quite satisfactory.
What really surprised the capital market about Yulang Institution was the strong growth of its out-of-town comic business reported in its financial report.
Last year, the sales volume of Yulang Agency's comic business increased by more than 10% in countries and regions such as New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and the Gulf, and there was also slight growth in Japan, South Korea, the United States, Canada and other countries.
It contributed nearly HK$200 million in revenue and a net profit of HK$32 million to the company, accounting for 2/5 of Yulang Institution’s annual profit.
The comics are selling well overseas, which means that Yulang Organization still has huge development potential, and the capital market is naturally willing to pursue it.
On the day the annual report was released, the stock price of Yulang Institution rose in response, with a cumulative increase of more than 19% for three consecutive days, helping the market value easily exceed the 2.2 billion mark. This figure has exceeded the market value of Yulang Institution before the stock market crash.
A few days later, Tao Yumo returned from the mainland, feeling a little depressed.
Many classmates attended Zha Haisheng's funeral. Everyone talked about their experiences in school and remembered their friends, which was inevitably sentimental.
After Tao Yumo came back, he took a nap first, then found Tao Yushu and said solemnly: "Sister, I want to do something in my career!"
Dongdong and Yanyan were grabbing her thighs and clamoring to play with their aunt. The scene was somewhat funny.
But it was rare for Tao Yushu to see his sister so serious, so he asked: "Then what do you want to do?"
Tao Yumo was stimulated by the death of Zha Haisheng. In recent days, he has been reflecting on his life over the past few years and feels that he really does not want to make progress.
"Let's go! Let's go!"
She was stumped by Tao Yushu's question, and the two younger ones came to pester her again, which made her upset, so she pushed the two younger ones away.
Dongdong is already six years old, and luckily, Yan Yan is at the age where she starts crying when she disagrees with her. When her aunt ignored her, she immediately opened the floodgates and turned on the water.
"Ming Ming——My aunt doesn't like Yan Yan anymore, Ming Ming——"
Tao Yumo picked her up helplessly, "If you cry again, I'll let you and your mother go!"
Yan Yan was so frightened that she immediately stopped crying, then she hugged Tao Yumo's neck and shouted sweetly: "Auntie"
Tao Yumo patted her butt, then remembered his ambition just now, and looked at his sister with firm eyes.
Tao Yushu knew that she was in a passionate state at the moment and asked: "Then I can arrange a position for you in the company?"
Tao Yumo was a little hesitant. It was okay for her to watch a movie, but filming a movie was too troublesome. As for going to Yulang Agency, she had a headache just thinking about those cartoons full of muscles.
"I'll think about it again!"
Tao Yushu said: "Okay, then think about it first!"
Tao Yumo nodded heavily with a serious face. If he didn't hold a cute Yan Yan in his arms, this picture would be harmonious.
After talking about business, Tao Yumo was pestered by the two children to play games again, thinking about the grand blueprint for the future.
Tao Yushu and Lin Chaoyang gathered together to study her, "What do you think she can do?"
"Find something related to your hobby."
"What is her hobby?"
"Looking after the kids?"
"Be more serious."
"Then, play?"
"Can playing become a career?"
"Game!"
"Hmm!" Tao Yushu pondered after listening to Lin Chaoyang's words. She felt that what Lin Chaoyang said made sense.
It has been six years since Tao Yumo graduated, but his mental state is still the same as that of a college student in school, and he doesn't look like a thirty-year-old at all.
Her biggest hobby in the past few years has been playing games, and she enjoys it endlessly. Whenever she has free time, she will play endlessly.
And strange to say, she played games so much that she sometimes didn't even eat. She was hungry and full, but she was healthier than anyone else. She hadn't had a cold or fever in several years.
"Let's see how she chooses!" Tao Yushu said.
Early the next morning, while Lin Chaoyang and his wife were having dinner, Tao Yumo walked out of the bedroom with dark circles under his eyes.
"Sister, I want to make a game!"
Tao Yushu and Lin Chaoyang looked at each other and really let you talk.
She did not agree to her sister immediately, but asked: "Do you know how to play games?
D
"I don't know how to make games, but I know how to play games!"
"So far away!"
