Chapter 24: Press Conference
At 1:30 PM, William returned to the hotel's conference hall. The press conference with Best Buy was scheduled for 2:00.
As soon as William entered the hall, he was met by his anxious lawyer, Anthony. "William, where have you been?" Anthony said, rushing over. "I've been looking for you for an hour. The press conference is about to start. Come with me, you still need to get your makeup done."
"Makeup? Is that really necessary?" William, who had been an ordinary person his whole life, was a country bumpkin in this regard. He had no idea that appearing on TV required makeup.
"Of course!" Anthony looked at him as if he were joking. "Do you have any idea what photos look like without makeup? How do you think celebrities get those beautiful pictures? It's all thanks to makeup. Without it, even a ninety-out-of-a-hundred face would be lucky to score an eighty in a photo."
Anthony took William to a makeup artist, who spent a good twenty minutes on him. By the time he appeared at the press conference, the host was already on stage.
William looked out at the dozens of reporters and saw cameras from several TV stations positioned behind the press booths. He was a little taken aback; he never expected such a large turnout, let alone television crews.
He asked Anthony curiously, "Did Best Buy hire all these reporters? They really spent a lot to create this effect."
"No, these reporters and TV stations all came on their own," Anthony replied with a smile. "The Americans don't have that much pull here. Most of them came for you."
William was stunned. "Really?" he said, uncertainly. "How is that possible? I had no idea I was that newsworthy."
"William, you are now the youngest self-made billionaire in England. One hundred and thirty-five million pounds is equivalent to two hundred and twenty-six million US dollars. You're the rags-to-riches story of a young man who made it without any help. After today, young people all over England will see you as their idol. And you're handsome. You're about to become the dream man for women across the country. So yes, I'd say you have great news value."
Anthony was thrilled. He'd never handled such a major case, and this would do wonders for his reputation in the legal world. Seeing that William was clearly satisfied with his services, he knew there would be more opportunities for cooperation in the future. For a lawyer to get ahead, what was more important than connecting with wealthy clients?
William was still processing what Anthony had said when he heard the host announce, "Please welcome Mr. Roger Moore, Vice President of the Best Buy Group, and Mr. William Devinshire, the pride of England and the developer of this game!"
Amid applause from the audience, William walked to the stage with Roger Moore and the representatives from the banks, insurance companies, and law firms. As he sat down at the press table, his face felt a little stiff. In two lifetimes, he had never attended a press conference.
Fortunately, Roger Moore spoke first, giving William time to calm his nerves. Moore briefly introduced the history, scale, and prospects of Best Buy before concluding, "Best Buy is a company that constantly pursues innovation. I am very happy to have reached an agreement with Mr. William Devinshire. Best Buy has purchased the full copyright of *Plants vs. Zombies* for two hundred and twenty-six million dollars. We have the confidence and strength to promote this game to fans all over the world."
William also said a few simple words. He praised Best Buy's vision, thanked them for their attention to his game, and wished their business continued success.
When William finished speaking, the host announced that it was time for reporters to ask questions.
All the reporters in the room raised their hands, eager to be the first.
The host, perhaps taking a liking to her, called on a BBC reporter. The beautiful reporter stood up, took the microphone, and asked, "Hello, Mr. William Devinshire, I'm Diana Rigg from the BBC. My question is, why do you believe the *Plants vs. Zombies* game could sell for such a high price? And as a student under twenty, how did you become a self-made billionaire in such a short time? Finally, do you have any advice for the young people of England? Thank you."
William looked at the beautiful woman as she put down the microphone. *Pretty women always get preferential treatment,* he thought. The rule was one question per person, and she'd asked three in one go.
Well, who was he to argue? She was a beautiful woman from the BBC.
William adjusted the microphone, thought for a moment, and said, "I don't have any good advice. In fact, I hate giving advice. I can only share some of my own experience: follow your interests. Don't care what others say. Once you start something, you have to see it through, even if you have to grit your teeth and cry. The rest is up to God. As for the high price, a lot of it comes down to luck. The right product happened to meet the right company at the right time, and everything went smoothly."
*If I don't say it's luck, what am I supposed to say? That I have a system? That if you have a problem, just ask the system, and it will teach you?*
William paused, then continued, "The game itself is very playable. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to sell one hundred and fifty thousand discs in less than a month with no promotion beyond word-of-mouth at the University of London. But to be honest, no matter how well the game sells, an ordinary game could never fetch a price as high as one hundred and thirty-five million pounds."
The moment William said it was abnormal for the game to sell at such a high price, the room exploded. Reporters leaped to their feet, shouting questions, and the entire hall descended into chaos.
Roger Moore, the Vice President of Best Buy, stared at William in shock. He couldn't understand why William would say that. Was he trying to burn the bridge after crossing it? *But we haven't even transferred the money yet,* Moore thought frantically. *Kid, you don't want the money anymore?*
William just smiled at Roger Moore's panicked expression. He tapped the microphone and said, "Quiet, please. If you want me to continue, please be quiet."
After the reporters settled down, William smiled confidently and said, "Actually, when I decided to sell the game, I was thinking of a price of two hundred million pounds."
The reporters were in an uproar again. William spoke quickly over them, "Why two hundred million? Because in my opinion, two hundred million is a normal and reasonable price. But in this era, there are still too few people who can see the full potential of a hot new game. That allowed Best Buy to get a bargain. They got it cheap because too many people underestimate the value of game merchandising."
"When I said a 'normal game' couldn't be worth today's price of £135 million, I was right. No matter how well a game sells, it's impossible to sell more than twenty million discs over a few years. You simply can't earn back £135 million from game sales alone. But we can all think about that, and so can these large corporations. So why would a company like Best Buy spend such a massive amount to buy the full copyright?"
Hearing William's words, the reporters couldn't help but wonder. *He's right. Why? These big companies don't make deals where they lose money.*
"William, why is that?!" The BBC reporter, Diana Rigg, stood up again, waving her hand loudly.
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