บท 194: Chapter 194: If kneeling could save my life, I'd shatter my knees for the future - Part 1
July 30, 1977, Kyoto.
As night fell, the bustling district of the ancient city came alive with twinkling lights. Street lamps, billboards, and neon signboards from Coca-Cola and Sony bathed the streets in a glow reminiscent of Las Vegas's perpetual twilight. In the bars, men sat in front of tall beer bottles while delicate cups filled with warm sake rested beside them. As the golden or clear liquid flowed down their throats, the day's fatigue shed like fragile chrysalises, replenishing their vigor.
Contrasting this lively scene was the silent, ancient district across the river in Kyoto. Here, the Nintendo office building was brightly lit, though the number of employees working overtime was few. Aside from a couple of female receptionists in light blue work attire and skirts steadfast at their posts, the rest were gathered in a top-floor office without a nameplate.
The room hosted a large wooden table flanked by sofas, with an industrial grey carpet dotted with beige patterns beneath. Hiroshi Yamauchi, wearing rubber sandals, sat on a sofa beside the low table, facing two men: Hiromichi Tanaka and Minoru Arakawa.
"...That's the situation."
Minoru Arakawa, having flown directly back from San Francisco, succinctly recounted his ordeal.
After listening, Hiroshi Yamauchi picked up a bottle of premium Scotch whisky from the table, already opened, and poured a third of it into a sturdy crystal tumbler filled with ice.
The wrist flicked, tinkling sounds filling the air. With eyes closed, Yamauchi mused, "So, Ethan Jones believes that everything happening now is part of a premeditated plot against us?"
His tone was even as he asked.
"Yes," Arakawa nodded, adding, "Though I explained the possibility of accidents as you instructed, when multiple 'accidents' coincide..."
Arakawa glanced warily towards his father-in-law, sharing his concerns.
"If it were me, I wouldn't believe it either."
"Hah—" Yamauchi chuckled at his son-in-law's candid words.
"So, he's threatening me?"
"Threatening me to not cancel the contract?"
"To continue fulfilling it?"
"To push 'Star Wars' in our country, drowning 'Pac-Man' in a chorus of 'The Force'?"
His words surged with urgency.
Yamauchi, who had been listening with eyes closed, suddenly opened them.
He shook his wrist forcefully, creating a whirlpool in the whisky. "I've been in charge of Nintendo since I was twenty-one!"
"I've never been afraid of anyone!"
"Did those old timers, who started with my grandfather, dare to act superior in front of me?"
"Ha!"
"I simply fired them all!"
"I even started a taxi company. When it began making profits, those damned driver unions incessantly demanded higher wages and benefits!"
"No one can take money from me that I don't want to give!"
"So, I just shut the company down!"
"After that, no one dared to threaten me!"
"Because they knew, I could crush their livelihoods!"
"Smash!"
With a roar, Yamauchi hurled the crystal tumbler to the floor.
Glass shattered, whisky splashed, and the ice exploded into a beautiful pattern on the grey carpet.
Arakawa flinched, instinctively looking down.
But Hiromichi Tanaka beside him remained unmoved, gaze lowered, unshaken.
The room was now filled only with Yamauchi's heavy breathing.
After a moment of heavy breathing, Yamauchi's mood stabilized. His face shadowed, he inquired, "Hiromichi Tanaka, assess Ethan Jones's threat level to us."
Before Tanaka could respond, the sturdy, well-featured man, reminiscent of a Rottweiler, looked up.
Tanaka, an elder at Nintendo since the early '60s and having worked in administration, finance, planning, and HR, even established the Nintendo game department in 1969 at Yamauchi's request, housing Gunpei Yokoi, Masayuki Uemura, and Genyo Takeda, and became its first development department head. Now, as Nintendo's appointed General Affairs Manager, Tanaka had Yamauchi's full trust. When asked for his opinion, Tanaka leaned forward, "President, in my view, Ethan Jones poses a significant threat to us."
"The reasons are threefold."
"Firstly, 'Star Wars' is indeed an exceptional game. According to North American media and witnessed by Arakawa, over thirty thousand arcade machines appeared on North American streets within a month of its release, a previously unimaginable number."
"In recent years, the North American arcade market indeed exploded, but due to the vastness of the land and sparse population, they couldn't sell arcade machines as frenziedly as us; machines were only
prevalent in large cities, as rural areas couldn't sustain the local merchants' revenue expectations. Thus, once the major cities were saturated, profit-driven merchants ceased ordering new units."
