Game Development Giant

Jester received a very special invitation.

It was an invitation to a private dinner, and the invitation was Bill Gates, who had just become the world's richest man.

This was a family dinner, attended only by Bill and his wife, his wife, and their children.

Based on what he originally knew about the history of this period, Jester had actually guessed what Bill Gates' purpose was for asking him to have this dinner this time.

Microsoft began to implement Project Venus last year, but the results were not significant. This is a very ambitious plan, and it is also Bill Gates' long-standing goal. He hopes to use the Internet to dominate the living room. In fact, this is also Microsoft's plan. Everyone's consensus.

However, this matter was because the ambition was too great and the resistance encountered was extremely strong.

According to the original history, Bill Gates also temporarily gave up the plan during this period and began to think about the transformation of the plan. This time he came to find himself, most likely because of this matter, because Jester remembered , in the original history, Microsoft almost started their gaming journey at this time.

Of course, everything needs an opportunity.

The location is Bill Gates' home in Boston. This is not Jester's first time here. He has always had a good relationship with Bill Gates.

We are also familiar with the couple.

There was nothing particularly new about the dinner. It was a normal Western-style dinner. The chef was a three-star chef who was hired by Jester at a high price as his personal chef. The level was very high and Jester was not quick. The food I had before when I was in France was at the level of the famous chef of the century, Hou Buchan.

The chat after the meal was also the focus of Bill Gates' invitation this time.

Just the two of them.

The woman and the children were in another room.

"I heard you're retiring?"

Bill Gates' opening remarks were very simple. Now basically everyone knows that Jester is retiring: "You are not even forty years old, are you? You are much younger than me, how could you do that?" Thinking of retirement?”

Jester just smiled after hearing what Bill Gates said.

"I just feel tired, and I don't like repeating the things I did before, so I plan to retire."

This is also true.

Hearing Jester's explanation, Bill Gates also nodded. He thought the same thing, if his huge ambition could be realized. Maybe he would also have the idea of ​​being lonely and invincible, and might as well retire. However, the implementation of Project Venus was not smooth. He planned to use the hundreds of millions of TVs in country Z to promote networkization. But the effect is not big.

Therefore, he wanted to change his mind.

Starting from occupying the living room, other electrical appliance industries are too difficult to enter, so it is better to enter the gaming industry.

Originally, the gaming industry was not easy to get involved in, but fortunately, news came that Jester was preparing to retire. Bill Gates was immediately overjoyed. He felt that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him.

Jester was his old friend, and the two of them had a very good relationship, so there was no need to beat around the bush on some matters, so Bill Gates spoke directly about his thoughts.

"I want to acquire Mars Entertainment."

After saying this, Bill Gates glanced at Jester and found that his expression was as usual.

"Did you guess it?"

He asked curiously, but Jester shook his head: "I don't think I guessed it, but it's almost right. When I received your invitation, I felt strange why you suddenly invited me to have this meal. Although we have a good relationship, it’s not convenient for me to be in California and you to be in Boston. I wouldn’t be surprised if we happen to attend an event and get together.”

"So, I thought about it and thought of your Venus Project recently."

Jester said something briefly, but did not talk about whether he agreed to Bill Gates's acquisition request.

And Bill Gates did not mention it again immediately. After he heard Jester talking about his Venus project, he also smiled: "What do you think of this plan?" There was a look of pride in his tone. Venus is indeed a worthy project. A great project that anyone would be proud of, if this plan can really be completed.

But in Jester's opinion. This plan, at least for now, is a bit too whimsical, but you can't say this directly, you have to be tactful.

"All I can say is that this plan is very ambitious."

Such an ambiguous answer, in the eyes of a very smart person like Bill Gates, naturally understands what Jester means.

He sighed.

"So. Do you agree to my previous request? You are going to retire anyway, and I want to continue to work in the gaming industry, and I can guarantee the minimum investment limit every year, for at least ten years."

After Jester heard Bill Gates make this request again, he also fell silent. To be honest, selling to Bill Gates was not impossible. After all, he was about to retire. According to his personality, after retirement, , will also be involved in game matters, and in his memory, the original Microsoft in history started to make TV games.

The investment every year is staggering.

Only in this way can a complete industrial chain be established from scratch in a short period of time.

However, Jester is not short of money. Five billion US dollars is indeed a very sincere price. Moreover, this is only the first offer. If he wants it, Bill Gates may offer eight billion US dollars. USD to complete the acquisition.

However, is Microsoft really a suitable company for making games?

After thinking about some of Microsoft's measures and actions in its original history, Jester shook his head.

It is true that Bill Gates is indeed a game nerd, and Microsoft's entry into the game industry has a lot to do with this. However, the reason why Microsoft's board of directors has been able to agree to a department's annual loss of two billion US dollars for a long time is that the loss is N years, it is definitely not just because this thing is a toy or a figure for an otaku.

We can know from Microsoft's plan to dominate the living room that it later restarted on XBO that this is basically a variant of Project Venus.

From the failure of the first Venus Project, to the subsequent XBO domination of the living room, and the subsequent plan of WIN10 to dominate everything, we can know that this is not a sudden whim of Microsoft, but has been determined more than ten years ago. a basic strategy.