Tao Yushu made a ruthless comment, which immediately aroused Tao Yumo's indignation.
"Don't look down on others! I'm definitely no worse at playing games than you are at doing business."
"Who can't tell lies? I invested real money in you, what should I do if I lose money?"
"I use my own."
"Are you rich?"
Tao Yushu's eyes were a little suspicious. Tao Yumo immediately became proud, raised his neck and shook his head, not bothering to answer his sister's question.
"How much money is there?" Tao Yushu asked.
Tao Yumo is a little money-crazy. She has never disclosed how much money she has to her family.
"800,000!"
Tao Yushu was slightly surprised when she heard this figure. The money was enough to buy a house in Xiangjiang. She didn't expect that her sister would praise so much money without saying a word.
But it makes sense when you think about it. Tao Yumo currently receives 10,000 yuan a month from the company, and Tao Yushu and his wife will give her some pocket money from time to time.
She usually eats and drinks at home, and goes shopping with Maggie Cheung. Maggie Cheung buys clothes, cosmetics, shoes and bags.
All she buys are game cartridges. How much can she spend?
Feeling that things were a little out of control, Tao Yushu put on a dismissive attitude, "What can you do with this little money?"
"My brother-in-law also said he would give me 10 million!"
"That's a house I bought for you. Your brother-in-law said you can't discount it for cash."
"I want 5 million, no, just 2 million."
Tao Yushu glanced at Lin Chaoyang, and Lin Chaoyang immediately said knowingly: "No, buying a house is buying a house. You can't discount it in cash, nor can you give it a discount."
Tao Yumo opened his mouth angrily, and a bit of sadness and anger arose in his heart that "people are under the eaves and have to bow their heads."
That look was exactly the same as when Yan Yan was pouting and angry because Tao Yushu didn't allow her to eat sweets.
The atmosphere was silent for a moment, and Tao Yushu felt that it was almost time.
"Let's do this. I can invest in you, but you must give me a military order!"
"What military order?"
"The company must make a profit within one year."
Tao Yumo was furious when he heard this request, "You think the game is just selling clothes? Besides, how can I guarantee that the game I make will make money?"
Tao Yushu snorted coldly, "Didn't you still swear by it just now? Now you no longer have confidence? My conditions are here, whether I can make a profit is not my concern!"
Lin Chaoyang told her before that animation, comics, and games are indistinguishable. If Yulang Agency wants to maintain its current growth momentum, it will have to get involved in the animation and game fields sooner or later.
Tao Yushu also conducted a survey and found that, not to mention the difference between animation and comics, the audience for games and animation are indeed highly overlapping.
Xiangjiang’s local market is too small, so it will eventually have to rely on other markets.
Therefore, she was not in a hurry, but chose to expand her business in foreign markets with comics, and tried to diversify her development through investment and acquisition in the future, which might be better.
Tao Yumo wants to start a career, so of course Tao Yushu will support her.
But she has no business experience at all, and gaming is an emerging industry. She just rushed in blindly, and it was inevitable that she would suffer losses.
Tao Yushu decided to give her sister some trouble first. She put on a deliberately difficult attitude just to put some pressure on Tao Yumo.
Faced with her deliberate embarrassment, Tao Yumo was angry for a long time, and finally compromised.
She feels that a man can bend and stretch, so he should get the investment first no matter what.
"Okay, let's talk about equity.
2
Tao Yumo looked serious and said: "I will invest 800,000 in the game company, and you will also invest 800,000, but I am responsible for the management, so I want 60% of the shares."
"Okay. But what if we lose money?"
Tao Yumo stared, "How can there be a guaranteed profit from investing? Aren't you making things difficult for me?"
"You're a law graduate who hasn't attended classes for more than two years, and you have no experience in the gaming industry. I invest in you purely because of sisterhood."
Tao Yushu behaved like a black-hearted businessman, and Tao Yushu was so angry that his teeth almost broke.
Thirty years in Hedong and thirty years in Hexi. Don’t bully young people into poverty.
"If you lose money, I'll work to compensate you!" she said through gritted teeth.
Tao Yushu nodded with satisfaction, "Okay, but you have to calculate the interest!"
Tao Yumo couldn't help but feel bitter.
