dhibooks Chapter 469 European Agent
Chapter 469 European Agent
Just as Lu Ran was thinking about putting "Honor of Kings" on the agenda, he suddenly received a call from Zhou Mingzhe.
He took out his phone and answered the call.
"Hey, Mr. Lu, it's blown up, it's blown up!" Zhou Mingzhe's urgent voice came through the phone.
"It exploded? What exploded? The server room exploded?" Lu Ran asked hurriedly when he heard him speak so urgently.
If the server room really explodes, that would be a serious matter.
"It's not the server room, it's a message," Zhou Mingzhe finally explained.
"So, League of Legends has been really popular in the European server lately, hasn't it?"
"and then?"
"Then, in the last two days, three European companies contacted us, saying they wanted to discuss the distribution rights for League of Legends in Europe."
After saying that, Zhou Mingzhe sent over screenshots of the three business cards.
Lu Ran glanced at them and thought, "Wow, one is French, one is German, and one is British."
Moreover, all three companies have considerable influence in Europe.
Alright, someone is planning to send money to Lu Ran.
Lu Ran also told Shen Yuege, who was standing next to him, about the news.
"Look, someone's offering me money. Should I accept it, or should I accept it?"
Shen Yuege laughed and patted Lu Ran lightly: "Didn't you always want to find an operations team to help you take over the overseas market? Now that they've delivered themselves to your door, you're still showing off."
Lu Ran and Shen Yuege were flirting and teasing each other, which made Zhou Mingzhe on the other end of the phone anxious.
"Hey, Mr. Lu, are you two done with your sweet talk? If you're done, I'll continue."
"Then continue, I'm listening." As he spoke, Lu Ran held up a cherry and fed it to Shen Yuege, "Ah~ open your mouth."
Zhou Mingzhe: "..."
So I was part of your game too?
Regardless of whether Lu Ran was listening or not, Zhou Mingzhe pretended not to hear and continued reporting.
"There are three companies involved, all of them very interested and seem quite eager. I've also spoken with Chen Mo and the others, and Chen Mo said that it's best if you make the decision."
"Then tell me about the three companies first, and I'll see which one is the most reliable... One cherry isn't enough, you have to eat at least two, that's called good things come in pairs."
"..."
"Ahem, let me start with a brief explanation."
"Let's start with the French company, Asterix Games. They're based in Paris and aren't particularly large, but they've published two mobile games in Europe, and their distribution channels are mainly concentrated in the French-speaking region. Their letter of intent was very enthusiastic, praising our product experience in about two hundred words before they even got down to business. Their strengths are their quick response and positive attitude, but their weaknesses are their relatively small size and limited distribution channels; they'd struggle outside the French-speaking region."
"What about this one in Germany?"
"The German company is called Black Forest Interactive, headquartered in Berlin. They've been publishing games for over a decade, distributing several MMO products from major European and American companies. Their distribution network covers the entire German-speaking region and the Central European market. Their letter of intent is very straightforward, without any fancy opening remarks; they jump right in with data and plans. Their attitude is the most rigorous of the three, but they're also the slowest to move forward. They require at least a six-month localization testing period before they're willing to sign a formal contract, which will take a relatively long time."
Lu Ran nodded; this was indeed in line with Germany's pace.
"What about this one in the UK?"
"The UK company is called Phoenix Games, based in London. They're the largest of the three, with distribution channels covering all of Europe, and also have resources in North America and Australia. They've been publishing for almost twenty years, very experienced, and have represented several global titles. Their letter of intent is very professional, with a clear analysis of the differences between various European markets, and they even included their own user research data." Zhou Mingzhe paused, "However, there's a problem—their asking price is also the highest, their revenue-sharing percentage is a bit steep, and the contract terms include some restrictive clauses, such as requiring exclusive adaptation rights and derivative product development rights for the European region."
Upon hearing the words "exclusive copyright," Lu Ran frowned: "Adaptation rights? What do they want adaptation rights for? Do they have any special plans?"
