After the sales data of Elf Entertainment was released on the first day, it did not hide it.

It was disclosed directly to the relevant media.

After all, there are two competitors in the market, and consumers should be aware of any favorable news.

Unlike other places, business competition is more straightforward in América.

Don't have any scruples, there's nothing wrong with directly and publicly disparaging your competitors.

For example, when the previous Sega MD was listed, it directly compared it with Nintendo's FC and mocked Nintendo's FC performance garbage.

And this approach, if it is placed in neon, Nintendo can directly sue Sega.

Therefore, after the sales of Elf Entertainment were released on the first day, they were not polite.

In the promotional release, they are sarcastically and secretly sarcastic that competitors are rubbish, and they are not worthy of comparison with PS consoles at all.

The reason why they didn't name them publicly was mainly because they didn't want to be rubbed off by those two.

The strong sales of Elf Entertainment shocked the industry at the same time.

But it was also expected by everyone.

Compared with Elf Entertainment, in fact, everyone is more curious about the sales of the other two.

Nintendo's NES console is only sold in the New York metropolitan area, and it stands to reason that the aggregate sales are faster than that of Genie Entertainment.

But Genie Entertainment has announced its first-day sales, but Nintendo has not seen the slightest movement.

Seeing that Nintendo, which dominates Asia, is so cowardly, there are already media outlets that don't think it's a big deal to see the excitement, and publish a series of articles that are either negative or ridiculous.

Even a game magazine that was only launched during the E3 exhibition drew a very interesting poster for the sake of gimmicks.

That is the image of Pikachu representing the entertainment of the elves, and the fierce momentum tramples on a Donkey Kong representing the image of Nintendo.

Donkey Kong, who was trampled underfoot, had a somewhat bruised nose and swollen face, apparently suffering a severe beating.

It can only be said that these European and American media play with Nintendo, and they don't save Nintendo any face.

This situation is neon, but it will never happen.

It's been ridiculed to this extent.,If you want to ask Nintendo's sales statistics, it's out.。

That must have been counted, not only the first-day sales, but even the sales of the first two days were summed up.

At this time, Minoru Arakawa was talking on the phone with the neon headquarters for this matter.

"Chairman, the total sales of the NES in the New York area in the first two days were only 740 units."

Minoru Arakawa's voice was bitter.

Compared with the first-day sales announced by Elf Entertainment yesterday, their total sales in the two days are not even a fraction of others.

Although NES hosting is only sold in the New York metropolitan area.

But this is a high-spending metropolis with more than 20 million people.

According to their estimates, Elf Entertainment's Elf Show stores in New York alone may sell more than they sell.

Compared with the two sides, Nintendo can be described as a loser.

On the other end of the phone, Yamauchi was sitting in a conference room at Nintendo's headquarters.

Around him are Nintendo's top executives.

On the conference table in front of him, a brand-new PS console was on the table.

As soon as the PS console went on the market, the America branch bought two and sent them back to the Neon headquarters.

The one in front of me was used by Pu Yamauchi and Nintendo's senior management to try it out.

The other one has been sent to the hardware department for dismantling and analysis.

After personally feeling the performance of the PS console, after hearing that the sales of the NES console in America were so dismal.

Even though he was accustomed to seeing strong winds and waves in the commercial sea, Yamauchi Pu also felt the crisis.

Once the PS console has an absolute advantage in America, the next step will definitely be to counterattack Neon.

There is no doubt about it.

Because if it were him, he would choose it this way.

"Do you have any good advice?" Pu Yamauchi asked Minoru Arakawa.

The son-in-law is in Amerika, and he knows the situation there better than he does.

"To reduce the price, we must increase shipments, without market share, everything is empty talk.

We'll have to keep the fire in America and then launch sixteen-bit consoles as soon as possible so we have a chance to catch up with Elf Entertainment. ”

Minoru Arakawa said categorically.

If Sega hadn't been there to make trouble, Nintendo might have had something else to do.

But after the Sega SG1000 announced a retail price of $99, there were not many options left for Nintendo.

"It's okay to reduce the price, but have you thought about how much it will be reduced?

There is also the research and development of sixteen hosts, how to deal with the FC market of Neon.