Lin Chaoyang couldn't help but remind him: "Are you borrowing money? Or are you looking for investment?"
Only then did Tao Yumo realize. After talking for a long time, what was the difference between this and borrowing money to start a company? The key was that she actually gave away 40% of the shares.
"Business is based on integrity. You just agreed, don't you want to go back on it?" Tao Yushu saw her hesitant look and said,
He resorted to aggressive tactics.
"Old and cunning!" Tao Yumo accused unwillingly.
Tao Yushu glanced at her lightly, "After registering the company, remember to tell A-Zhen that I will inject capital into you."
After saying this, Tao Yushu went out to work.
Tao Yumo looked at her back and was sulking, complaining to Lin Chaoyang: "Brother-in-law, why didn't you remind me earlier?"
"How could I have thought you were so stupid!"
Lin Chaoyang's merciless sarcasm completely broke Tao Yumo's guard, "You two are going too far!"
"You call it bullying. Why didn't your sister dare to say this when she was here just now?"
Tao Yumo was silent, and then quickly changed her mind. She knew that her brother-in-law usually gave her sister advice.
The family business is so big, my brother-in-law must take at least half of the credit.
"Brother-in-law, what do you think the first step in setting up my company should be?"
Lin Chaoyang laughed, "Weren't you full of ambition just now? Why do you need to ask me?"
"I---this isn't my first time opening a company. When my sister first started her company, didn't you also give her advice?"
"Can that be the same? Your sister's company is half as big as mine, and your company—"
Tao Yumo hesitated and said, "I'll give you 10% of the dividend."
"I care about your dividends."
"Then how much do you want?"
"At least 30%, shares." Lin Chaoyang emphasized.
"Why don't you go and grab it?"
"That's up to you."
Lin Chaoyang was about to leave as soon as he disagreed. Tao Yumo immediately stopped him and asked, "Can you guarantee that our company will make a profit within a year?"
"Profitability is certain, but whether you can achieve it within a year depends on your execution ability."
Hearing this, Tao Yumo's eyes lit up.
"I promise you."
30% makes 30%. Compared with being sucked out by the black-hearted boss at home, giving up 30% of the shares in exchange for a think tank is nothing.
Lin Chaoyang nodded with satisfaction and asked her: "Tell me what you think first, why do you have to play a game?"
Tao Yumo is a senior gamer and has played at least hundreds of games. At home, he has an Atari 7800, six or seven Nintendo Famicom and Sega Mega consoles, as well as an Apple 2, which is specially used for
Playing PC games such as "Witchcraft" and "Might and Magic".
In order to play games, she also bought a lot of British "Computer and Electronic Games" and Japanese "Comptiq"
Wait for electronic game-related magazines to collect the latest game information.
I worked harder than I did during the college entrance examination.
Tao Yumo scratched his head, "I know the market in Xiangjiang is small and there are piracy, but I just like games. I want to do something that interests me."
"You just said you want to make a game. The game industry is huge. You have no experience and no skills. Do you have any specific ideas?"
Then she regained her composure and said, "I want to make computer games!"
Lin Chaoyang asked curiously: "Why?"
Since Atari created the video game industry in the early 1970s, after more than 20 years of development, the game industry has gradually differentiated into several clear lines, namely console games, arcade games and computer games.
Tao Yumo usually plays console games the most, but when she wants to start a business, she thinks of computer games.
The development of computer games mainly relies on the development of personal computers, and it is still just a little brother in the emerging game industry.
"Console games include giants like Atari and Nintendo. Accessing their platforms requires authorization, which is equivalent to working for others. It is unrealistic for a small business to build a platform on its own.
If you want to make an arcade machine, you need to develop your own substrate, and the threshold is also very high.
Computer games are open source and free, and have the lowest threshold at this stage."
Tao Yumo's thinking was very clear. Lin Chaoyang couldn't help but praise him, "It's good to be able to find your own position!"
Tao Yumo's pretty face showed a bit of pride, "So, you think I'm doing it for nothing?"
She added: "Although the market in Xiangjiang is small, the game industry has developed early and there are many game fans. Although piracy is a problem, it will definitely be no problem to raise a game company. It can also spread to East Asia in the future."