"The other party didn't specify anything, but the terms were very clear: 'Without changing the core gameplay framework, they have the right to adapt the game content to local culture for secondary creation.' I also had my legal counsel review it, and they said that the terms were rather vague and left a lot of room for interpretation, which could inevitably lead to disputes later on."
Lu Ran thought about it and felt that he could understand.
The initial contract terms usually have a lot of room for interpretation, so that they can be negotiated later.
However, this suggestion made Lu Ran think of something.
In the later part of the previous life, when the popularity of "League of Legends" began to decline, auto chess began to become popular.
Subsequently, League of Legends also developed its own auto-chess mode – Teamfight Tactics.
There's even a mobile game called "Golden Shovel Battle".
These two games are almost completely detached from the gameplay of League of Legends, but they use League of Legends characters and are bound to League of Legends players.
It is precisely these two games that have made League of Legends one of the most popular games in the World Championship more than a decade later.
"Please compile the information for these three companies and send me a copy. I'll take a look."
Lu Ran decided to do some further research to see what the characteristics of each of the three companies were.
Finding a suitable distributor, while taking a significant portion of the profits, can also save TUTU Technology a lot of trouble.
"Okay." Zhou Mingzhe sent over the information for the three companies directly, adding, "Should we arrange for them to come to Shanghai separately to discuss things in person?"
"Don't rush. Let's take a look at their proposal first. Ask them a few questions for me—what are their respective assessments of the European market trends over the next five years? How do they plan to balance the operational pace across different countries? How will they handle cultural conflicts? What is their target revenue share? What additional conditions are included in the contract besides revenue sharing? Have them write down their answers and send them over, don't just talk about it over the phone."
This is equivalent to giving them an exam, with the chief examiner, Lu Ran, looking at the companies' views on the future.
Lu Ran knew the potential of League of Legends, but other companies might not be able to see it.
This question is a test of their judgment.
Zhou Mingzhe agreed on the other end of the phone: "Okay. I'll have the operations team draft a standardized email and send it to all three companies. Do you have any other questions?"
Lu Ran thought for a moment, then added, "Add one more sentence—ask them to list one game case they've previously represented, explaining in detail the promotion strategies and final results. I want to see their logic in doing things."
"Understood. I'll hang up now if there's nothing else."
After hanging up the phone, Shen Yuege came over again.
"Finished the call?" Shen Yuege asked, handing over the remaining cherries from the fruit plate while eating them herself.
Lu Ran took the cherry, threw it into his mouth, and immediately started grimacing.
It turned out to be sour.
Lu Ran picked out a red one, which was finally a sweet one.
"There are three European companies interested in becoming agents: one from France, one from Germany, and one from the UK. Each has its own strengths, and I need to review their specific proposals before making a decision."
"Did you have any expectations in mind?"
"Not yet, but we have a general direction," Lu Ran said while eating. "We can't leave the European market to just one company, that would concentrate the risk too much. But we also can't break it down into too many pieces right away, that would make management too costly. Ideally, we'd find a main player with broad coverage, and then supplement it with one or two regional companies. We'll discuss the specifics after we see their response."
After listening, Shen Yuege didn't ask any further questions. Instead, she took a cherry and put it into Lu Ran's mouth.
Lu Ran opened his mouth and ate it in one bite.
Mmm, it's sweet.
...
Over the next few days, Zhou Mingzhe received replies from the three companies one after another.
The replies were continuous, with the longest being ten pages and the shortest being five pages.
It's clear that all three companies take this issue very seriously and have shared their perspectives on it.
Lu Ran read through the three emails twice from beginning to end, and even asked Zhou Mingzhe to extract the clauses involving specific figures and make a comparison table.
The response from Asterix Games in France was the most enthusiastic, starting with a long praise of TUTU's products and team before getting to the point.
They are optimistic about the future of the European market, believing that the European game market will maintain double-digit growth over the next five years, especially mobile and competitive products, which will have significant growth potential.
In terms of operational pace, they advocate a phased approach, first piloting the process in the French-speaking region and then gradually expanding to other areas.
The revenue sharing ratio was not low but not outrageous either, slightly higher than the industry average. There were basically no additional conditions, only a three-year long-term contract was required.
Black Forest Interactive's response reads most like an academic report.
