At the HAL Institute, Shirakawa Kaede was sitting in front of a TV set prepared in advance, and was curiously looking at a machine in front of him.

A small rectangular box of about 20 centimeters, the main body is white, and the buttons and decorative stripes around the perimeter are replaced by blue.

From a distance, it is very generous, blue and white.

The main reason for this design is to fit the blue logo of Shirakawa Electric, including the same blue and white design for the handles that can be plugged into both sides of the machine.

There are only two buttons on the entire console, an on/off key and a reset button.

There is also a slot in the upper part of the middle, which is where the game cartridge is mounted.

However, when not in use, it is obscured by two plastic hinge-like curtains to prevent dust from entering.

As for the two handles, one on the left and one on the right, seeing them, Shirakawa Kaede has an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

On the left side of the handle is the iconic D-pad, and on the right are two simple A and B round buttons.

Familiar, too familiar, this is the memory of the whole childhood.

While he was looking at the blue and white machine, Satoshi Iwata and a middle-aged man with a fat round face were also explaining to him how to use the game console.

"Shirakawa-san, just plug in the cassette and press the reset button, and we can experience the game."

As its designers, Satoshi Iwata and Akagi faithfully implemented the "minimalism" principle originally proposed by Shirakawa Kaede.

This is a gaming device for small children, it does not require complicated operations, and the simpler it is to use, the better.

As a result, there are only two buttons left on the blue and white machine of Shirakawa Electric, and the game cartridge is also plugged in and played.

At the same time, for the sake of safety, the edges and corners of the game console are all rounded and chamfered.

With this rounded shape, even if a child accidentally bumps into it, it will not hurt or feel pain.

"This is the game you designed?" Kaede Shirakawa took a game cartridge protected by an orange cassette and looked at it carefully.

On the front of the cassette case, there is a sticker made of a game poster, and a cartoon figure in a blue suit is running quickly with goggles, and a villain in the image of a robot is in hot pursuit.

"Lode Runner" has several bold black letters, which are unusually conspicuous under the sticker.

"Hay, this is a reel-scrolling maze type game.

The player's goal is to steal all the gold and escape in each level. ”

The chubby round-faced Yuji Kudo nervously explained to Shirakawa Kaede the various gameplay and mechanics of the game.

Don't be nervous, this is the founder of the famous Shirakawa Electric.

The legend that it has trillions of assets is widely spread in neon, and this name alone makes Yuji Kudo nervous.

When Shirakawa Kaede saw the name "Gold Diggers", he always felt a little familiar.

However, because of the age and the plausible game posters, he couldn't remember where he had heard of it for a while.

Since he couldn't think of it for the time being, he didn't bother to think about it again. Pressing the switch of the game console, Shirakawa Kaede directly inserted the cassette into the card slot.

I pressed the reset button again, and "Dudu ~ Dudu ~" A burst of music sounded.

On the TV screen in front, a small yellow and black honey cartoon image slowly appeared.

"Little bees?" Shirakawa Kaede couldn't help but be surprised.

"Hay!" Yuji Kudo behind him subconsciously bowed his head, "Its name is Hachisuke, and it is the logo of Hudson Software." ”

However, Shirakawa Kaede didn't care about its name at all, he just looked at the little bee on the TV in a trance.

This cartoon image is too familiar, and I played a lot of cassettes from this game company when I was a child.

"Bomberman", "Adventure Island", "The Legend of Momotaro".

Of course, at that time, all the players were pirated cartridges, but this still made Shirakawa Kaede feel inexplicable.

It turns out that the name of the Little Bee company is Hudson Software, and I have always called it Little Bee when I was a child.

It wasn't until now that Kaede Shirakawa realized that the game partner that Satoshi Iwata had found was also one of his childhood memories.

Gently press the start button on the handle, the little man with the face towel, the ladder, the pile of gold, the brown wall, everything is so familiar.

At that time, the friends around me preferred to call it "digging for gold" or "rats stealing rice".

Just now, Shirakawa Kaede felt that the name "Gold Diggers" was somewhat familiar, but he was misled by the propaganda poster, and he didn't associate it with it.

It's strange that the promotional posters of the neon game are simply weird, and the cool scenes and characters have nothing to do with the real game picture.

When you plug in the cassette, you find that the picture presented on the TV is basically a pixel villain, and there are no details on the poster.

However, complaining and complaining, Shirakawa Feng still has the mood of memories, and he is a little too addicted.

Tsk, that gradually familiar technique makes developer Yuji Kudo's explanation a little redundant.

"Uh" Yuji Kudo, who finally realized what the problem was, stared at him with wide eyes.

This. Is this genius?

Not to mention him, even Satoshi Iwata, who was watching from the sidelines, secretly gave Shirakawa Kaede a thumbs up.

Shirakawa-kun really didn't forget his original intention, and his passion for games was like that of Satoshi Iwata, and he was loyal.

"Okay" Putting down the controller, Shirakawa Kaede glanced at his game console with satisfaction.

It's the taste of childhood, yes!

