Chapter 130: CEO Game
The next day, I boarded the first Shinkansen of the morning, and by 10 a.m., I was standing in front of the Mintendo headquarters in Kyoto, taking out a cigarette.
"It's been a while here."
As I finished my cigarette and entered the headquarters, the atmosphere inside wasn't as hostile as I had anticipated.
Perhaps it was because I had gone around saying goodbye to each employee individually when I left, but there were some who seemed genuinely happy to see me. For example, the person walking towards me.
"Oh my, Mr. Director!!"
As I passed through the lobby, I encountered Mina, the marketing staff member, on the other side.
I remembered the days when we struggled together during the launch of the portable Game Boy and couldn't help but smile.
"Still calling me 'Mr. Director' after all this time? I'm afraid people might get the wrong idea."
"Oh, that's right. It's been a long time. How have you been?"
"Really, Director... I mean, Mr. Kang...?"
"Just call me Junhyuk."
"Oh, okay. Anyway, things were a bit chaotic the day before yesterday because of Junhyuk."
"Is that so? He doesn't seem much different from usual."
"Well, that's because the CEO told us not to show any signs of excitement since Junhyuk was planning to visit in person. Anyway, Mr. Kamauichi is waiting, so please go up."
"Sure, I'll stop by to say hello before I leave."
After parting ways with Mina, I made my way to the top floor of the building where the CEO's office was located.
As I was heading to the elevator, I felt a strange gaze, and when I turned my head, it was awkward to see the employees quickly looking away.
Some greeted me warmly, while others openly displayed their resentment towards me.
It seemed that the number of unfamiliar employees had increased since I left.
A while later, as the elevator door opened, I half-expected to see Shige inside, but there was no such coincidence.
According to recent industry information, Shige was preparing a new game for next year, targeting the super family market, titled "The Legend of Karin." It was one of the top-rated RPGs for the Super Family, and if he entered the production phase, he would be so absorbed in making the game that he might not even notice if the building collapsed next to him. Therefore, I didn't pay much attention to the announcement of the Pentagon Soft's project.
Ding!
The elevator bell rang, and as I entered the silent corridor, I could see Kamauichi, the CEO, waiting in his office at the end.
"Now, shall we play a game of chess in my office?"
I lightly knocked on the CEO's office door, and I heard Kamauichi's voice from inside.
"Come in."
I took a moment to catch my breath, then turned the doorknob. As the door slowly opened, Kamauichi, sitting on the sofa on the other side, looked at me, just like the day we first met.
"Are you some kind of ninja? Sneaking in like that? I've been waiting for you since last night, thinking I might run out of patience."
"Well, you look the same as ever. You seem to be in good health."
"You cheeky brat."
With a wry smile, Kamauichi gestured to the chair on the opposite side, and I sat down, ready to start the conversation.
"It's nice to see you again. It reminds me of the day when I interviewed in '83."
"Do you mean the day I assigned you to the overseas sales department? Honestly, I can't forget that day either. I had no idea back then that the key to dominating the American market would come from the mouth of a young, fresh guy."
"Are you saying you acknowledge my contribution to some extent?"
"Why? Are you thinking of appealing to my sense of recognition now?"
"If I did, would you listen?"
"No way."
"Then why are you asking? It's making us both uncomfortable..."
After some playful banter, we both smiled at each other.
This guy... From the beginning, he had no intention of suing me, so what is he really thinking?
"Quite a character you've become. I see that you're different from the others who just say things to flatter me when you enter my room."
"Thank you for the compliment. But speaking too casually can lead to awkward situations when we get too comfortable, so shall we get to the point?"
At this point, Kamauichi, who had been exchanging pleasantries with me until now, suddenly adopted a serious expression. The atmosphere in the room cooled down just with that change.
"Go ahead and speak."
He got the upper hand in this round.
"First of all, what are you aiming for? Do you really think we'll be following the same path as NEGA?"
"Do you think our third-party developers affiliated with Mintendo are going to act as you've mentioned?"
"Mr. Kamauichi, your words sound a bit strange. Third-party developers associated with Mintendo? The development priority for third parties is to have easier development tools and better profit sharing."
