1988 Retro Game Tycoon - Chapter 55



Only Noblemtl

Episode 55 – Console Three Kingdoms

Seoul, Hyunmyung Electronics Seoul office conference room.

Jeong Song-hyeon, the eldest son of Hyunmyung Group, entered the Hyunmyung Electronics conference room.

Jeong Song-hyeon was the president of Hyunmyeong Construction, which founded Hyunmyeong Group, and also served concurrently as the president of Hyunmyeong Electronics.

The core of Hyunmyeong Electronics is semiconductor exports. Although it started later than Oseong Electronics, it was making considerable profits from DRAM semiconductors.

Jeong Song-hyeon went to work at Hyunmyeong Electronics two to three days a week to receive reports and make various approvals.

Today was his usual day off. And the boss’s unusual attendance was usually a bad sign.

The atmosphere in the conference room was dark.

“What the heck are these combo sales? Are these the numbers I’m seeing?”

Jeong Song-hyeon asked while shaking the report. No one answered.

“What was the expected sales volume you told me? 50,000 units in the first month? And 100,000 units in three months? I thought the plan was to hit 10 billion won in sales in three months and become number one in Korea right away? Or was it not? Or am I already suffering from dementia?”

Jeong Song-hyeon raised his voice and banged on the desk.

The director opened his mouth and took up the gun.

“I’m embarrassed, sir. Nintendo has taken over the market not only in Japan but also in the United States with the Donkey Kong and Super Mario series.”

“So, there is Japan and the US, and here is Korea. Korea! That’s why I wanted to watch a little longer. Ha~, all of a sudden, my father heard something strange at the Daegyeonghyup.”

Jeong Song-hyeon looked at the innocent combo box placed in the conference room. Next to it was the Jemix V.

“You guys are the same. You know very well that the chairman has no interest in the electronics business, let alone video games. If someone like that suddenly tells you to do well, you don’t think about examining it more carefully. You just think this is the opportunity and rush into it and push it forward. Are you going to collect advertising money like this? I can’t even tell anyone because I’m so embarrassed.”

“Sir, if we can somehow sell the initial quantity, we can use our Hyunmyeong Electronics semiconductors to produce domestically, so the cost will be much lower and things will be much better. If we just hold on until then, the situation will improve quickly.”

Hyunmyung Electronics did not join hands with Nintendo simply because of Nintendo’s popularity.

When Nintendo first contacted Hyunmyeong Electronics, Jeong Song-Hyeon was more interested in the hardware called the Famicom than in the games from the beginning. More specifically, in the DRAM that went into it.

Jeong Song-Hyeon also initially actively participated in Nintendo’s licensing business proposal because he thought it would be an opportunity to sell Hyunmyeong Electronics’ DRAM semiconductors to Nintendo.

However, Nintendo already had close relationships with Japanese semiconductor companies such as Ricoh and Sharp, and the relationship was stronger than expected. Even though Hyunmyung Electronics tried to push for a low price, Nintendo did not move easily.

While we were in the midst of a tug-of-war over semiconductors, Chairman Jeong Gu-yeong suddenly spoke after the end-of-year meeting of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Businesses.

“Aren’t we also working on a video game? If you’re going to do it, do it quickly. Why are you delaying so much?”

With that one word, negotiations between Nintendo and Hyunmyung Electronics began to move quickly. In the end, Jeong Song-Hyeon said he wanted to give up the semiconductor business and instead have Hyunmyung produce the Family Computer to be sold in Korea.

They signed a contract to import only the first batch, and have Hyunmyeong Electronics produce the rest using Hyunmyeong Electronics semiconductors to keep costs as low as possible, and to pay Nintendo only the licensing fee for the amount sold.

From Hyunmyeong Electronics’ perspective, it is profitable to sell out the initial stock as quickly as possible, so they included an electron gun in the game as a launch event.

The Hyunmyeong Electronics staff, as well as Jeong Song-hyeon, firmly believed that Comboy would immediately dominate the market once it came out. Nintendo’s Famicom had great global influence, but they judged that there was no real competitor in Korea.

“Jemix? Well, it does run games, but honestly, it’s embarrassing to call it a game console. First of all, the screen isn’t even comparable to the Comboy.”

“That’s right. They’re selling such low-quality consoles for almost a hundred thousand won, but we’re giving away the world’s best consoles with tons of freebies, and if they come out, it’s game over.”

Although they released the combo with great confidence, when they opened the lid, the results were not only disappointing but shocking.

The response was lukewarm. At first, it seemed like it was selling well, but sales soon slowed down and it was not able to take off.

“It seems like it will take some time for it to become known. If you wait a little longer, the atmosphere will change soon.”

The staff tried to remain calm. The atmosphere had definitely changed. But it was going in the opposite direction of what they wanted.

The atmosphere became tense when Jewoo Electronics started selling a special limited edition Korean national game team package.

“What? Come at us, Japan? What kind of advertisement are you making? Are you saying we’re Japanese stooges? Doesn’t the Jewoo Group import Japanese products? When they make cars, they use Japanese technology. And you’re making advertisements like this? Are you trying to fight me, right now?”