We've got the upper hand, and if a new host fails, even the original advantage will be lost. ”

Yamauchi has always felt that his son-in-law only has the America market in his eyes, and ignoring the neon is the foundation of Nintendo.

"President, Elf Entertainment's ambitions are by no means limited to the American market, and when they gain a foothold here, they will definitely compete with Nintendo in the neon market, I don't think that relying on the performance of the FC console can resist the attack of the PS console."

Arakawa persuaded hard.

In his opinion, Yamauchi Pu has already missed an opportunity, and he must not hesitate any longer.

After hearing his son-in-law's words, Yamauchi said after thinking a little.

"You come up with a set of price reduction plans for NES hosts as soon as possible, and as for the research and development of new hosts, I will seriously consider it."

After saying this, Yamauchi hung up the phone.

Then he looked at the top of Nintendo.

Especially a couple of heads of the hardware department.

"What do you guys think about the PS console?"

Everyone looked hesitant, and no one dared to speak for a while.

In the end, it was Yokoi Junhei who was the first to speak.

"Although there are still some flaws, the current technical conditions are enough to be called excellent.

Although I don't want to admit it, this console is really more powerful than our FC console in terms of performance. ”

Seeing that there was Yokoi Junhei making the first bird, everyone else also echoed a few words.

Although there are faults, they basically admit the excellence of the PS console.

After listening to everyone's words, Yamauchi Pu didn't get angry, but just said in a calm tone.

"If we use this console as a model to develop our own sixteen-bit computer, how long will it take to complete?"

The people in the hardware department looked left and right, and finally Masayuki Uemura, the chief designer of the FC console, gave an answer.

"The other parts are very easy to solve, and the sixteen-bit processor is now quite mature in the market, but the graphics processing is probably required to cooperate with semiconductor manufacturers, and it will take at least half a year of research and development time."

"Which manufacturer's products are purchased for the graphics processing chip of the PS host, and can we cooperate with them?" Yamauchi asked.

"I'm afraid it won't happen." Masayuki Uemura replied.

"Why?"

"The manufacturer who gave them custom graphics processing chips is called Genie Vision, which is now very popular in the field of Hollywood special effects, but as far as I know, this manufacturer is a subsidiary of Genie Entertainment."

As soon as Masayuki Uemura said this, Pu Yamauchi never mentioned cooperation again.

After all, as long as Genie Entertainment is not stupid, it will never use the technology of its own subsidiaries to help competitors.

At this time, Shigeru Miyamoto of the game development department spoke.

"I think there's one more thing that needs to be taken into account if you're going to develop a new sixteen-bit host."

"What's the matter?" Yamauchi asked.

"That is, the new host must be compatible with the cartridge of the FC host, otherwise once the new host is launched, it will be equivalent to giving up the market that originally belonged to FC."

Shigeru Miyamoto replied in a serious tone.

Yamauchi nodded.

"That's right, this matter must be taken into account, Uemura-san, the research and development of the sixteen hosts is still presided over by you, please make a complete research and development plan immediately, I have only one request, that is, fast!"

"Yes." Masayuki Uemura got up and agreed.

However, on the face of the father of the red and white machine, who was in danger, there was a faint look of sadness.

Everything has to be done from scratch, and 8-bit compatible games are also considered.

This is undoubtedly a very big challenge for Masayuki Uemura.

And when Yamauchi arranged for Nintendo's sixteen-bit console development.

Far away in America, Arakawa is actually thinking about the price reduction strategy of the NES host.

The sudden and substantial price reduction is not only to give an explanation to the seller.

It is also necessary to face the doubts of consumers.

This is especially true for consumers who have already bought an NES host.

Once it is not handled well, it will cause disgust among consumers.

But at this moment, there was a sudden knock on the door outside the office.

After he agreed, the assistant walked in with a panicked look on his face and told Minoru Arakawa a difficult news to accept.

"The Amerika Sega branch held a press conference to announce the first-day sales of the SG1000, which will be 22,000 units."

When Arakawa heard this, he immediately collapsed in his chair.

His worst fears happened.

He is more worried about the success of Sega's low-price strategy than the hot sales of the PS console.

Because what he wants Nintendo to take is the route that Sega is taking now.

22,000 units, which doesn't seem to be even a fraction of the PS console.

But it was enough to block Nintendo's path.

