Chapter 195 Reaching a Consensus
Kyoto, as the former political center of Japan, is also known as the spiritual homeland of the Japanese.
Even in the eyes of some people, the history here is so long that it can be called a thousand-year-old capital.
In Kawabata Yasunari's words, "Kyoto is the hometown of Japan" and "I regard the scenery of Kyoto in late autumn as the cradle that nurtured me."
It just so happened that I had an unexpected encounter with Shirakawa Maple in late autumn, when Kyoto is at its most charming.
Different from the modern and bustling scene in Tokyo, the streets here are simple and elegant, with crowds of people walking on them.
A young boy who had just bought a beef and egg sandwich and a vegetable juice drink from a convenience store on the street ran past.
Following his back with the corner of my eye, an ancient temple suddenly came into view. The red maple trees in the temple stunned the ancient gray courtyard walls.
Under the courtyard wall, a man in a suit and a woman in a kimono passed each other.
Everything seems so leisurely and ordinary.
Kyoto has both the literary and artistic nostalgia and the elegant romance of love.
It allows you to seamlessly cross between modern and history, and also allows you to move freely between Eastern and Western civilizations.
Baichuan Feng raised his eyes and looked at the mountains in the distance.
There, the green turns to red, the forest is dyed with all colors, and the red leaves in the autumn are swaying gracefully.
Broaden your horizons and you will see the unbridled red and the azure blue sky connected together, clear, lofty and colorful.
As expected, autumn in Kyoto is a moveable feast.
It is adorned among the branches in the mountains, hung on the eaves of ancient temples, and hidden in every fold of the kimono.
Delicate and soft, less cold and bleak, and more gentle and poetic.
Just this glimpse is enough to make it worthy of its reputation as the most beautiful late autumn.
"It's really nice." Shirakawa Kaede, who came to Kyoto for the first time , was also impressed by its unique ancient charm.
"President, the autumn scenery of Kyoto is all in Rurikoin. The maple leaves there are unforgettable." Akagi behind him had a look of nostalgia on his face.
"Have you been there?" Baichuan Feng and he left the station and chatted as they walked.
"I went there during a high school field trip, and I also stayed here with friends in college."
Talking about the past school days, Akagi also became a little nostalgic. In the blink of an eye, he has already entered the society.
Even though he was not ready, he was pushed to grow up. Not only that, but now he is about to become the director of a department.
But it’s okay this way, people always need to grow, just like Shirakawa Electric now.
Every bit of progress you make makes you more mature.
"Let's go. If everything goes well, we can still catch the flight back to Tokyo today."
The reason why Shirakawa Kaede brought Akagi to Kyoto this time was, of course, to visit new friends.
Higashiyama District is close to the center of Kyoto, and the headquarters of Nintendo, the new friend they are going to visit, is located here.
An ordinary three-story building covers an area of no more than 1,000 square meters.
If it weren't for the logo in the upper right corner of the roof, Shirakawa Kaede would have found it hard to associate it with the famous Nintendo.
But thinking about the fact that it has only just entered the electronic game field and its divinity has not yet been condensed, I feel a little relieved.
As soon as they entered the first floor lobby of Nintendo, a middle-aged man in his forties came to greet them.
"Mr. Shirakawa, my name is Gunpei Yokoi, welcome to Nintendo."
"Kaede Shirakawa, President of Shirakawa Electric Co., Ltd., Mr. Yokoi, thank you for your guidance." Kaede Shirakawa bowed in greeting.
This person is the developer of Nintendo's handheld game console GAME WATCH. Shirakawa Feng looked at him with some curiosity.
The typical wide forehead, very Japanese style. When he smiles, he looks a bit like Yu Hua.
While he was looking at Nintendo's first contributor, the other party was also looking at him.
Gunpei Yokoi had very complicated feelings about Shirakawa Electric. It was a competitor, but also the only competitor that caught his eye.
He was jealous of the other party's strong performance in the handheld game console market, but at the same time he admired the other party's game creativity.
Although he had expected Baichuan Feng's youth, it still shocked him.
He will be a remarkable figure in the future, Gunpei Yokoi thought secretly.
"Shirakawa-san, please follow me. Yamauchi-san has been waiting for you for a long time."
After exchanging greetings, Gunpei Yokoi took the lead and led them upstairs.
Because the headquarters only has three floors, there is not even a need for an elevator, and Yamauchi's office is also on the top third floor.
After knocking on the office door, a group of people came in one after another following a vague response from inside.
With his back to the window and facing the light, the figure behind the desk looked a little blurry due to the light.
Hiroshi Yamauchi, the man at the helm of Nintendo.
The first impression he gave to Shirakawa Kaede was that of Corleone in "The Godfather", calm and tough.
The same meticulously combed hair, carefully tailored suit, and the same pair of brown glasses that never change.
"Mr. Yamauchi, my name is Baichuan Feng. Sorry to bother you today." It was still Baichuan Feng who bowed first, because he was the younger generation.
Alas, these heads of clubs are often in their fifties or sixties. Shirakawa Feng, who is more than half their age, is too young.
"Young and promising, Shirakawa-san's presence is surprising."
Although there was a huge age difference between them, Yamauchi Hiroshi did not look down on the other party.
Even though there were minor frictions between the two companies not long ago.
"Mr. Yamauchi's legend is even more admirable." At the other party's signal, Shirakawa Kaede and Akagi also sat down on the sofa.
