The same situation occurred on battle.net platforms worldwide. Basically, for any game market that could afford it, the 00 game platform would log in successively.
In reality, this is extremely draining on funds. Leng Zhimeng had people estimate that setting up servers globally like this would consume over 30 million US dollars annually. Furthermore, for some markets, it was unlikely to recoup the server setup costs.
However, Huang He pushed it forward forcefully. Whether it made money or not was irrelevant to him; the US and China markets alone could cover these deficits. What he wanted was for the 00 platform to have a global presence, paving the way for the future evolution of the 00 game platform.
Meanwhile, with the opening of the US oo game platform, the official Jiangnan Warcraft blind boxes were also officially on sale in America.
The official blind boxes were priced at $5 per box. Although this was four times the price in China, it was still much cheaper than the Chinese blind boxes previously purchased through scalpers. Moreover, they could be used on the US server, instantly triggering a buying frenzy among players across America.
The first batch of 20 million blind boxes that Huang He sent was sold out in one go, directly generating $100 million in sales.
Even after deducting high taxes and fees for local agents, Jiangnan Group still received $3 per blind box. The pure profit was as high as $2.5 per box, meaning Jiangnan Group made a pure profit of $50 million.
Once this data was announced, it instantly prompted game companies worldwide to start preparing to sell blind boxes. The most enraged was probably Vidivon. They discovered with dread that they had lost out on at least over a billion dollars in profit.
However, since all their equity had already been sold, they could only draw circles and curse Huang He.
Nonetheless, it was later reported that the executive in charge of this transaction was directly dismissed, and a large number of people were brought down. Vidivon then began to acquire stocks of other game companies in large quantities, intending to replicate Blizzard's myth. Instead, they ended up locking up a large amount of their funds.
It is worth mentioning that when American players excitedly bought back the blind boxes, they were surprised to find that the contents of these blind boxes were not the third series blind boxes currently being sold in China, but the contents of the first series blind boxes.
That is, a large number of basic unit skins, four races' vehicle skins, and super deluxe gift boxes. It couldn't be said that they were entirely the same as the first series; they were practically twins.
However, even twins have differences. For example, the details of the clothing on the American version of the figurines and collectibles would differ. For instance, there might be an additional American flag pattern or something similar.
In addition, changes were made to the colors, making the differences between the US and Chinese versions immediately apparent.
Initially, many players were dissatisfied with this, feeling that they were being sold old items. But soon, these players understood. Whether it was the American or Chinese server, the number of skins in players' achievement logs was the same.
If the American server started directly from the third series blind boxes, it would mean they could never complete the skins from the first two series, and thus would never achieve the all-skin achievement.
Starting from the first series, however, they would have another chance to collect all the skins, which was simply fantastic.
This was especially true when they discovered that many Chinese players expressed envy on the forums, with some even having Americans buy the first series blind boxes from the US on their behalf to compensate for their previous failure to complete the collection.
This was because they found that although the two countries had separate servers, the redemption codes for these skins were universal. The redemption codes from the US version could still activate the skin achievements on the Chinese server, effectively providing the Chinese server with a way to make up for incomplete skin collections.
A large number of wealthy players were thrilled by this and spent up to $5 per box buying blind boxes from America, which deeply moved Huang He.
Additionally, the redemption codes for the US version were still in Chinese. This led to a new service on the forums for inputting Chinese redemption codes. For a mere 50 cents, one could find someone online to help type the redemption code into Chinese, and then copy and paste it for redemption, which was quite user-friendly, albeit a bit costly.
Later, dedicated Amazon stores began to offer this service at even lower prices, at 10 cents per redemption code, which was considered a very reasonable price.
Getting back to the point, it wasn't just users in China; countries worldwide where the 00 game center had begun operations saw this somewhat peculiar black image.
Then, at 8 AM on the 15th, when the first batch of users opened the homepage of the 00 game platform, they were astonished to find that the entire image had completely transformed into the appearance of a portal.
This portal image appeared exceptionally ancient, and it was unclear what material it was made from. It seemed to be sprinkled with fresh red blood, and wisps of black mist were emerging from within the gate, constantly drifting.
This was a dynamic GIF image.
Naturally, some people couldn't help but click on this dynamic image. Instantly, the entire screen went black, as if it had crashed, startling the players.
Fortunately, after a few seconds, a voice filled with depth and emptiness gradually drifted from the speakers.
"Four years have passed since the Alliance and the Horde fought side by side to resist the invasion of the Burning Legion."
"Despite successfully saving the continent of Azeroth, the fragile accord between the Horde and the Alliance has long since vanished. Now, the thunderous war drums sound once more!"