Although he didn't want to be a mourning bird, he could only pick up the phone and report the bad news to the neon headquarters.

And at this time, the neon Sega headquarters.

President Hayao Nakayama is also holding a high-level meeting of Sega.

The sales of more than 20,000 units on the first day are undoubtedly very beautiful figures for Sega.

Although it is far less than elf entertainment.

But at least keep Nintendo's old rival under him.

This made Hayakuo Nakayama quite happy.

Of course, after the happiness, Hayao Nakayama also understood that Sega was just losing money and making money.

The more you sell, the more you lose.

But he knew that he would lose money, and he still had to do it, of course, not because he had too much money and nowhere to spend.

Naturally, Hayabusa Nakayama had his plans.

Looking at all the high-level leaders in the conference room, Hayabusa Nakayama said loudly.

"Our strategy in Amerika has been very successful and we will continue to follow plan."

As he spoke, he asked Sega's head of sales, "Are you ready?" ”

"When we are ready, we will control the shipment volume of Amerika sales and supply the production capacity mainly to the South American market."

The words of the person in charge made Hayakuo Nakayama show a satisfied expression.

That's right, at a time when both Nintendo and Genie Entertainment had their eyes on America.

Sega's aggressive low-price promotion in America was nothing more than a false shot.

Nakayama's real target has been the South American market that has been unnoticed from the very beginning.

The SG1000's success at Amerika's low price was nothing more than an advertisement for the South American market.

Asia, North America, Europe, and of course the main markets for video games today.

But that doesn't mean there is no demand for video games in South America.

If America didn't have Genie Entertainment, he might really be staring at America and competing desperately with Nintendo.

But now America is occupied by Elf Entertainment.

In the neon market, Sega can't grab Nintendo.

Although the South American market is small, it is better than no market at all.

That's why Hayabusa Nakayama came up with such a way to help Sega survive.

The main thing is that Sega, which acquired Atari, has a channel advantage in the South American market, even stronger than Genie Entertainment and Nintendo.

Thinking of this, Hayakuo Nakayama told his subordinates again.

"We must maintain the sales channels left by Atari in South America, and if we hold South America, we can keep the hope of a turnaround."

Then he looked back at the head of the hardware R&D department.

"Referring to the PS console, we will develop the sixteen-bit console of Sega as soon as possible.

The problem of the graphics processing chip mentioned before went directly to the elf vision for cooperation. ”

The person in charge of Sega's hardware R&D department said with some embarrassment when he heard this.

"I'm afraid Elf Entertainment won't agree to Elf Vision cooperating with us."

"Whether they agree or not, we will not lose anything if we give it a try, and if we agree, our host development speed will definitely be much faster."

Hayao Nakayama said nonchalantly.

Compared with the thoughtful Yamauchi Pu, Hayao Nakayama is undoubtedly more decisive.

"Yes, I see"

……

The sales figures announced by Sega have caused a small wave in the gaming industry.

When it reached the ears of Hanyu Hideki, he didn't pay much attention to it.

Sega has made a "group purchase price" of $99, and people are not allowed to sell some sales.

And even if Sega wants to sell the console at a loss, and then sell the game at a high price to make money.

That also requires a certain amount of host share.

Sega's current sales volume is not enough to meet the most basic requirements.

Even if it can sell so much, I'm afraid Sega can't afford to lose it.

Therefore, even though Sega's first-day sales were good, Hideki Hanyu still didn't take Sega to heart.

Sega's current situation is still far from challenging Elf Entertainment.

Put the Sega thing aside.

By the way, I dealt with Yasuko Sawaguchi on the phone.

After the girl returned to Neon, she immediately organized the little sisters to meet in Chiyoda Ward to prepare to watch the premiere of "Boys Over Flowers".

Before the TV started, he specially called Hideki Hanyu to report the situation.

"Okay, you watch TV obediently, there are some things that I need to deal with over there in the construction of the house, so hang up first."

"Okay......"

Tokyo, in a house in Chiyoda-ku, Yasuko Sawaguchi reluctantly hung up the phone.

When he turned his head, he saw that Sachiko Kamaike was looking at him curiously.

For this best friend, Yasuko Sawaguchi did not hide her relationship with Hideki Hanyu.

"Is it President Hanyu's phone number?" Sachiko Kamaike asked.

