Rebirth of America, this is my time

For ordinary people in North America, the year 1979 started with only two major events.

The first thing is that Microsoft released the spreadsheet, which officially transformed the computer product from a hobbyist's toy into a tool for ordinary people. In the next few years, people's lives will undergo earth-shaking changes.

The second thing is that Destiny Games officially announced that it will hold a national game competition. Ethan Jones will use his own money to give back to the players and share the progress of the times with people.

As for the rest?

Of course not at all.

Even if a 9.0-magnitude earthquake has occurred in Hollywood, the only ones who can feel the earthquake are those capitalists who can look at the different scenery. When the media that emphasizes freedom of speech turn a blind eye to these things, the people of other countries will be even less aware of it. What the hell is going on down there in Los Angeles.

Therefore, when Hiroshi Imanishi, the director of Nintendo's general affairs department, saw the information delivered by Minoru Arakawa, his whole face was filled with shock. After he quickly read through the document in his hand and digested the contents, he sighed with emotion. It is perfectly reflected in his face.

That's crazy! Ethan Jones is really crazy!

Just hit the whole of Hollywood?

Wow--

This is really enviable!

This kind of arrogant and domineering behavior of operating across banks is what many capitalists dream of?

But it's a pity that other capitalists have concerns when doing things, but he is the only one-

Arrogant!

Rogue!

Imanishi Hiroshi put down the document.

The emotional words also made Hiroshi Yamauchi laugh out loud, A very pertinent evaluation.

He had such a bad attitude when dealing with us before.

After laughing, Yamauchi Hiroshi asked again: Imanishi, what do you think of this matter?

Uh- Imanishi Hiroshi pondered for a while and said, Judging from the intelligence collected by Arakawa, Ron Miller, the head of Warner, MGM and Disney, has officially joined forces.

Rather than throwing in the towel, they wanted to fight Ethan Jones to the bitter end.

This fact is in line with our previous judgment, because once they admit defeat, their interests may not be preserved. For example, Roy Disney in the Disney Group has always wanted to kick Ron Miller away, and MGM is facing Wall Street For financiers, it is an object that can be split and listed, not to mention Warner. With movies, music, games and comics, they are simply a multi-faceted entertainment giant. As long as they can cooperate with an influential media If we merge, we can become a media and entertainment aircraft carrier.

So, in order to preserve the industry, they have no choice but to continue gambling.

The words of the Director of General Affairs made Hiroshi Yamauchi very satisfied.

very good.

Lao Shanuchi said: So you think they will attack Ethan Jones again?

Imanishi Hiroshi nodded and said: Of course!

If I guess correctly, they are probably meeting to discuss countermeasures now.

Discuss how to defeat Ethan Jones next time.

If they were a little more aggressive, they might have already taken action? It's just that we didn't know!

But that's not important, right?

We don't need to know how they move, we just need to know they don't give up, and that's enough because it keeps Ethan Jones from looking at us.

As long as they can hold off Ethan Jones until next year, then...

Our time will come!

Having said this, Imanishi Hiroshi's face glowed red.

Hiroshi Yamauchi, who was leaning on the sofa, shook his legs happily.

This situation made Arakawa very puzzled.

If he remembered correctly, last year, after seeing the game Starry Sky displayed, his old father-in-law was extremely sad. His aggrieved look was as if the sky had fallen. But what about now?

His old father-in-law has swept away the previous decline!

When I went out earlier, I made him happy!

This sudden change made Arakawa a little uncomfortable.

It made him feel like an outsider.

And all his doubts were captured by Pu Yamauchi.

After seeing his son-in-law looking at him in confusion, his whole body filled with the emotion of wanting to ask but not daring to ask, Yamauchi Hiroshi immediately nodded at Imanishi Hiroshi and motioned for him to come forward and explain.

Arakawa, are you confused? Imanishi Hiroshi said with a smile after receiving the order: The reason why I said next year will be our era is because our R\u0026D department has achieved revolutionary success.

These words made Minoru Arakawa stunned for a moment, and then he expressed his joy.

Imanishi Hiroshi pursed his lips and said with a smile: Arakawa, I wonder if you have discovered a problem. Even though the market in our country is flooded with fun games produced by Ethan Jones, many people still buy ours. home console, do you know why?”

Because the people in our country have very limited time?

Arakawa Minoru thought for a while and answered carefully.

Yes, that's it. Hiroshi Imanishi nodded: When the per capita working hours in our country are hundreds of hours more than those in developed countries, the number of people who can enjoy arcade games on the streets must be limited, and this group must be It’s about teenagers.”

