Even though Jungle’s 【Space War】 was already a hot topic, the announcement that the league would be broadcast attracted even more attention.
As always, the two managers skillfully handled the media.
By releasing articles about the 【Space War】 league, an overwhelming number of applicants rushed in.
The tally before the preliminaries showed a four-digit number, reaching 5,000 people nationwide.
“Wow, I don’t know if we can handle this within the given period.”
“Right? Did we overdo the promotion?”
The two secretaries were so flustered.
No wonder, as the preliminary period was only six days.
Could they really narrow it down to sixteen contestants for the broadcast within that time?
No matter how much they thought about it, it seemed impossible.
Moreover, it didn’t make sense to eliminate applicants now based on interviews or other criteria.
If rumors spread that Jungle didn’t keep its promises, it would damage its image.
Now, the media shared the prestige of forming a dominant public opinion.
In other words, with the emergence of social media launched by Jungle, people could get news from non-media sources, and negative news could spread rapidly online like wildfire.
“We need to discuss this with the CEO.”
“I’m really sorry. We start things but can’t manage them properly…”
However, they couldn’t just watch the situation worsen.
Thinking that Lee Hyun-woo would have the answer, they reported the current situation to him.
Lee Hyun-woo answered easily.
“Recruit nearby PC rooms.”
“What? Is that okay?”
“They’d probably welcome it. It’s good promotion for them. If we’re lucky, heroes of 【Space War】 could emerge from each neighborhood or region. Then we could have competitions between neighborhoods or regions, creating a derby-like atmosphere… But that’s for later. For now, since it’s urgent, let’s recruit as many PC rooms as possible to hold the preliminaries.”
It was the first tournament. Even if it was a bit rough, they could improve in subsequent editions.
Everything in the world was like that.
Was the first World Cup or the first Olympics perfect from the start?
Understanding Lee Hyun-woo’s intention, the two secretaries quickly mobilized the secretarial office to contact PC rooms nationwide.
They even mobilized Jungle’s available personnel to ensure that as few regions as possible would be excluded by the first day of the league preliminaries.
Surprisingly, the league’s preliminary round proceeded without major issues from the first day.
“In Seoul’s Seongdong-gu, the ‘Mechanic Prince’ became the representative!”
“In Eunpyeong-gu, it’s ‘Fighter’!”
“In Suwon, it’s ‘Paldal Cider’!”
On the first day, strong contenders emerged from each small region.
In the meantime, Jungle created matchups between neighboring regions.
For example, the champion of Seocho-gu versus the champion of Gangnam-gu, or the strongest of Ilsan versus the strongest of Gimpo, creating new battles between adjacent neighborhoods and regions.
Although it was somewhat haphazard, just as Lee Hyun-woo said, it evolved into a small-scale competition to determine the strongest in each region, igniting intense interest.
This was also covered by internet media.
『Fighter qualifies for the finals as the Seoul regional champion!』
『Capjjang: I’m the best in Gyeonggi Province!』
Young people read these articles and gathered the next day to discuss the 【Space War】 league.
“I knew Fighter would do well.”
“Of course. He has the second most wins after ‘Emperor’ in the online battlefield.”
“By the way, did Emperor not participate?”
“Maybe he hid his identity. I’ve heard he doesn’t want to reveal his identity due to unavoidable circumstances.”
“Oh? I heard something different. I heard he has social anxiety.”
“Ugh, if he has such a disorder, he wouldn’t participate in a tournament that requires appearing on broadcast.”
“I thought I’d get to see his face, but I guess not.”
“Yeah, really.”
There were reactions that the expected people came up, stories of dark horses suddenly emerging, and many people were curious about the identity of ‘Emperor.’
Reporters also took this nuance in their headlines.
『Did Emperor hide his identity and participate?』
『Emperor’s participation could heat up the league’s popularity even more…』
Seeing such articles, Lee Hyun-woo smiled and murmured.
“I’ll step aside for the birth of 【Space War】’s stars.”
On this day, 16 people with outstanding skills were born nationwide.
They would thoroughly hone their strategies and tactics for 【Space War】 and appear in the official league broadcast next month.
Meanwhile, around this time, the English version of 【Space War】 was released.
Jungle employees were once again on the move, trying to export the English version of 【Space War】 to countries like the United States, Europe, China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore where it was ambiguous to import the Korean version directly.
However, there was a clear gap in initial sales between the countries Jungle directly entered and those it did not.
It was evident how powerful portal sites were.
Naturally, Hoo Insu, the head of the overseas cooperation department, suggested directly to Lee Hyun-woo.
“How about considering entering portal sites in Asia, Europe, and South America?”
As this recommendation came from the sales and marketing department, not the technology development team, Lee Hyun-woo thought it was the right time and told him to make plans for entry into each country.
“But don’t overdo it. It’s best to move according to your capabilities.”