"Let's talk about the Gold Digger game."

"Shirakawa-san, you're such a genius."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yuji Kudo offered a sycophant.

I didn't expect this big thing to have such a side.

Shirakawa Kaede smiled, "I'm also one of the game users, and I will experience every game launched by Shirakawa Electric." ”

"I see" Kudo's face became serious, and he heard another layer of meaning from Shirakawa Kaede's words.

In order for Hudson's software games to successfully board Shirakawa Electric's home computer platform, he must first pass this hurdle.

"So Shirakawa-san, what do you think of the Gold Digger game?" Yuji Kudo looked at him with a worried expression.

"It's fun, and it's easy to get started." Shirakawa Kaede didn't sell it, and commented directly.

Whew~ Yuji Kudo quietly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

Hudson Software used to make computer games, as for the evaluation

Forget it, Yuji Kudo himself doesn't want to mention it.

"Kudo-san, our home game console is also called FES (Family Entertainment System).

It is, as you can see, a brand new gaming platform. As long as the game is based on it, it can be played on FES. ”

Shirakawa Kaede also gave his game console a lofty name.

Game consoles, that's dirty.

Let's see, isn't it a little unclear to call it an "entertainment system" in an instant?

Some people may say that they don't know what the "entertainment system" is for.

It's right to be unclear, it's because you can't figure it out, and then you are curious, so that you have the desire to understand.

"Of course, as a game platform, we welcome third-party game manufacturers and Shirakawa Electric to jointly create a new game entertainment system."

Shirakawa Kaede's words boiled Kudo Yuji's blood, with the size of Shirakawa Electric, is his game still worried about sales?

However, in order to regulate the behavior of third-party game producers, it is also to be responsible for users.

We have a set of rules that game developers need to follow. ”

Business is business, and Shirakawa Kaede will not forget his identity as a capitalist because of nostalgia.

And hearing the so-called regulations, Yuji Kudo was also nervous, he knew that the meat show was coming.

"First, all third-party games must be reviewed by Shirakawa Electric before they can be listed on the FES platform."

Yuji Kudo nodded, indicating no objection. This point, Satoshi Iwata emphasized to him a long time ago.

"Second, for all game cartridges sold on FES, Shirakawa Electric will receive a certain commission, up to 35%."

"Shirakawa-san!" Kudo Yuji's face was anxious, this commission was too high.

Counting the development costs, as well as a series of costs such as game cartridges and promotions, Hudson Software is almost unprofitable.

"Kudo-san, don't worry, please be patient and listen to me." Shirakawa Kaede raised his hand to interrupt him in the middle of what he said.

Although Yuji Kudo was anxious, Shirakawa Kaede said this, and he could only wait patiently.

This young big thing, although he has a friendly side of loving games.

But the strength of the negotiations is equally impressive.

"This 35% commission includes the cost of making the game cartridge.

At the same time, Hudson could use names such as 'Shirakawa' or 'FES' and related drawings when promoting the game.

In addition, as long as the resources allow, we will also help promote your company's games, and the channel sales resources will also be treated equally.

Kudo-san, trust me, it's definitely worth the money. ”

After listening to Shirakawa Kaede's promise, Yuji Kudo, the anxious expression on his face really began to relax, but he was still a little entangled.

35%Ah, which is equivalent to the game that he worked so hard to develop, Shirakawa Electric directly took so much profit.

Of course, according to the regulations, Hudson Software also saved a cassette production fee, and Shirakawa Electric's reputation and channels were also something he coveted.

In terms of Shirakawa's huge size and influence, its publicity effect far exceeds Hudson's own toss.

But this commission is really not low, and it is likely that Shirakawa Electric will make more profit on the game cartridge than Hudson himself.

Looking at Kudo Yuji's hesitant appearance, Shirakawa Kaede did not rush to urge him.

Shirakawa Kaede is confident in his own conditions, and the 35% commission is also a figure that Shirakawa Electric has carefully studied internally.

For example, if a cassette is 5,500 yen, Shirakawa Electric draws 1,925 yen.

As for the cost of cassette, Shirakawa Electric's own factory can solve it, and the cost of a plate is about 500~600 yen.

1925-550 = 1375 yen, this is the profit earned by Shirakawa Electric.

In fact, this rate is similar to Nintendo's future royalty system, but in terms of disgusting people, Nintendo is definitely the boss.

How does Lao Ren play, a cassette is 5,500 yen. Nintendo asked a foundry to do it, and the cost was about 650 yen.

Then Lao Ren sold the cassette to the game manufacturer in turn, and it became 1,000 yen.

After that, with a premium of 1,000 yen, the manufacturer of each game cartridge had to pay Nintendo 2,000 yen, of which 1,350 yen was Nintendo's profit.

If you look closely, it seems to be about the same, but Lao Ren's following approach is much more disgusting.

What games are submitted for review in advance, and a manufacturer can only make 5 games a year, etc., it sounds like a loss of power and humiliation.

But compared to Nintendo's ordering and delivery of cartridges, these are simply pediatric.

(End of chapter)