America: My Time

Chapter 720 Matsushita's Ambition

Chapter 710 The Ambition Under the Pine Tree

After hanging up the phone, Morgan said, "Jimmy, what do you think are the chances that John can get back the price he paid for selling the game world from Panasonic? It sounds unbelievable. The Japanese aren't stupid; they know the current situation of the game world. I still have some concerns!"

"I think it's possible because in the initial deal between John and Mr. Rockefeller, Game World was acquired at its lowest market value, not at a premium. Although Game World's market share has been impacted, the game market is still expanding. So, if handled well, it's still possible. After all, Japan would need to pay a premium to acquire Game World, and as John said, he understands its value better than those at Game World. Most importantly, John doesn't intend to go any further in the game market; otherwise, he wouldn't have given up on Dance Dance Revolution. This makes it easier to gain Panasonic's approval. In my opinion, this isn't a big problem."

Jimmy, in cooperation with his boss, explained the situation to Rockefeller to avoid causing him any concern. After all, John's promises were a bit too astonishing and could have a negative impact on Rockefeller, potentially even affecting the deal itself.

“Morgan, I know what you’re worried about. Don’t worry, now that I’ve spoken, I won’t go back on my word. And I also believe John’s words. We really don’t know enough about the game world. We don’t know its true value at all. We acquired the game world just to lay out our strategy in semiconductor chips. To be honest, our understanding in this field is limited and we can’t compare to John at all. So I won’t back down.”

“That’s good. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but your group is too chaotic. If someone were to cause trouble, it would be awkward. After all, this is something I, Morgan, asked John for help with, so we have to be careful! Now I need your letter of authorization, and I hope you can understand.”

“I understand. I’ll have someone deliver it tomorrow. I’m sure they won’t refuse. It’s a good thing for them to get rid of it without paying too much, since the situation in the game world isn’t ideal.” Rockefeller didn’t bother with pleasantries in front of Morgan, because it was unnecessary. Everyone knew each other well, and saying anything would only make them a laughingstock.

After confirming that there were no problems with Morgan, John shook his head after hanging up the phone. It seemed that his actions had made many people uneasy. Although Morgan didn't say much, it was clear that he was worried that things would get out of control. As for the issues in the game world, they were nothing to worry about, at least not that difficult.

After thinking for a moment, John picked up the phone and contacted Panasonic, getting straight to the point: "Mr. Yamashita, I wonder if Panasonic has any plans to acquire Game World?"

As soon as John finished speaking, Toshio Yamashita was shocked. The allure of the gaming world was immense for them. Having been constrained by Sony's dominance in game patents, Yamashita had been looking for an opportunity to break free. However, circumventing Sony's patents was no easy task, and now this good thing had been delivered right to their doorstep.

"Mr. John, I remember you've already given up on the game world and no longer own any shares in it!"

John understood Yamashita Toshio's concerns perfectly. He himself would have been worried upon hearing such a statement. John smiled calmly and said, "I do not hold any shares in Game World anymore, but things have changed within Game World. Due to the chip war, they are no longer a united front. Someone wants to sell their shares to me. As you know, my goal is personal computers. I even gave up on Dance Machine, so how could I possibly take over Game World? That's why I thought of Panasonic and Hitachi. After all, we have a good working relationship. If you are interested, we can sit down and talk. If you are not interested, I will ask Hitachi. As for Sony, I think it's best not to bother them. After all, they are currently focusing their energy on promoting the Internet Cafe Alliance, so it's better to avoid any unnecessary trouble."

Toshio Yamashita naturally understood the trouble. If Sony stopped focusing its efforts on promoting the Internet Cafe Alliance at this time, John's interests would be affected. After all, the Internet Cafe Alliance was quite profitable, and many people in Japan were interested in it. Unfortunately, they had no chance at all, as Sony had secured the exclusive supply license.

