Game development begins with destroying Girls' Frontline.

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In addition to deepening the connection between games and concerts, Sony also plans to adapt popular games into movies for the big screen.

Sony Group CEO Kenichiro Yoshida also stated at the meeting.

"Games, movies, and music should go hand in hand."

This is like what?

It's like a major country just held a meeting and shouted a slogan.

Regardless of whether this slogan can be implemented in the future.

However, during this period, projects that align with the slogan will naturally receive various buffs.

Based on this logical thread.

Lin Li's suggestion thus transformed from a pipe dream into something that might actually be possible.

In addition, one sentence Lin Li said during his communication with Sony also played a decisive role.

"We partnered with Sony because Sony has a huge influence not only in games, but also in film and music. If that influence can't be translated into a driving force for our cooperation, then why don't we consider partnering with Microsoft?"

Business competition is both responsible and complex.

It's simple, really.

At this point, Spark Games had become a very important partner for Sony.

Sony also benefited from the exclusive rights granted to Sony consoles by Spark.

Just like why miHoYo and Sony had such a harmonious relationship in their previous life.

It's because Genshin Impact brings in billions of dollars in revenue for Sony's PS5 every year.

While individual games like Genshin Impact may not generate as much revenue for Sony as Spark at this point, the combined revenue is more than that of Genshin Impact.

Of course, Spark and Sony signed a mutual exclusive agreement.

However, Lin Li's tantrums and outbursts still made Sony's top management somewhat wary.

Finally, Spark's influence in Japan is also considerable, making it easier for Spark's voice to reach Sony headquarters.

Ultimately, Sony gave preliminary approval to Spark's plan, raising only one question.

What if we lose money?

This is a very real problem.

Unlike Lin Li, Sony is not as confident about The Wandering Earth.

It's worth noting that the last time a domestic film achieved both critical and commercial success was during the era of kung fu films, represented by "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hero".

Even if Sony were willing to launch a global promotional campaign for the movie "The Wandering Earth: Homeland" as a game.

But Sony is definitely unwilling to pay that cost.

In other words, Sony can leverage its distribution channels, given its traditional friendship with Spark.

Even close brothers should keep clear accounts.

Sony will not cover the film's marketing and distribution costs.

Furthermore, if Spark wants more screens to be shown, it will need to pay additional fees.

Simply put, Spark pays for all the costs, and if they lose money, Spark takes all the credit; if they make a profit, Sony gets a share.

It's a protocol that looks like it's run by thugs.

But for Xinghuo now, and for Chinese cinema at this point, this is the best result they could achieve.

Lin Li did not try to fight for this matter much.

They immediately agreed to Sony's agreement.

He knew, of course, that it was virtually impossible for The Wandering Earth, with no foundation whatsoever, to become a global film hit.

But that doesn’t stop him from doing it.

Even if a film doesn't make much money in the global market, as long as the number of screenings is controlled and it's not released on a large scale at the beginning, it's still possible to succeed.

No matter what, you won't lose out.

Even if you lose money, it doesn't matter.

Because Lin Li's purpose in doing this is still the same.

Expand your network as much as possible, do everything you can to expand it.

The more popular "The Wandering Earth" becomes, the more players "The Wandering Earth: Home" can reach.

These players came because of its reputation.

It is significantly different from the player base that Spark has already covered.

It's like taking meat out of the pot to eat.

Since you want to take the meat out of the pot, the cost will naturally be much higher.

Moreover, "The Wandering Earth" isn't just a one-off movie. Even if the first one didn't make money, there's always a second and a third one. It's a huge IP.

