Chapter 80: Combative

At this game meeting, Fang Hong merely conveyed his gaming philosophy.

Simple-minded controls, tense confrontations!

Looking at games that have gone global, besides rich content, their controls must be simple—easy to pick up to attract a broader audience.

Only then can Hero Glory quickly break through during its initial launch.

After the meeting, Li Min followed Fang Hong: "General Manager Fang, I noticed the company's office staff have decreased a lot—they don't seem to be the same people I saw last time."

"Just do your job well!"

Fang Hong patted his shoulder—he wasn't pretending anymore!

You're already in the company, signed the employment agreement—can you really go back to Tencent?

Even a good horse doesn't eat grass from behind!

This made Li Min feel like he'd boarded a pirate ship, but Fang Hong paid him well.

Basic benefits and treatment are all there—not worse than Tencent's!

Making a game, about 60% of the cost is labor, the rest is hardware, software, bandwidth, and such.

During this period, besides overseeing the post-production of Lost in Love 33 Days, Fang Hong planned the game with the team and conveyed his ideas.

After all, they're in the same office building—very close!

Currently, these are his two main projects; To Our Youth That Is Fading Away has entered filming.

Time passed quickly, soon it was late November.

That month, the higher-ups issued a special document cracking down on online piracy, intensifying efforts to sweep away online piracy.

This caused thousands of video platforms—including 56 Net, Ouou Video, Ku6 Net, and Channel 9—to vanish, transform, or be acquired.

It triggered a major reshuffling of online video platforms!

Sustained crackdowns on piracy are also why film and television copyright fees have risen year after year.

But this wasn't yet the most standardized period for cracking down on online piracy—the most standardized was 2013.

At that time, competition entered a fever pitch; further standardization of copyright raised the entry barrier for video platforms.

Back then, not just anyone could run a video platform—you had no content, you had no traffic.

BAT had money—they were willing to spend tens or hundreds of millions buying a TV drama's copyright—what could you compete with?

Without capital, you simply couldn't play anymore!

That's why all other video platforms eventually died, leaving iQIYI, Youku, and Tencent Video as the three giants—the barrier was endlessly raised!

Under the rules, they slowly blocked the path of later entrants!

The current crackdown on online piracy has only just begun—let the bullets fly for a while—but for film and television content creators like Fang Hong, this is major good news.

Not that piracy is gone, but at least you don't have to worry about pirated versions appearing on major video platforms.

Those fringe platforms are hard to regulate now, but since they're not legitimate, their reach is limited!

That day, Fang Hong brought the rough-cut version of Lost in Love 33 Days to China Film Group to discuss screening schedules.

Chen Zhixi couldn't return temporarily, so he had to come himself.

Entering that familiar office, Fang Hong politely said: "General Manager Lei, we meet again—this time I'm troubling you once more."

"No problem, this is my job."

Manager Lei gestured for him to sit: "What movie did you shoot this time? Who's the lead? What's the budget? How much for promotion?"

"A romance film, Liu Tianxian and I star in it—8.5 million yuan total budget including promotion."

Fang Hong sat across from him and explained the situation!

He knew this man didn't have time to watch movies, so he asked so clearly.

"Another low-budget film!" Manager Lei muttered.

"Yes, right now we can only make films like this."

Fang Hong spoke calmly, then added: "Could you schedule it for this year?"

"This year, there's only December left—this month is the New Year Slot, packed with big films. I advise you to wait until next year!" said Manager Lei.

The Spring Festival Slot hadn't emerged yet; the New Year Slot included Christmas, New Year's Day, and the Lunar New Year period—the best slot of the year, with fierce competition.

Small-budget films like this usually get few screenings, because big films dominate—unless they're extremely popular with high attendance, they can't break through.

But judging from the promotion budget, there won't be much buzz—it'll easily be drowned out by other films' promotions, making not even a ripple.

Promotion spending correlates directly with market heat, and the films releasing in December are all too strong.

Chen Daren's The Orphan of Zhao, Jiang Wen's Let the Bullets Fly, Zhao Dashu's The Laughing Jianghu, Hong Kuzi's If You Are the One 2.

A gathering of masters, with promotion covering the sky!

"No problem—I'm not afraid of competition; I'm afraid there's no one to compete with," Fang Hong said again.

Last time he said this, Manager Lei thought he was overreaching; now hearing it again, he realized this man wasn't overreaching—he was just combative.

Then Fang Hong added: "Then help me schedule this film for the end of December—22nd would be perfect."

That way, he'd avoid The Orphan of Zhao, The Laughing Jianghu, and Let the Bullets Fly.

Those three films are all releasing early or mid-month; only If You Are the One 2 is releasing at month's end—on the 22nd.

Correct—Fang Hong was targeting If You Are the One 2 directly.

After being warned and humiliated twice by Huayi, this time he'd give Huayi a warning—teach them how to behave.

You can't just be spineless.

By the way, of those four films, except Let the Bullets Fly, the others have nothing to do with China Film Group—If You Are the One 2 is monopolizing the market.

Although If You Are the One 2 involves China Film Group in distribution, its share is very small—it's not exclusive.

This film is an IP movie, guaranteed to make money—in this era, monopolizing was common, unlike later.

"I advise you to give up—this day is If You Are the One 2's release; the film has built-in clout—you releasing on the same day is just cannon fodder," Manager Lei said, genuinely trying to help.

The first part of If You Are the One had already built a solid reputation, and with Ge Daye starring and Hongzi directing, it naturally drew massive attention.

What do you have? Just Liu Tianxian?

"Manager Lei, I know this isn't ideal, but my film is releasing on the same day as If You Are the One 2—it won't hurt China Film Group at all! I gave you exclusivity; I'm your loyal partner—you should be supporting me!" Fang Hong said.

Manager Lei thought about it, and it was indeed true.

That film had little to do with China Film Group; they merely funded part of the Propaganda Department's costs and got a ticket in.

Even the linking rights weren't prioritized—they'd pay Hua Yi first, then them.

But Let the Bullets Fly was tied to China Film Group—not just as an investor, but as the primary distributor in Neidi; this film was scheduled for release on December 16.

"You could push your release date back, avoid clashing with Let the Bullets Fly."

"No!" Fang Hong shook his head in refusal.

If he pushed it back, he couldn't directly challenge If You Are the One 2; without a direct challenge, he couldn't treat Hua Yi as his rival; without a rival, it would be hard to stir up his own heat.

His plan was a chain of interlocking steps!

(End of Chapter)