Masatoshi Kazushima went through the situation of the 8-bit chip, and Shirakawa Kaede took care of Heitaro Nakajima to send some finished products to the HAL Research Institute.

He plans to put the first application platform of this chip on his home game console.

At the beginning, in order to improve performance, it was ready to directly mount the 8-bit enhanced chip.

But the cost of more than twenty dollars is still too high.

After all, the game console is still an electronic toy product for children, and its audience and walkman do not coincide very much.

Among the student population, gaming consoles may have a big hit.

But social animals don't necessarily like it, especially the older they get, the narrower the audience.

If an 8-bit reinforced chip is used, it will cost more than 6,000 yen alone, and the overall price is likely to exceed 20,000 yen.

This price is very unfriendly for students, and the group that can afford this expense is in the minority.

Therefore, for the sake of cost considerations, and in order to reduce the selling price, the cost of more than 2,000 yen for an 8-bit chip is much more friendly.

As for whether the performance of the 8-bit chip is reliable, there is no need to worry about this.

Nowadays, many arcade machines are still using a large number of 8-bit chips, as a pocket model of arcade machines, home game consoles have lower requirements for chips.

So developing a home game console with an 8-bit chip is no problem at all.

The new finished products from SIC will be sent directly to Satoshi Iwata to familiarize themselves with the performance and characteristics of the chip as soon as possible.

Game development involves programming and logic operations, which are directly related to the architecture of the chip.

Different chips on the market, with different architectures, have different effects for developing games.

It takes time to get used to it and get used to it, and Shirakawa Kaede can only patiently wait for the good news from HAL.

In addition, regarding the research and development of a new generation of handhelds, Shirakawa Kaede also has great ambitions.

Now this one-machine-one-soft configuration, to be honest, is a bit too shabby.

You can't find this kind of pick-and-sew game machine in the whole world, and only small days will do it.

The strange thing is that this configuration is still very marketable in neon, and Shirakawa Kaede has once again seen the "exquisiteness" and "small family spirit" of neon.

Although the current handheld Game Boy is selling well, the market has not declined significantly.

But disposable consoles are not representative of the future after all, and with the natural development of technology, it will also be obsolete from the market in a few years.

Now that there is a chip with better computing power, Shirakawa Kaede is also ready to develop the next generation of handheld computers in advance.

As for the design goals of the next generation of handhelds, not to mention the rest, at least it can't be a one-off game console.

Kaede Shirakawa wanted to make the handheld a platform and then develop game cartridges based on that platform for sale.

This will not only attract a large number of game developers, but also make the word "Shirakawa" more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Cultivating the market and building a brand is what Shirakawa Game Console will do next.

However, although the chip is now in place, the LCD display, another core component of the handheld, has not yet been perfected.

If you want the handheld to truly become a game development platform, then at least ensure that its hardware configuration will not lag behind in 1-3 years.

At present, the TN-LCD screen on the handheld computer obviously cannot meet this point, there are too many shortcomings, and there are even signs of being eliminated.

The most obvious is that there is a delay in the picture, and many complex compositions need to be pre-drawn on the screen in advance, and displayed in black graphics after powering on.

This design inevitably leaves enough time for the circuit to react, so high latency is a major feature.

And if the future handheld machine wants to support the hardware for two or three years, the screen problem must be improved.

But now, not to mention the new screen technology, that is, Shirakawa Electric's TN-LCD has not been completely solved.

Although an agreement was reached with Stanley and Ilto Electric to build an LCD plant, not to mention the products, the factory has not been built in such a short period of time.

However, in order to improve the supply of LCD as soon as possible, we are planning to temporarily build an LCD production line using the workshop originally reserved for handheld computers.

Everything is difficult at the beginning, take the first step, solve the problem from scratch, and then slowly figure it out.

In addition, each LCD is two or three hundred yen more expensive than before the price increase, and a handheld computer can make so much less money, and millions of units add up to a huge profit.

Although it is the profit that is reduced, the less profit is the loss.

Shirakawa Kaede requires that in the first quarter of this year, its own LCD must be taken off the assembly line, and at least 30% of the production capacity of Shirakawa Electric's handheld screen will be replaced.

He's not used to Suwa Seiko and Sharp, he doesn't sell my things, and it's a big deal for me to play by myself.

Even playing the set of misfire price increases, believe it or not, I let your factory really. Fire.

Of course, Shirakawa Kaede is just a mouthful.

Now Shirakawa Electric is also a well-known company, and he has now begun to cherish his feathers.

If he wants to get back on the field, he prefers to be an upright soldier, touching it head-on to see who is the one who has the last laugh.

So how do you get back on the field, or how do you solve the screen problem of the next generation of handhelds?

This is another purpose of Kaede Shirakawa's visit to SIC today.

SIC 3rd floor.

"Professor Hosono and Professor Shirakawa, is it possible to further improve today's TN-LCD displays? Or what's the next development trend for LCD? ”

Shirakawa Kaede knew that the future of LCD screens definitely didn't stop there, but he didn't know exactly how to develop them.

In order to improve the display effect of LCD and develop the next generation of screen technology, he also invested in research again.

The two people in front of me are materials science experts invited by SIC with a lot of money, and they also have an academic background from Tokyo University of Technology.

Among them, Hideo Hosono, who was originally hired by SIC to develop the extended format of CD technology, was mainly responsible for the research of coating materials for optical discs.