But video games are not just toys for teenagers, right? Adults actually also want to enjoy the joy brought by video games, and when many company employees are exhausted physically and mentally after get off work and don't want to go to the streets and snatch arcade machines from young people, lying down Playing games at home is their best option.”

So, even if Ethan Jones's arcade machine is very popular, our home console will still sell well. Even if the games there are indeed not as fun as those in the arcade machine, convenience is the best selling point.

When this situation occurred, Gunpei Yokoi, the chief engineer of our R\u0026D department, had a special idea. When electronic games can be played on the streets, they are called arcades. When electronic games can be played at home, they are called home consoles. , why can’t we develop a game console that can be carried with us?”

So at the beginning of this year, he told the president about the idea.

Then……

Having said this, Imanishi Hiroshi stopped and looked at Laoshanoui with a smile.

This kind of half-spoken behavior also made Arakawa Minoru feel like a cat scratching his heart.

He decisively turned his head and cast an expectant look at his old father-in-law.

Such a situation made Hiroshi Yamauchi, who was leaning on the sofa, smile and nod, sighing: Before, Ethan Jones's endless creativity made me only want to catch up.

I asked everyone in the company to follow him, study his games, analyze his ideas, try to find his inspiration, and learn the essence of his production, but...

It turns out that approach doesn't work.

Inspiration is a gift from God and cannot be learned through rigid study.

So, when I discovered that chasing Ethan Jones would only lead to a dead end, I asked Yokoi and the others to do what they wanted to do. Then, I discovered how wrong I had been.

Hiroshi Yamauchi expressed emotion, patted his thigh, and said: They are all geniuses——

Everyone at Nintendo, including you, is a genius!

Yokoi wants to make a game console that can be held in the hand, preferably similar in size to a calculator.

“When I heard the idea, I was totally shocked!”

Because I've never thought about such a thing!

I even thought he was whimsical!

And when he put the project in front of me at the beginning of the month, I realized that he had considered everything! To make a game console that you can hold in your hands, we only need to solve four problems!

The first problem is the screen display. There is a ready-made solution for this. Just copy the display method of the calculator. We can use a black and white LCD screen.

The second problem is the microprocessor. This problem is not a problem for us at all, because the world's cheapest eight-bit processor is in our hands, and the calculator can fully accommodate it.

The third problem is the battery. Yokoi wants to use button batteries, but the battery life is undecided.

The fourth issue is the game, and this one he is making.

When three of the four problems don't need to be solved, the only thing we need to overcome is to design some simple games that can be held in hand and played...

I can even announce that this product has been successfully developed!

And its name—

Yokoi named it Game Watch!

When Minoru Arakawa received the confidential document from Nintendo General Affairs Director Imanishi Hiroshi and read all of Yokoi Gunpei's ideas, Ma Xingkong's madness that day made his hands tremble and his eyes turned red.

This is real?

He raised his head with difficulty, suspecting that he was dreaming.

After waiting for Yamauchi to roll his eyes and kick him, the sudden pain made him jump up instantly!

Hahahahaha——

A cheerful laugh burst from his mouth!

Finally turned over! Finally turned over!! We can finally turn over!!!

The heart-rending roar can tear the roof off!

According to past habits, Hiroshi Yamauchi could not accept other people yelling in front of him, but now, sitting on the armrest of the sofa, he looked at his son-in-law with a kind face.

He knew that Arakawa had suffered a lot in the past few years.

As a child of a big family, he had no worries about food and drink since he was a child, and all he encountered in life were compliments and smiling faces. However, after getting married, he was pointed at and scolded every day because of his father-in-law's business.

No one can accept this.

Arakawa Minoru was surprised that he could survive without having an attack until now, and after learning that his business has finally improved, he no longer has to rely on others...

It's normal to be a little excited.

After Minoru Arakawa vented his anger by jumping up and down, he finally realized that the situation was wrong after he regained his composure. His face tightened and he wanted to apologize, but before he could say anything, Hiroshi Yamauchi had already raised his hand.

Arakawa, there's no need to be like this. We are all a family, so don't be so formal.

These words surprised Arakawa Minoru.

And just when he was wondering what his father-in-law was thinking, Hiroshi Yamauchi said again: Arakawa, there is one thing I have never understood. Do you like Nintendo?

? Minoru Arakawa raised his eyebrows, wondering why his old father-in-law asked this.

Yamauchi Hironori looked at him with a smile, asking and answering himself:

Judging from your performance just now, you should like it.

so--

Resign.

Don't stay in that damn place in Vancouver.

Come to Nintendo.

From now on, all of Nintendo's business in North America will be left to you.

