Hui Zhuge, PR director and spokesperson of Shanda, Peng Haitao (right) gets along well with the young people in the company. Hui Zhuge, a 23-year-old billionaire's life in online games. Written by reporter Yan Xueling, pictures provided by Zhuge Hui. At the age of 11, he started playing "Age of Great Voyages" and became obsessed with games. He played the role of a merchant in "Age of Great Voyages", "trading around the world", almost memorizing the entire world map.
To stop him from playing games, his parents dismantled his computer and hid the parts on top of the wardrobe and in the trunk of the car... He could find all the parts within half an hour, assemble them, play, then disassemble and put them back without his parents ever finding out.
At the age of 14, he created his first game; at 18, he adapted an American online game, attracting many players; during his sophomore year, he dropped out to focus on game development and founded Jin Tian Technology Development Co., Ltd. In less than five years, he led his team to develop two advanced domestic 3D online games, "Legend" and "Storm".
On July 6th, this 23-year-old online game boy became the focus of attention as a "billionaire" - his team was acquired by Shanghai Shanda Network Development Co., Ltd. for over tens of millions of dollars.
Peng Haitao: At the age of 11, playing "Age of Great Voyages," began wanting to make his own games.
There is a pile of computer components on Peng Haitao's desk, dismantling and reassembling, "I like to do some extreme speed stuff." All the computers he uses are assembled.
This is his other hobby besides "online games," both hobbies are related to computers, he indulges in it but does not lose himself.
The PR director and spokesperson of Shanda, Hui Zhuge, described Peng Haitao as "precocious" and "relatively low-key." On July 8th, Peng Haitao told reporters that he did not want to be in the spotlight and did not like being with so-called successful people. "Because in my circle of friends, I never say I am rich, there is no reservation between us. Now that the media has reported it, they know, which makes things awkward..."
There are many children who are enthusiastic or even addicted to online games, but the biggest difference between Peng Haitao and them is that he plays games rather than being played by games, and he can clearly recognize his strengths and weaknesses.
Dropout Controversy
In 2002, nearing the end of his freshman year, Peng Haitao decided to drop out of Sichuan University's Online College, which turned out to be an important step towards success, but at the time, it was inconceivable.
The biggest resistance came from his parents. There were not many college graduates in the family. His father, despite being a wealthy real estate developer, had not attended university. To the family, attending university was a matter of pride. His father was furious: if you dare drop out, I won't take care of you anymore. His mother sighed: what will you do?
When Peng Haitao entered university, his goal was clear: study computer science to prepare for future game development. However, the university curriculum was not what he imagined. In the first semester, he found that the teacher's content was something he already knew; in the second semester, he discovered that the teacher's content "was already outdated." It was easy to see that his university experience was disastrous, barely attending classes, poor exam scores. He couldn't find like-minded classmates in school. He didn't want to waste time at school, believing he could obtain the most cutting-edge, practical knowledge online. But often hearing adults say, if you don't study hard, what will you do later? At that time, he was still young and felt a bit of fear about entering society.
The idea of dropping out was put on hold and stayed that way for half a year.
Later events gave him the courage to leave university. He set up his own server on a foreign game's server and made some modifications to the existing foreign game, allowing people to play for free. The result was that on his server, there were always four or five hundred people online. If charged, he could earn tens of thousands each month. This made him realize that with his abilities, he could easily stand on his own in society, and whether or not he attended university was unimportant.
"Game" Life
At the age of 10, he fiercely studied computers for gaming.
The reason why Peng Haitao's parents strongly opposed his dropping out was due to "online games," because of this, they were deeply hurt.
Peng Haitao divided his gaming history into two stages. The first stage was before 1995, when he was 11 years old. Before then, there were no computers, so he played on gaming consoles, enjoying it very much, but it wasn't yet close to obsession. When he was in kindergarten, his mother bought back a "red-white machine" from Guangzhou just for novelty, which was actually a home electronic game console. At that time, he wasn't addicted, just playing when he remembered. After all, he was still a child, given a toy car model, he would excitedly abandon the game.
In 1994, at his strong insistence, the family purchased a computer. Peng Haitao's purpose in wanting a computer was clear: to play games. It was a 486 with a 33M CPU and no hard drive. But he was thrilled because compared to the gaming console, the computer had a higher computational capacity and storage function, allowing him to play data-rich games.
