Friday, January 14th.
At night, the lights of the Internet cafe are as bright as day. There is a "monster" represented by Qilixiang standing at the door, a billboard linked to "World of Warcraft", and the walls are also covered with posters.
Thanks to the overwhelming advertising and the popularity of the Warcraft IP brought by Sky's WCG championship, there were more than 50 machines in the audience, except for a few sporadic screens, showing "Audition", "Miracle", and "Legend of Legend" …
The rest is all "World of Warcraft".
It was 8:10, only ten minutes after the official launch of the server. More than 400,000 players poured in, like a scourge. The 30 servers opened by a scourge were all crowded at once.
One by one, the server load went red.
The hot scene is comparable to the nostalgic server more than ten years later.
"Damn it, you beast, you can't even squeeze in!"
"Hey, I don't believe it. There are so many servers and I can't fit in even one."
"Squeeze in, I'll squeeze in!"
"..."
There are all kinds of people in the Internet cafe. Those who have successfully entered may be complacent or excited, while those waiting in line may be cursing or restless.
Some even simply lost patience and stopped playing at all.
For example, Wang Bing was one of them. He quit "World of Warcraft" in anger and shook his legs restlessly:
"Oh my god, my Internet fee is 3 yuan an hour, but I have to wait in line for 26 minutes. I don't want to play any more. What a rubbish game!"
Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly discovered that the man on his right had entered the game for the first time and had created a human character. His name was "Da Qing Shan" from "Mercenary World".
Watching others play but not being able to play myself, it feels like there are ten thousand mmp words in my heart, surging.
"Daqingshan" had just been born in Azeroth, and the entire Novice Village was spectacular. There were people everywhere, more people than monsters. Even if I tried to find an NPC, I would be surrounded by circles of people.
"Hey, it's just that, what's the point of this."
Wang Bing's mouth was sour, but he stared at the screen without squinting. When he saw that there were no monsters in "Da Qingshan", he simply gave up on fighting monsters and opened the map.
The words "Stormwind City" came into view.
"Daqingshan" ran along the main road, without any big monster blocking the way. After walking for more than ten minutes without knowing it, suddenly, a majestic castle stood not far away.
Ah, this city!
Ah, this water!
Ah, this night!
Wang Bing's eyes widened and he couldn't help but swallow his saliva. He was like a country bumpkin who was completely frightened when he entered the city for the first time.
Is there such a magical game in this world?
But when my mind went blank, I could vaguely hear the melody of music in my ears. It was obviously leaking sound from inferior headphones, but it was small but extremely clear. The song "Stormwind City" suddenly sounded.
When Wang Bing heard this, he immediately became excited.
The player who operated "Da Qingshan" trembled all over and forgot about the operation.
"Yeah, I will definitely play this game nm!"
Wang Bing came back to his senses, with a "really delicious" look on his face, and couldn't wait to log in to "World of Warcraft" again.
Ever since, there was an Alliance dog in Azeroth.
…………
Four hours had passed since the public beta, and it was only 0 o'clock in the morning. The server was fully loaded and large-scale queues began.
Fortunately, Penguin did a stress test and prepared extra servers in advance as a reserve team. Facing hundreds of thousands of people, they all moved out, but they still couldn't resist.
There are still thousands of people queuing up.
In an instant, an article titled "World of Warcraft's first server launch set a record, with simultaneous online users exceeding 800,000." It topped Sogou's 24-hour hot list, and was also posted on the homepages of Penguin, NetArt, and New Wolf. .
For a time, the entire gaming circle was shocked.
Shanghai stock market, grand.
Chen Tianqiao looked serious, staring closely at the top-quality "World of Warcraft" at that time, sometimes sighing, sometimes gritting his teeth:
"It must have been at the E3 game show that year. It can't be wrong. It can't be wrong. This game should have been grand!"
"Mr. Chen, isn't Blizzard a stand-alone game company? How can there be an online game?"
Tang Jun was depressed and confused.
What’s more depressing is that the MMO market is already a red ocean. “Legend”’s first-mover advantage and competitiveness are weakening. “World of Warcraft” is like a dimensionality reduction attack. Just one game can wipe out the entire Shanda Game Department. Even MMO games.
"I thought Blizzard would only do stand-alone games, but I didn't expect it. I really didn't expect it."
Chen Tianqiao said so, but it was not the case.