It's also a major IP whose game copyright is held by Spark.

~~~

November 30st

There are four days left until the start of the Spring Festival holiday.

Six days until the release of The Wandering Earth.

The second day after the release of "The Wandering Earth: Home".

There was internal debate within Spark Entertainment regarding whether "The Wandering Earth: Homeland" should be released before or after the film.

However, in the end, Lin Li decided to release it online before the movie.

"We need to fill in the flint first before we can see the flames of the planetary engine."

Release the game first to generate buzz for the movie, then wait for the movie to become a huge hit before using that buzz to promote the game.

This decision was made at the end of December, before the publicity plan was officially submitted to China Huadian Corporation.

Therefore, the promotional period for "The Wandering Earth: Home" was exactly one month.

this month.

Actually, this game hasn't received that much attention in China yet.

This is mainly because everyone's attention has been drawn to Honkai Impact 3 and Punishing: Gray Raven, but overseas players and the single-player game community are less concerned.

This game, which once shone brightly at Gamescom, still leaves a deep impression.

~~~

Did you guys play The Wandering Earth yesterday?

"Of course, that's amazing!"

"As expected of Spark."

"Indeed, the art style is just amazing."

"I heard there's a movie coming out in a week!"

"Yes, yes, I also watched the trailer, it looks really cool."

"Why did Spark Filming choose to make The Wandering Earth first instead of Girls on the Frontline?"

Listening to the lively discussion in the classroom.

Lu Yi found it very amazing.

Even though he had heard similar topics about sparks countless times before.

But every time I hear it, I can't help but listen carefully.

Because he was not in China, but in Tokyo.

To be precise, it's Tokyo University of the Arts.

It is considered one of the top art universities in Japan.

I am a Chinese student who started studying in Japan in 16.

If anyone can most directly feel the changes that Spark brought to Japan, then Lu Yi is definitely one of them.

He had just arrived in Japan in 16.

He had virtually no idea that the Japanese people around him were discussing China or Chinese companies.

Just like the heated debates between China and Japan online.

In reality, when I see Japanese people, I usually just avoid them.

Lu Yi was the same in Japan; when others heard his self-introduction, they were at most surprised.

Then it was gone.

The following year, in August 2017.

When Lu Yi returned to school after the summer vacation, he heard that a company called Xinghuo had recruited many people at the school this year, with good benefits.

This was the first time Lu Yi had heard of Xinghuo, but at that moment, he still thought Xinghuo was a Japanese company.

This cannot be blamed on Lu Yi, because Lu Yi rarely plays games.

However, Lu Yi later did some research and learned about Xinghuo and Lin Li, a magician from China, who was also known as Mr. Billion Yen.

Then, Spark conquered the Japanese gaming industry.

By 18, when Lu Yi introduced himself again, people's reactions to his self-introduction were different from before.

Chapter 181 Playing games in class, who? The professor!?

After learning that Lu Yi was Chinese.

The next sentence is often the answer.

"Hey, you're Chinese? Do you play Spark games?"

"What's your Xinghuo account number? Let's add each other as friends."

"I've heard that Chinese people have better welfare benefits than us. Is that true? Can I see your account?"

Later, with the emergence of the Spark platform.

The translation software on the Spark platform became the app that Lu Yi saw most often.

It wasn't for his own use, but rather for almost every Japanese classmate who knew he was Chinese, especially if they happened to play FGO or other Spark games.

They would basically all carry this app so that Lu Yi could communicate with them in Chinese.

To be honest, he was quite surprised when he saw the translation function of the Spark platform. He wasn't surprised by the translation software itself, since he realized that many other software programs could achieve the same level of translation.

What really surprised him was that there were actually a lot of Japanese people at the school using this app.

They probably don't use this feature much normally; they only learned about it when they were getting familiar with the app, which is why they specifically sought him out.

Later, he downloaded the Spark platform app and saw a lot of short videos on TikTok in Japan showing people chatting with players from all over the world at the Spark Carnival using the Spark platform.

He then understood.

Why is this niche feature known to so many people, and why do so many people use it?

after that.

By March of this year.

Lu Yi was pulled down to the auditorium by his other friends, who were also Chinese students studying abroad.

He saw people from Spark Company for the first time in the school auditorium.

It is said that Xinghuo signed an agreement with the school.

Every year, they donate a sum of money to the school and have also established the Spark Club at the school, saying that they will cultivate the next generation of Spark talents through the club.

At the time, Lu Yi also went to see this so-called Spark Club out of curiosity.