"Yes." Yasuko Sawaguchi replied.

"It's been a long time since I've seen the president go to the training base, and I really want to ask him, when will I make my debut."

Sachiko Kamachi said with some melancholy.

As a trainee recruited in the first phase of cloud arts, Sachiko Kamaike has been in the training base for more than two years.

During this period, trainees who joined at the same time as her, even trainees who joined later than her.

Some have made a successful debut, some have failed to debut, and some have become popular.

But she is the only one who has signed a B-level contract and has not yet debuted.

She is eighteen years old this year, and she belongs to the oldest batch of trainees in the training base.

In the summer, she will graduate from Horiko High School.

She really doesn't want to go to college, and she hasn't had a chance to make her debut yet.

So she really wanted to ask Hanyu Hideki why she chose to sign her in the first place, and gave her a B-level contract, but never arranged for her to debut.

As a trainee selected for the training base at the same time, Yasuko Sawaguchi certainly knows what Sachiko Kamaike is worried about.

She tried to say, "Otherwise, the next time you see Xiushu-kun, I'll help you ask him." ”

"Still don't need to, I want to ask the president about this in person." Sachiko Kamaike insisted.

"Okay." Yasuko Sawaguchi, who is familiar with her friend's personality, is not easy to make decisions without permission.

At this moment, Ai Yazawa, who was sitting on the sofa in the living room, suddenly shouted loudly to the two.

"It's time, the TV series is about to start."

"It's coming, it's coming!"

The two girls hurriedly ran over and sat on the couch to watch TV.

At this time, the TV was already being advertised before the start of the TV series.

Ai Yazawa suddenly turned her head and asked Yasuko Sawaguchi.

"Will President Hanyu be able to see Fujidai in America?"

Yasuko Sawaguchi shook her head, "I can't see it." ”

Yazawa Ai was a little disappointed when she heard this, as the main writer of the manga, she still wanted to hear Hanyu Hideki's opinion on the TV series for the first time.

The disappointment didn't last long, though.

Because with the sound of introduction, the long-awaited "Boys Over Flowers" for girls is finally about to begin.

Yasuko Sawaguchi and the others immediately looked at the TV with full attention.

Actually, they are not the only ones.

The whole neon, I don't know how many TVs, is dominated by girls who like "Boys Over Flowers".

Even as far away as Sendai City, the Hanyu family.

When the opening song "Gaining Through Losing" sung by "F4" sounded, the two girls, Yui Hanyu and Yumi Watanabe, immediately shouted excitedly.

Next to him, Hanyu Hidetoshi said with a disdainful expression, "Isn't it just a TV series adapted from a manga?" What's there to see. ”

Who wanted his words to come out, and before his sister and Watanabe Yumi could refute it, he was knocked on the head by his own mother.

"I love reading this manga too, can't I?"

Facing his mother's "fierce light" eyes, Hanyu Hideri dared to fight back, so he could only sit obediently on the side and watch TV with the three women.

After all, Yumi Watanabe is here, and he is reluctant to let him go.

After a simple opening song, the plot begins.

At the beginning of the TV plot, there was not much difference from the comics.

Makino Sugina, played by Yuki Saito, was born in an ordinary family, and with the efforts of his parents, he entered the aristocratic school Yingde Academy.

It's just that in the comics, it is described in detail that Makino Shancai's parents are trying to get their daughter into Yingde College, in order to climb the rich son and finally change their fate.

But Makino Shancai, who is full of a sense of justice and brave and kind, doesn't want such a life.

But because of the expectations of his parents, he had to enter Yingde College.

However, in the TV series, this process is compressed.

Regarding Makino Shancai's character, it is only shaped by a memory of helping his girlfriend fight unevenly when he was a child.

And the focus of the first episode of TV is actually not on the heroine Makino Shancai.

Instead, it was put on F4.

The first screen of the four people appearing.

It's four supercars worth tens of millions.

The unprecedented display of wealth made all the audience stunned.

And when the four handsome guys with their own characteristics, against the rising sun, walked off the bus amid the cheers of the students of Yingde College.

The morning sun cast a circle of light on the four of them.

Complement the well-crafted look, as well as the luxury brand of the whole body.

In an instant, all the female viewers who watched TV were guilty of nymphomaniac.