When future generations mention Hong Kong’s video game industry, people have almost no memory of it.
But in fact, the electronic game industry in Xiangjiang started much earlier than that of Wandao, which is also a Chinese-speaking area.
Xiangjiang began to vigorously develop its manufacturing industry in the 1970s, among which the electronics industry was particularly outstanding.
Because of cheap labor, superior geographical location, and favorable government policies, Hong Kong attracted many foreign-invested electronics factories to set up shop at that time.
Among the many electronics factories, another company called Walmart Limited initially specialized in the production of circuit boards, styrofoam and hardware products. Later, it was reorganized into Wang Electronics Company in 1977, specializing in OEM electronic products for foreign companies.
For example, the UK's ZX81VTrch Laser200 computer and the Raspberry Pi's Acorn Microcomputer have chosen Wang Electronics as their foundry.
During such smooth development, Wang Electronics also became a partner of Atari, the dominant player in the American gaming industry, producing Atari 2600 game consoles and computers.
After 1978, due to increasingly close cooperation, the two jointly established Wang's Atari Company and began to act as agents for the sales of Atari game consoles, computers, and game cartridges in Hong Kong.
Wang's Atari agent cultivated the first generation of game fans in Hong Kong, and later Ximen Toys became an agent for Nintendo's handheld consoles and Famicom.
In addition to console games, arcade games have also flourished in Hong Kong since the 1970s, with hundreds of thousands of game enthusiasts in Hong Kong.
Seeing that Tao Yumo was becoming more and more confident as he spoke, Lin Chaoyang asked: "If you think so carefully, why are you asking me?"
Hearing this, Tao Yumo's confidence in guiding the country disappeared. She said with a smile: "Shit, I haven't practiced this yet. It's just an armchair exercise. I urgently need your guidance as an expert."
Lin Chaoyang nodded helpfully and said, "Okay. Since you asked the question sincerely, I will tell you."
Hearing this, Tao Yumo suddenly became excited and stared at Lin Chaoyang closely.
"Two directions, one is to imitate and draw on existing successful models, such as the game Monopoly——"
When people in later generations hear about the Monopoly game, they mostly think of the computer game "Monopoly" developed by Daewoo Games. In fact, the Monopoly game was born as early as the early 20th century.
It was just that it was in the form of a board game at that time, and the core gameplay methods such as throwing dice, buying and selling real estate, and bankrupts being eliminated were already established.
In recent years, there have been computer game versions of Monopoly on the market, such as "Monopoly" developed by Hasbro. After its release, it became very popular and was also introduced to Hong Kong. Its translated name is "Monopoly".
"You have played many games of this type. The development cycle is short and the cost is not high. As long as the art style is excellent, you can easily recoup your investment by selling one or two thousand units.
The risk of starting a business is very low, and even if you lose money, you can still afford it.
Then you can find some well-known novels and comic works to adapt the game, such as Jin Yong's martial arts novels, such as Yulang Organization's comics.
The original works of these works have great influence, and adapting games has inherent advantages.
I dare not say that they are big sellers, but they all have their own basic market. It is easy to make small profits, which allows the company to quickly accumulate technical strength and funds. "
As early as more than 20 years ago, Xiangjiang Film has already adapted martial arts novels onto the screen. Among them, adaptations of the works of famous martial arts novelists such as Jin Yong and Gu Long have contributed to many classics.
When Lin Chaoyang mentioned adapting this trick, Tao Yumo immediately understood it, and the more he thought about it, the more feasible it became.
She remembered that Jade Dynasty also adapted Jin Yong's "Dragon and the Eight Parts" into comics last year and achieved good sales. Those were works many years ago.
"Brother-in-law, your brain is so good. I feel like my ideas suddenly opened up."
"These are all opportunistic ways." Lin Chaoyang reminded.
"I understand." Tao Yumo said with a smile.
"Okay, I've told you the method, don't forget my 30% share."
Tao Yumo looked confused, "What 30% share?"
Lin Chaoyang pointed at his sister-in-law angrily, "When you cross the river, you'll tear down the bridge, right?"
Tao Yumo showed a sly smile, "No way, I'm just kidding you."
She begged again: "Brother-in-law, 30% is too much, how about 20%. I have just started a business and the company has not been registered yet. You two will take 70% of the shares from me."
