Chapter 93: The Evolving Gaming Console
The 1990s were a period of significant upheaval in the history of gaming. Some companies hastily entered the console industry, only to face bitter defeat and disappear. However, looking at it from a different perspective, it was a time that could be hard to find as exciting.
In the early 90s, with the advancement of sprite technology, 2D graphics saw a remarkable rise. Midway through the decade, home consoles started releasing games that made use of 3D graphics.
At the heart of this evolution was the first RPG to use 3D graphics, "Final Frontier 7." Games like "Iron Fist" and "Real Fighter," 3D fighting games, gained immense popularity.
For gamers, it was a golden era, but in the mid-90s, companies producing consoles were facing quite a dilemma. The reason was their struggle to decide whether to focus on enhancing the performance of 2D graphics, sticking to the existing framework, or actively embrace new 3D technology by designing new graphic chipsets.
To catch both rabbits, the manufacturing cost of the devices was too high, and it would have been too uncertain to give up one thing in the rapidly changing market.
The new console I showed to Rob and Chandra was aiming for a release in 1991. From that point on, I wanted to create a console that would span the era until 2000.
A new console with specs that could encompass both 2D and 3D technology. That was...
"Junhyuk?"
"Yeah?"
"The signal has changed."
"Oh, sorry..."
I didn't even notice the signal changing as I was lost in thought just a moment ago.
Just a while ago, after dropping Ellis and Rob's group at a hotel where they would stay for a month, I was now heading to Yuki's house to give her a ride.
"Ah~ Today was so much fun. It felt like attending an international exchange event."
"I'm glad you had fun. I was worried that it might be awkward because they're all strangers."
"At first, it was a bit awkward, but Ellis was so kind to me..."
"Ellis is still indebted to you. She's handling the work I should be doing in the United States..."
"Huh? Ellis said that she's indebted to you, Junhyuk?"
"That's because I'm her employer."
I smiled slightly and drove through the Tokyo streets in the evening.
Yuki lived in Kitajoji, a place in Tokyo where many middle-class people resided, and it was located on the outskirts of Tokyo, past Shinjuku. I had been there a few times before, and the neighborhood was mostly made up of private houses, giving it a neat and pretty image.
"I could just drop you off at Shinjuku Station..."
"I'll take you there while enjoying a drive."
"Oh, thank you."
"Oh, you're welcome."
We exchanged small talk like that as we headed to her house.
"Junhyuk, I saw earlier that you asked someone named Chandra and Rob for a favor. What was it about?"
"I asked them to help with the production of a new gaming console. If we can make it within a year, I promised to give them a bonus of 100 million yen."
"You're really going to give them 100 million yen!?"
"Why?"
"Do you have that much money, Junhyuk?"
"Well... yeah."
"It was said that when you came back from your last flight, you mentioned to my sister that it's not just any seat but the seats that only rich people use. Is that true?"
I nodded with a slight smile in response to Yuki's question.
"Then how come you, who's not much older than me, have so much money?"
"What does age have to do with money? I've heard that some heirs of big companies own 5% of the company's shares from the moment they're born. Besides, I can't say that I earned the money by working hard at games before time-slipping..."
"In fact, the cost of the components inside the cartridge was too high, so I couldn't make much money... "
I silently swallowed my words and smiled at Yuki.
"Well, how much do you have? Promising a bonus of 100 million yen means you have much more money than that."
"I don't really know."
"What?"
"Um... Yuki, how much do you have in your savings account?"
"Me? I have... about 2 million yen?"
"Ah, at your age, 2 million yen is quite a steady savings."
"Of course. My mother always said we should live modestly. But why my bank account?"
"You can accurately know how much money is in your account, but I don't really know how much is in mine."
"Why not? You're Kang Junhyuk!"
"Well... I have about 500 million yen as a realistic fund I can use right away. Everything else is invested in stocks. So I don't really know how much I have. Roughly, I might have a bit over 12 billion yen?"
"12 billion yen!?"
I've said it before, but a regressor never fails. No, it can't fail. Plus, I have Game & Watch, right?
Sponsor games that provide information about the soft company located all over Japan.
I started buying shares of major companies like Phoenix Soft for Dragon Warrior, Fox Soft for Metal Gear, CAMCO for Street Fighter, and others from famous companies like Soft Ginko (Bank).
As time passed with the money buried, my stocks in each company began to skyrocket like time bombs exploding each time a game was released.
So, now, I only saw the number that went up and down over time rather than the concept of "money."
"At this point, it's like having so much money. It's money to the point where you can't even know exactly how much you have..."
"Is that so...?"
"Suddenly, I feel strange. I always thought that rich people are very stingy, greedy, and old, fat men..."
... Why are you making an enemy out of the rich? Oh, it's 1989 now...
When I stared at her with an expression of disbelief, Yuki burst into laughter, "Puhuk."
"What?"
"Oh, I can't believe it. Junhyuk seems like a different person. He's just like Scrooge. Kikik~"
"What? Scrooge?"
"I'm sorry. But, since Junhyuk is rich, why is it so funny?"
Have I been too discreet about it?
&
From the next day, Rob and Chandra's group began to compete with each other, aiming for a bonus of 100 million yen.
Rob and his group would stay in Japan for about a month.
I decided to watch their situation slowly. The project has just started, and there is plenty of time left.
First, Chandra started drawing design drawings quickly based on his practical experience.
At the cartridge factory, Chandra collected the specifications of the Super Family I provided and the data he knew, completing the internal drawings similar to the Super Family I in just a week.
"How is it, Kang Junhyuk?"
"I didn't know you could do this much in just a week... Impressive, isn't it?"
"Is that so? Kikik. At this rate, our bonus will be ours in a year."
"But where will you design the GPU device?"
"Oh? Um... that's... "
"Did you talk to Rob about it?"
"I haven't."
"Working only with Pumara and other Indian friends may be a bit difficult. What I want is a cartridge system console and a new media recognition device below."
"To be honest, I'm curious about that part, too. I understand how to make a cartridge console, but what's the role of the second console added with the GPU device?"
"As I expect, from the mid-90s, there will be a shift to CD due to the lack of capacity in the cartridge system."
"CD? Are you talking about compact discs for music? It doesn't make sense. A CD can't be erased once data is saved. Besides, it's too slow to read data, so it will take a long time."
"I know. That's why I plan to release the cartridge console first and then connect the upgrade console with CD-ROM later."
"Are you saying that these two devices mentioned here will merge in the future...?"
I smiled and nodded in response to Chandra's question.
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