1988 Retro Game Tycoon - Chapter 60



Only Noblemtl

60 times – 2 billion

After the Return of the Stars event ended, a brief moment of peace came to the company.

It is true that developing a game and holding a national event right after its release was a huge burden for a small company.

If my father and Myeongseong Group hadn’t supported me from behind, I might not have been able to hold on and might have fallen. Of course, if my father and Myeongseong Group hadn’t been behind me, things wouldn’t have gotten this big when the TV broadcast came to fruition.

So I was trying to take a breather for a moment, but suddenly I started getting requests to meet with people from all over the place.

I get requests for interviews and coverage from various media outlets, but I also get calls from sports organizations I’ve never heard of asking to meet or sponsor me.

Of course, I rejected all the approaches that were obviously aimed at making money.

“Go ahead and complain that the company is struggling now because we spent all our money on this game. Don’t ask for money.”

As the flood of sponsorship requests died down, meeting requests came in from various electronics companies.

Among them, a mid-sized electronics company with a decent reputation (in this day and age) asked to meet, so I met them to see what they would talk about.

“I’m completely enamored with Starbeat’s games and their marketing prowess that even ghosts can’t stop talking about. Let’s join hands and completely dominate the Korean gaming market. We’re going to make a console that’s far superior to the Gemix V. I’ve even thought of a name for it.”

The executive director of the electronics company saw me and immediately said this.

“What is its name?”

“Galileo! What do you think? The Earth still spins, and we play games! Wow, isn’t that great? If Starbeat and I join hands, we’ll just take over all Korean games.”

I don’t know what the Earth spinning has to do with playing games. I feel like my head is spinning a little bit just sitting here.

“So how are you going to develop the game console? Have you decided on the specs? How far along is the development?”

“We should talk about it together now!”

The manager spoke with such confidence that I couldn’t help but laugh because it was so absurd.

Regardless of whether the company is big or small, they just blindly rush into making games without even knowing what a game is, thinking that they will make money.

This is why people copy other people’s games without thinking and don’t even realize that it’s wrong.

But not all of them were as hollow as the Galilean consoles.

One toy company showed up with a fairly specific plan.

“It’s a shame that Starbeat continues to make games for Gemix. In Japan, MSX 2+ was already announced last year and games are being released for it, but isn’t Korea still stuck at the MSX1 level because of Gemix V?”

After meeting so many people who only say strange things, when they suddenly start saying normal things like this, my trust level went up significantly.

And it was a problem I could relate to as well.

Because of the limitations of Gemix V, a lot of details were cut out when developing the game. Even the MSX 2 supported vertical scrolling, but Gemix V didn’t even support that, so there were a lot of limitations in terms of presentation.

However, I’m still waiting because they say that Gemix is ​​working on the next device, Gemix V.

“We at Youngil Industry are planning to develop a game console with the latest specs, MSX 2+. We are a toy company, but aren’t game consoles also part of the toy category in a broader sense? I heard that Nintendo, which Hyunmyeong Electronics imports, was originally a toy company.”

I could feel that he had done a lot of research. So I was mentally prepared to say OK to most suggestions.

“Let’s cut ties with Gemix and sign an exclusive contract with us for games. We’ll provide you with the latest gaming consoles, so please make games just for us at Youngil Industry at Starbeat.”

“Did I hear that correctly? An exclusive contract?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“So, on the MSX game console developed by Youngil Industry.”

“I’m thinking of making an MSX 2+ game console.”

“Yes, so what you’re saying is, if you make that MSX 2+ console, make games that can only run on that console?”

“That’s right! We will definitely support it with the game console, so if Starbeat takes charge of the game, it will be a fantastic partner. We don’t need much. Just release one game per month regularly.”

Haa···, then that’s it.

For a moment, I felt like a fool for having hoped for something like this.

“I don’t know where to start. Our answer is that it can’t be done.”

“Yes? Why? We could definitely be perfect partners.”

Although he strangely missed the end, he seemed to have prepared well, so he kindly explained the reason to me.

“First of all, it violates the MSX policy. MSX is a common standard that allows multiple hardware companies to use software together. However, it is contradictory for Youngil Industry to make the MSX 2+ game console and have a monopoly.”

“but···.”

“And even if you were to make it exclusive, it would be useless anyway. The only way would be to put a crypto chip in the pack. It would probably be hacked in a month at most. They did a lot of research to make it harder to copy the Nintendo Famicom, but if you go to the Seun Shopping Mall now, you’ll see how many Famicoms are being copied. And finally, the third thing.”

