Lee So-young followed Shin Woo-hyuk, who said he was going to a PC room.
Since he always jokes around, I thought he brought up the internet cafe story to make fun of himself this time too.
The place I arrived at was not an electronics store or a computer developer, but a real PC room where I went to play games.
“Soyoung, what are you doing at the entrance? Come in quickly.”
“Were you really going to a PC cafe?”
“Then where did you know you were going?”
Lee So-young can’t resist his urging and walks into the internet cafe building.
He asked as we walked down a long, dark hallway.
“Is this your first time at a PC room?”
“It can’t be. I used to go there often when I was in school.”
“Oh, that’s surprising.”
“Originally, at that age, you go out to play with your friends. Because that was when I was in middle school… … It was already 10 years ago.”
In Lee So-young’s memory, the PC room was dark, noisy, and filled with cigarette smoke.
Perhaps because of such negative memories, when I think about going to a PC room, I instinctively feel a sense of rejection.
‘Why did the CEO bring me to the internet cafe? Surely this isn’t a date?’
While countless question marks were floating in Lee So-young’s head, his question continued.
“Haven’t you been here since middle school?”
“I didn’t go, I didn’t go. I went to America from high school.”
“Then I don’t know if the internet cafe environment has changed.”
“Is it changing? What?”
“You will know when you see it.”
Before I knew it, I had arrived at the entrance of the PC room. As he takes the lead in opening the door to the PC room, a deafening noise comes from inside.
“hey! I told you not to pick Yatsuo! I wanted you first!”
“Where is that! You choose Jed!”
“Two enemies on the Ulbe side! Two enemies on the Ulbe side! Watch out for Sna!”
“No, what are you all doing? Don’t fall back, push the cargo! Oh really. Team luck is not so bad.”
The dark and noisy scene of the PC room was exactly what she remembered as a child.
However, there was one difference.
“Doesn’t this place smell like cigarettes?”
“All PC rooms are non-smoking. So now, it’s not just a place to play games, but more and more people come to relax while watching movies or dramas, or to go on a date with a lover.”
It gives strength to the word poisonous date. Lee So-young pouted slightly and said.
“So you’re really here for a date?”
“For now, yes.”
“Then why are you sticking around?”
He smiled sullenly and headed to the internet cafe counter.
Perhaps all calculations and table preparations had already been done, all Soyoung Lee had to do was sit down in front of the computer.
“CEO, are you really not going to tell me why you came to the internet cafe?”
“I came because of Soyoung.”
“You’re not going to make an excuse for dating until the end, are you?”
“Technically, it’s more like a job than a date.”
“Is this your job?”
He nods his head and continues talking with a lot of atmosphere.
“It has to do with very important work that will feed our company going forward. Please take it seriously.”
* * *
If PC rooms in the early days were only spaces for games, since the 2010s, PC rooms have become a general rest area where you can eat and relax.
Cafe-level coffee drinks are standard, and you can order dishes such as hamburgers, hot dogs, tteokbokki, pork cutlets, and pork rice bowls.
tadak. Taktak. widely.
We also ordered coffee and sandwiches on our table. These are things I ordered a long time ago, but I can hardly afford to touch them.
“CEO, please help the main base! Enemies are returning by side roads!”
“Hold on. Because I am going.”
“I don’t think so. They keep coming in looking for healers! oh! Write a palace! no!”
We were engrossed in a new FPS game released by Blizzard, and we were waving the mouse without knowing how much time was passing.
“If we just defend this time, we can win, right? Just block the aisle.”
“As long as Soyoung survives, we win.”
“I really won’t die this time.”
At first, Lee So-young also grumbled that she had no intention of playing games, but before she knew it, those words slipped away.
They pursed their lips, worked hard to move the mouse, felt sorry for them, rejoiced in them, and then vomited out their anger.
“Ah! I lost again! decomposition!”
Either way, the result is another defeat. In the first place, the world of competition was not so soft that she, a beginner, could win.
“Is the game fun?”
When I asked, Lee So-young suddenly blushed. The fact that he was immersed in the game must be ashamed.
“How would you feel if you could make money while playing such a fun game?”
“Aren’t YouTubers doing that? There are cases where we upload game videos on Watts and receive sponsorship.”
“It’s not technically a game, but a form of making money by producing videos.”
“Otherwise… … There are none other than pro gamers.”
I found a cup of coffee to relieve my sore throat. The ice was all melted and it was soft, but now this is also a good thing.
“Are you thinking of making a game like that?”
I kept biting on the coffee straw as it is, and showed only my fingers curled up.
“It is an unrealistic idea. How can I make money just playing games? It makes no sense.”
“We already have a similar service.”
“No way… … ?”
I saved my words this time so that she could think of it herself. She doesn’t disappoint me and gets the answer right away.
“You mean social mining?”
“That is correct. It’s social mining for the game.”
The method of giving cryptocurrency as a game play reward was a very hot topic in the future.
It is called P2E (Play to Earn), and it was once a field that even major game companies were scrambling to jump into.
