Billionaire in Kingsman with a Marvel System

Let's talk about why William Devonshire is considered a true genius.

Plants vs. Zombies is a strategy game that initially appeared only in London and its surrounding areas. A month ago, William was an unknown sophomore, but this seemingly ordinary young man managed to complete the work of game designers, artists, and programmers all by himself in just half a month.

After finishing the game, he also took on the role of a game tester. According to our information, no one has found any bugs in the game so far.

William then took on the roles of sales manager and logistics manager. He negotiated the game disc pressing by himself. It's said that the businessman who pressed the discs for William is now regretting not buying the game or signing a distribution contract when William approached him. Instead, he just charged William the standard £0.46 per disc, missing out on a fortune.

The businessman is now heartbroken and sleepless after realizing the opportunity he missed. After completing 150,000 game discs, he never received another order from William, losing countless potential earnings.

A penniless young man half a month ago, after completing the game, William had no money for promotion and knew no game distributors. He had to find a way to promote the game himself. So how did he do it?

After reviewing William's promotional plan, I believe universities might incorporate this real-life case study into their marketing courses in the future. To my knowledge, there is no sales strategy like William's in the current market. How did he do it?

William smartly leveraged his advantages. After completing the game, he brought it to the computer science department at the University of London, letting members of the game interest club test it out. After receiving widespread praise from his peers, he asked them if they would buy the game for £5 each. His peers, believing the game should sell for at least £8-10, were eager to purchase it for £5—a price cheaper than a few hamburgers for a game they liked.

William's real brilliance shone in his marketing strategy. Knowing he lacked promotion channels, funds, and helpers, he came up with a plan to get his university peers to buy the game discs willingly. He first registered all copyrights and spent £500 to register two companies—one in England and one in Ireland. He sold the game's sales rights to his Irish company for £1 per disc, thus circumventing the issue of not having the rights to sell the game discs in England.

Those familiar with the relationship between England and Ireland will understand this move. After signing a contract with his university peers to sell the game at £4 per disc, his peers sold them to their friends and classmates for £6 each. On the first day, one marketing student reportedly sold 200 game discs, earning £400 in a day. 

Even I, as an editor for over 20 years, don't make £400 a day. Maybe I should ask our genius for advertising fees and royalties.

The game first became popular at the University of London, and through the students' word-of-mouth, it quickly spread to other universities around London. Soon, middle school and elementary school students, followed by their parents and relatives, all knew about this incredibly fun game. Within a month, Plants vs. Zombies sold 150,000 game discs in London and its surrounding areas.

This method of gaining fame in colleges and then spreading through students to society at large is nothing short of genius. Without spending a penny on promotion, the game started making money from day one. William also convinced Carrefour's London manager to sell game-related merchandise, selling £6.45 million worth of merchandise in half a month.

Attracting top companies like EA, Ubisoft, Bethesda, and Carrefour within a month—isn't that a sign of genius? Absolutely. When I read that William was asking for a starting price of £100 million for the game, I was stunned. I don't know if the game can truly sell for £100 million, but based on estimates from game industry agents, this game could sell 7-8 million or even 10 million copies worldwide.

If each game sells for £8, I would definitely buy one just to see what kind of game is driving young people crazy. Moreover, with Carrefour selling 430,000 pieces of game-related merchandise worth over £6.25 million in half a month, I can't say for sure if a company will buy the game's full rights for £100 million. But I want to tell William that keeping the game could earn him far more than £100 million. In a few years, this game might become the most popular and best-performing game from England worldwide. It could become a symbol of England's global influence in the gaming world.

I want to tell William not to sell it. Don't sell London's new favorite. Don't sell the long-awaited hope of London's citizens. England hasn't had a cultural export that can impact the world for too long. We need this game to mark the victory of English culture in the new millennium.

Otherwise, you'll be London's villain.

At home, William listened to his mother, Lena, reading today's Sun with great enthusiasm and drama. Hearing the last part, William couldn't help but curse the editor of The Sun in his mind. "London's symbol? London needs it? You just need to write this way to attract more readers and create more controversy."

This was troublesome. William could foresee that in a few days, there would be people opposing his sale of the Plants vs. Zombies rights. Some London council members might even make a fuss about it. It was really a headache.

Though angry, William calmed down and thought about it. Despite The Sun catching him off guard and affecting his game sales, it ultimately brought him more benefits. Now, all of England would know about a game priced at £100 million, accelerating its fame.

Whether he sued The Sun or the negligent Hilton, both actions required money. Without money, a lawsuit dragging on for half a year or a year would exhaust him. But if he became a billionaire, everything would be different.

Today's report would pressure the companies interested in buying the game since new competitors would soon emerge. As the game gained more fame, it wouldn't just be game discs and merchandise making money. The game's cartoon characters might appear in theme parks, books, movies, TV shows, and plush toys, potentially becoming as globally popular as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.

That's all money. Yesterday, William was calculating the potential sale of the game rights for £100 million to Bethesda. After today, Bethesda might be the one rushing. Such a promising project related to their core business doesn't come around every year. If Bethesda wants to increase its market value after going public, it can't afford to miss this project.

It seems £100 million is just the starting point. William silently rejoiced, thinking that in a few days, he might really become a billionaire.

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