You were supposed to have a fake marriage with the diva, so how did you become her father?

Chapter 442 Exiting the Dragon Kingdom Market

Lu Ran originally thought that nothing much would happen for the next period of time.

The Golden Melody Awards invitation has been received. Tan Yu has helped find a wedding planning company to handle the wedding arrangements. The script for "Raging Waves" has been handed over to Wang Jianguo. As for the game, the three products are running smoothly.

Lu Ran had some rare free time. He spent his days looking at data, drinking tea, chatting with Zhou Mingzhe on TUTU, and then lying on the sofa watching dramas with Shen Yuege.

Shen Yuege said that he has started his retirement life ahead of schedule.

Lu Ran said this is called balancing work and rest; he was too tired recently and needed to recharge.

Shen Yuege said your health is too high; it's been almost a week and it's still not fully restored.

After exchanging a few words, Lu Ran went to the kitchen to cook.

Just then, Lu Ran's phone rang.

Lu Ran picked it up and saw that it was Zhou Mingzhe.

"Brother Zhou, what's wrong?"

Zhou Mingzhe's voice sounded somewhat subtle, yet also carried a hint of secret delight.

"Lu Ran, I have something to tell you. Don't be too surprised."

"Go ahead," Lu Ran said nonchalantly.

Just kidding, is there anything that can surprise you, Mr. Lu, now?

"Sakura Games and EA may be withdrawing from the Chinese market."

Lu Ran, who was still in the kitchen, was stunned when she heard this.

"What did you say?" Lu Ran initially thought Zhou Mingzhe was joking with him.

How come you're saying you want to withdraw from the competition when the final is about to begin?

Wouldn't that mean my victory this time was completely meaningless?

"Withdrawing from the Chinese market. Not one company, but two. According to Sakura Games, their headquarters has held several meetings to discuss whether to completely scale back their overseas business, with the Chinese market being the hardest hit. EA's situation is a bit different; they don't want to withdraw, they have no choice."

Zhou Mingzhe paused, then lowered his voice: "You've probably seen the recent international situation. China, the United States, and Japan have taken a series of countermeasures against each other, covering multiple areas such as trade, technology, and culture. Cultural products like games and animation are also included. I'm not entirely sure about the specific terms, but the general direction is clear—mutual restrictions and strangulation."

Lu Ran held his phone, his mind racing.

Just a few days ago, he saw the overwhelming promotion of Sakura Games, with the title of "Sakura Legend: Dragon Kingdom Edition" being trending on TUTU for a whole week.

Yamamoto, that Japanese guy, staked his entire career on it, saying it was a do-or-die battle.

It's only been a short time, and you're already considering retiring?

EA is doing the same thing. Project X is shrouded in mystery, they won't even reveal its name, and the investment is even greater than that of Sakura Games. It's a product specifically tailored for the Chinese market.

Now there's not even a chance to go online?

"Is the news confirmed?" This was no small matter, Lu Ran asked again to confirm.

"Confirmed. Sakura Games has already taken action; their layoff plan for their China branch has been released, and it's said they'll be cutting 70% of their staff. The remaining 30% will be responsible for maintaining existing products and won't be releasing any new ones. EA is a bit slower, but they've already removed the Project X trailer from their website; go check it out."

Lu Ran put his phone on speakerphone and opened his browser to search for EA's official website in China.

The dark-toned promotional image that used to be on the homepage is indeed gone, replaced by a regular event banner selling spring skins for Wilderness Era.

The page that said "Project X. Coming Soon" has vanished without a trace.

He then searched for Sakura Games' official website.

The homepage is still there, but the huge promotional image for "Sakura Legend" has been replaced with a smaller banner, which has been moved from the center to the sidebar and is barely noticeable unless you look closely.

Lu Ran picked up his phone again and leaned back on the sofa.

"Brother Zhou, you just said that EA didn't want to withdraw, but had no choice. What do you mean?"

"Literally. The countermeasures include clauses restricting the import of Japanese and American cultural products into China. This includes games, anime, and films. If Sakura Games and EA's products want to enter the Chinese market, they will need to go through a much more complicated approval process than before, and the approval standards have also been raised. It's not that we won't let them in, it's that we can't get in. Or rather, even if they do get in, they won't be able to make money."

After listening, Lu Ran remained silent for a while.

This news came too suddenly.

Just a few days ago, he was thinking about how to deal with the attack from Sakura Games and EA, how to defend his position with CrossFire and Minecraft, and how to compete with them in the new product category.

He even drew battle maps on a whiteboard, analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the two companies, and deduced several possible competitive scenarios.

Now, the opponent has left on their own.

It's not because we can't win, it's because the higher-ups won't let us fight.

Lu Ran couldn't describe her feelings.

Happy? Maybe a little.

Regret? Perhaps a little.

The good thing is that two heavy burdens on my chest are gone.

If Sakura Games and EA really go all in on the Chinese market and invest all their resources to go head-to-head with him, even if he has three trump cards, he'll still suffer a heavy blow.

Now I don't have to peel anymore, and I don't even have to sweat.

Unfortunately, he had hoped to win a fair and square victory against them on the main battlefield.

It's not about policies or barriers, it's about products and player votes.

He wanted to see Yamamoto's expression after the dismal results of "Sakura Legends," and he wanted to see the people at EA headquarters staring blankly at the financial report.

It's no longer visible.

"Lu Ran, are you listening?" Zhou Mingzhe's voice came from the phone.

"I'm listening. Please continue."

"There's one more thing. This countermeasure is two-way. Not only can they not get in, but our things can't get out either."

