Differentially priced

"Everyone, this is the program developed by our company that can be used for game development. I call it the game engine. With this engine, the speed of game development and future development in the era of 3D games will be much more convenient. Now, let me demonstrate it for you."

In a lecture hall in Tokyo, Takayuki stood in front of an audience of three hundred people, explaining the basic usage of the engine.

This class, rather than being a lecture, was more like a small-scale software product launch event.

After Takayuki explained the basic development framework of first-person shooter games, he began to focus on the role of the game engine in it.

Originally, a basic program that would take dozens of people and at least a week of continuous work to write, Takayuki, relying solely on himself, successfully created the rough framework of a first-person shooter game using the engine alone.

This astonished everyone in the audience.

This was a path they had never considered before.

Previously, they had never thought about using software to reduce repetitive processes in game development.

Or rather, some had thought about it before but didn't know where to start.

But this time, Takayuki directly demonstrated to these three hundred people, and everyone present understood the value of it.

It was like possessing the ultimate artifact, even facing the final boss would be easy.

While explaining, Takayuki used the engine to create a relatively simple game.

In just an hour, what used to take several people several weeks to build could now be created using the engine alone.

Then all that was left was to add various materials to this foundation.

The first-generation version of the engine certainly couldn't compare to later versions like Unreal Engine 4 or 5.

But even for now, it was impressive enough.

Especially the time and manpower saved in game development.

At this moment, everyone was thinking about how to obtain authorization for this software.

Only Hayakawa was considering whether it was possible for his side to create something like this.

In the end, he concluded that it was difficult.

The funding provided by the headquarters did not allow him to do such things, and he didn't have much money to pursue another development path.

Unless the game industry could advance further.

Previously, following Takayuki's lead with the low-priced PN1 also gained Surai Electronics some confidence in the US market, but it was not enough to convince them to invest in a new development path.

However, the direction of the engine was good. Even if they couldn't create a mature game engine like Takayuki's, it was possible to create a game engine that would be helpful.

Thinking about this, he couldn't help but feel a bit down.

It seemed that Gamestar Entertainment and the companies following them would continue to widen the gap, which was somewhat despairing.

But at this moment, on the stage, Takayuki seemed to hear the thoughts of the crowd.

He looked at everyone and said, "I suppose you're all now thinking about how to obtain this engine, aren't you?"

Everyone looked at Takayuki. At this moment, not a single person spoke, the meaning was already self-evident.

Takayuki smiled, "Actually, it's very simple, it's just a matter of exchanging benefits. I gain money and data, and you gain the right to use the engine."

As Takayuki spoke, he manipulated the computer, and on the large screen behind him, the authorization prices for this game engine were displayed.

The authorization price for the first-party exclusive partners of Gamestar Entertainment was three percent of each game's profit.

For third-party partners selling games on platforms, the authorization price was four percent of each game's profit.

Seeing this price, these people quickly began to calculate the pros and cons in their minds.

Just paying three or four percent of the game's profit to use this engine for game development was much lower than the cost of manually producing games.

Seeing this authorization price, Hayakawa also felt a bit envious.

But he estimated that he wouldn't be within this range of authorization prices.

Surai Electronics and Gamestar Entertainment were competitors; Gamestar Entertainment couldn't possibly easily...

At this moment, Takayuki flipped to the next page of the PowerPoint presentation, and on the next page was written the third authorization condition.

For non-GamestarEntertainment partners, they could pay for the use of the game engine once every ten years, with payment possible annually, but the contract must be for at least ten years.

Hayakawa's thoughts were disrupted by this.

What's going on?

Does this mean that Gamestar Entertainment's competitors can also obtain the right to use the game engine?

But it's not charged as a percentage, it's an annual payment, and the contract has to be for at least ten years. Hayakawa was very surprised.

What is Takayuki thinking?

Could it be that they're short of money now?

No, if they were short of money, they wouldn't allow payment in annual installments; they would require a lump sum payment.

"President Takayuki, what does that third condition mean? Does it mean that competitors of Gamestar Entertainment can also use this engine?"

Seeing the third condition, someone among those present couldn't help but stand up and ask the question Hayakawa most wanted to ask.

Takayuki nodded, "That's right, that's what it means. Actually, it's not limited to just that. The meaning of non-partners can also include industries other than the game development industry, such as future film and television special effects, engineering design, and so on. These are naturally not our company's partners, but they can still have the right to use it."

"Then... what's the price?"

"Well... that's an internal matter for us. We will customize it based on the basic situation of the non-partner."

There are different prices, and I won't tell you where they differ. Everyone understood.

If they are competitors, they will definitely demand more money, while for those in industries with no competition relationship, it can be relatively cheaper.

However, this is still very worthwhile. Hayakawa's eyes gradually lit up.

Buying for ten years is completely fine, and it's not a one-time payment, just pay annually.

If necessary, he could just buy for ten years and then have his employees continue to study this engine over the next ten years, ultimately creating our own engine. This could greatly save costs and help game development.

Moreover, Takayuki just said that this engine is not limited to game development alone; it can also be applied to film and television special effects, engineering modeling, and even some data environment simulation experiments.

Surai Electronics happens to have its own film and television company, so he can convince the film and television department to jointly purchase with us, using it to develop games on our end while the film and television department uses it to develop special effects. It's truly a win-win situation!

Thinking about this, Hayakawa's originally somewhat bad mood suddenly improved a lot!