However, it was still the DOS era, to install and play a game required a lot of knowledge about computer applications. He was only 10, facing the computer, completely at a loss. He said it was also from that moment that he realized games were not only fun but contained a lot more.
At that time in Chengdu, there were few people around him who could handle that "thing." Initially, he "bothered" his brother-in-law, a graduate ofUESTC. But Peng Haitao felt his brother-in-law's knowledge was also vague, giving conceptual answers. Even now, looking back, many of his brother-in-law's statements were not entirely correct. But he helped somewhat. Peng Haitao progressed rapidly, and when his brother-in-law could no longer cope, he brought in even more capable classmates from whom Peng learned more. Then he bought books and explored on his own. After about two or three months of learning, he could basically manage the computer himself. The first game he successfully installed was "Romance of the Three Kingdoms 4."
Playing "Age of Great Voyages" Memorized World Map
His liking for games turned into obsession starting from 1995 when he became fascinated with Japan's "Koei" company's "Age of Great Voyages." His home was near Muzi Bridge, less than 20 meters from Chengdu's oldest computer city. He almost went to the computer city every day to look at various games, buying and playing almost everything he could get his hands on.
Twelve years later, Peng Haitao still has deep memories of "Age of Great Voyages": it describes how Europe welcomed the Age of Great Voyages in the 16th century, with maritime nations like Britain and Portugal rising, bringing enormous wealth through long-distance trade. Players could assume various roles in this era: maritime traders, maritime explorers, geographical researchers... and the role he was most passionate about was the merchant: buying carpets in Istanbul on the Black Sea, then selling them in Athens, "earning" a lot of money. To conduct trade, one needed to know which cities in which countries sold what goods, where these goods could be sold at higher prices, all of which could be learned from the game and were closely tied to reality; the game showed real-world maps.
His father thought the game could impart this knowledge to him, which was quite good.
He played countless times, and eventually, he could almost recite the entire world map, clearly remembering the location of every port. By the end of seventh grade, Peng Haitao's geography teacher told him: his geography level was already sufficient to teach third-year junior high students. Peng Haitao referred to such games as book-like games, "Age of Great Voyages" changed his view of games, making him realize that games are actually a combination of all art forms.
Parents Hiding "Games," Teachers Losing Words
Geography improved, but other subjects suffered due to gaming, declining continuously. From the age of 11, after becoming obsessed with games, he utilized every opportunity to play. Attending Chengdu No.7 Middle School right next to his home, he was like a fish in water. During physical education class's free activity time, he would sneak home to play for a while. Originally, he was already biased towards certain subjects, excelling in mathematics and physics but weak in others. Playing games exacerbated this bias. Normally, upon returning home, he would start gaming instead of doing homework, skipping any assignments that weren't mandatory. To play games, he frequently skipped classes. Eventually, teachers basically lost words for him.
Parents tried every method to stop him from playing games. They dismantled his computer, hiding the parts in various places—under the bed, on top of the wardrobe, in the trunk of the car... Parents worked hard to hide, but Peng Haitao enjoyed finding them. In his eyes, finding these parts was game-like, akin to treasure hunting. After his parents slept, he could gather all the parts within half an hour and assemble the computer, then play for two or three hours, dismantle it again, and put it back in place. His parents never discovered this. He remains very proud of this to this day.
Risky Entrepreneurship
In September 2002, Peng Haitao finally dropped out. His father did not abandon him as promised but invested 1 million yuan to establish a team for developing online games. In September 2003, Jin Tian Technology Development Co., Ltd. was established.
Investing 1 million yuan in a child immersed in online games was unimaginable to other parents. But Peng Haitao's father instinctively felt investing in his son might succeed. "In primary and middle school, he was always the most special student in the class, teachers didn't know how to categorize him. Despite rarely doing homework, he excelled in physics and mathematics and won awards in Olympiad competitions."
Making Games at 14
Peng Haitao is now grateful to his father. Actually, as early as playing "Age of Great Voyages," Peng Haitao had the idea of making his own games.
He still remembers an article introducing the game-making industry in "Popular Software" in 1995, saying that a programmer at Blizzard spent six months away from home to create a game. Finally, when he returned home, his wife asked for a divorce. Peng Haitao didn't expect that the game-making industry could have such a profound attraction to someone, yearning for this fulfilling, busy, and challenging work.