He actually knew that there was such an online game, but at that time, the Chinese online game market was dominated by Korean-style MMOs. All the European and American online games that had been represented were in vain, and the European and American games were a wasteland.
Who would have thought that "World of Warcraft" would actually become a game!
"As expected of Mr. Lu, we have picked up another cornucopia."
Tang Jun was filled with emotion, with admiration in his tone.
"Yes, Mr. Lu is lucky and he made the right bet."
Chen Tianqiao restrained his emotions and remained expressionless.
Tang Jun consoled him: "Mr. Chen, we are not bad either. The new agents of "Band" and "Street Basketball" will definitely be able to take the cake of casual online games like Penguin."
"Online games are just a niche. Shanda cannot be a Penguin. It can obviously be a great instant messaging company, but it has become a game company."
Chen Tianqiao said with a straight face: "We need to weaken games, reduce game dependence, and develop towards diversification."
Tang Jun echoed: "Thank you, Mr. Chen."
Chen Tianqiao asked: "So the top priority is to acquire the new wolf as soon as possible. What is the current situation and how much has been acquired?"
Tang Jundao: "We secretly bought 1.26% at about 30 yuan or 31 yuan."
"Why are there so few?" Chen Tianqiao stood up excitedly, "How can we take control with so few!"
"Mr. Chen, don't be anxious, I'm waiting for the opportunity."
Tang Jun said with a smile: "In February, New Wolf will hold a financial conference call and then release its annual financial report. If it does poorly, the market will inevitably fall. The day the stock price falls, it is the time for Shanda to buy a lot."
"good very good!"
Chen Tianqiao's expression changed drastically, and he laughed and said, "Mr. Tang, there will be no mistakes in controlling New Wolf, right?"
"Probably not. The shareholder structure of New Wolf Road is very dispersed. No one shareholder occupies an absolute equity position, nor does it have relative controlling capabilities."
Tang Jundao: "So far, only one fund called 'Three Body' has a shareholding ratio of more than 10% in New Wolf, 10.71%. Even Mr. Lu only holds 8.49%."
"Then wait, wait until the conference call in February! Then all at once, we will seize the controlling stake and wrest New Wolf from Mr. Lu's hands."
Chen Tianqiao was so excited that he punched the table.
…………
"Ah sneeze!"
Lu Fei took out a tissue and washed his nose vigorously.
The dusk sunlight shone on his face, and the dark circles around his eyes were particularly eye-catching, the result of a long day of gaming.
Since his rebirth, he has not had symptoms of "severe Internet addiction" for a long time, and "World of Warcraft" is one of the exceptions.
After all, the gameplay may be copied, and technology will not always be one step ahead, but emotions can never be erased.
That was my youth!
Azeroth is my second world! Who is in favor and who is against?
"Ha~"
Lu Fei held the coffee in both hands and took a big sip: "Fuck, just let Yuanyuan go to China Film's dinner party, I'll take it easy..."
While he was talking to himself, the mobile phone next to the mouse rang, and Xu Xin's businesslike voice came out when he connected it——
The loan contract is formally signed.
"Hey, the fish is hooked. It depends on the performance of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the police."
Lu Fei quit the game, stood up and stretched.
"One more thing, Shanda has taken action against New Wolf and has quietly bought shares these days."
Xu Xin said: "It's just as you guessed. It seems that they want to gain a relative controlling stake in New Wolf."
Lu Fei snapped his fingers, and Chen Tianqiao entered his game.
Three Body Fund established a position in September last year, with purchase prices ranging from US$19 to US$23, 10.71%, and the average price per share was US$21.77.
As of today, the closing price is $29.50.
On the day when Shanda makes its brutal acquisition, the stock price will inevitably skyrocket, and then it will be sold at a high price. In just 5 months, it will make at least tens of millions of dollars.
"How are we going to deliver our goods to Chen Tianqiao?"
Xu Xin was extremely happy.
"Let it all go to him, slowly." Lu Fei said
Xu Xin said: "Leave it all to him? If you give it all to him, you will lose your position as the largest shareholder. Are you willing to do it?"
"Who is the largest shareholder? What I want is the controlling interest in the entire New Wolf. Sister Xin, just watch me operate."
Lu Fei repeatedly warned that before the financial report of New Wolf is released, 5% should be gradually released.
Then simply wash up and walk out the door.
Wang Ben had already parked his car at the door and waited quietly:
"Boss, where are you going?"
"Ollante Private Club."