“Is there more?”

“This is the most important thing. There is absolutely no reason for our company to accept an exclusive contract. What do I get out of it? There is no guarantee that the Youngil Industry game console will sell in huge quantities, and if we encrypt it anyway, we will lose users of the MSX computer. You don’t think that or are only sold to Gemix users, do you?”

“But we have the MSX 2+···.”

“That is a problem that will be solved over time. What Youngil Industries is thinking, don’t other companies think about it? It’s just a matter of whether it’s a little slower or faster, and higher-spec game consoles will come out soon. So why should we sign an exclusive contract with Youngil Industries and narrow the market ourselves?”

If you want to form a partnership, you need a win-win strategy that benefits both parties.

But, they only think of one thing and can’t think of two, and in fact, they push in an exclusive contract that is only beneficial to them.

I don’t know. If you give me at least 1 billion as a condition for signing an exclusive contract.

Then you would have thought about it at least a little. But in the end, you would have rejected it.

It would be difficult to give even 100 million won, let alone 1 billion won, to a company the size of Yeongil Industries.

There was absolutely no reason for us, who were generating 1 billion won in sales in three or four months with just one game for Jemix, to sign an exclusive contract.

In the end, all the companies that knocked on our door with the vain delusion that they would use us to take over the Korean game market, or in other words, that they would use us to swim and suck up honey, all went away empty-handed.

As I was sending all the idiots away, I got a call from a completely different place.

“Sir, there is another company that wants to meet with me.”

“Now, I don’t want to meet anyone unless it’s Nintendo or Sega. Just tell them I’m not here.”

“Oh Sung Electronics has something to offer.”

“Oh Sung Electronics?”

My ears perked up.

People may not know it yet, but Osung Electronics is probably preparing to import Sega game consoles by now.

The fact that Hyunmyeong Electronics Comboy is not doing as well as I thought, and that he wants to meet me at this time when two of our company’s games have become huge hits in a row, is probably because he wants something from me because of Sega game consoles.

I can guess roughly.

I had heard so many strange things that I was thinking of cutting off all offers to work together, but knowing what Oseong Electronics was preparing, I had no choice but to meet them.

I went to the Osung Electronics office with Mr. Oh to meet with Osung Electronics.

“Hello, sir. Thank you for coming here in person.”

Director Hwang Seong-mu of the Personal Computer Division of Oseong Electronics greeted me politely, even though I was much younger than him.

“The president’s actions are always a hot topic for our company. The return of the stars this time was really great. I also wanted to go to Dongdaemun Stadium, but I couldn’t stand in line, so I watched it on TV. The first pitch was really good, wasn’t it?”

There was another benefit to having the baseball event broadcast on TV.

No matter who you meet, it’s always nice to start a conversation with small talk about the return of the stars.

Even if you don’t watch the game or don’t like baseball, you know what happened because you watched the news, so you can start a conversation without feeling awkward even when you first meet someone.

We talked about the Dongdaemun Baseball Stadium event for a while. I smiled and waited for Osung Electronics to get to the main point.

“But the reason I asked you to meet like this today is because I have something I want to suggest to you.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“In fact, we at Oseong Electronics are also preparing to enter the game console business in earnest.”

“Is it the Sega Master System?”

“No, how did you know that?”

Director Hwang was so surprised that he half sat up from his seat. The faces of the Osung Electronics people in the conference room also turned pale.

“It was just a coincidence. In fact, there’s no need to guess. Hyunmyeong brought in the Nintendo Famicom, and since Jewoo Electronics is already selling the MSX game console, the only thing left is Sega. There’s no way they’d bring in an Atari game console.”

There aren’t many types of 8-bit consoles, which are often classified as third-generation game consoles.

This was a time when video games were recovering from the Atari shock that sent them into hell.

In fact, in terms of sales, the Jewoo Electronics Jemix is ​​one of the top five third-generation game consoles. Although no one knew it at the time.

Of course, there is an incomparable difference with the number one Nintendo Famicom in terms of sales, specs, and creativity. But even so, the Gemix was a miracle that was difficult to come by in the gaming wasteland of Korea.

“I can’t really hide anything from you, Mr. President. You know the game so well. Yes, that’s right. We are planning to import Sega game consoles. Mr. President, you probably already know about the Master System.”

“Of course I know. It’s better than the Famicom in terms of specs. Of course, it’s nothing compared to Sega’s 16-bit Mega Drive.”