If everything goes well, your first job after taking office will be to sell Game Watch to North America on behalf of Nintendo. How about it? Are you willing?

Arakawa was stunned after hearing these words.

But the next second, his face lit up with ecstasy!

He understood that his old father-in-law was ready to take the initiative!

And with the Game Watch as a killer, only by taking the initiative can we vent our anger!

Father-in-law. Minoru Arakawa said seriously, Of course I am willing!

Hahahaha—— Hiroshi Yamauchi laughed loudly. He liked his son-in-law's answer.

Imanishi Hiroshi, who witnessed all this with his own eyes, knew that Nintendo had a successor.

Although it is impossible for Arakawa to change his surname to Yamauchi, it doesn't matter, right?

His children will only be children of the Yamauchi family, and that's enough.

After the two men got over their excitement, Minoru Arakawa asked another question, Father-in-law, do we still want to continue talking with Ethan Jones about being a product agent for Destiny Games?

Hiroshi Yamauchi understood what he meant. When they have the ability to turn around, it would be unwise to continue to represent Ethan Jones in the game, but——

Of course we have to be an agent. Hiroshi Yamauchi said: Firmly seize the Chinese sales rights of Destiny Games. This will allow us to better sell our own game products.

Securing a firm grasp of Destiny Games' overseas cash flow will allow us to gain the initiative in the fight.

More importantly, the handheld game console product may use a large amount of 6502, so we must get an agent for the home console so that the shipment quantity of 6502 will not arouse doubts.

So, agents who have not negotiated before still have to negotiate.

I have a new plan here. Just take it to Ethan Jones.

I believe the negotiations will be much easier this time.

Because Ethan Jones's North American enemies won't stand alone.

Of course, in addition to these, there is another reason, that is, Yokoi is not the only genius in the world. When he can come up with the idea of ​​a handheld game console, other people must have similar ideas. If these ideas We are not afraid if it only appears in some game developers, because they have to purchase chips from outside. But if it is some old-school technology companies, such as those that make calculators, such as Casio, when we compete with them , we have no advantage.”

After all, Ethan Jones's good friend and Apple founder Steve Wozniak had made the Music Calculator a few years ago. With his modifications, the Music Calculator became the Apple personal computer, and someone else could modify it slightly to turn it into a gaming calculator.”

so--

do not be arrogant.

Restrain, be patient, wait for the best opportunity, and give your opponent a thunderous blow.

The old father-in-law's caution made Arakawa nod emphatically.

The next day, I took the latest cooperation plan written by Hiroshi Yamauchi and boarded the return flight.

Without stopping, he went straight to San Jose. When he met with Ethan Jones for the third time in the name of seeking an agent for Starry Sky, Ethan, who had just finished the work at hand, hesitated for a moment and asked Ballmer to let him in.

Looking at the humble figure in a suit and leather shoes, Ethan smiled and said: Mr. Arakawa, there is a word in Eastern mythology called not to do anything more than three times a day. This is the third time you have asked me about household expenses. The agent of the console, so I think you will come with Nintendo’s sincerity, please don’t let me down, okay?”

Of course. Minoru Arakawa handed over the document in his hand with a smile.

If it were normal, he would definitely feel that Ethan's words were very offensive, but now...

'Laugh! Laugh! Keep laughing! ’

'You'll soon stop laughing! ’

And just as Arakawa thought, when Ethan saw the new plan proposed by Hiroshi Yamauchi, he immediately frowned and felt that the sun was rising in the west.

Although the difference between the new plan and the old plan is not big, Nintendo still divides the agent products into three categories. The terms of the electronic arcade project and the game cartridge project have not changed. In the home console project, the guarantee of one million units has not changed. , but the share in this category is fixed.

Previously, Nintendo said that the cost of the console project was unknown, so it was difficult to discuss the distribution of profits. Now, in order to win over Johnson's home console agent, Nintendo is willing to give up the pricing power of the home console. They will sell as much as Ethan Jones says. , at the same time, they will also disclose the production cost details of home consoles to Ethan Jones, directly showing the profit amount of home console products in the book.

When this information is made transparent, after deducting sales expenses, production expenses and financial expenses, the share requested by Nintendo is the amount of production cost plus the three expenses multiplied by the loan interest rate of the domestic bank.

All other profits go to Ethan Jones’ Destiny Games.

To put it simply, Nintendo does not make a penny from the home console project.

Their behavior is equivalent to lending their own funds to the production of Destiny game consoles, and only charging the minimum loan income based on bank interest rates.

When this fact appeared, Ethan immediately narrowed his eyes.

Because he didn't understand why Nintendo would offer such a contract.

