Chapter 371 Family Entertainment System
At the HAL Research Institute, Shirakawa Feng was sitting in front of a TV that had been prepared in advance, looking at the machine in front of him curiously.
A small rectangular box about 20 centimeters in size, the main body is white, with the buttons and surrounding decorative stripes replaced by blue.
From a distance, it looks large and blue and white.
The reason for this design is mainly to match the blue logo of Shirakawa Electric, including the handles that can be inserted on both sides of the machine, which also have the same blue and white design.
There are only two buttons on the entire game console, a power button and a reset button.
There is also a slot in the upper middle part, which is where the game cartridge is installed.
However, when not in use, it is covered by two plastic hinge-like curtains to prevent dust from entering.
As for the two handles on the left and right, Shirakawa Feng had an inexplicable sense of familiarity when he saw them.
There is an iconic cross key on the left side of the handle and two simple A and B circular buttons on the right.
Familiar, too familiar, this is the memory of my entire childhood.
While he was looking at the blue and white machine, Satoru Iwata and a fat, round-faced middle-aged man were explaining to him how to use the game console.
"Shirakawa-san, just insert the cartridge and press the reset button, and we can play the game."
As its designers, Iwata Satoru and Akagi faithfully implemented the "extreme simplification" principle originally proposed by Shirakawa Kaede.
This is a gaming device for children. It does not require complicated operations, and the simpler the use, the better.
As a result, there were only two buttons left on Shirakawa Electric's blue and white machine, and the game cartridges could be played by simply plugging them in.
At the same time, for the sake of safety, the edges and corners of the game console are all rounded.
This rounded shape ensures that children will not get hurt or feel pain even if they accidentally bump into it.
"Is this the game designed by your company?" Shirakawa Feng took a game cartridge protected by an orange shell and looked at it carefully.
On the front of the cassette box, there is a sticker made from a game poster. A cartoon character in blue clothes and goggles is running fast, with a robot-like villain chasing him closely.
The bold black words "Lode Runner" are extremely eye-catching under the sticker.
“Hai, this is a scroll-style maze-type game.
The player's goal is to steal all the gold in each level and escape successfully."
The chubby and round-faced Kudo Yuji nervously explained to Shirakawa Kaede the various ways to play and mechanisms of the game.
It's impossible not to be nervous, as this is the famous founder of Shirakawa Electric.
The legend that he owns trillions of assets is widely circulated in Japan, and this title alone makes Kudo Yuji very nervous.
When Shirakawa Feng saw the name "Gold Digger", he always felt that it sounded familiar.
However, due to the long time and the seemingly similar game poster, he couldn't remember where he had heard of it.
Since he couldn't remember it for the time being, he didn't bother to think about it anymore. He pressed the switch of the game console and inserted the cassette directly into the card slot.
I pressed the reset button again, and a burst of music, "beep, beep, beep~beep~" sounded.
On the TV screen in front, a yellow and black cartoon image of a small honey slowly appeared.
"Little bee?" Baichuan Feng couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"Hui!" Kudo Yuji behind him subconsciously stood at attention and lowered his head, "Its name is Yasuke, and it's the logo of Hudson Software."
However, Baichuan Feng didn't care what it was called. He just stared at the little bee on TV with a dazed look.
This cartoon character is so familiar. I played a lot of cartridges from this game company when I was a kid.
"Bomberman", "MapleStory", "Momotaro Legend"...
Of course, the games they played at that time were all pirated cartridges, but this still made Shirakawa Feng feel inexplicably familiar.
It turns out that the name of the Little Bee Company is Hudson Software. I always called it Little Bee when I was a child.
It was not until now that Shirakawa Kaede realized that the game partner that Iwata Satoru found was also one of her childhood memories.
Gently press the start button on the handle, the little man with a face scarf, the ladder, the pile of gold, the brown walls, everything is so familiar.
At that time, the kids around me preferred to call it "digging for gold" or "rat stealing rice."
Just now, Baichuan Feng felt that the name "Gold Digger" was somewhat familiar, but he was misled by the poster and did not associate it in this direction.
The strange thing is that the promotional posters of Neon Games are simply weird. The cool scenes and characters actually have nothing to do with the real game pictures.
After you insert the cassette, you will find that the images displayed on the TV are basically pixelated figures, without any details on the poster.
But despite all the complaints, Baichuan Feng still indulged in the urge to touch it with a nostalgic mood.
Tsk, that gradually familiar technique makes the commentary of developer Yuji Kudo seem a bit redundant.
"Uh." Kudo Yuji finally realized the problem and looked at him with wide eyes.
This... is this genius?
Not to mention him, even Satoru Iwata who was watching secretly gave Shirakawa Kaede a thumbs up.
Shirakawa-kun has indeed never forgotten his original intention, and his passion for games is as loyal as that of Satoru Iwata.
"Okay." Putting down the handle, Baichuan Feng looked at his own game console with satisfaction.
It’s the taste of childhood, yes!
“Let’s talk about this game called Gold Diggers.”
"Shirakawa-san, you are truly a genius."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kudo Yuji flattered him.
