Rebirth 86: I use games to kick open the door to the world

Han Hongkun was very proud because his second brother had always had a sense of superiority in the past.

The technological level of Hong Kong Island Province at this time was much higher than that of other regions.

Now that his second brother was hit, he felt very happy.

However, he was quickly hit in turn.

Unconvinced, the second brother Han Hongkun brought the NGS game console to his house from where he lived, and then played some of the best games directly on the TV.

Only then did Han Hongkun realize that his second brother was right. There were obviously more games in the game console.

But in terms of fun level, he still thinks that Contra and Squirrel Battle are more fun.

Moreover, Zuo Zhen also promised him that there will be another game that will be finished in a few days, and he can play it well then.

Han Hongkun's home became lively because of the arrival of his uncle and second brother, but at the telephone wiring location in the telephone building, Zuo Zhen was pacing and guarding the phone.

Today is a week since Contra was released, and it is also the day I agreed to make a phone call with Akira Nakamura.

Zuo Zhen specially prepared a hundred yuan for this conversation. He wanted to learn as much as possible about the details related to the release of the game.

Although Zuo Zhen reproduced the game Contra without distinction, it was just because of the rush of time that the animation special effects and plot were emasculated.

But before knowing the final results, I will still think about whether I will get good results.

I have done my best in the shortest time, so it shouldn't be too bad.

Jingle Bell.

When Zuo Zhen heard the phone ringing, he looked sharply in the direction of the operator.

The operator first glanced at the phone area, and then shouted loudly: "Whose phone number is Japan?"

"mine!"

Zuo Zhen stepped forward and picked up the phone.

"Hey, Mr. Nakamura, right?"

"Yes, Sasuma-san, I'm Akira Nakamura."

"How are the results of Contra?"

Akira Nakamura picked up the statistics table after the meeting, looked at the sales data on it and said with a smile: "Mr. Zuozhen, the results are very good, with global sales of 100,000 in the first week. This is a brand new IP and an independent producer. It’s a very good result.”

The moment Zuo Zhen heard this data, he felt his nerves relax.

This result is not bad for Zuo Zhen now.

It's even better than I imagined.

He also knows that he is a newcomer and does not even have a company LOGO. It is extremely exaggerated to have such sales results.

Of course, this is also because it has some natural advantages.

According to Zuo Zhen's investigation in Japan at the time, NGS has sold more than 20 million units worldwide. Games with a little marketing can quickly achieve high sales.

Even a game made by an unknown person like Zuo Zhen is still popular.

But it’s still a little bit less.

With the quality of a game like this, it shouldn't be a big problem if the sales of the game triple or four times in the first week. Now is the primitive era of gaming, and the total number of good games is actually not that many.

The Legend of Zelda and Dragon Quest have not been officially released yet.

It is indeed difficult to rise without fame and endorsement from big companies.

But after calculation, with global sales of 100,000, I can already be sure that I will get hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits in the near future.

Akira Nakamura waited for more than ten seconds but didn't hear Zuozhen's voice. He thought Zuozhen was a little disappointed with the result, so he quickly started to comfort him.

"Mr. Zuo Zhen, your results are really good. Don't be discouraged. This game will increase your reputation. Your next Squirrel War game will definitely sell better."

Zuozhen didn't know that Akira Nakamura had misunderstood him. He said, "Well, I hope the next game will perform better, but I would like to ask Mr. Nakamura what marketing you have done for this game?"

"We have also done some marketing, but your work is not our first-party work, so we cannot give it the highest level of publicity treatment. It is basically packaged with other games for promotion."

One advertisement contains several games, which is what Akira Nakamura calls a package promotion.

This kind of advertisement is actually promoting NGS game consoles.

Akira Nakamura also specifically emphasized that he asked the publicity department to film a real-life story for this advertisement, which can be regarded as careful promotion.

The Contra appetizer was just okay.

But Zuo Zhen still wanted to ask: "Can the follow-up Contra have higher sales?"

"This... I'm afraid it will be a bit difficult. If there are no surprises in video games, the sales volume will be the best in the first week. The sales volume will increase in the future, but it will definitely not be higher, and..."

"And what?"

"The total production volume of Contra's cassettes is actually not that large. Only thirty boxes were produced initially. It is very likely that there will not be more production in the future, so..."

Therefore, the sales limit of Contra is 300,000 copies.

In this era where physical games are still king, the number of cartridges produced represents the highest sales volume of the game.

"I originally wanted to ask the production department to increase the production volume, but the production department refused on the grounds that the first party had more important game cartridges to produce."

Nakamura Akira was a little apologetic when he said this to Zuo Zhen.

Akira Nakamura is actually very optimistic about this game.

The quality is not inferior to those of large game companies.

100,000 in the first week, and it is not impossible to exceed 300,000 in the future.

It's a pity that it can only stop at 300,000 now.

Zuo Zhen knew it in his heart.

Sure enough.

When the contract was originally signed, it was only stated that 300,000 cassettes would be produced, but it was still unknown whether production could be increased in the future, and Nakamura himself could not guarantee this.

This is not much different from what I had expected earlier.

Akira Nakamura is the director of the game department and cannot completely influence the game cartridge production department. This is considered the best result.

However, the next Squirrel Wars Zuo Zhen is not going to be polite, at least sign a contract that guarantees the production of one million cassettes.

Compared with Contra, Squirrel vs. Family Fun has stronger attributes, and adults are more willing to buy this kind of cartoon-style game for their children, rather than the violent game like Contra.

Pity.

If this were the Internet era, video games would no longer be easily constrained by the production of game cartridges.

People who like to play this game can purchase and download it directly online. If you still like the physical version later, you can also buy another copy for your collection.

Zuo Zhen took a deep breath and said sincerely: "Thank you Mr. Nakamura for your help."

"No, you are too polite. There is no need to thank me. The quality of your own game is very good. If the quality of your game itself is not good, there is nothing I can do about it."

"No, thank you must be said. I will go to Japan again in twenty days. Then I won't have to rush. Then we will have a small gathering and then talk about the subsequent squirrel war."

"Okay, I look forward to meeting you again, Zuo Zhen-san."