Reborn in Tokyo: From Heiress to Global Tycoon

The two figures were reflected in the glass of the old signboard, and soon they left the dim wood with their footsteps.

There were quite a few customers in the store.

Several college students were gathered around the Super Nintendo demo area, while two young employees in suits stood in front of the computer display case, quietly comparing the prices of different models.

Amy looked left and right. She still really liked the game, but recently she had been exploited by a certain "unscrupulous capitalist" and had no time to play it.

She followed Satsuki deeper into the shop and suddenly discovered two shop assistants dismantling a large advertising board.

The promotional board features the logos of Sony and Nintendo, with a device in the center capable of reading Super Nintendo cartridges and CD-ROMs. A line of prominent English text is also displayed at the top.

PLAY STATION.

When one of the employees flipped the promotional board over, the back already had industry news that had just come back from Chicago pasted on it.

Following Sony's announcement of its collaborative device at the summer consumer electronics show, Nintendo announced the very next day that it would be working with Philips on another CD-ROM project.

This sudden change has become the most talked-about topic in Akihabara these past few days.

Near the window were several gaming magazines. The largest headline read, "Why Nintendo Chose Philips," followed by a photo of Norio Ohga with a somber expression.

Several customers nearby were gathered around the magazine, discussing it.

"Sony doesn't even have its own games. If it really leaves Nintendo, who will it sell its consoles to?"

"But CDs are made by Sony, Nintendo is going too far."

"What's the point of making discs? Can Sony even make their own Mario games?"

After the two shop assistants took the advertising board off the stand, they did not move it immediately, but only temporarily leaned it against the wall.

The shop manager stood to the side, holding two faxes he had just received.

One document came from Sony, requesting that promotional materials for the collaborative devices be temporarily suspended; the other came from Nintendo's Tokyo office, informing them that a new batch of Super Nintendo display stands would be delivered tomorrow morning.

The two documents arrived less than an hour apart.

"The second floor was originally reserved as a trial area for this device."

The manager lowered his voice and instructed the store staff.

"Don't switch to Nintendo's new booth yet. Leave the space clear and display this week's software sales and pre-order catalog."

"What if Nintendo asks?"

"Just say that the store is adjusting its displays."

The person in charge folded the fax back up.

"SA CIRCUIT sells both Nintendo's consoles and Sony's records and videos. Until the matter between the two companies is resolved, it's not appropriate to comment on either side."

The shop assistant nodded and turned to get a new display stand.

The nearby patrons didn't notice their conversation and continued arguing around the magazine. Only Satsuki glanced over there before quickly looking away.

The person Itakura chose to manage this shop at least hasn't forgotten who they're doing business for.

Amy listened for a while, then frowned and walked to the removed advertising board.

"So Nintendo is really breaking up with Sony?"

"That seems to be the case at the moment."

Satsuki picked up a magazine from the shop window, but didn't rush to open it.

The day after this incident, the managing director of Nintendo responsible for shareholder relations sent an explanation through Itakura.

The Kyoto side wrote a full six pages, repeatedly emphasizing the risks associated with CD licensing, software censorship, and overseas distribution terms. The wording was very polite, but the real meaning was only one sentence.

Nintendo will not allow another company to use an external device to wreak havoc on its software.

Amy turned to look at her.

"Has Nintendo already explained this to Satsuki-chan?"

"Hmm, it's quite long."

Satsuki opened the magazine, her gaze sweeping over the photo of Norio Ohga with a gloomy expression.

"Like a child who has done something wrong and is afraid of being scolded, they probably know that they didn't do this very well."

Amy then looked at the promotional board that the shop assistant was putting away.

"It was already ugly to begin with."

She was clearly dissatisfied with Nintendo's actions, and her voice was a little louder than before.

"Sony made the sound chip for them and spent so much time developing the optical disc device. Even if the contract couldn't be agreed upon, shouldn't they have announced a collaboration with Philips the day after Sony unveiled the device at the trade show?"

Satsuki's finger stopped at the edge of the magazine.

Nintendo's concern for software licensing rights is not inherently problematic. However, Hiroshi Yamauchi's choice to release this information in this manner clearly indicates another underlying meaning.

He wanted to make it clear to Sony, and everyone trying to enter the game console industry, that the door was still in Nintendo's hands.

"What Mr. Yamauchi wants is control."