The game is just one part of the strategy.

Jester looked at Bill Gates, smacked his mouth, and then asked Bill Gates: "Do you really want to be in the gaming industry? Or do you plan to borrow the wine glass of the gaming industry to pour you other things?" Where is the local fortress?" What Jester asked was quite impolite, but since we are all smart people, it would be better to speak clearly.

"this……"

I heard Jester ask. Bill Gates hesitated for a moment, stretched out his fingers and tapped the table a few times, and then said: "Both, I am indeed interested in the gaming industry, and I also think this is our plan. It is a very important part of the company, and it will be of no harm to you at all, with US$7 billion, you can retain 10% of the shares.”

Before you knew it, Bill Gates' second offer had reached US$7 billion, and he even offered to let Jester retain 10% of the shares.

"Bill, there is one thing you don't understand. I don't care about money. I don't lack the money. After I retire, I will not be involved in the company's affairs. Even if I sell my stocks to someone who is willing to continue to work in this industry The person is also a very good choice, so I want to know, why do you want to acquire Mars Entertainment?"

"Or to put it more directly, I have stated countless times in Mars Entertainment that Mars Entertainment was, is, and will remain a pure game company in the future. All its products are absolutely and must be the first games company. one."

With that said, Jester glanced at Bill Gates.

"Can you guarantee this?"

Hearing what Jester said, Bill Gates was silent. Then Jester continued: "I kind of understand your thoughts. Although it's just the tip of the iceberg, it has to be said that it is a very grand and ambitious plan. But to be honest, I don't see how much you think about the game industry." enthusiasm."

Bill Gates sneered: "Can't seven billion dollars represent my passion?"

"It's not about money."

Jester didn't care about Bill Gates's sneer. He still said in a very calm tone: "It's a passion. I have been in this industry for more than ten years, and I know a person who has infinite love for this industry." What kind of state is a person in, Bill, you don’t have it, you like games, you are a fan of games, I know all this, but you are not the kind of person who can maintain the purity of the game.”

"Purity?"

When Bill Gates heard Jester say this word, there was a trace of confusion on his face.

"Yes, purity." Jester repeated the word. He thought for a while, then pursed his lips and continued: "I think there may be no one in this world who would do this, but I always think This is the true meaning of games, the purity of games. Games are games, and games must be fun. Games that are not profitable are good games. The only purpose of a game console is to play games..."

Jester talked a lot, but Bill Gates still had a cold face at first, but later, he nodded silently.

After Jester finished speaking, he sighed: "I understand what you mean."

After speaking, he paused slightly.

"Akin to faith."

"Yes, it is similar to faith. It is my understanding of games." Jester agreed with Bill Gates. He indeed has the purest love for games. He does not want games to be played purely for happiness. Something invented is contaminated by something else.

"Oh well."

Bill Gates spread his hands. He had decided to give up his original idea.

But at this time, Jester smiled and said to Bill Gates: "If you really plan to enter this industry, it's not that there are no other opportunities."

Unexpectedly, Bill Gates shook his head.

"I insist on entering, but I cannot represent the board of directors' recommendations. The board of directors has not made up its mind yet. However, if you can be persuaded to sell Mars Entertainment, the board of directors will agree. Moreover, the market in the gaming industry is basically saturated now. If we rashly If you enter, you may need to spend more money. I don’t care about money, but the board of directors is not easy to convince.”

Jester also knows the difficulties faced by Bill Gates. Although going public has given him unimaginable wealth, similarly, after the split of shares, his power in the company has also been subject to certain restrictions.

At least there is no one in the company who can tell the truth.

"All I'm saying is there's a chance, Sega."

Jester mentioned Sega's name, and Bill Gates was a little surprised after hearing it. Why did Jester suddenly mention Sega? After all, Bill Gates is not from the gaming industry. It was not sensitive enough. After Jester analyzed it for him, he suddenly realized something.

"You mean that Saga is likely to give up their console business?"

There was a hint of surprise in Bill Gates' tone. After all, having a team is completely different from starting from scratch, and it was much easier for him to convince the board of directors.

"Yes."

Jester nodded: "Sega is currently experiencing financial problems, and they don't have a good solution. DC was originally their last chance, but it has been on sale for more than two months now. Although the sales volume is acceptable, it is only That’s it, there is no way to save Sega from this situation, Sega is just holding on."

"When my Dreambox 4 and Sony's PS3 are released at the end of the year, it will be a disaster for Sega."

"If they can't last until the middle of next year, I will probably announce that DC will cease production."

"The next thing after announcing the discontinuation of production is to announce that they will completely withdraw from the home computer hardware market. Whether they can survive in the future depends on luck."

Jester said calmly.

Bill Gates didn't really care about Sega's final fate. He just heard Jester's prediction: "You mean, Sega is likely to be unable to survive next year and announce the launch of the home console market?" said When he said these words, Bill Gates's eyes lit up.

After all, a hardware development team with many years of development experience is still very valuable.

It is much easier to get a complete team and then upgrade the equipment than to build a team from scratch. (~^~)