Jeong Song-hyeon tore the newspaper to shreds on the spot. He was about to call the president of Jewoo Electronics when he finally calmed down.

The Hyunmyeong Electronics Comboy department became even busier after being hit by a competitor they had never considered, Jemix.

“It seems like there is a problem with the sales channel. The center of the video game and computer market is Seun Shopping Mall, and Yongsan is also rising, but we are focusing on department stores and dealerships. We need to turn around the stock even now.”

“It’s different from the first time. I heard that there are a lot of fake Famicoms in Seun, including Japanese Famicoms. If we put ours there, do you think it will sell well? It’s much more expensive than the fakes.”

“They say that after our advertisement, the sales of fake Famicoms also skyrocketed. I don’t think we can just sit back and watch anymore. How about we crack down on them by charging them with copyright infringement?”

“Then, if those people get together and Hyunmyeong Electronics kills all the common people, and overthrows Seun, who has grown the Korean electronics industry to this point, wouldn’t people start talking? If even one line about that is published in the media, and you get involved with Comboy, that’s a headache.”

“You don’t necessarily have to go that route. Just take out one or two big stores as an example and that’ll be enough. Then the rest of the stores will be careful and won’t be able to sell openly.”

“Hmm…, yeah. That would be good. Let’s send Se-woon and some young employees to Yongsan and have them investigate. Let’s pick out the particularly bad stores.”

“Yes, the salesperson brought this because he said that Seun sells this kind of thing.”

“What is this? ? Am I blind? Why is Mario here?”

“This is a game for Gemix, but since Super Mario is so popular, it seems like they copied that. I played the game and it’s almost the same.”

“Really? How similar is it? Try it. See how similar it is.”

Jeong Song-hyeon played in the conference room. His face became increasingly distorted.

“Haa···! Let’s really see, let’s see, these cockroach-like bastards!”

He ended up throwing the pad away.

“Here it is! What’s the company name? Geminian? This is model number one! I’ll thoroughly investigate what this place does, and I’ll impose a compensation amount that won’t even let you swear. It’ll make your stomach churn as soon as you hear it. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir!”

The staff answered loudly.

The executive, who had anticipated the president’s displeasure, prepared a scapegoat in advance. And his strategy to divert the president’s anger was successful.

The CEO’s focus will now be on weeding out unsightly vendors rather than increasing combo sales.

As a result, sales of pirated copies of games and fake Famicoms would decrease, and sales of the Hyunmyung Comboy would naturally recover.

***

Same time, Seoul.

The chairman’s office at the headquarters of Oseong Group.

Chairman Lee Gun-chang was playing a baseball game with Jemix. It was Starbeat’s latest game, .

He tried out a practice game while listening to the staff’s explanation. Baseball felt more real than he had expected.

“It’s stuffy.”

Chairman Lee Geon-chang put down the pad while playing the game and turned his head.

The president of Oseong Electronics and several employees were sitting with their heads half-bowed.

“So, the game console release was taken over by Hyunmyeong Electronics, and then this is grabbing everyone’s attention, so we need to wait a little longer. Is that what you’re saying?”

“I’m really embarrassed, Chairman. I heard that Hyunmyung’s negotiations with Nintendo weren’t going well, but I think we misjudged the situation. I’m truly sorry.”

“I got fooled by Chairman Wang again. He acted like he didn’t know anything at the time. He either lied in front of me, or he heard Chairman Seo Tae-hoon’s story and quickly pushed it forward. I didn’t believe his vixen face.”

Chairman Lee Geon-chang tapped the desk with his finger.

Every time, the president and employees of Oseong Electronics lowered their heads a little more.

The Hyunmyung Group, which had previously said it had no interest in semiconductors, suddenly jumped into the semiconductor business a few years ago and began competing on price. This time, it lost the lead in video games to Hyunmyung Electronics.

“So this is the game console we’re preparing?”

Lee Gun-chang looked at the black game console on the table. The rectangular console had ‘Oseong Gameboy’ written on it.

“Yes, it’s Sega’s 8-bit game console ‘Master System’, but because the name was difficult, we gave it a friendly name, ‘Gemboy’. It’s not the latest console, but it’s an 8-bit game console that came out in 1987 and is still going strong.”

“But Sega already made a 16-bit console? So why are you bringing a console that’s a generation behind?”

“There are several reasons, Mr. Chairman. First of all, Korea’s game market is much later than that of the United States or Japan. 8-bit is the center of the market, and 16-bit game consoles are expensive, so when considering sales, 8-bit is still the right choice. And Sega’s 16-bit game consoles still lack a lot of games.”

“Really? Then is there a game that can compete with our Oseong Geumbo’s or this ?”

“Of course. There are many famous Sega games like Wonder Boy and Out Run.”

“Do people in our country like those games as much as or ?”

“Yes? That is···.”

“I heard that Hyunmyeong Combo isn’t as powerful as expected these days. I think it’s all because of the and .”

“That’s because there are so many factors… There are already so many smuggled Famicoms that there is no new demand, and you can also get a cloned Famicom at a much cheaper price. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why it’s because of .”

