America: My Time

Chapter 647 Sony's Scheme

Chapter 637 Sony's Scheme
As for the future development of personal computer games, Akio Morita didn't know. After all, he couldn't see that far ahead. Right now, it was better to focus on game consoles. Moreover, with the pressure from the gaming world, Sony had already acquired many game companies in Japan. It could be said that this old guy, Akio Morita, had long been prepared to betray the gaming world. However, he didn't expect that before he could betray the gaming world, John would sell it first, and those old guys in the United States would directly attack Sony, making everything out of his control.

When John described personal computer games as software, Akio Morita felt even less pressure. At least in his view, John posed no threat to Sony at that moment. Sony's game plans wouldn't be affected, and it was normal for Morita to be a little wary of someone as knowledgeable about the game industry as John.

"John, we can also cooperate in the field of communications. Sony also wants to enter the mobile communications field, and mobile phones are a good option. I wonder if there are any such opportunities?"

"Patents aren't a big deal; Bell Labs can license them. But the market is another story. However, the Japanese market is quite good. If Sony is willing to cooperate, Bell Labs has no problem with that. We can even license wafer technology, let alone mobile phones like this."

John didn't see anything wrong with Sony entering the mobile communications field; it was just a matter of patent licensing. Given enough time, Sony might be able to circumvent Bell Labs' patents, given Japan's formidable strength in semiconductors.

"The market issue is easy to resolve. Since we intend to participate, we are prepared. It's just a matter of patent licensing!" Akio Morita didn't care about the market issue at all. How big is the North American market? How big is the Japanese market? Japan has plenty of money right now, and Sony is optimistic about its development.

After some probing, both John and Akio Morita obtained the information they wanted. At this point, Akio Morita got up to leave. John repeatedly tried to persuade him to stay for a casual meal, but he refused. Akio Morita didn't have time to have a meal with John; he needed to take action now. Sony needed to prepare a cocktail party to settle this matter.

Of course, there were also discussions with other Japanese bigwigs. Although John didn't get to discuss much else, the old guy Akio Morita could tell that John was very optimistic about mobile communications and semiconductors. Wasn't this their opportunity?

Watching Akio Morita leave, John couldn't help but shake his head. Sony had changed. The whole of Japan had become much more ambitious, which could be seen from Akio Morita. Sony was developing at a frantic pace, without considering the financial pressure it would put on the company.

"Let's go back and have dinner. This matter is finally over!" John smiled calmly as he looked at Naoko and Hitomi's puzzled expressions. Although they had been by John's side the whole time and had heard the conversation, they didn't understand the confrontation between John and Akio Morita, nor did they understand that they had both gotten everything they wanted.

At this point, John needed to consider his next move. Originally, he planned to stay in Taiwan for a long time to make numerous preparations, but the events in Japan forced him to change his mind. There was still considerable time before the Korean Olympics, and John couldn't stay in Japan indefinitely! Staying too long could expose many secrets. John didn't want his plans for the next stock market crash to be discovered now, especially by those guys in Japan. He needed to be extra cautious and not let those bastards be on guard.

"Mr. Morita, are you sure they won't re-enter the game market? This is no small matter!" The heads of Hitachi and Panasonic were both looking at Akio Morita. After Akio Morita left John's courtyard, these two guys came to his door. They also cared a lot about the game market, after all, it had huge profits, and neither of them was willing to give it up.

"Don't worry, John won't get involved in the game market, at least he won't compete with us for the current market anymore. If I'm not mistaken, at most Dream World will participate in the development of personal computer games, but you all know that it won't make much money. The most profitable products are still the current game consoles and cartridges."

"That's good. To be honest, we've all been worried that this guy will make a comeback. If he re-enters the gaming world, no one will dare ignore him, not even the gaming world itself. Don't be fooled by their opposition to his opinions; they don't dare to challenge this little fox." "But don't get too excited. We also have other issues. Time is a problem. We don't have enough time. We must release our console before the Christmas season. If we wait until next year, we'll lose all our opportunities and be completely left behind by the gaming world. I believe you two have already obtained the gaming world's new console, and your people have probably studied it. I wonder if your console can surpass theirs!"