Yamauchi Hiroshi smiled. His rich life experience allowed him to face any praise calmly.
"What do you think of the portable game console that Mr. Shirakawa mentioned on the phone earlier?"
Yamauchi Hiroshi was very surprised when he received a call from Shirakawa Kaede some time ago.
He didn't expect that Nintendo's main competitor would contact him on his own initiative.
Not to mention the verbal attacks and boasting they had exchanged before, just Baichuan Feng was still so young and energetic.
The fact that he put aside his pride and took the initiative to contact Nintendo made Yamauchi Hiroshi unconsciously look up to him.
"I can't say I have a brilliant opinion, but I do have some immature suggestions that I'd like to discuss with Mr. Yamauchi." Shirakawa Feng put down his coffee and sat up straight.
"Oh~" Yamauchi Hiroshi looked at him with interest, "Shirakawa-san, please be clear."
Shirakawa Feng winked at Akagi beside him, and the latter immediately took out a bunch of handheld game consoles from his backpack.
"This is..." Yamauchi Hiroshi's eyes narrowed .
Not only him, but even Gunpei Yokoi looked serious.
"I guess Mr. Yamauchi is familiar with them." Shirakawa Kaede picked up the model that was very similar to the Nintendo handheld game console and showed it to them.
"Just a poor imitator." Gunpei Yokoi sneered disdainfully.
Is it strange? Of course not. Not only is it not strange, it is also very familiar.
For any similar model on the market, Gunpei Yokoi would disassemble it into pieces and study it thoroughly.
Seeing Yokoi Gunpei's resentful look, Shirakawa Kaede laughed in his heart.
It's good to have resentment, because only when you have resentment can you have something to talk about.
"It is indeed a very poor imitation, but Mr. Yamauchi and Mr. Yokoi, don't you have any thoughts about your colleagues imitating so recklessly?"
"Shirakawa-san," Yamauchi Hiroshi raised his eyes, "You may not know enough about Japanese businessmen. Learning from each other is an innate ability of everyone .
If you want to survive, then first look at what others are doing. As for how to do better, that’s something you can do after you survive.”
“What Mr. Yamauchi said is correct, but uncontrolled imitation will only hurt the entire market in the end.
A large number of shoddy products will make game enthusiasts lose confidence in handheld game consoles.
I'm sure Yamauchi-san wouldn't want to see this scene either."
Yamauchi Bo's expression changed. This was indeed a problem.
Everyone used to do this, even Yamauchi Hiroshi was one of them.
So Nintendo is a bit accustomed to so many similar handheld game consoles on the market.
He is also very confident in his company and is a firm supporter of "content is king".
He didn't take his peers' crude imitations seriously, and was certain that not even a single one would survive in the end.
However, what Baichuan Feng just said reminded him that his peers might not survive in the end, but the market would also be ruined.
In that case, Nintendo would get even less.
Yamauchi Hiroshi once again looked at Shirakawa Kaede who was waiting patiently. It turned out that those who had just gained fame were not those who had gained it for nothing.
He nodded, "What Baichuan-san said makes sense, so what suggestions do you have for this Excellency?"
Yamauchi Hiroshi believed that since Shirakawa Kaede had come, he would definitely not be unprepared.
Baichuan Feng smiled and said, "I don't have any special suggestions, just clean them all up."
After saying that, Baichuan Feng swept all the various handheld game consoles on the table into his backpack, and the desk became clean and tidy again.
Oh no, there are still two handheld game consoles left.
A Nintendo GAME WATCH and a Shirakawa Electric GAME BOY.
Yamauchi Hiroshi looked deeply at Shirakawa Kaede, who had a calm look in his eyes.
After thinking for two seconds, Yamauchi Hiroshi turned his gaze to Yokoi Gunpei.
"We will fully cooperate with Shirakawa Electric's actions. As a company based on innovation, Nintendo will never allow plagiarists to go unpunished."
"Yes!" Yokoi Gunpei bowed his head and accepted the order.
"Mr. Yamauchi is indeed a man of great righteousness. As a role model of handheld game console pioneers, we should defend the legitimate rights and interests of original creators."
"I agree with Mr. Shirakawa. Nintendo and plagiarism are mortal enemies!"
The two sides shook hands and reached a consensus.
A company that started out by copying Walkmans and grew stronger by copying handheld game consoles is now finally extending its claws to latecomers.
Another company that took plagiarism for granted has now transformed itself into a defender of originality.
Everything seems so natural and logical.
Looking at Shirakawa Kaede's departing back, Yamauchi Hiroshi seemed to be thinking about something.
"President..." Gunpei Yokoi seemed to be hesitant to speak.
"Yokoi, what do you think?" Yamauchi Hiroshi turned his gaze.
"Eh" Gunpei Yokoi reacted for a moment before he understood what Yamauchi Hiroshi was asking.
"A pure businessman." This is Gunpei Yokoi's most intuitive impression of Shirakawa Kaede.
Yamauchi Hiroshi nodded without commenting.
"He will be Nintendo's main rival for the next 20 years."
Gunpei Yokoi's expression looked more serious than ever before.
Yamauchi Hiroshi sighed.
Twenty years later, the other party will still be young and strong, but I don’t know if I can still be as energetic as I am today.
Hiroshi Yamauchi, who was unable to predict the future, did not know that within twenty years, Nintendo’s competitors would be far more than just Shirakawa Electric.
The future is always so unpredictable and unpredictable.