"What if we offer better profit sharing in favor of your side?"
"Are you saying that you, a major corporation like Mintendo, are considering making money with Pentagon, a newcomer to the console business?"
"Well, it's not impossible. After all, even a lion gives its all when hunting a rabbit."
This is driving me crazy.
The games from Pentagon Soft have gained tremendous popularity among users, but as CEO Kamauichi stated, if the third parties don't step up, it could become quite challenging.
Currently, the most popular genre among users on home consoles is RPG. It’s a gameplay style that offers lengthy playtimes, indirectly immersing players into a fantasy world, which takes considerable time, starting from storyboarding to production.
So, consider this - who would want to invest in a console that only releases 1-2 games per year, especially in this era? Maybe only die-hard first-party game fans.
During this time, if Nintendo opens up profit sharing with third-party developers, it's natural for us to take a hit.
Seems a bit clumsy.
But, in reverse shoes, if I were in the same position, maybe I would have acted the same way.
After taking a sip of tea, I paused in my conversation with CEO Kamauichi.
"Stop mulling over this and persuade Kawaguchi to bring our company into the second party," was his aim.
I responded by shifting his aggressive approach to create space.
"The situation won't change. We... I’ll ensure it stays that way. Even if you file a lawsuit, we'll appeal numerous times. So, instead of stalling, tell me what you truly want."
"All right. Then hand over the license for The Empty Streets and Dragon Emblem."
"What?"
"Why are you surprised? I'm just reclaiming the licenses for the games you developed while at Mintendo."
"Then I will accept giving the license for The Empty Streets. However, Dragon Emblem isn’t feasible."
"What?"
I then pulled out our company's employment contract from my pocket.
"This part here says, 'While employed, the employee shall not leak their creations or company secrets to any other entity.' So, Dragon Emblem, created solely by my idea, is purely a personal creation. Thus, Mintendo cannot claim ownership over it."
"Y-you…"
"Ah, and if you want the license for The Empty Streets, file a formal lawsuit and try to reclaim it. This could turn into a tedious and lengthy legal battle, as it's akin to a big corporation unilaterally breaching a contract over a single individual creation. Continuing to sue might eventually help you reclaim it. Either way, a sequel to The Empty Streets holds little significance to me. People remember a single new ending. Sequels of the same work seldom garner the same response as the first one."
"Kang Junhyuk... you..."
"Wasn't keen on going head to head with Mintendo like this, but if the CEO pushes, we won’t sit idly by."
CEO Kamauichi burst into laughter.
"All right. Let's see this through. Even before the new console's launch, the Super Family will become the most widely spread home console in Japan, if not globally."
&
After that, CEO Kamauichi began an aggressive marketing strategy to dominate the Japanese market. First, to commemorate the Super Family's first anniversary, he reduced the device price from 25,000 yen to 21,800 yen, a 3,200 yen drop.
He also proposed a new policy that gradually reduces the royalty share to third-party contributions based on their contribution to the Super Family's sales.
As a result of Nintendo's decision, third-party companies cheered, and this effect peaked during Christmas of 1990, reaching an astonishing spread not only in Japan but globally.
Watching Nintendo's unyielding efforts, both Kawaguchi and I couldn't help but keep our eyes glued to the newspapers.
And one day, 10 days into 1991...
"Wow, seems like CEO Kamauichi is quite afraid of Kang Junhyuk. I didn't expect him to invest this aggressively in response to Junhyuk's challenge."
"Thanks to that, the third-party companies, suffocated by Nintendo's pressure, seem to be finding a breather."
My response made Kawaguchi smile and nod in agreement.
"By the way, seeing the article in Famitsu about the upcoming console 'Laon', I wonder if it will make Kamauichi faint..."
The new generation console was named 'Laon', chosen by a suggestion in pure Korean, meaning 'joyful'.
And the next day...
The New Year’s edition of Famitsu, heralding the beginning of 1991, revealed the long-concealed next-gen model that had been shrouded in secrecy since the last autumn.
It was the introduction of the world's first 16-bit full-color 'portable' game console, Laon.
Huh? But wasn't the next-gen console said to be a home console?
I never mentioned at the presentation that the next-gen console would be a home console...?
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