Lin Chaoyang said seriously at this time: "Okay, I won't tease you anymore. I will give you the ideas for free, just think of it as my opening gift to you."
"Thank you, brother-in-law!" Tao Yumo suddenly beamed and was overjoyed.
Although Tao Yumo has not worked very seriously in the past few years, she is not unfamiliar with the company's operation. Firstly, she studied law in Xiangjiang before, and secondly, she has often helped Tao Yushu run errands and do odd jobs.
After spending a few days registering the company, Tao Yumo begged Tao Yushu to get the office building in the Prince's Building.
Since Lam's Pictures moved to Yulang Institution, this place has been idle.
However, the office building is not for free, and the rent cannot be reduced by a penny.
In the words of Tao Yushu, sisters should settle accounts clearly.
Tao Yumo named the company Sugar Games. Lin Chaoyang asked her why she called it this name. She said that "Su Tang" means "Slaying Hall", which means killing Nintendo.
There was a murderous look on her face when she said this, and Lin Chaoyang kindly reminded: "You develop computer games, and Nintendo develops console games, not in a pot."
Tao Yumo waved his hand and said loudly, "None of this is important. Who said that we, Sugar Games, will only develop computer games in the future?"
Lin Chaoyang said quietly: "You'd better recruit people first. You have a few soldiers under your command. If you make a big show of yourself, there will be people to support you, right?"
"Brother-in-law, you are so disappointing!" Tao Yumo gave him a blank look.
"Have you thought about where to recruit people?"
"Let's try our luck at HKU first."
Xiangjiang's game industry started early, but due to the strength of agents and pirates, it has not cultivated local game talents at all. It is not easy for Tao Yumo to recruit talents.
While the two were talking, Tao Yushu led several people to the Prince's Building.
"Sister, why are you here?"
"I'm here to give you a gift."
Give it away? What does it mean?
Tao Yumo looked at her sister and then at the young people behind her.
Tao Yushu introduced: "This is He Zhiwen, a cartoonist from Yulang Agency. He will be the main artist of your game company from now on. These two are Yang Yuansheng and Yao Zhuangxian from Wandao. They will be responsible for game planning and development in the future."
He Zhiwen is a painter of Yulang Agency. His painting style is literary and romantic. He has painted "Guys and Dolls" and "Love Story"
Waiting for short and medium comics.
Unfortunately, his grades were average, and he was unable to be promoted to the position of chief writer. He originally planned to change jobs, but Tao Yushu promised him some conditions and sent him to Tao Yumo.
As for Yang Yuansheng and Yao Zhuangxian, they are employees of Daewoo Games.
Nowadays, a number of game companies have been established in Wandao, including Daewoo, Zhiguan, and Sanbo. Although game agents are still the main players at this time, and the small flame of independent game development has just begun, the cultivation of game talents is important.
Much better than Xiangjiang.
Daewoo is a pioneer in self-research in the Bay Island game industry. Yang Yuansheng and Yao Zhuangxian are both members of the DOMO production team of Daewoo Games. Yang Yuansheng participated in the production of two games, "Destruction" and "Magic Puzzle".
Yao Zhuangxian is still a newcomer and has only produced a few small games independently.
Although neither of them has a very impressive resume, they are already rare game production talents in Hong Kong.
Now that Lin and the Yulang Agency have extensive connections in Wandao, it is not troublesome to rely on the name of the "Yulang Agency" to recruit employees from emerging small game companies like Daewoo. It is just a matter of spending more money.
To dig them out was of course the direction Lin Chaoyang pointed to Tao Yushu.
She said she wanted her sister to suffer some hardships, but she still couldn't bear it in her heart. After all, the biggest hardship her sister had ever suffered in her life was to help her take care of her children.
If these two people are brought together, it will be difficult for Tao Yumo's game company to succeed.
Tao Yumo listened to his sister's words and pulled her aside, "Why are you like this? I made the decision as promised."
"I'm not letting you make the decision. These people are your subordinates and will obey your orders from now on."
As he spoke, Tao Yushu glanced at Yao, Yang, and He, and the three of them bowed to Tao Yumo respectfully.
Chapter completed!