Satsuki closed the magazine, her fingertips gently pressing the cover.

"As for how embarrassing this would be for Uncle Morita, it was probably never factored into his costs."

Amy glanced at her.

"Satsuki-chan also thinks Nintendo went too far, right?"

"Excessive? There's no such thing as excessive or not excessive when it comes to capital," Satsuki shook her head slightly. "I was just explaining Mr. Yamauchi's thoughts."

She casually put the magazine back.

"Don't let this get back to Kyoto. Your father's factory is due to deliver a batch of interface components to Nintendo next month."

Amy immediately lowered her voice.

"I only say this in front of Satsuki-chan."

"That won't work either."

Satsuki reached out a finger and gently tapped her forehead.

"You're no longer the kid who sneaks into factories to peek at test cartridges. Suzuki Electronics is still in Nintendo's supply chain. A casual remark you make could become the company's stance if it gets back to you."

Amy covered her forehead, feeling somewhat aggrieved.

"There's no Nintendo here."

"The man in the gray coat next to the third row of shelves over there."

Satsuki glanced to one side.

"After he entered the store, he first checked the Super Nintendo display area and then asked twice about the weekly stock quantity. He was most likely from the Kyoto sales department."

Amy turned her head instinctively.

The man in the gray coat was holding a game box and talking quietly with the shop assistant. Noticing their gaze, he quickly turned his face away.

Amy immediately looked away and moved closer to Satsuki.

"Could he have already heard it?"

"Now you know fear?"

Seeing her tense expression, Gaoyue finally smiled a little.

"Don't worry, he can't hear us from this distance."

"Satsuki-chan!"

Amy then realized that she had scared her again.

Satsuki ignored her protest and turned to walk towards the stairs.

Amy took two steps after him, still preoccupied with the question from earlier.

Will Sony give up?

"Uncle Morita will probably try to suppress the matter first."

Satsuki stepped onto the first step and sorted out the matter.

"Many people within Sony already felt that games were just children's toys. Now that the partnership has suddenly broken down, it has given them a reason to halt the project."

"Where is Mr. Oga?"

"He doesn't have a good temper, and he probably won't allow Sony to exit the market like this."

Satsuki continued upwards.

"Mr. Ohga may not be concerned about just this machine. Nintendo's decision to announce its collaboration with Philips the day after Sony unveiled the device has turned the whole thing into a matter of Sony's reputation."

"There were many people within Sony who opposed entering the gaming industry to begin with. Now that the partnership has broken down, they will naturally demand that investment be stopped and that this be treated as a misjudgment and dealt with as soon as possible."

Amy followed behind her, and upon hearing this, she turned back to look at the advertising board that had already been taken down.

"Will Mr. Ohga agree?"

"That's why I said he doesn't have a very good temper."

Satsuki turned around.

"Stopping the project now is tantamount to admitting that Mr. Yamauchi was right—Sony can't do anything after leaving Nintendo."

"Mr. Ohga certainly can't swallow this conclusion."

"He will at least preserve the technology and personnel already invested, suppress the calls within the company to withdraw immediately, and then have other partners re-evaluated."

"If all the doors that can be borrowed are closed, building your own door may not be as hard to accept as admitting defeat."

Satsuki paused at the corner of the stairs, her gaze returning to the bulletin board.

"As for Ken Kutaragi—he spent several years painstakingly making the door, only to be kicked out in public as soon as it was displayed at the exhibition."

"Even if Mr. Oga is willing to let things go, he will probably do everything he can to keep the project going."

Amy thought about it seriously for a while.

"So, is it really possible that Sony might make its own game console?"

"That's possible."

Satsuki withdrew her gaze and continued walking towards the second floor.

"There's a long way to go from refusing to admit defeat to actually building a machine that can be sold."

"So, which side is Satsuki-chan going to stand on?"

Satsuki withdrew her gaze and continued walking up to the second floor.

Why must we stand on one side?

Amy followed behind her, then paused for a moment.

"But Nintendo and Sony have already fallen out like this."

"They're the ones who caused the falling out; Saionji's business didn't disappear along with them."

Satsuki went up to the second floor, her gaze sweeping over the rows of game cartridges and software boxes.

"Suzuki Electronics still manufactures parts for Nintendo, and SA Investment also holds shares in Nintendo. The more Nintendo machines they sell, the more valuable these businesses become."

