Traveling Through the Tokyo Bubble Era

Chapter 1068 A Phone Call from South Africa

Satoru Iwata did not compromise with Hideki Hanyu because of Hanyu's status, but instead explained on behalf of the EGP arcade development team.

"President, you really should go and see the demonstration of the third-generation EGP substrate. It is completely different from the previous generation of products and is definitely an outstanding product that is groundbreaking."

Upon hearing Iwata's words, Hideki Hanyu's expression remained unchanged, but a cold smile crept into his heart.

Having traveled through time for so long, he has gained a considerable understanding of Japanese society.

Deeply aware that in this society where feudal cultural remnants are still prevalent, many people hold a strange and inexplicable belief.

That is, regardless of the industry, field, or whether it is culture, business, or technology, the goal is to create a system or set of rules that can be implemented once and for all.

The most direct manifestation of this idea is extreme conservatism and a kind of conservatism that is difficult for people to understand.

Whether it's the floppy disks and pagers used decades later, or the rigid hierarchical system and inflexible rules of superiors and inferiors, the so-called "unbroken lineage" of the Heavenly Locusts is inextricably linked to this kind of thinking.

It seems that any change will bring risks and uncontrollable factors.

To avoid change, to avoid risks and mistakes, or to avoid changes that would impact the established class, they would rather choose not to progress with the times, rather sacrifice future interests, or rather miss the opportunities presented to them, in order to maintain everything that is old.

The current attitude towards the development of EGP arcade machines, whether it's the R&D department or Satoru Iwata, is clearly influenced by this mindset.

In Hideki Hanyu's vision, the modular arcade board was simply to make the promotion of the EGP platform easier and more convenient for game developers to release games on the EGP platform.

He never imagined that relying solely on so-called modularity would allow EGP arcade machines to achieve a permanent, "unchanging" system.

So he didn't refute Iwata's words, but instead asked Iwata a question in return.

"Iwata-san, do you think I need to explain Moore's Law to you?"
Even setting aside Moore's Law, I'd like to ask your R&D department whether they considered the iteration issue when designing the monitors for the third-generation EGP arcade machine.

Replacing the display module only changes us and the game, but it cannot change the world's pursuit of better monitors.

Among our partners are Panasonic, Hitachi, Pioneer, Toshiba, and Sharp. You should be very familiar with these companies. What plasma display technology are they currently focusing on?

Once the fundamental technological environment that the R&D department is adapted to changes, what is the point of talking about a permanent solution?
Moreover, there's much more to EGP arcades than just display technology.
Or do you believe that as long as Elf Entertainment's EGP arcade platform is powerful enough, others should disregard technological advancements and proactively cooperate with us?

As Hideki Hanyu finished speaking, a playful smile appeared on his face.

"Is it possible that one day in the future, the entire arcade market will be abandoned by consumers?"

"How can this be?"

A high-ranking official from the Japanese headquarters who had accompanied Satoru Iwata couldn't help but express his surprise and doubt.

"Why is it impossible? Even the sun in the sky will eventually go out, so why should the arcade market continue to thrive indefinitely?"

When Hideki Hanyu spoke, his gaze was fixed on the high-ranking official who had spoken.

Although his tone was calm, he had already silently marked this executive with an "X" in his mind. People who lack a sense of crisis and long-term vision are clearly not liked by Hideki Yuzuru.

The arcade market may seem prosperous now and could continue for several more years, but with technological advancements and the widespread adoption of the internet, it will soon decline.

Unlike his subordinates, Satoru Iwata immediately expressed his stance.

"President, I'm very sorry. I was too optimistic and didn't think things through."

Hideki Hanyu did not respond to Satoru Iwata's apology, but instead began to criticize on his own.

"It seems that Tetsuya Aragaki's departure has had an impact on the R&D department. Technological advancements, market prosperity, and the strength of Elf Entertainment have made many people less pragmatic, forgetting their original aspirations for technological research and development, and starting to become arrogant and conceited."

At this point, he looked directly at the tense-looking Satoshi Iwata.

"Iwata-san, we can talk about this separately after the meeting. Let's talk about other things now, such as the handheld console and the arrangements for the electronic pet."

Although Satoru Iwata was to be left behind alone, the others breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Hideki Hanyu's criticism that he didn't intend to immediately delve into the EGP arcade issue.

Meanwhile, Satoru Iwata began flipping through documents and reporting on matters concerning the Pokémon handheld console and electronic pets.