Lend him money for production?

Help others by yourself?

What is the difference between this special code and doing charity?

Mr. Arakawa, I don't feel sincerity with your terms.

Ethan raised his head and said bluntly: Doing business doesn't make money?

Then why do you want to do business?

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

Because we at Nintendo don't want to lose you as a partner. Before coming back, Minoru Arakawa had rehearsed countless conversations in his mind, so at this moment he answered calmly, Your company's Johnson home console and Starry Sky game have been It has caused a huge response in the circle. In addition to people living in North America, some people in our country are also looking forward to your game.

In this case, if we, Nintendo, lose you as a partner and watch you cooperate with others, or operate on your own, it will bring huge losses to us, Nintendo.

So, in order to maintain our existing market position and our existing market share, we must get your product agent. Since we urgently want your machines and games, then...

Why not be more proactive?

Arakawa Minoru laughed.

If you pay for the revenue from the console, you can suppress other competitors...

Then why wouldn't we do it?

The sincere words made Ethan open his mouth and reveal a playful smile.

So, you, Nintendo, are developing your own games?

Of course. Minoru Arakawa nodded: We at Nintendo are very interested in video games.

Then I won't be able to hand over the Johnson host to you, right?

But it is the best choice for you to hand over the host to our agent.

Arakawa pointed to the document in Ethan's hand and said, You probably haven't read the document because our president made a commitment at the bottom of the cooperation terms.

These words made Ethan glance down and glance briefly.

Then he discovered that Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi promised that during the duration of the contract, Nintendo would not launch other home consoles except COLOR TV GAME.

At the same time, Nintendo also stated that if it wants to release home console games in the future, it will only be logged on the Johnson home console. They will not pay for that part of the book, but for this part of North America they will accept the review of Destiny Games and use sales As a basis, transfer 15% of the interests.

'I see. ’

Ethan felt that he understood what Hiroshi Yamauchi was thinking.

When Nintendo couldn't come up with a product that matched Johnson's home console or a game like Starry Sky in a short period of time, they wanted to rely on agents to maintain the market, and then seize the time to develop it themselves.

This has two benefits.

The first is to seize the market and squeeze the living space of opponents.

The second is to use the platform to trial and error and cultivate your own game brand.

The former is easy to understand, but the latter...

In fact, it is equivalent to the major game manufacturers in the future selling games on the Steam platform first, and when the time is right, they will directly launch their own platforms to sell their own games.

Like Uplay and Rockstar Games, that's what they do.

When you are not strong enough, you will commit yourself first, and when you are strong enough, you will fall out.

As for this...

Ethan looked at Minoru Arakawa with a smile and said, Mr. Arakawa, why are you so candid today?

Because even if I don't say it, you will think that we are already developing ourselves, right?

Minoru Arakawa shrugged.

This response made Ethan stare at him for a long time, and finally burst into laughter.

Okay, since Nintendo is so sincere, then we can naturally continue to cooperate.

However, the terms of cooperation must be changed.

First of all, the cooperation period remains unchanged and is still in the next five years. However, I am not satisfied with the annual agency fee you proposed before, which is 20 million per year, totaling 100 million.

This agency fee must be paid in one lump sum, and I must receive the money within thirty days after the contract is signed, otherwise our contract will automatically expire.

Don't tell me you don't have money. I've taken nearly 200 million in dividends from the three games Snake, Pac-Man and Star Wars. It's impossible for you to make money when there are stores. less than me.

Then, I have no objection to your new guarantee and dividend plan, but I am not satisfied with your commitment. In the future, if you want to release home console games, even if they are only released in your own country, the games must be handed over to us. After review, you can only list it after we agree.”

Secondly, no matter which country it is listed in, since your game uses our platform, you must pay us a fee. The fee is calculated as 30% of the selling price, and you must pay a fee before it is listed on the market. Advance payment, the specific amount is calculated based on the number of first releases.”

If you can accept it, then I can ask the lawyer to draft the contract now.

If we can't accept it, then we can only say goodbye with regret.

Because I don't want to have to discuss the same issue four times.

Arakawa was startled by the fair and just threat. After a moment, he laughed.

Mr. Jones, you are too greedy.

Ethan was unmoved and stared at him with a serious face, Mr. Arakawa, if your company takes the initiative today, then your father-in-law, Mr. Hiroshi Yamauchi, will be even more greedy than me.

Compared with the royalty system created by Hiroshi Yamauchi in his previous life, Ethan's behavior of only reviewing but not selling is too merciful. Moreover, he has not limited the number of Nintendo games released like Hiroshi Yamauchi, let alone controlled it. Nintendo's production is so generous that it is simply a man's silence and a woman's tears.