Lu Ran was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

"This means that if our company's games want to enter the Japanese and American markets, they will also face the same restrictions. The approval process has become more complicated, and the review standards have become higher, so it's basically hopeless in the short term. Didn't you always want to push 'League of Legends' and 'CrossFire' overseas? Now that path is temporarily blocked."

Lu Ran leaned back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling.

He has indeed been thinking about internationalization.

Tutu Technology's products have established a firm foothold in the Chinese market. League of Legends remains a top contender, Minecraft is at the top of the charts, and CrossFire has risen to prominence.

Even the largest domestic market has its limits.

To break through the ceiling, you have to go outwards.

He had been eyeing the Japanese market for a long time.

Sakura Games has been operating in Japan for decades, and its channels, users, and brand awareness are very stable.

But Tutu Technology's products are different. MOBA and FPS games are not mainstream in the Japanese market, but they are not without opportunities.

If we can bring League of Legends to Japan, we might be able to gain some market share.

The US market goes without saying; it's one of the world's largest gaming markets and EA's home turf.

Lu Ran knew that going head-to-head would be difficult, but his product was strong enough, and he felt he had a chance.

These plans have now been put on hold.

"Brother Zhou, I understand. Let me think about it."

"Okay. You think about it first. I'll keep an eye on things here and let you know as soon as there's any new information."

After hanging up the phone, Lu Ran sat on the sofa for a long time.

Shen Yuege wasn't in the living room earlier, but when she came over, she noticed that Lu Ran's expression was off, so she quickly asked.

"What's wrong? What did Brother Zhou say?"

Lu Ran put his phone aside and rubbed his face: "Sakura Games and EA may be withdrawing from the Chinese market."

Shen Yuege was stunned for a moment.

She knew what these two companies meant to Lu Ran. Although she didn't understand the competitive landscape of the gaming industry, she knew that Lu Ran had always regarded these two companies as his biggest rivals.

"Isn't that a good thing? You've gotten rid of a big problem."

"It's a good thing. But it's not all good things."

"What do you mean?"

Lu Ran explained the whole thing to her.

Countermeasures, a two-way restriction, prevent the other side from entering, and we also cannot leave.

After listening, Shen Yuege remained silent for a moment, then said something that surprised Lu Ran: "So you said before that you wanted to take the game to the whole world, but now you can't?"

"It's not possible right now. We'll talk about it when the situation improves."

"Then you can stay in China for now. China isn't small enough. With over a billion people, isn't that enough for you to make money?"

Lu Ran was amused by her simple statement.

With over a billion people, he certainly has enough to make a fortune.

But his goal is not to make money, or rather, it's not just about making money.

He wanted to prove one thing. He wanted to prove that game companies in China could also create games that players all over the world would love.

It's not about copying or reskinning; it's about genuine creativity and quality.

This goal now needs to be postponed.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Shen Yuege reached out and patted him on the shoulder: "Alright, stop thinking about it. Let's eat first. The food's getting cold."

Lu Ran stood up and brought out the food that had been prepared in the kitchen.

Today I made scrambled eggs with tomatoes, shredded pork with green peppers, and a seaweed and egg drop soup. They were all home-style dishes, looked good, and tasted normal.

He took a bite of the scrambled eggs with tomatoes; it tasted sour.

It's not the sourness from spoiled tomatoes, it's the natural sourness of tomatoes.

And he had accidentally added some vinegar earlier.

Now he understands what it means to have something stuck in your throat.

He initially thought the meal was a failure and planned to make a new one for Shen Yuege, but Shen Yuege said that the sour taste was better.

After the two finished eating, Lu Ran went to wash the dishes.

Shen Yuege was sitting on the sofa looking at her phone when she suddenly exclaimed "Huh?"

"What's wrong?"

"Look at this." She held up her phone; the screen displayed a push notification from a news app. The headline read: "Sakura Games' Chinese branch initiates layoffs; over 60% of employees expected to leave."

Lu Ran wiped his hands and went over to take a look.

The news was posted a few minutes ago, and there are already several thousand comments.

In the comments section, some people expressed regret, some criticized Sakura Games for lacking sincerity and therefore deserved it, and others analyzed the impact of this incident on the Chinese game industry.

Most people's attitude is, "They're gone, so be it. Their game isn't fun anyway."

Lu Ran returned the phone to Shen Yuege and sat down next to her.

"Do you think these people really don't care, or are they just pretending?" Shen Yuege asked.

"They really don't care. Most Chinese gamers don't have much of an emotional attachment to Sakura Games or EA. They play games, not companies. They play if the game is fun, and they don't play if it's not. Who stays and who leaves is none of their business."

"And what about you? Do you care?"

Lu Ran thought for a moment: "What I care about isn't whether they leave or not. What I care about is whether the Chinese game market will become stagnant after they leave. With less competition, everyone will become complacent. If they become complacent, they won't be able to make good games. If they can't make good games, players won't have anything to play. If players have nothing to play, they'll go do other things. If they go do other things, the game industry will die out."

"Your logic chain is way too long."

"But it's usable."

Shen Yuege leaned on his shoulder and didn't say anything more.

The night outside the window was dark. Summers in Shanghai are dark late, but once it's completely dark, the streetlights seem exceptionally bright.

The sounds of children chasing and playing could be heard downstairs, along with adults calling them home for dinner.

Lu Ran looked at the streetlights outside the window, thinking about something.

With Sakura Games and EA gone, the Chinese market has lost two disruptive forces.

In the short term, this is good news for Tutu Technology, as it removes two stumbling blocks.

In the long run, that may not be the case.

But there was no other way.

He cannot control the international situation, nor can he change policies.

All he can do is focus on his current tasks, improve the product, and wait for the situation to improve.

That day may come, or it may not.

He had to be prepared before he came.

...