"Regarding handheld consoles, because some technologies, such as storage, battery technology, and dedicated optical drives, cannot yet meet the requirements for mass production, the Phantom handheld console using EMD discs cannot meet the conditions for market launch in the short term."

According to the R&D department's estimates, even the most optimistic timeline for market launch will require waiting two to three years for technological advancements.

Upon hearing the timeframe of two to three years, Hideki Hanyu thought that the R&D department was being too optimistic.

It's much harder for handheld consoles to iterate their technology than for home consoles.

After all, the latter doesn't need to consider space; it can simply trade size for configuration.

However, the former has to make the most of limited resources, and must make trade-offs between performance, battery life, size, weight, and display, choosing the most suitable balance strategy for the market.

The handheld game console from this time and space is actually the best example.

Completely mimicking the approach of another Nintendo GB handheld console from a different timeline, it prioritized longer battery life over color display and a lower-spec processor.

In contrast, Sega, as well as Nintendo and other partners, produced handheld consoles that prioritized performance and color displays, even aiming to function as external TVs.

However, this results in virtually no battery life.

In particular, Sega's new color handheld console released last year had an absurdly short battery life, requiring it to be connected to the internet at all times to be used.

They were directly ridiculed by the media for needing to be equipped with a personal generator.

Judging from market performance, the choice of the Elf handheld console is undoubtedly correct.

Not to mention competition from other manufacturers, even the color version of the Genie handheld console itself couldn't outsell the gray-and-white display version with its longer battery life due to battery life issues.

If even a simple color display is this difficult, let alone the technology that Satoru Iwata mentioned, which is a completely new generation handheld console that rivals the Sony PSP from another timeline.

It's important to know that in another timeline, the PSP console was released after 2000.

And it's only the beginning of 1991.

This is why Hideki Hanyu felt that the two or three years timeframe mentioned by the R&D department was still too optimistic.

Fortunately, those guys didn't actually report two or three months to him, otherwise he would have definitely lost his temper on the spot.

At this moment, Satoru Iwata's report was still ongoing.

After reporting the arrangements for the Pokémon handheld console, Hideki Hanyu did not offer any comments, but instead gestured for the other party to continue.

Iwata then brought up the topic of electronic pets.

When talking about electronic pets, the revenue generated by this product line must be mentioned.

If we're talking about pure profit, the entire range of electronic pet products combined makes Elf Entertainment the undisputed "sales champion".

Even if the first and second generation PlayStation consoles were combined, they could not compare to it.

Especially after Elf Entertainment took advantage of the stock market crash to acquire Sanrio, the revenue from related merchandise skyrocketed after Hello Kitty was added to the mix.

However, this part of the operation is now handled by Elf Entertainment. If we're talking about Elf Entertainment, then Pokémon Fight is undoubtedly the king of the entire electronic pet series.

Just look at the Pokémon Fight cards; they've already formed a stable secondary market worldwide, and you'll know how huge the market is.

Therefore, Satoru Iwata is quite confident about Pokémon Fight 2, which will be released at the Tokyo Electron Show in March.

It's backward compatible with the first-generation Pokémon cards, but features a completely new training, nurturing, animation, and battle system, which should be enough to ignite the entire Pokémon Fight market once again. After Satoru Iwata finished reporting on the progress of the electronic pet series, Hideki Hanyu made some simple adjustments and arrangements before simply adjourning the meeting.

Everyone else left, including Michael Katz.

In the end, only Hideki Hanyu and Satoshi Iwata remained in the entire conference room.

Seeing that Iwata Satoshi was tense again, Hideki Hanyu did not immediately bring up the matter of Elf Entertainment's frivolous and arrogant atmosphere, but instead asked another question.

"What stage has Miyamoto Shigeru's onboarding process reached?"

Satoru Iwata was taken aback when Hideki Hanyu asked this question, and after a slight pause, he quickly answered.

"Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto completed his resignation procedures with Nintendo before the end of the year. Although there were some problems, they were all resolved smoothly with our help."

His onboarding process is now complete, and the company is making final preparations for his employment.

After all, setting up a brand new studio for him, transferring relevant game development materials, and allocating technical personnel all require some time.

"Oh, is the new studio already being prepared? What name has Shigeru Miyamoto chosen for his studio?"

Since meeting Shigeru Miyamoto, Hideki Hanyu has paid little attention to the latter's movements.

Satoru Iwata replied, "It's already been chosen; it's called OASIS."

"OASIS?"

When Hideki Hanyu heard this name, the first thing that came to mind was actually Spielberg's movie "Ready Player One," which he made decades later.

