Gaming Reflections: Shin's Perspective on the Video Game Industry

In the USA, New York, Orio Masayoshi met with representatives of animation studios such as DreamWorks, Blue Sky Studios, and even the Walt Disney representative.

Orio Masayoshi attended and entertained the guests in the KiShin building, in his office.

The reason for the appearance of animation studio representatives in his office was because of the KiShin software "Unreal Engine."

Regarding such matters, Orio Masayoshi has direct contact with the young boss, Shinro Suzuki, and he meticulously read the documents sent to him by the young boss the other night. With his trusted people, such as the secretary, he will handle the deal today in his office.

The animation studios are willing to spend a lot of money just to use the software exclusively utilized by Pixar and Microsoft, and by some subsidiary companies under KiShin.

To be honest, Orio Masayoshi would have agreed with the animation studios if he had control over the deal and interests, but the KiShin founder will still be the one to decide regarding the matter.

Meanwhile, when Orio Masayoshi and his team provided the offer of the basic "Unreal Engine" software, most of the animation studio representatives had contemplating expressions, but deep inside, they felt pretty excited that KiShin was actually willing to offer them to use the "Unreal Engine," although they still didn't completely know what the "Unreal Engine Basic" was.

When Orio Masayoshi and his team provided the papers to the animation studio representatives regarding the "Unreal Engine Basic," only after reading the documents did the animation studios have clear ideas of what the "Unreal Engine Basic" was.

It was basically the basic version of the advanced "Unreal Engine" being used by Pixar and Microsoft and by some KiShin subsidiary companies.

Basically, the "Unreal Engine Basic," as the 'Basic' word just beside the software name, it was pretty obvious that it was indeed a lesser version.

Although it was indeed the case, the animation studio representatives still consider it, as inputted in the papers, that most of the functions related to 3D animation were available in the basic version, and the software being used by Pixar only held a quite small advantage.

The negotiations then paused for a while as the animation studio representatives still had to go and talk to the higher-ups of their companies.

Orio Masayoshi simply nodded and saw the animation studio representatives out.

After that, Orio Masayoshi sighed in relief. To be honest, there were still some computer software companies that wanted to use the software.

IBM, Sun Microsystems, Oracle—these software companies were also willing to partner with KiShin regarding the development of the "Unreal Engine" software. It made Orio Masayoshi feel a bit helpless as all of those companies were quite well-known in the computer industry, especially IBM.

Although IBM is not as dominant as before, it still holds influence in the computer industry.

While KiShin responded neutrally to these software companies, they still requested to use the software at least.

Especially Oracle; in 1995, as 3D modeling and visualization gained traction in various industries like architecture, engineering, and product design, Oracle could see "Unreal Engine" as a tool for creating immersive 3D simulations or integrating it with their database software for data visualization and presentation.

Then there was a company named Adobe Systems. Adobe Systems received information about an advanced software exclusively used by Pixar, Microsoft, and KiShin CGI companies, and they also became interested in the software. Adobe Systems, known for creative tools like Photoshop and Illustrator, was quite intrigued by Unreal Engine's real-time rendering capabilities. They wanted to collaborate with KiShin to create integrated workflows between their products and the engine, allowing designers and artists to seamlessly transfer 2D assets and animations into 3D environments.

Adobe Systems actually licensed Photoshop, initially exclusive to Apple Macintosh, but as time passed, the Adobe Chief Architect ported Photoshop to the Microsoft operating system. Consequently, Photoshop reached a wider audience, and the product became much more successful.

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Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Minato, Japan, at the KiShin Rules Headquarters.

Shin has already informed the CEO of Microsoft, Will Gates, about his intention to provide other companies with a basic version of the "Unreal Engine" software.

Will Gates talked to him on the phone for quite a while before responding to Shin that he would discuss with the executives of Microsoft before requesting concessions from KiShin.

Will Gates knew that Microsoft has a little role in the ownership of the "Unreal Engine" software, and the decision depends on KiShin's overall strategy, risk tolerance, and long-term vision.

After that, Shin also contacted Pixar and informed them of providing the "Unreal Engine" basic version to other companies, and whether Pixar would have concessions regarding the matter.

Following that, Shin relaxed in his soft office chair.

He then examined the progress report of the 128-bit console. The research on the 64-bit console was progressing well, and simultaneously, due to the advancements made with the 64-bit game console, the research and development efforts behind it served as a crucial stepping stone for the next generation of 128-bit game console systems.

With semiconductor technologies from SamStar Technologies, the research needed for the CPU, GPU, and sound chips for the 128-bit game console...

To be honest, considering the progress in the research of the 128-bit console, KiShin may have already made significant strides due to technological advancements and the assistance of partnerships with other tech companies. Shin was contemplating skipping the K64 and potentially releasing the KS2.

Although researching the K64 might seem like a financial waste if not released, the research on the K64 64-bit system significantly contributed to the development of the KS2 128-bit system.

Not to mention, Shin just received a report from Intel that Tora-Suzuki was leading research towards the 128-bit game console. Since the 128-bit system would have more capabilities for running 3D, the joint research between the two companies was already progressing towards the 128-bit system.

Shin doesn't really mind if Tora-Suzuki completes their research on the 128-bit system earlier than him. This is because KiShin doesn't make much profit from the console itself. Instead, KiShin profits from video games, whether they are KiShin's own or from other companies.

The royalty fees from using the VG Engine and the fees for KiShin providing the video game toolkit contribute significantly. Even if KiShin were to stop releasing video games, they would still profit immensely from Tora-Suzuki and other video game entertainment companies.

Shin is actually cheering for Tora-Suzuki deep inside to finish their 128-bit system just after KiShin completes the 128-bit system video game console.

With that, for example, when KiShin is about to release the latest console, competitors can release their own latest console. With different strengths and focuses, each console may attract different segments of the target audience, further expanding the market. The video game industry will develop further, instead of KiShin dominating everyone. With KiShin's strength, it might not achieve the same satisfying expansion results as with healthy competition.

Even competing consoles can sometimes influence each other in terms of adopted technologies and development practices. For instance, if both consoles incorporate similar controller features or game development tools, it can standardize these elements across the industry, simplifying development and creating a more unified experience for players.

Each console's strengths and weaknesses can serve as benchmarks for the other, aiding in assessing their own successes and identifying areas for improvement. This can accelerate the overall development of the industry, pushing both companies to strive for constant improvement.

With these thoughts in mind, Shin decided to directly skip the K64. Since the KS1 was still being spread out in the market, releasing a new game console just after one or two years wouldn't be a good idea. Not only would it not help the business, but it would also hurt it. The remaining stocks of KS1 might not even sell with the new one in the market.

While it worked with the SKES one and managed to get ahead of Tora-Suzuki in terms of shares in the video game industry, as KiShin was still quite ahead of Tora-Suzuki, there was no need at all to release another console.

Even Tora and Suzuki were forced to release a 32-bit console because of KiShin. Now, their 16-bit console stocks just piled up and only sell at a cheap price. That's the reason why the boards of directors of each company couldn't help but want to give up on the video game industry.