"This... this... this is the plot after Warcraft 3!" Hearing this opening narration, many players couldn't help but jump up.
For players who loved Warcraft, there was no doubt that the storyline of Warcraft 3 was extremely excellent and was a reason why many players were drawn into the game.
Whether it was Prince Arthas, who was originally righteous, but step by step degenerated into the Lich King for his people, and finally personally killed his own father.
Or the young Orc leader Thrall, gradually carving out new territories for the Orcs on the new continent.
Or the Night Elves who fiercely resisted the Burning Legion on the continent, eventually achieving victory by utilizing the World Tree.
Or characters like Gul'dan, Illidan, and Sylvanas from the newly released Frozen Throne plot, these were all extremely excellent storylines that captivated countless Warcraft players, ultimately integrating them into the world of Azeroth.
Undoubtedly, at least 50% of Warcraft's success was attributable to the game's world-building and narrative.
However, after the release of The Frozen Throne, the storyline of Azeroth was interrupted, leaving many feeling unfulfilled.
They were eager to know the development status of the Orcs, how the Humans were barely surviving, whether the Elves had captured Illidan, and whether the Burning Legion had given up, and what the ultimate fate of the entire continent of Azeroth would be.
These deeply sparked players' curiosity, making them impatient to know the subsequent plot developments.
However, The Frozen Throne expansion pack had only been released for a few months, and given Blizzard's usual pace, Warcraft 4 would not be released for at least 3-5 years, which made many players feel frustrated and anxious.
Now, they suddenly heard a story that clearly belonged to the period after The Frozen Throne, which instantly made them clear-headed. Could this video be about the subsequent plot?
However, the narration ended there. Subsequently, a dwarf holding a musket appeared on screen, accompanied by a grizzly bear, slowly advancing through a snowy landscape.
"Holy cow! This CG effect!"
"Damn it, damn it! Is this really a CG effect, not live-action?"
"My god, this is simply too cool! Blizzard truly lives up to its reputation as a company that spends nine years making CG for every ten years it makes a game. It's too damn awesome!" All the players who saw this scene praised it, and the video continued to play.
After the dwarf musketeer, a female elf appeared. The moment she showed up in the video, all the viewers shouted, "Ah, I'm dead!"
Indeed, dressed in leather armor, displaying a perfect figure, with most of her skin exposed except for the essentials, and a beautiful face, she instantly captivated all the male viewers.
Before the era of "greasy seniors" or sophisticated 3D adult games, the perfectly modeled female elf in this video was enough to make most male viewers ejaculate several times.
Then, this female elf began to run through the jungle at an extremely high speed, like a speeding motorcycle. And in a final high leap, this female elf transformed into a black panther.
It was only then that the audience realized that this female elf was not an archer, but a druid.
After that, a Forsaken warlock capable of summoning molten giants, Tauren and Orc warriors from the Orcish race, and Human mages all appeared successively. In the end, these characters engaged in a chaotic battle, and finally, a brand new game icon was displayed.
"World of Warcraft?" one viewer slowly uttered the name.
There seemed to be something not quite right, but they couldn't pinpoint it. Until the game icon disappeared, and a line of text appeared: "Welcome to World of Warcraft, Azeroth awaits your arrival!"
"Wow! No way! No way!"
Countless players couldn't help but exclaim when they saw this. Judging from this text, Blizzard was about to release a new game related to Warcraft, and it didn't seem to be the traditional real-time strategy game, but an RPG.
This was big news!
In an instant, news about World of Warcraft flooded the entire world. From China to America, almost all Warcraft players paused their games and began discussing the news about World of Warcraft.
Soon, various rumors spread across the internet.
Some said it was Warcraft 4 that was about to be released;
Some said it was Warcraft releasing a single-player RPG;
Others said it was a massively multiplayer online game.
Some even confidently stated that this was a Warcraft animation, and this was a trailer for the animation. They were then refuted by others who said it wasn't an animation at all, but a movie, and that World of Warcraft was releasing a CG movie, otherwise, why would the CG animation be so good? This was clearly a movie trailer!
These were not the most exaggerated. The most outrageous person revealed on the forum that Blizzard was about to release a shooting game set in the Warcraft universe.
Good heavens, the more news and discussions there were online, the more players felt an unbearable itch. Thus, a large number of players flocked to Blizzard's official forums to inquire. However, the official response was only one sentence: "Everything is in preparation, and the official will release the latest news in a timely manner," and then there was silence.
Even when media outlets proactively contacted Blizzard for interviews, Blizzard did not reveal any information, making people extremely anxious.
However, the more this was the case, the higher the players' expectations became. Everyone was curiously speculating about what this new thing was, and no one noticed that a game called "Triumph" had quietly been added to the 00 game platform.