"This time is different. Even if North American cinemas were stocked first, affecting the merchants' interests, the subsequent entrants displayed sufficient enthusiasm for the machines, driven mad by the game and movie. This unstoppable wave of frenzy is why 'Star Wars' arcade machines keep selling, and when this wave hits our country..."
"I personally believe, 'Pac-Man' might not be able to defeat them head-on."
"It's not about the quality of the games, but 'Star Wars' also has a companion movie, directed by George Lucas..."
At this, Tanaka's voice trailed off, turning to Arakawa.
Sensing Tanaka's gesture, the younger man sighed, "Father-in-law, I swear, 'Star Wars' is the best movie I've ever seen. If I had to describe it, it would be unbeatable."
"I'm not sure if 'Star Wars' will cause a sensation in our country like in North America, but I know, all our directors combined might not produce such a film. The unparalleled effects are truly astonishing."
Though Arakawa's words seemed to belittle their own capabilities in favor of elevating Ethan Jones, Yamauchi wasn't concerned. Having vented, he poured another whisky, sipping as he asked, "So, how many units do you think 'Star Wars' could sell in our country?"
Estimating sales wasn't difficult for the two present.
After exchanging glances, Arakawa, having witnessed the game's impact, was the first to speak, "A hundred thousand units."
"Ahah—" Yamauchi laughed, "Snake sold sixty-five thousand units, 'Pac-Man' is expected to sell at least a hundred thousand, and now you're telling me 'Star Wars' will sell a hundred thousand? If it's just this number..."
"One year," Arakawa interjected.
"What?" Yamauchi's smile froze.
"One hundred thousand units a year," Arakawa stated earnestly.
Yamauchi narrowed his eyes.
He turned to Tanaka, who nodded in agreement.
"Oh, so Ethan Jones is really formidable."
Yamauchi paused, then laughed, "But that's pointless, right?"
"Our country has special standards for importing movies. Usually, there's a significant delay between the original release in other countries and our importation."
"This is done to protect our domestic film industry."
"For instance, Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws,' released in North America during the summer of '75, didn't hit our cinemas until December, right?"
"That's a good lag."
"We could sell many 'Pac-Man' arcade machines in that half-year."
Yamauchi spoke with a smile.
"That's the second reason."
Before he could continue, Tanaka added, "President, although our country has special movie import standards, there are always exceptions, right?"
"'Star Wars' has caused a global frenzy. When Fox brings the movie for our review, its speed will undoubtedly surpass other films."
"And if Ethan Jones really grants 'Star Wars' game rights to Fox along with the movie, those eager to acquire game distribution rights from Fox will be even more desperate to see the movie released."
"Even if we manage to launch 'Pac-Man' first, what use would that be?"
"We can't sell a hundred thousand arcade machines in that empty half-year."
"More importantly..."
"If we did sell that many, we'd have to pay Ethan Jones fourteen percent of each sale."
Tanaka sighed.
"..." Yamauchi's breath hitched.
Although Arakawa had mentioned this when recounting Ethan Jones's words from Jones's perspective, hearing it from their own ranks made Yamauchi feel as if an invisible hand was squeezing his heart. The sudden pressure left him gasping for air.
In that moment, he even considered crushing 'Pac-Man' in his grasp.
But the next second, he knew he couldn't act rashly.
Because Nintendo and Destiny Game had signed a minimum guarantee distribution contract.
Even if they didn't sell 'Pac-Man,' when the time came, they'd have to pay Destiny Game based on the guaranteed shipment quantity. Otherwise, it would be a breach of contract.
This realization made Yamauchi lean back into the sofa.
Head tilted back, eyes slightly closed.
As he sank into the soft sponge, his face under the yellow glasses turned pale under the light, "And the third reason?" he asked.
"The third reason is even more troublesome," Tanaka said. "Due to Ralph H. Baer's video game patents, currently, only three companies in North America are free to make video games."
"One is Magnavox, which owns the patent."
"One is Atari, which holds a long-term low-cost license."
"And one is Destiny Game, supported by Ralph H. Baer, not concerned with patents or fees, only paying a small consultancy fee."
"Beyond these, any company daring to make video games without them faces Magnavox's furious lawsuits. If Magnavox's demands were reasonable before, after being defeated by Ethan Jones twice, they wish to annihilate all competitors. Thus, many American game companies have realized, without aligning with these three, they might not be able to make video games. And none of these three..."
"Are good to align with."
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