He started discussing with classmates at school but didn't know how to begin. He mentioned this interest to his father at the time, but his father knew nothing about making online games and remained indifferent to his ideas.
The real attempt to make games began in 1998. That year, he started going online, and forums had a lot of information teaching how to make simple games. Back then, fewer people were online, mostly experts, willing to teach if you asked.
He also accumulated a circle of gaming friends. Most were not met in internet cafes but through "Popular Software." He liked reading articles here, listening to authors' opinions on game software, and noting down some authors' names. In the small world of online games, players easily encountered each other on forums. Coincidentally, he chatted with these authors and got to know them.
In this way, he learned online and made a game that wasn't entirely complete. Although it wasn't fully programmed but used ready-made tools specifically for game creation, the game had little content, just pure fun like eating beans. But it was his first attempt, and he was only 14 at the time.
In his gaming circle, many people had the idea of making their own games, but only one or two eventually took this path. This might be one of the reasons he considers his experiences irreplicable.
More nervous than applicants during interviews
Peng Haitao's current company is located in the bustling area of the High-Tech Incubation Park in Chengdu, with about a hundred employees, averaging 25 years old. He doesn't position himself as the general manager but as everyone's friend. He says anyone coming to the company would absolutely not be able to identify who the general manager is. Newcomers call him "President Peng," but over time, they call him "Haitao." His office is only used for sleeping; usually, he works with everyone else, maintaining a harmonious and united atmosphere throughout the company.
But when the company was first established, it wasn't like this, experiencing difficulties that Peng Haitao never expected.
Initially, the idea was simple: form a working group to develop technology together. But it turned out to be much more complex than he imagined. Peng Haitao had never been in a company, nor had he experienced applying for jobs. The biggest challenge was lack of experience. Even when people came for interviews, he was more nervous than the interviewees. What troubled him most was having to face various ideas—not everyone shared his aspirations, focusing solely on technology. He read many management books, gradually adapting and learning.
Initially, staffing was also a big problem. To recruit two outstanding game designers, Peng Haitao flew to Shanghai and Beijing with two game experts who were not yet part of the team to conduct market research.
Set a record of 4 days and 3 nights without sleeping
When the working group was first established, they had a 45 square meter office with six computers. He first "poached" two technical backbone members, Wang Jiang and Jia Tao, from Chengdu's "Golden Point Studio." Subsequently, Zhao Zhiming, a game designer from Nanchong, joined the team, forming the founding quartet. These three were all young graduates who had worked for a year or two. Peng Haitao met them online for more than half a year. Peng Haitao was responsible for the overall architecture of the game; Wang Jiang handled program writing and server maintenance; Jia Tao managed the game engine and graphics; Zhao Zhiming designed the overall plot of the game.
When developing "Legend" initially, Peng Haitao slept in the office for two consecutive months. But he was often startled awake: which server crashed again, which program had issues. He once worked continuously for 45 days, setting a record of 4 days and 3 nights without sleeping.
Peng Haitao clearly understood that his interest lay not in operations. So when in April this year, he received a call from Shanda's investment department, learning that they hoped to acquire Jin Tian to help them operate and promote the game, Peng Haitao was happy to focus solely on game development.
To reach today's achievements, everyone says Peng Haitao is lucky. But Peng Haitao himself says luck and misfortune go hand in hand. Many times, he was at the center of hidden currents, and a slight mistake could have led to total failure, but he remained relatively clear-headed.
Shanda: Who can achieve the level of "Storm," we're willing to invest 100 million yuan
We should not link dropout and success as mere appearances but summarize how to change our mechanisms to cultivate more Peng Haotaos. Isn't it better if future Peng Haotaos emerge within our educational system?
Hui Zhuge, PR Director and Spokesperson of Shanda
100 Million Merger Cash Paid to Peng Haitao's Team
Young Weekend (hereinafter referred to as "YW"): We heard that you spent 100 million yuan to merge with Jin Tian Technology in Chengdu, and its chairman and general manager, Peng Haitao, thus became a 23-year-old billionaire. Is the 100 million in place?
Zhuge Hui (hereinafter referred to as "Zhuge"): We cannot disclose this detail. Shanda invested in 100% of Jin Tian Technology's shares. Since Peng Haitao held the majority of the original company's shares, he would receive relatively high returns.
