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The so-called Ship of Theseus describes a ship that could sail the seas for hundreds of years, thanks to constant repairs and replacement of parts. As soon as a board rotted, it was replaced, and so on, until all the functional parts were no longer the original ones.

So the question is, is the resulting ship still the original Ship of Theseus, or is it a completely different ship? If it wasn't the original ship, then at what point did it stop being the original ship?

This has been a classic philosophical thinking over the past two thousand years.

Boss Zhou put forward this idea at this time, and Ren Yuxin was stunned.

This kind of smart person knows everything at once.

In an instant, Ren Yuxin almost broke out in a cold sweat, feeling how terrifying the big boss was.

It’s not that he has deep thoughts.

But the means are vicious!

The name of "Pro Evolution Soccer" is "PES". However, football cannot be called Soccer, so it needs to be changed to Football, and because it has obtained the trademark of "FIFA" and the brand of sports game "2K", it needs to be further combined.

Therefore, as long as Konami and Changyou reach a cooperation, the name of this game will be changed.

Keep changing names.

From "PES", it was changed to "FIFA2KPES", then to "FIFA2KFootball", then to "2KFIFAFootball", and finally gave up paying the huge trademark fee to FIFA and changed its name to "2KFootball".

In the beginning, it was called "PES", and finally, after some operations by Changyou, it became "2K Football".

Then here comes the problem.

Are "PES" and "2K Football" still the same game?

It's like the ship of Theseus. All the decks on this ship have been replaced, and everything is different from the original ship.

So is this still the Ship of Theseus?

This is very critical!

The copyright of "Pro Evolution Soccer" is in the hands of Konami, and Changyou only obtained the right to use it on computers, tablets, and mobile phones. If there are other game modes in the future, both parties will have to work together.

In terms of the company’s strength, Changyou can crush Konami.

But if the copyright is in the hands of Konami, they will have the initiative.

No matter how substantial the contract signed by both parties is now, this is an unavoidable hurdle, and Changyou will always be in a relatively passive position.

What should we do if something uncontrollable happens in the future and Konami becomes disobedient, gets greedy for money, and makes trouble behind its back?

"Ship of Theseus" is the solution!

The copyright of "Pro Evolution Soccer" belongs to Konami.

But is "2K Soccer" equal to "Pro Evolution Soccer"? Is this a game? If not, Changyou will own all the copyrights to "2K Football", and this will be an original game by Changyou.

Ren Yuxin was stunned, a little dazed, and a little unbelievable, "Do you want to tear up the contract?"

Zhou Buqi smiled and said: "Why tear up the contract? This is just the last resort to protect yourself!"

"Protect yourself?"

Ren Yuxin didn't quite believe it.

Then I suddenly remembered the scene when I was signing the contract just now.

Boss Zhou talked about the name change. At that time, Shang Yue Jingzheng and Shang Yue Takuya, father and son, felt that it was a bit irresponsible to temporarily increase the terms. Then Boss Zhou took a step back and said that he would not add the name change to the contract, but just talk about it verbally.

The other party also agreed.

Looking back now, this is very delicious.

At that time, if the father and son had agreed, Boss Zhou himself might not have agreed!

But you can't add the name change clause.

The copyright contracts signed by Konami and Changyou were all signed around the game "Pro Evolution Soccer", which caused certain loopholes. So will this contract be binding on "2K Football"?

Maybe there will still be.

But at least there will be a lot of controversy, and you can litigate and make trouble.

Because this request was rejected, when Boss Zhou later proposed to purchase the mobile game copyrights of the two games "Contra" and "Red Fortress", the other party wanted to refuse but was too embarrassed to open his mouth.

Really don’t give the world’s richest man any face?

After being rejected once, you have to reject it a second time?

Coupled with internal and external troubles, Jingzheng had no choice but to agree to sell the mobile game copyrights of these two games last month, with the asking price being only US$3 million.

It feels like there is some foreshadowing before and after.