“In my opinion, our Gemboy is also lacking in something. If it is difficult to release it right now anyway, find a solution. What should we put forward to beat it? Since we released it a step later than Hyunmyeong, we need to have our own solid weapon.”

“I will give it my all.”

Chairman Lee Geon-chang turned his head to the again.

The Oseong Group operated several sports teams, including the professional baseball team Oseong Blue Lion.

“We should have made a game like this with Blue Lion…”

Chairman Lee Geon-chang regretted not having a deeper conversation with Chairman Seo Tae-hoon of Myeongseong Group about games and Chairman Seo Tae-hoon’s son Seo Nam-joon at the Daegyeonghyup meeting that day.

***

was selling faster than expected, receiving a hot response from both children and adults.

The popularity of also affected the sales of game consoles. The national package of Jemix sold like hotcakes even without TV commercials like Hyunmyung Electronics.

And then I heard some unexpected news from the head of Jewoo Electronics.

“This is a secret. Only you, sir, know this. We have started developing a successor to the Gemix V. It seems that the people above are a bit nervous because Hyunmyung Comboy is coming out.”

I asked the marketing manager a few questions, but he still didn’t know the details. I guess I’ll have to ask the Bucheon Research Institute.

It will most likely be based on MSX2, like the Gemix Super V.

In fact, since the heyday of Gemix V, Gemix has been rapidly declining, unable to overcome the 16-bit era. I can’t stop that trend by myself, but I still plan to help Gemix gamers enjoy fun games for as long as possible.

The popularity of brought about another unexpected news: fan letters from people.

We made a desk for fan letters and piled up new letters there. Every time I passed by, I would pick one out and read it, and it would make me smile. It made me feel good and I thought that I did a good job making the game.

Most of the feedback was that they were having fun with the game and looking forward to the next one, but sometimes there was some sharp feedback.

“Hello, Mr. Seo Nam-jun. My name is Lee Bong-gon, and I live in Mapo-gu. I play diligently with my friends. I write down all the players’ abilities in a notebook and study them. I like baseball, and when I play this game, I feel like I’m a real baseball player. However, there’s a problem.”

“That’s when you play two-man. When you play two-man, there are times when you have to use tactics. I like Kangneung Donghae High School’s No. 1 hitter, Ahn Se-min. That’s because he’s fast. He’s the fastest among the players. When Ahn Se-min comes alive, I always try to steal.”

“But my friend next to me can see when I’m going to steal. So when we’re deciding on a strategy, we close our eyes or cover our eyes with our arms so we don’t see. It’s cowardly to watch what other people are going to do. It also takes the fun out of the game.”

“But Dong-han, who sits in the third group, always closes his eyes and secretly watches what I choose. So when my plan is discovered and I get kicked out, I get angry and ask why I’m watching, but Dong-han insists that he absolutely didn’t watch. We almost got into a fight last time because of that. So my mom banned us from playing games for a few days. It was Dong-han’s fault, but it was so unfair.”

“Mr. Seo Nam-joon, thank you so much for making a fun baseball game. But I really hate those idiots who sneak a peek at other people’s strategies in a two-player game. So next time you make a game, please put a blindfold on each player. I think you should make it so that they don’t know what you’re doing every time you do a strategy. I still hate Dong-han. Thank you so much for reading. I haven’t won a championship in Daegu yet, so I hope my mom lets me play the game again soon. Okay, I’ll really end it here now.”

I read all the fan letters that contained good feedback, like the fan letter from Lee Bong-gon, and shared them with everyone.

Unless it was an internet game, even in a two-player game, all the information had to be displayed on one screen. When the pitcher chose a pitch or the batter got on base and made a strategy, you could see what the opponent was choosing by looking at the screen.

So we discussed until the end how to make the selected pointer transparent, but then it would be difficult for the player to know what they selected, so we decided to leave it up to the gamer’s conscience.

Computer games allow you to use a variety of keys, but since Gemix only has two buttons, there was this difficult problem when there were multiple choices.

Then, the expected accident(?) finally happened.

“Blindfold. What a brilliant idea, but no one thought of it.”

“Yes. I should bring this guy in as a planner.”

We immediately bought 10 blindfolds and mailed them to Bong-geon Lee. We also included a letter from me and the developers.

Now, the best-selling game at Seun Shopping Mall has changed from to .

It was a natural passing of the baton as a new game came out, but I personally felt a little strange because is a game I have a lot of affection for.

However, as if it had noticed my feelings, set a new record.

“Sir, has now sold over 100,000 copies!”

100,000 copies of a single game title.

Even though there are games that have sold tens of millions of copies overseas, the game I developed, , is the first game to have ‘officially’ sold 100,000 copies in Korea.

I felt like I was taking a fresh start in Korean gaming.

If so, we should make this good news known as widely as possible.

I immediately called the group secretary’s office.

“Yes, Mr. Ahn. I would like to borrow your group’s public relations line. There is something I really want to report in the newspaper. Yes, could you arrange a newspaper interview for me?”

I’ve been on TV for a while now, but now it’s time to get my name and my game properly known to the media.