YW: When did Shanda start paying attention to Jin Tian Technology?
Zhuge: We have always been monitoring relatively successful games and companies and have specifically formed an investment department for tracking and data collection. Not long ago, the investment department discovered this company and reported it to our senior leadership. Generally, for other companies, we would internally discuss and sometimes debate, but regarding Peng Haitao's Jin Tian Technology, we had almost no controversy. The recognition process was smooth.
YW: Why was there unanimous agreement on Jin Tian Technology?
Zhuge: First, their developed "Storm" game itself is at a pretty good level among 3D games, and it has also been proven successful by the market. From December 2006 to now, in just half a year, registered users reached 6 million, active users 1.5 million, and it continues to grow.
Secondly, we value the R&D capabilities of the team led by Peng Haitao, who may develop more and better games in the future.
YW: How do you understand their R&D capabilities? Have you had prior contact?
Zhuge: You can directly understand from "Storm." There are games introduced from abroad and those made by Chinese people. Generally speaking, games made by Chinese people lag behind foreign ones. But "Storm" has reached a relatively leading level, which surprised us. We started paying attention to this team. A team capable of developing "Storm" must be extraordinary.
Peng Haitao was once our gamer. In 2002, he won the championship of our earliest casual game "Crazy Tank." He transitioned from a gamer to gradually becoming interested in game development, eventually succeeding in making games. This is something we highly value. Moreover, he is young, only 23 years old, and he developed this game at the age of 22.
Launching the "Storm Plan" Investing in More "Peng Haotaos"
YW: Shanda said it wants to find more Peng Haotaos. How do you plan to find them?
Zhuge: After acquiring Jin Tian, we recently launched the "Storm Plan." If another company's game reaches the level and user scale of "Storm," we can similarly invest 100 million yuan.
Shanda believes that the second generation of game developers has grown up, especially the post-80s generation. In 2006, we saw many small companies independently developing successful games, just without much publicity. The success of "Storm" is a great example. Ten years ago, five years ago, we said good games were in America, in Korea, and Shanda had to go outside to get them. But now we find good games among the public, and our own young people can do very well. Peng Haitao is just the first we've invested in.
YW: After the acquisition, how do you help these teams develop?
Zhuge: The best help Shanda can provide is giving them creative freedom; providing them with enough resources and conditions on the periphery. Shanda has 460 million registered users and a large interactive entertainment platform with over 20 games. Previously, they might just need a few servers and a few people to operate and maintain, but as the number of users increases, they might face bottlenecks. Shanda has nearly 20,000 servers distributed across the country, over 300,000 card distribution points, and customer service. Once they throw their games onto our platform, all backend resources can be shared.
Moreover, during daily 24-hour operations, we have accumulated rich databases and experiences, which are very helpful for R&D teams, helping them understand which types of games, characters, and plots are most popular.
Games Can Cultivate Cooperation Spirit
YW: Many parents oppose their children playing games.
Zhuge: Playing games also has many positive examples, like Yao Ming who also plays.
Americans play better than us, which is actually related to societal acceptance. We initially didn't understand this thing, treating it like a flood or a ferocious beast, but children have rebellious psychology. It's like watching martial arts films or romance novels when we were kids; the more parents forbid, the more children watch. But now society accommodates these things, so they don't seem so terrifying. When we see games as part of life, the tense state might slowly dissipate, and the positive, proactive aspects of games might be unleashed.
YW: With Peng Haitao becoming a billionaire through online games, many might be confused: how should young people play games?
Zhuge: Peng Haitao succeeded, but it doesn't mean all young people should follow his path, not that everyone should play Shanda's games and become billionaires. Peng Haitao is a unique case, likely a result of family, environment, and personal factors combined.
But there are commonalities in this case that can be extracted: discovering and guiding children's innovative awareness rather than suppressing it. We shouldn't link dropout and success as mere appearances but summarize how to change our mechanisms to cultivate more Peng Haotaos. Wouldn't it be better if future Peng Haotaos emerged within our educational system?
YW: From Shanda's perspective, how can players be better guided?
Zhuge: Playing games is similar to our real lives. When players fully display their humanity in games, the guiding function of games becomes crucial. How can game settings inspire players' enterprising mentality and microscopically exercise individuals' willpower and cooperative spirit? Some professional knowledge, such as biology and economics, can also be integrated into games.