Chapter 195: If kneeling could save my life, I'd shatter my knees for the future - Part 2

"Magnavox need not be mentioned further; their reputation has been tarnished by the dozens of lawsuits they've filed over the past two years. Atari, known for building their business on imitation, is currently the weakest gaming company in North America. Destiny Game, although holding the highest prestige and reputation, is clearly not a company that Ethan Jones, a man intolerant of mediocrity, would align with. To date, Destiny Game has only issued a single public announcement, which was a job posting seeking creative personnel, not a notice of acquiring other companies. Therefore, if all goes as expected, when the remaining game companies realize that North America is no longer conducive to their survival, the majority will likely flock to our country."

"Take Sega, for example..."

"Ever since their lawsuit with Magnavox, they haven't released a new game."

"They can no longer survive in North America, and their branch in our country even has intentions of acquiring the headquarters. If they actually proceed with this, it signifies that the electronic gaming war will ignite in our country."

"And without Ethan Jones's support..."

"Whoever secures the rights to "Star Wars" will have the upper hand in this war."

"Once we have angered Ethan Jones, the battle isn't just between us and him anymore."

"Companies like Taito, Namco, and Bandai, who have all declared their entry into the video game market over the past few years, will be eager to decapitate us and present our heads to Ethan Jones as a token of allegiance..."

Hiromichi Tanaka's gaze flickered.

In his view, Hiroshi Yamauchi, reclining listlessly on the sofa, appeared defeated.

In fact, as early as last year when Yamauchi declared that Nintendo must secure the licenses for the 6502 chip and "Pac-Man," Tanaka was opposed to pushing forward with the COLOR TV GAME project.

In his opinion, they could afford a minor loss in the project's early stage to mask their ambition in exchange for lasting peace. However, Yamauchi dismissed his suggestion.

Yamauchi believed that even if Ethan Jones was formidable, it was impossible for him to release a game surpassing "Pac-Man" because a person's inspiration is limited. Even the most renowned artists cannot break new ground their entire lives.

They would have their peak!

It could only last so long!

Then, inevitably, they would decline!

But now?

"Damn it!"

Yamauchi suddenly cursed aloud.

"Ethan Jones is a monster!"

"What's going on in his head?"

"Why does every game he releases sell better than the last?"

"Why don't we have such artists?"

"Ha—"

Yamauchi clenched his fist and slammed it onto the sofa beside him.

The muffled thud echoed his frustration.

When he learned that Ethan Jones had obliterated Atari's new generation and Magnavox's Apollo within just three days, he wanted to kill the COLOR TV GAME project in its tracks.

But, unfortunately, it was too late.

The COLOR TV GAME's advertisements had been aired, and models 6 and 15 had each produced a hundred thousand units, distributed across the major cities' department stores in Japan. The losses from canceling the project, including tens of millions in goods and the hefty penalty from Mitsubishi for breach of contract, which would amount to five times the loss, including advertising and distributor compensations, would surpass eighty million yen...

Although they could afford the loss, and Yamauchi was willing to pay, canceling at that time would only make Ethan Jones think they were acting guilty.

So...

Even with Yamauchi's considerable influence in Japan, he could only watch as the machines sold smoothly.

Their initial gamble brought significant profits, but now...

How much would they have to pay for these profits?

Yamauchi didn't know.

But what he did know was—

"We now have to provide Ethan Jones with an explanation, right?"

Yamauchi murmured, looking up.

"We can't let other companies have him, right?"

Hiromichi Tanaka remained silent, but Minoru Arakawa spoke up: "Father-in-law, may I ask you something? How accurate are Ethan Jones's suspicions?"

"Pfft—" Yamauchi laughed at the question.

He continued to recline but strained his neck to lift his head.

His eyes, devoid of any emotion, spoke coldly.

"Does it matter?" he asked.

"Of course." Arakawa nodded earnestly. "If we haven't done anything..."

"All of it."

Before he could finish, Yamauchi interjected with a smile:

"Ethan Jones is right. I indeed learned about the world's cheapest chip from Magnavox's call about Ethan Jones."

"And I indeed learned of Ethan Jones's whereabouts from them."

"Though Magnavox didn't mention their new console development plan to me, I knew they wanted to kill Destiny Game..."

"I invited Ethan Jones to Kyoto precisely to assist Magnavox!"

"Because Ethan Jones is too strong!"

"After seeing his

 games, I couldn't think of any way to counter him!"

"But such a sense of powerlessness should never be revealed in business, you know?"

"If Ethan Jones were to dominate the North American gaming market with such unstoppable force, he would inevitably come after us next!"

"You should understand why I say this, right?"

"If Nintendo could clear its own market of obstacles like he did, I too would raise the banner and attempt to conquer all overseas markets!"

"And, when I first met him! I already saw the light in his eyes!"

"And when he arrived in Tokyo—"

"Standing in Akihabara, his pupils were filled with desire!"

"From that moment, I knew he wanted more!"

"So what we need to do is keep him in North America! Let the gaming companies there continually clash with him! This gives us more time to develop!"

"But—"

"Atari and Magnavox are really two pieces of trash!!!"

"They're literally two piles of shit!!!"

Yamauchi's hysterical yelling caused the veins on his neck to bulge.

His cheeks turned instantly red, making Arakawa lower his head.

Although Yamauchi admitted everything, Arakawa didn't see anything wrong with it.

Accustomed to business struggles since birth, he understood that the marketplace has always been about survival of the fittest. People only see the victors' glory. As for the rest?

Losers—

"So now we have to kneel and beg for his forgiveness, right?"

Yamauchi looked at his son-in-law, sighed helplessly, and then turned to Hiromichi Tanaka, asking, "What kind of satisfactory answer does Ethan Jones want? Money? An apology?"

"Why should we apologize?"

Tanaka responded, "President, when did you ever do those things?"

"Those were accidents, and we've investigated several times."

"We can't apologize for accidents."

"Yes." Tanaka's inquiry made Yamauchi smile and nod: "Nintendo has never betrayed an ally. It was all an accident."

"So—" he asked.

"So we just talk to him about collaboration as usual." Tanaka said: "Like with 'Pac-Man', we greatly admire 'Star Wars' and want to secure its distribution rights. For this, we're willing to renegotiate the guaranteed shipment and profit sharing for 'Pac-Man'."

"Everything prior is null and void. The new plan is a guaranteed shipment of 150,000 units with a 20% profit share, and the unit price not less than two thousand dollars."

"This would increase their share from over twenty million to a guaranteed sixty million."

"At the same time, we need to sign a 'Star Wars' distribution agreement, aiming for a movie release next year, along with a guaranteed shipment of 200,000 arcade machines, also with a 20% share, and the unit price also not less than two thousand dollars."

"This deal could bring them at least eighty million in net profits."

"In these two deals, we're conceding seventy million."

"I believe this substantial sum can fully prove our innocence in the accidents."

"Also, as a gesture of goodwill, we invite them to send a commissioner to oversee operations."

"Ethan Jones has shares in the chip factory, right? Let him directly appoint a director and a supervisor to work with us. Nintendo has always operated openly and isn't afraid of any oversight."

Tanaka smiled at Yamauchi.

Yamauchi then turned his gaze to Arakawa.

The young man was still looking down, but Tanaka nudged him with his elbow.

"Huh?" Arakawa quickly looked up.

He then saw his father-in-law smiling at him.

"Arakawa, I need you to make another trip—" Yamauchi said.

"If kneeling could save my life, I'd shatter my knees for the future—"

"And all of this—"

"Is now in your hands—"