"No problem, Panasonic is very interested. I'll make preparations to go to Lanai Island right away!" At this moment, Toshio Yamashita saw this as an opportunity—a chance for Panasonic to break free from Sony's constraints on game patents. Acquiring Game World would solve all their problems, allowing Panasonic to make great strides in the game market. The profits from games were substantial, something Panasonic knew all too well, so missing such an opportunity would be a great pity, even at a high price. John breathed a sigh of relief after receiving Yamashita's reply. Although he had been confident he could persuade Yamashita, he hadn't expected such a quick response. It seemed the dance machine collaboration had given Panasonic more ideas, prompting them to take things further. However, this was normal; Panasonic was incredibly powerful now.

Time waits for no one. Although the game world is not of much concern to him now, John still made a call to Morgan to tell him the good news and to tell them to get ready so that Panasonic's acquisition of the game world wouldn't cause any trouble and make everyone lose face. John didn't want to see that happen.

"Speed, that's speed! Look at John's speed, and then look at the speed of those guys in Game World. They're worlds apart. John has already communicated with Matsushita, and Matsushita has decided to acquire Game World. We just need to be prepared so that John doesn't cause any more trouble after negotiating the price!"

Morgan immediately informed Rockefeller of the situation, urging them to expedite the delivery of the materials he needed, lest John's negotiations be completed before Rockefeller was ready, which would be a huge embarrassment.

"No way, they're talking so fast? Panasonic just decided to acquire Game World like that?" Rockefeller was also shocked by all this after receiving Morgan's call. He was greatly surprised by the situation. He didn't expect John to be so quick, and Panasonic to react so fast. This didn't seem like an acquisition at all.

"Quickly? Not really. The game world seems hopeless in your hands, but it's completely different in Matsushita's. You'd better hurry. Yamashita Toshio has already personally gone to Lanai Island, and they'll reach an acquisition agreement soon. If something goes wrong on your end, it'll be bad. Don't compare your acquisition to that little fox, John; they're not even in the same league. Besides, Japan trusts John more. After all, he's never broken his promise; his reputation in Japan is impeccable. That's why Matsushita reacted so quickly!"

Although Rockefeller's intervention quickly persuaded the major shareholders in the gaming world to sell their shares, not all of them trusted John, and some even suspected he might take kickbacks. It just shows their narrow-mindedness. John wouldn't care about kickbacks; he wanted Japan's trust. Only then could he scavenge the professionals he needed from Japan when the bubble burst, and acquire the R&D personnel he desired.

However, with Morgan present, these guys couldn't say much more. Moreover, they didn't think John could use the market value of their initial acquisition of the game world to complete the sale. Therefore, these guys all thought John's words were unreliable. In particular, the changes on Wall Street recently made some people unwilling to accept it, but they couldn't bring themselves to do it, after all, it was Rockefeller who was involved.

"What a bunch of fools! I told you long ago that the shares shouldn't be so dispersed, and now even the sale has become so chaotic and ridiculous. I never want to work with these guys again. Working with them is too stressful!" Rockefeller was furious with those who were talking nonsense.

"Why bother arguing with them? After all, they value the game world too much, and they all think there's still a chance for the game world. So it's already quite difficult to get them to agree to sell their shares. There's no need to argue with them anymore."

"That's true, but these bastards are acting innocent after getting the benefits, which is really unacceptable. If it weren't for Morgan's intervention, they wouldn't even have had the chance to talk to John, let alone get John's help. To be honest, although I've always wanted to hinder John's development, I admire his abilities. But these guys are all arrogant and have no real ability. If it were them, I'm afraid the game world would really be ruined in our hands. After all, even if we wanted to get rid of it, it wouldn't be an easy thing. They simply don't understand the value of the game world."

"There's no point in saying all this now. Now that John has already contacted Panasonic, we just need to focus on our own business. I just hope to complete the transaction quickly and get back the funds we invested. If we can really sell the game world at the initial acquisition price, it will be a huge profit for us. At least we successfully revived Intel through the game world, which is the biggest gain, not to mention the other hidden benefits. Those guys have ideas, but they're just too stupid. Once we make a decision, they have no right to object!"

(End of this chapter)