From noble mtl dot com
Its popularity quickly faded like a fad in one season, and it faded away.
“What do you think, Soyoung? Do you think game board social mining is possible?”
“There is no reason not to. Just like giving rewards to social media users, you just have to give out rewards whenever you play or win a game. but… … .”
She glances at the monitor. There was an FPS game from Blizzard that I had just been playing.
“We have to think about whether it is worthwhile to grow by giving virtual currency rewards to the game, right? Anyway, it is true that games are less valuable than social media.”
“Games make more money than Soyoung thinks. The game we just played alone made over $300 million in the first month of launch.”
Lee So-yeong was surprised and looked back at the monitor.
“This game? I had no idea.”
“If the game can perfectly melt the virtual currency system, it might be a bigger hit.”
“ah… … .”
I spread two fingers in front of her nodding.
“To realize my plan, I need two things. The first preparation is a valuable cryptocurrency to be paid as a reward.”
“If that’s the case, I passed because I have an acorn coin.”
“The second is a high-quality game that will definitely give you fun.”
“Is this by any chance?”
She pointed to the FPS game she had just been playing.
“It is difficult to put a cryptocurrency system into a game that has already been completed.”
“Then it means we need to find a fun game that is still in development… … The hurdles are too high.”
It is impossible even for professional analysts to accurately predict the box office success or fun of a game under development.
But I was someone who could easily do the impossible.
* * *
We left the internet cafe and moved towards Pangyo.
While I was driving the car myself, Soyoung Lee passed the time browsing game news on her tablet.
“and… … The domestic game industry has exceeded 10 trillion won? Even if you combine all cultural contents such as music, movies, and dramas, you can’t compete.”
“The country is a very small market. If North America and China are involved, it will easily exceed 100 trillion won.”
“I think I can understand why the CEO values games.”
I nod my head slightly and then open my mouth.
“I’m not trying to enter the game market just for money.”
“sure?”
“User acquisition comes first. This is an opportunity to acquire a large number of users who are accustomed to buying and selling virtual currency.”
Online game users have already been trading virtual game money or items for real money since 10 years ago.
Direct sales or through sites like Item X Nia.
Therefore, there will be less resistance to accepting the current virtual currency system.
“Would you rather be okay, Soyoung?”
“What are you okay with?”
“This project needs to melt cryptocurrency into the game. Since the field is different, the language used or the programming method must be unfamiliar.”
“Do not worry. I don’t know how to handle any language. I also touched Java, C++, C#, Python, and Unity or Unreal Engine used by game companies a few times.”
It’s a professional term, so I can’t understand everything, but I’m glad that I’m confident.
If she had said no, she would have had to go through the trouble of finding a game development expert who was knowledgeable in cryptocurrency.
As we chatted, we arrived at our destination in no time.
It was a 12-story officetel complex.
As soon as Lee So-young arrives at the entrance of the building, she first looks at the nameplates of the companies that have moved in.
“Isn’t there a famous place among the companies? The place we’re going to visit, Blue Tech, doesn’t seem to be that big either.”
“It is quite large for a domestic game company.”
“Still, isn’t a place like a developer that made a game that was played in a PC room better than a small business?”
Blizzard, she said, was a popular game company that produced a lot of hits such as Star, Walk, Dia, and WoW.
If you can afford it, buying a famous developer like Blizzard is not a bad choice. It was a top-tier company in terms of scale, development, and recognition.
However, in order to acquire such a large fish, there were not one or two obstacles to overcome.
“It will take a long time to acquire Blizzard, and the acquisition price will have to be at least 80 trillion won.”
“Huh! Is it that expensive?”
“That’s a cheap price, too. Right after hitting the jackpot like now, the price will go up, right?”
Lee So-young was shocked to hear the amount and could not continue talking.
“Even if I had that kind of money, I would have chosen Bluetech over Blizzard.”
“Why?”
“If Blizzard is a dying year, Bluetech here is like the dawn right before the sun rises.”
It was then. A low-pitched laugh is heard from the side.
“I don’t know what to do with a famous person like CEO Shin valuing us highly.”
A man with a shaggy beard covering half of his face walks this way. It was Han Seok-ho, the team leader of Bluetech.
I greet him with a sincere smile.
“Nice to meet you, Manager Han. How have you been?”
“Ayu, of course you’re doing well. If the CEO buys meat so often, the team members will wait until the CEO comes. Ha ha ha.”
“Ah, come to think of it, I only went to the meat restaurant all the time. I can’t. Let’s go to steamed snow crab for today’s party. I know a good place.”
“Oh, you don’t have to.”
Half a year ago, I had been building friendships with executives and employees with the acquisition of Bluetech in mind.
What is Bluetech doing so they put so much effort into it?
1 best-selling PC game of all time with cumulative sales of 70 million copies.
Cumulative sales of $100 million in 13 weeks of launch.
Listed in the Guinness Book of Records for concurrent users on Steam.
The developer of ‘Battle Royale: Ground Zero’, which will write a legend in the domestic game industry, was Bluetech.