"Mr. Luo, I'm very curious why you're interested in Sony's Cell chip?" Howard's opening remarks bluntly asked, this is a problem that Sony executives began to study after learning of Bluestar Technology's wishes.

Howard didn't expect a real response.

"We are here to make friends, Sony is a great consumer electronics empire, the Cote d'Azur very much wants to form an alliance with such a company, our philosophy is to hope that people all over the world are our good friends, we want fewer enemies, more friends, are willing and willing to cooperate with us, we think that the future winners are not obtained through competition, but cooperation." Luo Sheng looked at the Englishman and said with a smile, this is equivalent to not saying it, but it contains greater information.

"Making friends?" Howard couldn't help but smile and looked directly at the other party: "I haven't seen a friend who has come up to peek into the Cell processor project that Niche has painstakingly spent more than $4 billion to build. ”

"But Cell has become the biggest joke in the history of chips." Luo Sheng replied.

It's really a pot that can't be opened.

"Then why are you still interested in Cell?" Howard stared at him and asked rhetorically, unmoved.

"So, we're here to make friends." Luo Sheng said with a smile.

These words went back and around, making Howard dumbfounded for a while, but after a moment he added: "Sony is also very happy to make friends with the Côte d'Azur, but it should not be at the expense of the Cell processor, we will not sell this business, Sony has already fully gotten rid of the crisis, and the Cell processor is a product jointly developed by Sony, IBM and Toshiba, and it is not Sony's final say to sell." ”

Howard took the helm of the electronics empire in 2005, when Sony was going through a difficult time, and as soon as he took office, he announced a "mid- to long-term corporate strategy to revitalize the electronics business and strengthen the group's performance", the company will focus on three core business areas: electronics, games, film and television entertainment, and its strategy focuses on strengthening the competitiveness of the group, especially the revitalization of the electronics business.

With more than $4 billion in R&D investment for Cell processors, the cost has not been recovered for so many years, which is a bit too heavy for Sony.

However, sales of Sony's PS3 consoles are improving due to price cuts and a shortage of Nintendo Wii consoles, with 200,000 units sold in a week in North America and Europe since Black Friday last year, and around 400,000 to 500,000 units sold in a week in its home market, Japan.

If this trend continues, by next year, 2009, the hole in the Cell chip should be filled, and of course, if this non-performing asset can be sold, Sony's accounts will immediately become gorgeous.

But the price is still heavy, because in the past six or seven years, Sony has done nothing, while competitors are constantly improving, and the hidden losses in this are immeasurable.

Not to mention that after so many years of hard work, in the era of rapid scientific and technological progress, being delayed for six or seven years is simply a catastrophic blow.

And the price is that Sony's dreams and ambitions to revive the glory of the past are basically bankrupt, and the opponent is already far ahead, and now the taillights are not visible.

Today's Sony, the PS4 under development is no longer noisy, and honestly chooses Intel's x86 architecture, as for the dream of overturning the "toothpaste factory", it can basically only stay at the stage of dreams.

Sony really doesn't want to make a fuss? Of course not, but there is no capital to make a fuss.

At this moment, Luo Sheng and the other party continued to mediate in your words and my words, and gradually touched some general contexts.

On the surface, Sony is a dead pig that is not afraid of boiling water, and still treats Cell as a baby, but in fact, it can't hide Luo Sheng's eyes, not to mention anything else, if you really cover it as a baby, then how can PS4 announce that it adopts the x86 architecture of Intel, the sworn enemy?

So Luo Sheng is determined to eat the other party, and Sony is actually in a state of wandering and tangled in his heart now.

On the one hand, I really want to sell it, and the reason is very simple, few people are willing to carry a drag oil bottle, but at the same time, although the dream is broken, it is still lingering in my heart.

Find out what the other person wants to prescribe the right medicine.

However, just as Luo Sheng had organized his language and was about to speak, Howard suddenly asked him: "Mr. Luo, I suddenly feel ...... Are you really here to make friends with Sony? I seriously doubt that you want to enter the console market as a first party, you are a terrible competitor and Sony will not be fooled! ”

After saying that, Howard looked directly at the other party with a determined look.

