Kapitel 295: Two great mountains
On June 3, 1998, the United States Congress officially passed a proposal from the Taxation Bureau to increase tariffs on electronic games, which has entered the formal execution process.
On June 7, 1998, the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice initiated an investigation into GameStar Entertainment. This proposal differed from the last one, and this time the institutions dealing with GameStar Entertainment were more fierce.
There are several major uncontrollable forces in the United States, including the Taxation Bureau and the Department of Justice.
This is a symbol of authority in the United States.
And this time they acted together to suppress GameStar Entertainment.
Under such absolute authority, even GameStar Entertainment has no way out.
The process of raising tariffs did not take long to finalize.
From now on, all electronic games shipped to the United States will be subject to a twenty percent tariff.
As a result, imported games will inevitably increase in price.
In turn, electronic games developed by Americans will have more advantages.
Next is the antitrust investigation.
After various investigations, one thing can be determined: GameStar Entertainment holds several technical patents that play a decisive role in the electronic game industry.
For example, the directional pad, such as the light gun.
GameStar Entertainment does not accept any form of authorization for these two patents, firmly holding them in its own hands, which has led to other companies having to bypass the patents to develop similar products, but the results are not satisfactory.
Under compulsory requirements, GameStar Entertainment must disclose the authorization of related patents, and at the same time, it is forced to demand that the authorization fee for patents cannot exceed a certain amount.
This also includes some technical details of first-person production, which must be made public.
Then, the United States unilaterally proposed more extreme requirements.
That is, it is necessary to publicly disclose the development source code of a total of four game consoles: GB, GBC, SFC, and FC.
The reason for openness is to promote the development of electronic games worldwide. One game company should not monopolize all knowledge; it should all be made public.
If you disagree with the disclosure, then the US Department of Justice doesn't mind using a stronger stick to beat GameStar Entertainment until it can't lift its head.
This is already quite domineering.
After learning this news, Matsuki Shi has been angry for several days without sleep.
GameStar Entertainment has always complied with US rules from start to finish, making money and developing within the rules.
But suddenly the rules changed, and you were forced to accept new rules.
This is obviously targeting GameStar Entertainment.
If it were a normal business competition failure, Matsuki Shi could accept it, but this kind of pressure she could not accept.
And at this time, the relationships that Matsuki Shi had laid down before began to have some effect.
For example, the Governor of California, as well as other state legislators, and even two or three members of Congress, have become good friends of Matsuki Shi.
Under the lobbying of these people, at least these orders were not immediately executed.
But even if they could do something, it could only be this much.
"Sorry, Ms. Matsuki, we've done our best. This time the Department of Justice and the Taxation Bureau are serious. Even if we have some good friends helping, we can only delay the execution date of the new rules at most."
On the phone, a congressman said apologetically.
On the other end of the phone, Matsuki Shi could only suppress the anger in her heart and repeatedly thanked the other party for their help. GameStar Entertainment will not forget their assistance in the future.
Since coming to the United States, Matsuki Shi has actually been quite smooth most of the time, except for the initial disgust from those department store merchants, there hasn't been much obstruction.
The gaming industry has developed rapidly.
But it seems that Matsuki Shi's good luck has finally run out, and she also feels a sense of powerlessness at this moment, with a faint sense of confusion in her heart.
Just then, her phone rang again.
Matsuki Shi glanced at it and found it was a call from Japan. She immediately reorganized her emotions and answered the phone.
"Hello, President?"
"It's me." The voice of Takayuki sounded on the other end of the phone.
During the six months of litigation, Takayuki did not participate. After planning the special effects team, he returned to Japan and continued his work, developing games.
Without him leading the team in Japan, GameStar Entertainment's first-party game team would not have been so productive, nor would the quality have remained excellent while being productive.
As for lawsuits and litigation, Takayuki just had to pay the money and let Matsuki Shi set up the legal department, preferably at the level of a top-tier team.
Takayuki didn't think they would lose in litigation with such a team.
But when the US government, especially the Taxation Bureau and the Department of Justice, intervened, he understood that the legal team probably wouldn't be of much use.
Their methods were just on a different level, and you couldn't fight back.
It's like facing two huge mountains.
After the two agencies decided on the punishment for GameStar Entertainment, Takayuki finally called Matsuki Shi.
Hearing Takayuki's voice, Matsuki Shi, who had always been quite strong, felt her nose sour for a moment.
But she quickly recovered, with no change in her tone, and Takayuki didn't feel anything.
"President, I'm sorry to disappoint you. I will come to apologize to you in person. I didn't protect our children."
Takayuki: "??? Uh?"
"No, no, President, it's our company's property, our game consoles, I treat them all like children." Matsuki Shi realized she had spoken out of turn.
This really shouldn't have happened.
But it was also her true feeling.
Hearing Matsuki Shi's explanation, Takayuki pretended he hadn't heard anything before and said, "I already know what happened in the United States. It's not your fault. You've actually done very well. But when the two major law enforcement agencies in the United States intervene, the nature changes. It's normal for you not to be able to handle it."
"Initially, I didn't handle things properly, and I'm willing to apologize..."
Takayuki interrupted, "Okay, I didn't call you to listen to you apologize all the time. This has nothing to do with you. No one, including me, can do better than you. You've done a great job. I called you because I have something important to ask you."
"President, go ahead." Hearing that there was something important, Matsuki Shi immediately changed her mood.
"Please explain in detail the details of the sanctions that the two law enforcement agencies are imposing on us now. I've only seen rough news reports before, but the details are definitely not as clear to me as they are to you as the party involved. I need to understand them more thoroughly and then find some countermeasures."
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
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