In this world, there are always things even Boss Huang cannot predict. For instance, a cooperation that was thought to be a sure thing suddenly hit a snag here.
"This, I'm afraid we cannot agree to!" Allen Adham said after a moment of thought.
"Why?" Boss Huang frowned. He had not anticipated this answer and had expected Allen Adham to readily agree to the request.
However, Huang He did not know that historically, Blizzard also maintained strict control over Battle.net, refusing to authorize it to domestic companies. This led to later platforms like HaoFang and QiFan illegally using Warcraft III for matches, all of them being pirated.
It wasn't until later, when domestic restrictions were relaxed and NetEase took over, extending Blizzard's Battle.net to China, that Blizzard games finally had an official Battle.net to use.
"This is to align with the company's overall strategy!" Allen Adham offered an explanation that was difficult to comprehend. In reality, the reasoning was quite simple. Blizzard Company possessed considerable strategic foresight. They recognized the immense value of Battle.net and thus refused to allow others to share in its profits. Even in markets where Battle.net was inaccessible, they were unwilling to relinquish control over it.
Another significant reason was that if Blizzard opened the door and granted authorization for Battle.net to the Chinese market, would other countries' markets also demand similar authorizations?
If so, wouldn't Blizzard's Battle.net exclusivity system collapse entirely?
Moreover, the value of Battle.net was indeed enormous. For instance, the Dota genre, a super category of future online games, originated from Battle.net. Initially, it was a custom map on StarCraft's Battle.net, and with the completion of Warcraft III, it eventually evolved into Dota, which dominated the competitive online gaming scene.
"We can appropriately reduce the agency fee. We don't need $2 million; $1.8 million will suffice!" Allen Adham said with a smile. "But the authorization for Battle.net, I cannot give it to you!"
"Without Battle.net, Warcraft III holds no meaning for me!" Huang He stated decisively. "Mr. Allen, you are quite right about one thing: single-player games in China currently cannot achieve $2 million in sales. The reason we are willing to offer this price is precisely to be able to obtain continuous and long-term profits through operating Battle.net, thereby compensating for the shortfall of $2 million."
"Mr. Allen, if you do not grant me Battle.net authorization, then I will at most offer $400,000 to purchase the agency rights for Warcraft III!" Huang He said very directly.
"Only $400,000!" Allen Adham was somewhat displeased. $400,000 was truly insignificant for the now affluent Blizzard. However, the issue was that $400,000 was still double what i-Magic offered. If he refused Huang He, it would still be turning away money.
But compared to $2 million, it still seemed like turning away money.
"Mr. Allen, given the current market controls in China, your Battle.net will likely not be able to enter the Chinese market for another ten years. By then, Warcraft V might have already been released. Wouldn't it be better for us to negotiate the Battle.net authorization for Warcraft V then?" Huang He said with a serious expression.
"Yes!" Allen Adham nodded. Indeed, if he calculated it, Warcraft V would indeed be released by then.
Well, Allen Adham himself probably never imagined that not to mention Warcraft V, even Warcraft IV had not appeared after twenty years. Instead, a botched Warcraft III Reforged was released. It was precisely from this point onwards that Blizzard's declaration of "Blizzard-made, guaranteed masterpiece" transformed from truth into a joke.
Subsequently, Huang He used his eloquence to try and persuade Allen Adham, but this fellow remained hesitant and indecisive, his mind in a state of internal conflict.
"Boss, why don't you two just play a match!" It wasn't just Huang He and Allen Adham in the Blizzard workshop. There was also a company vice president, who was the actual person in charge of Blizzard's participation in WCg. This person spoke in a somewhat joking tone, "Why don't you two play a game of Warcraft II, and whoever wins, the other will abide by their decision!"
The vice president's words were meant as a joke, but Allen Adham's eyes lit up. He was already in a state of wavering indecision, and this suggestion was precisely what Allen Adham desired.
"Mr. Huang, then let us have a duel of knights!" Allen Adham said with a smile. "Let's have a 1v1 battle. If you win, I will agree to $2 million for the Warcraft III agency and allow you to build your own Battle.net, but this Battle.net will only have authorization for Warcraft II!"
"Conversely, if I win, then it will be $1.8 million in agency fees, but you should not have any ideas about Battle.net!"
"How about it?" Allen Adham asked, looking at Huang He with interest.
If there were news media reporters present to hear this news, they would undoubtedly be excited, because this was a battle worth $1.4 million. The change in benefits brought about by this battle was far greater than the total prize money of $300,000 for the entire event.
And as future stories would prove, the benefits brought by this battle far exceeded $1.4 million. To a certain extent, this could be considered the match with the highest prize money in the gaming industry.
It was only with a gambler like Huang He, paired with an esports player like Allen Adham, that such a match could occur. Normal businessmen would not…
Well, it seems that some Lei and some Dong in the future would have gambling debts in the hundreds of millions, but they just wouldn't be playing games.
"Okay!" Huang He agreed readily. This was not because Huang He was very confident in his Warcraft II skills. In fact, due to the extremely poor sales of Warcraft II in China and its negligible impact on the market, very few players in China had played Warcraft II.
Huang He was no exception. He only started playing from Warcraft III. Before today, he had never even seen the game screen of Warcraft II, so how could he have confidence?
Huang He's only hope was that Warcraft II and Warcraft III could inherit a lineage, so that he could rely on some of his Warcraft III skills to defeat his opponent.
However, in Huang He's mind, he estimated his win rate to be less than 30%.
"Never mind, if I lose and don't get the legitimate authorization for Battle.net, I'll just set up a shell company and create a pirated Battle.net!" Huang He declared fiercely in his heart.