She took a few steps forward, her gaze then falling on the records and videos released by Sony on the other side.

"Sony has an Asian content distribution network, semiconductor partnerships, and component supply agreements. Even if Sony decides to manufacture its own game consoles, it can't avoid software, chips, and distribution channels."

"As shareholders, we naturally have no need to state our position."

Amy understood quickly.

"So, whether they continue to cooperate or make two separate machines, Saionji will still have business?"

"That's more like it."

Satsuki turned around and smiled at her.

"At least I wasn't just angry for Uncle Morita."

Amy muttered softly:

"Even Satsuki-chan thinks Nintendo's work is bad..."

Satsuki seemed not to hear, reached out and took a box of game software from the shelf, and looked at the company name printed on the back.

"Leave the mainframe to them for now."

"Nintendo, Sega, NEC, and Sony, which may enter the market later. The more consoles there are in the living room, the fiercer their competition for software will be."

She put the game back on the shelf, her gaze slowly moving over the adjacent games, music, and video products.

"Let them fight over that machine."

"Saionji, go find something that can fit into the machine."

"Things that can fit inside..."

Amy followed her gaze.

One side of the shelf displayed game software, while the other side held animation DVDs, movie videos, and game music CDs. A few young people, having just finished selecting cartridges, moved to the adjacent shelf to look for soundtracks.

The same group of customers moved back and forth between different products, and the boundaries were not as clear as one might imagine.

A college student who had been waiting for a spot in the demo area now had a box of game cartridges in his hand. He walked over to the music shelf, rummaged around for a moment, and then took down a soundtrack disc featuring the same character.

His companions thought the price was too high and advised him to buy the game first.

The college student hugged both items to his chest, saying that the record contained songs not used in the game, and that he might not be able to buy them again if he missed them.

On the other side, a young woman in a light-colored dress was originally looking at animation videos, but was eventually drawn to the character design book next to her.

She stood there flipping through the books for a long time until the clerk reminded her that the sample books were not for sale. Only then did she write down the titles and prepare to look for them elsewhere.

They are buying more than just images or sounds.

Once you fall in love with a particular character, the items that were originally scattered across different shelves will be linked together by that person.

Satsuki reached out and took a box of animation videos.

The packaging is exquisite, and the price is surprisingly high, yet the actual film on the back is less than an hour long.

Amy leaned over to take a look at the price, her eyes widening slightly.

"Why is it so expensive when it's so short?"

"The people who make it need to eat, but there are too few buyers."

Satsuki flipped through the box and looked at the companies that produced, distributed, and copyrighted the music.

"In an animation, the visuals are handled by one company, the music by another, and the video distribution by yet another. After finally creating a popular character, if you want to incorporate it into a game or merchandise, you have to talk to a whole new group of people."

She put the videotape back on the shelf.

"SA already has recording studios, artists, video distribution, and karaoke. What they lack is someone who can put the story, the visuals, and the program together."

Amy's eyes gradually brightened.

"Then we can make it ourselves."

"Don't rush to say 'we'."

Satsuki stretched out her finger and tapped her forehead.

"Your job now is to produce something that is 0.35 micrometers in diameter."

"Game consoles also need chips, right?"

Amy covered her forehead and whispered her defense.

"Images, sound, data reading—all require faster processors. If we design our own, we can—"

"stop."

Satsuki managed to stop her in time.

"I brought you out to rest today, not to move the Odaiba meeting to Akihabara."

Amy swallowed back what she was about to say, still looking at the game console next to her with some resentment.

Satsuki turned towards Chizuru.

"Go back and have Itakura prepare some documents."

Chizuru took out a notebook from her small bag.

"Game software companies, arcade board manufacturers, animation studios, and companies involved in manga and character licensing."

Satsuki walked forward, looking at the goods that were next to each other on the shelves.

"The scale doesn't need to be too big. First, find people who can produce quality work, but who always struggle to secure funding for the next phase of production."

"Do we need to prepare an acquisition budget?"

"No need for now."

Satsuki stopped in front of the stairs and glanced back at the store.

"Have Itakura bring the people over first. Anyone who can draw, write stories, or program is welcome."

She chuckled softly.

"The task I gave him six years ago was to find these lunatics. Now we should see how many he actually found."

……