I didn't expect this great man to have such a side.
Baichuan Feng smiled and said, "I am also one of the game users. I will try every game released by Baichuan Electric."
"I see." Kudo Yuji's face turned serious. He heard another meaning in Shirakawa Kaede's words.
If Hudson Software's games are to be successfully released on Shirakawa Electric's home console platform, they must first pass this hurdle.
"So, Mr. Shirakawa, what do you think of the game "Gold Digger"? " Kudo Yuji looked at him nervously.
"It's quite entertaining, and fairly easy to get started." Baichuan Feng didn't keep anyone in suspense and commented very directly.
Huh~ Kudo Yuji breathed a sigh of relief.
Hudson Software used to make computer games, so as for the reviews...
Forget it, Kudo Yuji himself didn't want to talk about it anymore.
"Kudo-san, our home game console is also called FES (Family Entertainment System).
As you can see, it is a brand new gaming platform. Any game made based on it can be played on FES.”
Shirakawa Kaede also gave his own game console a high-sounding name.
Game consoles, how tacky.
Look, calling it an “entertainment system” suddenly sounds a bit confusing, doesn’t it?
Some people may say that they don’t understand what the “entertainment system” is for.
It’s okay not to understand, because it’s because you don’t understand that you become curious, and that’s how you develop the desire to understand.
“Of course, as a game platform, we welcome third-party game manufacturers to work with Shirakawa Electric to create a new game entertainment system.”
Shirakawa Kaede's words made Kudo Yuji's blood boil. With the size of Shirakawa Electric, does it still have to worry about the sales of its own games?
“However, in order to regulate the behavior of third-party game makers, it is also to be responsible to users.
We have formulated a series of regulations that game developers need to abide by.”
Business is business, and Baichuan Feng will not forget his identity as a capitalist just because of nostalgia.
When he heard the so-called regulations, Kudo Yuji's heart tightened , he knew that the sex scene was about to begin.
"First, all third-party games must be reviewed by Shirakawa Electric before they can be put on the FES platform."
Kudo Yuji nodded, indicating that he had no objection. Iwata had emphasized this to him a long time ago.
"Second, for all game cartridges sold at FES, Shirakawa Electric will receive a certain commission, which shall not exceed 35%."
"Shirakawa-san!" Kudo Yuji's face turned anxious. The commission was too high.
Taking into account the development costs, as well as a series of costs such as game cartridges and publicity, Hudson Software has almost no profit.
"Don't be impatient, Kudo-san. Please listen to me patiently." Baichuan Feng raised his hand and interrupted him halfway through his words.
Although Kudo Yuji was anxious, he could only wait patiently after hearing what Shirakawa Feng said.
This young giant has a friendly side as he loves games.
But his strength during negotiations was equally impressive.
“This 35% commission includes the production cost of the game cartridges.
At the same time, Hudson can use names such as 'Shirakawa Electric' or 'FES' and related pictures when promoting the game.
In addition, as long as resources permit, we at Shirakawa Electric will also help promote your company's games, and channel sales resources will be treated equally.
Kudo-san, please believe me, this is definitely worth the money.”
After hearing Shirakawa Kaede's promise, Kudo Yuji's anxious expression began to relax, but he was still a little conflicted.
35%! That’s equivalent to Shirakawa Electric taking away so much profit from the game that they developed with great effort.
Of course, according to the regulations, Hudson Software also saved a lot of money on cassette production. At the same time, Shirakawa Electric's reputation and channels were also something he coveted.
Given the huge size and influence of Shirakawa Electric, its publicity effect far exceeds Hudson’s own efforts.
But this commission is really not low. If you calculate carefully, it is very likely that Shirakawa Electric's profit from game cartridges is more than Hudson himself.
Seeing Kudo Yuji's hesitant look, Shirakawa Feng did not rush him.
Shirakawa Feng is confident in his conditions, and the 35% commission is a figure that was decided after careful study within Shirakawa Electric.
Taking a cassette tape costing 5,500 yen as an example, Shirakawa Electric takes 1,925 yen.
The cost of the cassettes can be covered by Shirakawa Electric's own factory, with the cost of one disc being around 500 to 600 yen.
1925-550=1375 yen, this is the profit earned by Shirakawa Electric.
In fact, this rate is similar to Nintendo’s future royalty system, but in terms of how disgusting it is, Nintendo is definitely the boss.
How did the old Nintendo play it? A cartridge cost 5,500 yen. Nintendo asked a foundry to make it, and the cost was about 650 yen.
Then Nintendo would sell the cartridges back to game manufacturers, and the price would be 1,000 yen.
After that, add 1,000 yen in royalties, and the manufacturer of each game cartridge has to pay Nintendo 2,000 yen, of which 1,350 yen is Nintendo's profit.
If you look closely, they seem to be similar, but Nintendo's actions below are much more disgusting.
Things like games being submitted for review in advance and a manufacturer being able to only make five games a year sound like a loss of rights and a disgrace to the company.
But that was child's play compared to what Nintendo did with ordering and delivering cartridges.