The virtual game in this movie is called "OASIS".

This name is also the name of a famous British rock band, except that the band has not yet debuted at this point in time.

However, the story behind Shigeru Miyamoto choosing "OASIS" as the studio name is related to the music industry.

In music composition, OASIS is translated as the source of inspiration, and it has since been widely used in all creative works.

It's likely that Shigeru Miyamoto named his studio this way in the hope of having a constant stream of inspiration for his games.

"Make full use of Shigeru Miyamoto's talent."

After Hideki Hanyu finished speaking, he sensed that Satoru Iwata had also calmed down, so he began to talk about serious matters with a serious expression.

"As Elf Entertainment grows and becomes stronger, it is inevitable that many internal problems will arise. However, in addition to these problems, we must also pay attention to the changes in the corporate culture atmosphere."

Impetuous, arrogant, complacent...

We must be vigilant about the spread of these sentiments within the company.

There is a Chinese idiom: "Be prepared for danger in times of peace."

Mencius once said, "One is born in hardship and dies in comfort."

Throughout world history, neither individuals nor businesses can enjoy smooth sailing forever, nor can they remain glorious indefinitely.

While accustomed to strength, we must also have a sense of crisis and awareness of potential dangers.

Not long ago, I gave my younger brother a piece of advice.

Weakness and ignorance are not obstacles to survival, arrogance is.

I now also offer these words to you, and I hope you can understand them.

As soon as Hideki Hanyu finished speaking, Satoru Iwata immediately stood up and bowed deeply.

"President, I will keep your teachings in mind."

Hideki Hanyu gestured for Satoshi Iwata to sit down.

"Just remembering isn't enough. I want to see your actions. It's time to start a rectification campaign within Elf Entertainment."

For those who can learn from their mistakes and recognize their errors, we can give them a chance to correct them.

But for those who cling to tradition and are stubborn, there's no need to care about their positions or seniority; those who should be dismissed should be dismissed.

Elf Entertainment's development doesn't need to wait for anyone.

Iwata Satoru quickly agreed, "I understand. I will formulate a relevant plan as soon as I get back."

"We should communicate more with overseas management. While the application of Japanese culture in enterprises has its merits, it also has its drawbacks. In many cases, we must learn to learn from their strengths and make up for their weaknesses."

Having said that, Hideki Hanyu decided not to put any more pressure on Satoshi Iwata.

"Go do your work, and remember that no matter what you do, I will always be your strongest support."

"Yes, sir."

Iwata Satoshi acknowledged and took his leave.

After Satoru Iwata left, Hideki Hanyu called his assistant and said, "Get the helicopter ready. I'm going back to Los Angeles today."

The assistant asked, "Shall we return to Moon Lake Manor now?"

"No, let's go check out the divine vision next."

After finishing his speech, Hideki Hanyu left the meeting room.

After saying goodbye to Michael Katz, Satoru Iwata, and others, he drove to the headquarters of God Vision.

Here, Hideki Yuzuru, who hadn't seen Lao Huang for a long time, chatted about the latest developments in Shinrei Vision.

In particular, there are collaborations with Hollywood, Elf Entertainment, and Microsoft.

The Divine Vision was created far earlier than Nvidia in another timeline, so there was no way to refer to Nvidia's development experience.

But it doesn't matter, the general trend of industry development is already set.

As long as the gaming industry continues to thrive and Microsoft's dominance remains unchanged, Shenling Vision will surely grow and prosper as long as it keeps pace with the times.

Hideki Hanyu chatted with Lao Huang for a long time. After declining Lao Huang's invitation to a family dinner in the afternoon, he went to Moon Lake Estate and took a private helicopter back to Los Angeles.

Upon returning to Los Angeles, Hideki Hanyu immediately contacted Carl Mape to learn about the situation regarding the war.

After learning that the war was progressing much as he remembered, Hideki Hanyu didn't pay much attention to it.

However, after being reminded by Carl Maples, he finally remembered that he should do his duty as a host and throw a party for his "friends" from the East Coast at Red Maple Manor.

Just as Hideki Hanyu contacted Bill Hart of New Century Agency to ask him to provide high-quality Hollywood beauties for tomorrow's party.

However, the secretary's office in Los Angeles informed him of something else.

"Sir, a man named Danny Hermanius has contacted you."

The call was from South Africa; the caller identified himself as a film director, and you gave him your contact information at the Cannes Film Festival.

(End of this chapter)