But because of the addition of two CD technology veterans, Heitaro Nakajima and Hiroshi Ogawa, this part of the work was basically taken over by them.

In addition, the development of the new CD format was in the final stages, so Hideo Hosono was entrusted with the research and development work in the field of LCD liquid crystals.

Strictly speaking, the field that Hosono is really good at is the development and application of new materials such as optoelectronic materials, photosensitive materials, and crystalline glass.

It is also a professional counterpart to let him be in charge of the research and development of the LCD, and he himself is more than happy.

After all, Shirakawa Kaede promised him that he would give enough money and purchase the most advanced analytical instruments.

He had never fought such a rich battle in school, so he got Shirakawa Kaede's promise and immediately transferred to the LCD R&D department.

As for the other professor, Hideki Shirakawa, well, he has the same surname as Shirakawa Kaede, but I don't know if there is a connection with his ancestors.

Professor Shirakawa is a graduate of the Faculty of Chemistry at Tokyo Institute of Technology, but currently teaches at the University of Tsukuba.

Because he is good at the research of polymers, conductive plastics and electroluminescent polymers, he was also introduced to SIC by Tokyo University of Technology.

The research directions of these two professors are basically concentrated in the field of materials science related to light and electricity.

This is very closely related to how liquid crystals work and how they are manufactured, and it is a good choice for them to pioneer the next generation of LCD technology.

And in the face of Shirakawa Kaede's question, Hideki Shirakawa and Hideo Hosono had obviously studied it in depth a long time ago, and they were extremely professional in answering at this time.

"TN-LCD is the first generation of liquid crystal display screens, and there is no doubt that as a new material, its development is far from reaching a mature stage."

In order to make the explanation more intuitive, Hideki Shirakawa directly found a schematic diagram of the liquid crystal working.

"Shirakawa-san, please see, the most important feature of TN-LCD is the "torsional nematic" characteristic, and the liquid crystal molecules are arranged in a 3D spiral shape from the top layer to the bottom layer exactly in the direction of 90 degrees."

In the middle of the two transparent glasses in the chart, the filled liquid crystal molecules can be clearly seen to be arranged in a rotational state.

"Through the polarization and refraction of light, what ends up on the screen is what we see.

However, due to the limited angle, the screen can only be rendered in black and white. And as the screen size increases, the contrast decreases significantly. ”

Shirakawa Kaede is well aware of this, and now LCD is mostly used in small-screen electronic products such as watches and calculators.

Shirakawa Electric's handheld screen is a little larger, and the display effect begins to decline.

In good weather or under the summer sun, sometimes you can't even see the pattern on the screen.

This shortcoming has also been criticized and complained by many consumers, but not only Shirakawa Electric, Nintendo's screen also has the same problem.

After all, the process is the same, everyone uses the same thing, and there will be problems.

"So the development of the next generation technology of LCD screen, is it necessary to solve this problem?"

Bai Chuanfeng looked at the schematic diagram in front of him and subconsciously asked.

"Of course," Hideki Shirakawa nodded without hesitation, "Theoretically, the greater the torsion angle of the liquid crystal molecule, the better the final display effect." ”

As he spoke, he found another concept art, which was the vision he and Hideo Hosono had made for the next generation of LCD screen technology.

"If the twisting angle of the liquid crystal molecule reaches 180~270 degrees, then the display effect of the screen will be greatly increased.

The viewing angle, picture contrast, response speed, display quality, etc., will surpass the TN-LCD screen in an all-round way.

Even in addition to black and white, some other colors will be displayed.

This matrix-driven liquid crystal arrangement is called a super-twisted nematic, or STN-LCD. ”

Shirakawa Kaede's eyes lit up when he heard this, and it sounded like a bit of a display screen in the future.

"The improved STN-LCD screen can now display color animations?"

"Uh" Hideki Shirakawa and Hideo Hosono were stunned for a moment, and then quickly explained.

"It's hard to display full color, and you can only achieve some colors at the same time.

In addition, the STN-LCD picture delay can be about 150ms, and the animation effect can be initially achieved by fast switching.

However, this cannot be compared to the TV picture, and if you look closely, there will be a more obvious blur. ”

Seeing that Shirakawa Kaede had misunderstood what they meant, the two professors hurriedly explained the difference between the two.

If their boss is hot-headed, he wants the kind of screen that is similar to the TV display, then the two of them can't change it.

And after listening to their explanation, Shirakawa Kaede was a little surprised, it turned out to be a more inferior screen, but it seems that it has improved a lot compared to the current TN-LCD.

With a delay of 150ms, it is theoretically possible to display 7 frames per second in 1 second.

It's not comparable to the 24 frames per second of a TV, but 7 frames per second already has the rudiments of animation to the human eye.

Moreover, this kind of delay is much better than the 1 second and 1 cut of TN-LCD.

"However, if you want to achieve the animation effect that Shirakawa-san said, the twisting angle of the liquid crystal molecule must be at least 360 degrees.

Of course, with the current technical conditions, it is still more difficult.

This may be a question to consider when designing next-generation LCD display screens. ”

Seeing Shirakawa thinking about it, Shirakawa Hideki thought he was not satisfied, and then explained.

Technological breakthroughs must come step by step, and it is impossible to become fat in one bite.

Shirakawa Kaede understands this, so he is also more concerned about the development progress of STN-LCD screen technology, which is a little easier to implement.

"So the two professors, with the current situation, can we develop the technology smoothly?"

(End of chapter)