Their analysis of the European market was extremely detailed, even breaking down user profiles into more than a dozen subcategories based on age and gender, with data listed for the preferences and consumption habits of each category.
In terms of operational pace, they advocate a "steady and solid" approach, first conducting six to eight months of localization adaptation and user testing to ensure that the product is fully adapted to the local environment before large-scale promotion.
The revenue sharing ratio is the lowest among the three companies, but it also has the fewest additional conditions. Apart from the revenue sharing, there are almost no other requirements, and even the contract term is written quite flexibly.
Phoenix Games from the UK gave the most professional and ambitious response of the three.
Their assessment of the European market is similar to the previous two, but they wrote a more ambitious report, predicting that the European esports market will double in size over the next five years and suggesting that the League of Legends tournament system and distribution system be packaged together.
In terms of operational pace, they advocate rapid expansion, avoiding pilot programs in French-speaking or German-speaking regions, and instead directly covering major markets across Europe.
They offered the highest revenue share among the three companies, but also had the most additional conditions—in addition to the previously mentioned adaptation rights and derivative rights, they also demanded co-hosting rights for esports events in the European region.
After reading the three emails and reviewing the comparison table Zhou Mingzhe had prepared, Lu Ran leaned back in his chair and stared blankly at the computer screen for a while.
Then he sent Zhou Mingzhe a message: "Call Chen Mo, let's have a short meeting this afternoon."
At 2 p.m., the three of them sat around the coffee table in Lu Ran's office, each with a cup of tea and a printed comparison table in front of them.
Lu Ran spoke first: "I've read all three companies' responses. The French company is enthusiastic but lacks confidence, the German company is steady but too slow, and the British company's proposal is excellent but their price is too high. My idea is that the German company's operational approach best matches our own pace, but we need to compress the timeline; we can't let them drag it out for half a year. The British company's channel resources are what we need most, but we have to cut the additional clauses—don't give them adaptation rights, merchandise rights, or event hosting rights."
Chen Mo flipped through the form and replied, "So you mean, let the German company handle the main operations, and the British company handle the channel cooperation?"
"Yes," Lu Ran said. "Black Forest Interactive will sign the primary distribution agreement, mainly responsible for daily operations and localization. Phoenix Games will sign a separate channel cooperation agreement, only responsible for channel distribution and user acquisition, not for content-related permissions. Asterix Games can retain a sub-distribution right for the French-speaking region as a supplement."
Zhou Mingzhe, standing nearby, asked, "So how do you plan to negotiate with the three companies? One by one, or all at once?"
"It's impossible to get things done by negotiating with all three at once. We need to negotiate with them one by one. We'll start with Germany to establish the main framework. Then we'll talk to the UK about channel cooperation. We'll talk to France last; their terms are simpler and easier to finalize."
Chen Mo thought for a moment and said, "What if we can't reach an agreement with Germany?"
"Then let's switch. Let's talk to Britain first, then France. But I think we can reach an agreement with Germany; they're the most pragmatic, and they won't refuse if the conditions are right."
The three of them went over the specific negotiation strategies and bottom-line figures again. Lu Ran asked Zhou Mingzhe to draft a preliminary framework and send it to the German company as a basis for negotiation. They would then proceed to the next step after receiving a response from the other party.
As Lu Ran watched the two leave the office, he pondered the advantages and disadvantages of the three companies, and basically formed a general outline in his mind.
German companies are steady, British companies are aggressive, and French companies are flexible—each has its own flavor. What he needs to do now is to blend these three elements into a drinkable beverage that is neither sour, bitter, nor astringent, but just right.
However, there's another point: since there are companies in Europe interested in League of Legends, it's likely that more than one company is interested.
These three companies approached us on their own, so there are probably many other companies that are also eager to make a move.
If that's the case, why not find some other game companies?
As for the company size, it doesn't matter if it's small. Lu Ran wants them to know that he chose them not because they are big companies.
It was because Lu Ran chose them that they were able to become a large company.
If the distribution of League of Legends is successful, this single game alone could transform an insignificant small company into a top European game company.
This is the confidence of League of Legends.
...