Zhou Buqi said frankly: "It's just to protect ourselves, just in case. "Pro Evolution Soccer" is in our hands. If it succeeds and makes a lot of money, who can guarantee that Konami will not be jealous? Once they are jealous, think Something is going on behind the scenes...it's really going to be a big deal, at least Changyou retains the right to flip the table."

Ren Yuxin took a deep breath and said, "If we really go to court, it would be hard to say."

Zhou Buqi smiled and said: "That's right, so Konami must not want to file a lawsuit, so it will cooperate with Changyou. In the past few years, we have quietly removed the name of PES when the New Year has matured. We might as well Just tell Konami directly."

"Speak directly?"

Ren Yuxin twitched the corner of his mouth. The big boss does things, but he does it in a straightforward manner.

Zhou Buqi said calmly: "There is nothing to hide, just show off your muscles properly and let the other party give up as soon as possible! By cooperating with Changyou in a down-to-earth manner, they can continue to make some money surrounding "Live Football" If you dare to have any other ideas, then let’s break up.”

Ren Yuxin said: "Konami cannot bear such a loss."

Zhou Buqi said with a smile: "So, this is both a warning and an opportunity to deepen cooperation between the two parties. Didn't you say that they have many other good games? You can also fight for them all."

Ren Yuxin was a little frightened, "Go and threaten them..."

Zhou Buqi said disapprovingly: "How can you call it a threat? Look at the 'Black Ship Incident' in Japanese history. At that time, American warships threatened Japan to open the country, and if it didn't open, they would fire. At first glance, Japan was forced to have no choice. But this incident started Japan's Meiji Restoration and Japan's modernization path. Without this incident, how could Japan be the opponent of the Qing Dynasty? This is a good thing. We are also doing this for the good of Konami and helping Konami open up the world. The door to a new world.”

Ren Yuxin thought for a long time and then said slowly: "Well, Konami really doesn't dare to break up with us. If we really fight the lawsuit at once, I think we will lose. But even if we lose, It will also be a very beneficial result for Changyou. Even if Konami wins, they cannot afford the price."

"oh?"

"If you lose, the most you can do is Changyou compensate Konami for some financial losses. Then the penalty is imposed. The copyright of "Pro Evolution Soccer" belongs to Konami, and the copyright of "2K Football" belongs to Changyou. After the two parties separate, there will no longer be copyrights. There were restrictions in terms of aspects. At that time, the influence of "Pro Evolution Soccer" had long been transferred to "2K Soccer", and the transfer of intangible assets had long been completed."

"almost."

Zhou Buqi nodded, similar to what he said in previous consultations.

Regarding the copyright of games, there have been too many disputes around the world, the most typical one being "Tetris". Because this game was developed by an engineer from the Soviet Union, but the Soviet Union was not a civilized country and had no legal restrictions or intellectual property rights, so many duplicate copyrights were bought by many foreign companies.

As a result, the copyright of this game is now very confusing. It is in the hands of more than a dozen companies. They basically pay each other some money to compensate each other, and then each does his or her own thing.

Ren Yuxin said: "With this back-up, we have the biggest advantage for Konami."

Zhou Buqi smiled and said: "Well, Konami doesn't seem to be interested in the mobile game market. It doesn't matter, they don't want to do it, we will do it for them. Cooperation, the more the merrier. There is no need to fall out unless it is absolutely necessary, it is best Peace brings wealth."

Just like FIFA.

In the previous life, EA's "FIFA Football" made a lot of money, and FIFA immediately became jealous, and then started trouble. EA was no longer willing to pay a large sum of money, so FIFA set up a game studio of its own to develop "FIFA Football"... and EA's can only be called "EA Football".

Konami is definitely better than FIFA.

But we should also take precautions before they happen.

Ren Yuxin finally understood what the big boss meant. This ambition was really big. He said in a deep voice: "I want to tie Konami to Changyou."

Zhou Buqi said: "To be precise, it is nibbling away step by step, just like boiling a frog in warm water, unknowingly making Konami become a vassal of Changyou. Not only Konami, but Capcom should be like this too! If you can’t buy Japan’s big game companies, then control them from a business perspective!”