“What？？ NONONO ......" Luo Sheng denied without hesitation: "Sir Stringer, how can you have such an idea? NONO, I DIDN'T EVEN THINK ABOUT GETTING INTO THE CONSOLE MARKET. ”

After a pause, Luo Sheng was talking serious nonsense, justified: "Without him, if you occupy the big pool, it is easy to attack the small pool, but if you only occupy the small pool, it will be difficult to attack the big pool." Times have changed, sir. Today's game console market is far from being comparable to home computers, the foundation is not good, the pool can't pump much water at all, what reason do you think I have to enter the game console market? ”

After speaking, Luo Sheng secretly said in his heart, "Oh", but he was not exposed to the slightest flaw in the other party's words, and the other party did not detect any useful information from him.

Luo Sheng also did not shy away from looking at the head of Sony, and added: "So Cell is doomed to failure, your company wants to provoke Intel's hegemony, you may not like to hear it, but with all due respect, Sony is too naïve, and too tragic, everyone has seen that Sony's result is a tragedy, but Sony itself is wronged, you must know that you are not only facing Intel, challenging x86 means challenging the developers of the whole world, this is a doomed failure before it has even begun." ”

"You guys don't even figure out how to play around the ecosystem. Whether it is Wintel's joint efforts or the AOS ecosystem of the Cote d'Azur, our success is based on our strong software and hardware integration capabilities, while Cell's hardware research and development is carried out by a dull head, and the software is dumped for developers to optimize, how can it be successful? ”

"Take 10,000 steps back, Sony's tragic lesson is still like yesterday, a road of failure that has been verified by Sony through bloody lessons, I still have to go through it? Am I crazy? ”

In the face of Luo Sheng's merciless ridicule, whether it was Howard Stringer, the head of Sony, or several Japanese executives who accompanied him, they were angry but speechless to refute.

Because Sony has also realized this since summing up the lessons of failure, but what is the use of knowing it later?

It's late!

Sony has no money, and if it has money, it can't keep up with its opponents, and it's impossible to do it now.

In the past seven years, if you don't advance against the current, you will retreat, and the taillights of the dark toothpaste factory will not be visible, and if you are snorting, Sony may really collapse and go bankrupt.

In the end, Howard still looked like I didn't believe it, and asked again: "We have been communicating for most of the day, Mr. Luo, but you still hide it from me, and you don't want to say why you want to buy Cell, what do you want to do?" ”

Luo Sheng shrugged his shoulders with an indifferent relaxed attitude and said: "Okay, although Cell is a failed work, but the technical precipitation is still there, and there are some excellent engineers who have accumulated experience, we think these are very helpful to the Cote d'Azur, and we hope to be able to actively absorb them, but this does not prevent us from making friends with Sony, right?" ”

Howard said lightly: "I hope so." ”

Obviously, for Luo Sheng's words, Howard, the old fox, still only believes half of it, or even less.

However, one thing is certain, even if the deal can be agreed, it will not be completed in three or two days.

After a few moments, Howard asked, "How much is your company willing to bid?" ”

Hearing this, Luo Sheng secretly perked up, and also smiled, this inquiry is very important, and asking for a quote means that there is a willingness to sell.

Luo Sheng put it succinctly: "$1.3 billion." ”

When this offer came out, several Sony executives present suddenly felt an urge to be furious when they heard it, and Howard wrinkled his brows and said, "This is the sincerity of your company?" If so, I don't think there's any need to talk about it, and I'd rather let Cell rot on Sony's asset list as a bad asset. ”

What international jokes? Sony has invested $4 billion in research and development, and Cell has lost $3 billion, not to mention that the product has failed, but the technology precipitation will not disappear.

Luo Sheng immediately asked rhetorically: "I still think this is reasonable, but I would also like to hear your company's expectations, Sir Stringer, what is your expected offer?" ”

Negotiation is the art of compromise, and in the end, they compete with each other, gradually get closer to the real bottom line of the other party in continuous bargaining, reach a consensus to trade, and fail to reach a consensus.

Howard: "$2.8 billion!" ”

……