“Yes, CEO. I will do so.”
“If necessary, we will recruit as needed, so don’t hesitate to consult with the talent development department, regardless of nationality.”
“Yes, understood.”
Lee Hyun-woo knew well that Hoo Insu was a capable team leader.
It was also Hoo Insu who started Jungle’s entry into Guangdong Province in China.
At that time, Hoo Insu thwarted Lee Hyun-woo’s attempt to take the lead.
Now, with Guangdong Province settling in well and the release of 【Space War】, he believed Jungle’s portal site expansion would gain more momentum.
Initially, penetrating China with cultural content was the core of their strategy.
Lee Hyun-woo hoped the wind stirred in Guangdong Province would gradually spread north, occupying cities and provinces in China.
In fact, no clear rival had yet appeared in China.
China’s information technology was still lagging, and Jungle’s rivals, the leading American portal sites, were still contemplating how to evade censorship.
Although there were rumors that Yaho was preparing, it had not yet landed in mainland China.
Even if it did land, censorship issues would immediately arise.
Eventually, they would have to either allow the local government in Guangdong Province to monitor their portal site like Jungle or penetrate China through cultural content like games or MP3s.
‘They won’t have appropriate content.’
Perhaps that’s why Jamie Wang’s interest turned to console games.
Although the correlation between console games and portal sites didn’t seem that significant, if they used this business to promote Yaho and attempt a soft landing, it could increase their chances of success.
However, there was still no news of Yaho entering the console game market.
There was a reason.
Jamie Wang had spent time negotiating with the presidents of Sonic and Naintendo, but they ultimately rejected him.
This could be heard directly from a phone call with Jamie Wang.
(It seems we have no choice but to develop it ourselves.)
As expected, after going around in circles, Jungle and Yaho teamed up once again.
Lee Hyun-woo informed the secretarial office about this, and of course, the two secretaries circulated a press release to the media.
『Lee Hyun-woo, this time teaming up with Yaho to enter the console game market!』
In fact, Yaho was entering, and Jungle was providing the programming language, but for those who didn’t know much, that wasn’t the important issue.
The significant thing was that Jungle was doing something again.
Especially, those who still held stocks through Jungle’s subscription last year screamed with joy as they saw the over-the-counter stock prices rise.
Continued business promotion news and its subsequent success naturally acted as a favorable factor for Jungle’s over-the-counter trading.
Among these, the most favorable news was the IPO announcement of Jungle Japan.
Initially, as soon as Son Jung-yi started servicing Jungle Japan, he began preparing for an IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and now they were on the verge of listing.
『Jungle Japan attracts over 800 billion yen on the first day of public offering…』
800 billion yen was about 10 trillion won in Korean currency, proving the investment enthusiasm for Jungle Japan.
It also became a hot topic in Japan as the highest first-day deposit in history.
The next day, even more funds poured in.
With a whopping 2 trillion yen deposit, it once again broke the record.
Naturally, Lee Hyun-woo called to congratulate Chairman Son Jung-yi.
“Hello? Chairman, it’s me, Lee Hyun-woo.”
(Ah, CEO, how are you?)
Son Jung-yi’s voice was very bright, reflecting his mood.
Although he anticipated success, he must have been quite buoyed by the actual big hit.
“I’m doing well. How are you?”
(Of course, I’m well. Except for being busy, I’m doing very well. But it seems insignificant compared to the projects Jungle is pushing forward.)
“You’re too kind.”
(I have ears too, and I can quickly get information online these days, so I know all about Jungle’s moves. I heard 【Space War】 is a huge hit?)
“Yes, haha, I was lucky once again.”
(Luck alone can’t explain it. Actually, I have a lot of experience in game distribution, so I can definitely feel the popularity of 【Space War】.)
In fact, Son Jung-yi’s Software Bank made a lot of money initially from Windows and games.
Even now, they haven’t let go of those two areas.
(I was surprised to hear that 【Space War】 surpassed 100,000 units in the shortest time in Japan. I wonder why everything Jungle touches turns to gold?)
“It’s all thanks to the hard work of the Software Bank. Without your distribution network, we wouldn’t have achieved such good results.”
Because of the strong relationship between the two companies, it was a no-brainer to entrust the distribution of 【Space War】 to Software Bank.
Indeed, utilizing their distribution network, they succeeded in explosive sales like this.
The surprising thing was that it sold so much despite being the English version, not the Japanese version.
If 【Space War】 were released in the languages of each country, it might spread even faster.
This was something even the game company that developed Space Craft in the previous life couldn’t easily achieve.
‘Okay, let’s give it a try. Who knows? Maybe we can sell 10 million units worldwide in a year?’
10 million units would mean about 300 billion won in revenue.
For a year’s income just from a game CD, it was an enormous figure, but for Lee Hyun-woo, who knew the success route, it seemed like a doable challenge.