“Yes, we did consider releasing a 16-bit game console, but we have now decided that 8-bit is the right choice. However, while we were preparing, Hyunmyeong Electronics released it first, so our plans were a bit disrupted. So, while we were trying to reinforce our business plan, a really good idea came to us.”

“Do you want to make our game for Sega and sell it?”

“How did you know that? Sir, do you have a fortune teller? You’re not some kind of fortune teller, so how do you know all that?”

The director asked with a look of disgust on his face.

“It’s nothing. There were several companies other than Osung Electronics that wanted to meet with me for similar reasons.”

“So, what did you say?”

“I turned them all down. They all thought about what they would gain from it, but they didn’t think about why I should do it.”

I said this while staring intently at Director Hwang’s face. What I meant was that if you guys at Oseong Electronics keep talking nonsense, you’ll end up with nothing.

“Since you already know everything, I will explain it to you without hesitation. You are right. I would like to bundle two games released by Starbeat with our Oseong Gemboy.”

“Is it like the national team package we had with Jewoo Electronics?”

“Yes, but we plan to keep this bundle going for at least a year, not just a special limited edition.”

“What are the conditions?”

“Currently, is priced at 10,000 won. is priced at 15,000 won. If you combine the two games, it will cost 25,000 won. We would like to receive a bundle of the two games at 40% off.”

“40%. Then it’s exactly ten thousand won. It’s a very low price. Aren’t you being too harsh from the start?”

As expected of big business guys. I thought to myself and asked with a smile.

However, the other party’s answer was also like that of a large company.

“Of course, this price is based on the assumption of sufficient quantity. We will give you a down payment equivalent to the number of 200,000 Gemboys sold. Of course, we plan to sell much more than 200,000 units.”

Bundle supply price is 10,000 won, 200,000 units? Then that’s 2 billion won?

You’re offering me 2 billion in cash in exchange for transplanting it to the Master System?

“Honestly, it’s a pretty tempting offer. It’s not like we’re developing anything new, and it costs 2 billion just for transplanting.”

“We think it would be much better to spend $2 billion on a game bundle than $2 billion on TV advertising.”

“That is a very wise decision.”

I’ve only ever met companies that tried to exploit me, so meeting a company that offered me such a large sum of money made me feel like my heart was being blown away.

2 billion is just an advance payment for 200,000 units. If we continue to maintain the bundle and sell more than 200,000 units of G-Boy, we can continue to make money.

It was a good opportunity to make a lot of money without investing much effort, since we weren’t creating a new game, but rather porting an existing game to Gemboy.

“But did you get permission from Sega? Sega is famous for not accepting games from other companies.”

“Yes, I asked about it anyway, but it didn’t seem like they were very interested. But they said that if you can do it, they won’t stop you from trying it.”

What’s your answer? Do you think that it’s obvious that Sega games can’t be made in Korea?

That’s probably why Sega gave me such an unusual permission.

“Then there are no other conditions? Even in Oseong, they wouldn’t just spend 2 billion.”

“As expected, you are quick-witted. Since this is a bundled game, our ‘Osung Electronics’ name should appear first on the game pack and the game title screen.”

“Can our company name and the developers’ names be included in the game credits?”

“Yes, but you must still indicate that it was produced under the supervision of Oseong Electronics.”

Hmm, since it’s a bundled game that comes with the game console, I want to do it under the name of Osung Electronics.

Anyway, if you have even a little interest in games, there’s no way you wouldn’t know that we made this. Is this the last bit of pride of a large corporation?

“Okay, what else?”

“The pack case design must be delivered in accordance with the manual we provide. We will also create a new design and deliver it to you.”

“Are you thinking of redoing the design as well?”

“Yes, since we are going out under the name of Oseong Electronics, we have to give them new clothes to match the G-Boy style.”

I understand your feelings, but it won’t be easy to come up with a better design than what Manager Choi did.

Although these are somewhat hesitant terms, they are still things that can be compromised when considering the benefits that will come.

“And, the last condition is the most important.”

“What’s the final condition?”

“ and produced for Gyeomboyu must undergo a preliminary inspection before delivery.”

Of course, I thought that I should go through that level of verification process… but then I couldn’t believe my ears when he said that.

“However, when conducting a pre-inspection, the file must be presented in its previous state, not as an executable file.”

What does this mean?

You want the executable file, i.e. the state before compilation?

So what you’re saying is, you want my game’s source code as is?

This is tantamount to saying that we will give you 2 billion and hand over all of our company’s technology.

I somehow felt like the story was going well.

I was momentarily tempted by the large sum of money and let my guard down.

As expected, big corporations are the scariest in the world.