Not to mention, in his previous life, Yokoi Gunpei resigned from Nintendo and was killed by a driver in Kyoto on the highway. Before his death, Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto had even made preparations for him. The only way out for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises - to survive through continuous creation'. Although the Honko Metropolitan Police Department has repeatedly stated that it was an accident, the gaming community and Yokoi Gunpei's family have never accepted this result, because Yokoi Gunpei's new entrepreneurial goal is to continue gaming.

And that...

It’s revolutionizing Nintendo’s life!

Ethan was not going to be kind to Nintendo when these facts were in his head.

But for Minoru Arakawa, who has never been exposed to any of this...

The current Ethan is——

'devil! ’

He cursed in his mind, took a deep breath, and said: Mr. Jones, leave the next thing to the lawyer. I will return to Nintendo with your contract, and I will also try to convince our president. Yes, I believe that this cooperation can bring us a win-win situation...

Now that the framework for cooperation has been established, the drafting of the contract proceeds quickly.

Two hours later, Minoru Arakawa left the Destiny Game with the freshly released contract. Looking at the car body that was drifting away, Ethan returned to his desk and called Ballmer on the internal cornet.

I give you a task.

Boss, tell me.

Do you know Julis Noble?

I know, she is the former director of the company. I met her when she came to report to work before.

Okay, you send a trusted person to book, call her home phone number, and give her a message for me, saying that every day in the future, she must keep an eye on Nintendo, in every sense of the word.

Ethan looked at Ballmer with bright eyes and said: If Julis doesn't believe it, then tell her that she went to the book to taste the taste of power. If she still doesn't believe it, then tell her, If she doesn’t believe it, I will call her parents and tell them where she works. Note that I only have one request when handling this matter, and that is not to meet her under any circumstances, do you understand?

? Ethan's order made Ballmer blink, Boss, are you gone?

Gone.

... Ballmer was stunned.

Did he never expect that the boss would be so mysterious and only ask him to pass on a sentence?

this……

Outrageous.

As for Ethan, his behavior is completely a reflection of prudence.

Arakawa actually thought he won by being honest?

Do not make jokes!

He has already exposed his flaws!

As the tyrant son-in-law of Hiroshi Yamauchi, how could this guy dare to say that he would try to persuade his father-in-law if he didn't get Hiroshi Yamauchi's approval when he put forward harsh conditions?

Only if Hiroshi Yamauchi desperately hopes to be represented, will he really delegate power to Arakawa!

And Hiroshi Yamauchi is eager to get an agent?

This is interesting, right?

Although Ethan didn't know why Hiroshi Yamauchi suddenly became so anxious, he believed that there was no airtight wall in the world! As long as Hiroshi Yamauchi has a plan, he will definitely take action!

In this case, let Julis keep an eye on it, and you can get an early warning at the first possible moment!

He didn't want to be like before, he didn't know until COLOR TV GAME was released!

After distributing the tasks, Ethan, who was prepared, breathed a sigh of relief. But just as he was leaning on his seat and trying to think about what kind of conspiracy Nintendo had, someone knocked on the door of the office again from outside.

After being invited in, the guy who came in was Damio Dean, the leader of the company's second research and development team.

Boss, do you have time now?

Something happened?

Of course, didn't you ask us to make a plan for the two Star Wars games that will be released next year? We have already finished that. If you have time... go and take a look?

Note: ① The birth of Game Watch is mentioned in various books about the development history of Nintendo. Gunpei Yokoi found the social worker playing with a calculator on the way to work, so he got the inspiration to make a handheld console, and this In fact, it is the root of the development of handheld consoles, using fragmented time to bring entertainment to people. ②In the 1980s, Nintendo launched a handheld console, and Casio launched a gaming calculator called MG-880. After that, it launched a bunch of similar products. Their products were very good, such as boxing games and counting games. Solitaire games, dice games, baseball games, Go games, you name it. Moreover, it is because Casio's products are easy to operate that Nintendo later made a cross-key button on the handheld console. But unfortunately, no matter how good the machine concept is, it can't beat Miyamoto Shigeru's game creativity. ③The Nintendo royalty system simply has four points. The first point is that game cartridges are produced by Nintendo and manufacturers have no right to manufacture them. The second point is that game cartridges are sold by Nintendo and the manufacturer has no right to sell them. The third point is that each game company has a limit on the number of games it can put on FC every year. The fourth point is that game manufacturers need to estimate sales in advance and pay royalties based on sales. As for whether they sell or not...Nintendo doesn't care.