Chapter 15: Even the Fog in England Needs Sunshine
Let's talk about why William Devonshire is a true genius.
The strategy game, *Plants vs. Zombies*, first appeared only in and around London.
Just one month ago, William was an unknown sophomore. Yet this seemingly ordinary young man did the work of a game designer, artist, and programmer, all by himself, in just half a month.
He even acted as his own game tester because, from what we've gathered, no one has found a single bug or loophole in the game.
After the game was completed, William also took on the roles of sales manager and logistics manager.
He handled the negotiations for the game disc duplication himself. I heard that the owner of the duplication plant that William used can't eat or sleep these days.
He is filled with regret because when William first approached him to duplicate the discs, he missed the chance to buy the game rights or even sign an agency contract.
He simply quoted William the standard price of £0.46 per disc, passing up a deal that could have made him a fortune.
I have reason to believe the man wants to jump off a bridge. After his plant finished the initial run of 150,000 game discs, he never received another order from William. He missed his chance.
When the game was finished a month ago, he had no money for promotion and didn't know any game agents. He had to find a way to market it himself. So, how did he do it?
After reviewing William's promotional plan, I believe universities will be adding it as a case study to their marketing courses for years to come.
Because as far as I know, there has never been a sales case quite like this one. So how did he pull it off?
William is very clever and knows how to play to his strengths. After finishing the game, he took it to the computer science department at the University of London and let students in various gaming clubs try it out.
After it was universally praised by his fellow students, he asked them, "If I sold this for just £5, would you buy it?"
"£5? Are you joking?" In the eyes of his peers, a relaxing and innovative strategy game that had never been seen before could easily sell for £8, £10, or even more.
Of course, they would buy it for only £5. For these gaming enthusiasts, £5 is just the cost of a few burgers. It's nothing to spend that little on a game they enjoy.
This is where William's true genius showed. He knew he had no promotional channels, no money, and no one to help him. So he devised a way to get his fellow university students to willingly sell the game for him.
First, he registered all the copyrights. Then he spent £500 to register two companies.
One company was registered in England, the other in Ireland. He sold the game's distribution rights for £1 each to his Irish company, cleverly bypassing certain legal hurdles for selling game discs in England.
Why is this possible? I think anyone familiar with the relationship between England and Ireland will understand what I'm talking about, so I won't elaborate.
He then signed contracts with the students, offering them the discs at a wholesale price of £4 each. The students then sold them to their classmates and friends for £6.
I heard that on the first day, one student at the University of London sold 200 discs, making £400 in a single day.
God, I want to sell game discs for William, too! I haven't earned £400 in a single day in my entire twenty-year career. Maybe I should ask our young genius if I can write some ad copy for him and earn a fee.
The game first exploded in popularity at the University of London. From there, word spread to other universities around London. Through the spontaneous evangelism of these university students, the game soon reached middle and high school students. Once the youth knew about it, their parents and relatives learned of the fun new game on the market as well.
In less than a month, *Plants vs. Zombies* had sold 150,000 discs in London and the surrounding areas.
This method of building fame in the universities first, allowing it to spread organically to the wider public, was simply brilliant.
He didn't spend a single penny on publicity. At the same time, William Devonshire also persuaded the London manager for Carrefour to sell his game's merchandise in their stores, along with thousands of copies of the game itself.
Is it any wonder that his ideas attracted the attention of top companies like EA, Ubisoft, and Bethesda in just one month? Of course not.
When I read in the report that William was asking for £100 million, the shock was unbearable.
I don't know if the game is truly worth £100 million, but based on estimates from agents in the gaming industry, it could definitely sell seven or eight million copies, perhaps even tens of millions.
If a single disc sells for £8, I'd certainly buy one just to see what has young people so crazed.
Furthermore, the merchandise has sold 430,000 units at Carrefour in half a month, grossing over £6.25 million.
But I want to tell William this: Keep the game. You can earn far more than £100 million. In a few years, this could become the most popular game not just in England, but in the world. It has the potential to become a global phenomenon.
I want to tell William that it may not be long before *Plants vs. Zombies* is no longer just yours. The images of Sunflowers, Peashooters, Cherry Bombs, and the other plants in the game could become symbols of London itself. When people see these characters, they will remember they originated here. They could become London's new Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.
William, I beg you, don't sell them. Don't sell London's new potential mascots. Don't sell away the hopes of London's citizens.
It has been too long since England has produced a cultural export that could influence the entire world. We need this now more than ever. This could be a mark of English cultural victory in the new millennium.
Otherwise, you will become a sinner in the eyes of London.
William was at home, listening as his mother, Lina, sat on the sofa and read today's *Sun* aloud to him in a rhythmic, cheerful voice.
When she reached the last paragraph, William couldn't help but curse the editor-in-chief of the *Sun*. *A symbol of London? Something London needs?*
*What a load of rubbish. He's just writing this way to sell more papers and stir up controversy.*
This was going to be troublesome. William could already foresee people coming out to protest him selling the copyright to *Plants vs. Zombies*.
Maybe some London city councilors would even stand up and shout about it. What a headache.
Although he was angry, William calmed down and decided to let it go for now.
While the *Sun* article had caught him off guard and would certainly have an impact on his sale negotiations, it would ultimately benefit him more. Now, the whole of England would know about the game being sold for £100 million, which would only make it more famous, faster.
Besides, suing either the *Sun* or the Hilton for their mismanagement required money. Without money, a lawsuit could be delayed for half a year, even a year, by which point he would have lost the energy to pursue it.
If he became a billionaire, however, everything would be different.
With today's report, the pressure on the companies that wanted to buy his game would intensify, because new competitors were sure to appear immediately.
Moreover, as the game became more famous, the money wouldn't just come from discs, T-shirts, and hats.
The characters from the game could appear in amusement parks, books, movies, TV shows, and as plush toys. They really could become as popular worldwide as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.
This was all money. Yesterday, William had been considering Blockbuster's £100 million price, knowing they were eager to go public.
But after today, perhaps Blockbuster would be the anxious ones. A project like this, destined to be a massive hit and so closely related to Blockbuster's core business, didn't come along every year.
If Blockbuster wanted to achieve a higher market valuation when it went public, they couldn't afford to give up this project.
*It seems £100 million really is just the starting point,* William thought, secretly rejoicing. *I might actually become a billionaire in a few days.*
---
$5 Tier – Early Access!
Read 30 chapters ahead of public platforms like RoyalRoad and Scribble Hub — with plans to increase to 40 chapters ahead as soon as I reach 10 members!
Chapters are posted as soon as they're completed, so you'll always stay ahead of the curve.
Support the story and unlock early access:
Patreon in the My Profile or About