“Performance isn’t the problem. Our biggest problem right now is games. We need new games, and many game companies are unwilling to cooperate with us. That’s the biggest issue. With just Japanese game companies, it’s difficult for us to compete with the gaming world. What we urgently need is for more game companies to join our platform!”

Akio Morita smiled calmly and said, "We can infiltrate the enemy's ranks. To be honest, Sony also has its own game company in the United States. If Hitachi and Panasonic are also willing to participate, we can absorb American talent to accelerate our own development, and even Europe is an option. It all depends on whether you two are willing to take the plunge."

When they heard Akio Morita's words, the two men gasped. Now they finally understood why Akio Morita dared to be so confident. He had made preparations long ago, not only taking over several game companies in Japan, but also in the United States. It seemed that this guy was more cunning and treacherous than they had imagined!

Panasonic and Hitachi didn't talk with Akio Morita for long, as they both knew he had other things to do. So they got up to leave, but both men looked rather serious as they left. Although they had secured the production opportunity for the game console, they were facing considerable trouble with the games themselves. They hadn't invested much in this area, which put them at a disadvantage in their competition with Sony.

With everyone's help, Akina was discharged from the hospital. Chieko finally breathed a sigh of relief, not only for Akina but also for her family regaining their freedom. With Akina discharged, the matter was considered closed. Chieko had been worried about Akina's living arrangements. However, upon arriving at Akina's new residence, everything vanished with a sigh. Hitomi Kuroki and Naoko had prepared everything for Akina. If there was any shortcoming, it was the security personnel.

"Akina, you should rest well. There's no rush with work matters; the agency will handle them. You just need to cooperate with them. As for what happened before, you need to apologize!" Naoko whispered to Akina. Having been with John the longest, Naoko could sense the slight dissatisfaction in John's heart, after all, the impact was too bad.

Before Akina could reply, Naoko said, "Alright, I can't stay any longer. Akiko-nee and I will be leaving now. Goodbye, Chieko-san!" With that, Naoko and Hitomi left together, not wanting to disturb Akina and Chieko's getting to know their new place and affect their mood!

As soon as Akina was discharged from the hospital, Ken-On quickly took action, announcing that Akina would not be able to participate in the music festival due to health issues. At normal times, this would undoubtedly be big news, but with the music festival approaching and the media eager to know more, the matter was kept to a minimum. Akina later appeared at Ken-On and met with the media to prevent them from investigating the underlying reasons.

When everyone saw Akina's pale face, they understood her situation; her health was more important. The media knew all too well about Nakamori Akina; the pressure on idols is immense, and it's exhausting. Falling ill is perfectly normal; even an iron man would break down. It was precisely because Ken-on and Nakamori Akina handled the situation correctly that the matter was covered up.

However, Akina's family was not so happy. They were all warned by Ken-on, and even more so by Sōken. If Nakamori Akio felt that Ken-on wouldn't dare to do anything to him and could ignore Ken-on, then Sōken's anger made him feel threatened. After all, he had sold his daughter out of the family back then, and now that such a big incident had occurred, Sōken could easily deal with them.

What stunned Nakamori Akio even more was that Ken-on had clearly told him that he would never be able to get a single penny from Ken-on again. The living expenses that Akina gave to her family would be given to Chieko by Ken-on, directly depriving Nakamori Akio of his opportunity. Moreover, Ken-on and Sakunobu once again sternly warned the family not to bother Nakamori Akina again, or they would bear the consequences! Faced with such a shocking change, this greedy family could only accept it. They were just ants in front of the conglomerate. Especially when Chieko told them about Akina's situation, they were all terrified. If something happened to Akina, they would have to bear the wrath of everyone.

(End of this chapter)