Next, it's time to show F4 to the audience from various angles.

Arrogant and domineering, the dictator of Yingde Academy, the 'Daoming Temple Division' played by Yuji Oda.

Medium-long hair, melancholy temperament, played by Abe Kuan, whose appearance is still in the fresh meat stage, is played by the 'flower class'.

With long hair and a shawl, he is romantic, and Masaya Kato plays the role of 'Ximen Sojiro'.

Gray-haired, loves a wife, and is 'Mei Sakuling' played by Tang Ze Shouming.

Through the introduction of the characters in the play, with the help of the performance of the picture.

Everyone saw the luxurious bedroom of the Daoming Temple, a cloakroom larger than the entire home of ordinary people.

There are so many designer watches in the cabinet that there are countless high-end clothes.

There is also a luxurious life where you need three maids to serve you when you get dressed.

The first episode of the TV series tells the audience all the time how rich and powerful these four young masters are.

The unprecedented realism and details, as well as the excellent production quality, make ordinary audiences seem to really believe that this is the life of a top young master.

Then he told how F4 behaved domineeringly in school, and how he used the red note with F4 on it to rectify the students who offended them.

In this case, Makino Shanna hid in the stairwell of the teaching building, complaining that F4 bullied his classmates and was heard by Hanazawa.

Then when the Daoming Temple Division bullied her friends, she was brave and kind and spoke out to help, so she offended the Daoming Temple Division.

At the end of the first episode, it is found that her wardrobe is labeled with a red note from F4.

With the sound of "Planetarium" sung by Yuki Saito, the first episode of "Boys Over Flowers" ended in regret from countless audiences.

"What's going on behind Makino Shancai? Why did it end all of a sudden? Is there anything else to follow? ”

In a house in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Sachiko Kamaike asked loudly.

"No, if you want to see it, you can only wait until next week." Yasuko Sawaguchi replied.

"Ahh We'll have to wait until next week. ”

Sachiko Kamaike looked like I couldn't wait.

"I can't wait to ask Yazawa-san, she's a manga author." Yasuko Sawaguchi said.

"Actually, I don't know, the TV series has compressed and adapted the plot of the comics, and Puchi-san is still waiting for the TV series."

Yazawa loves to spread her hands, indicating that she can't do anything about it.

"It's really painful to wait for the TV series to air, Yasuko-chan, why don't you call President Hanyu and ask him to show us in advance, okay?"

Sachiko Kamaike grabbed Yasuko Sawaguchi's arm and pleaded.

"How is this possible!" Yasuko Sawaguchi directly refused.

Then, Sister Izumi put on a mask of pain.

"Okay, if you want to know what's going on next, I still have a comic book here, so I'll lend it to you first."

"Great, I'll stay here tonight with Yasuko-chan, and I won't go back until I finish reading it."

"Isn't it okay to train at the base?"

"It's okay, I'll just give you a call."

"It's so late, Yazawa-san, don't go, by the way, tell us what stories are told in the manga that haven't been published yet, okay?"

Yasuko Sawaguchi extended an invitation to Ai Yazawa.

Ai Yazawa thought about it for a while, and finally nodded in agreement.

However, Yasuko Sawaguchi and Sister Izumizu are good friends, and Yazawa Ai, the comic book author, answers questions.

The rest of the audience wasn't so lucky.

What kind of treatment will the brave and kind Makino Shanna receive after offending F4?

Everyone wants to know.

That night, Fuji TV's phone was blown up.

Viewers are urging that the second episode be broadcast as soon as possible.

Of course, Fujitai could not have agreed to such a request to sabotage the plan.

Instead of agreeing to the request, they replayed the first episode again at noon the next day.

Once again, a group of "Boys Over Flowers" "victims" were created.

Then Fuji TV's phone continued to be flooded.

On the day when the ratings of the first episode were counted, I looked at the ratings that were about to break twenty.

Fuji up and down understands that they have created another championship-level TV series.

The first episode of "Boys Over Flowers" caused such a response, and Fujitai is of course the biggest beneficiary on the surface.

But the entire entertainment industry understands that cloud entertainment has also benefited a lot.

Not to mention the co-production of Fuji Station, what benefits and conditions have been promised to cloud entertainment.

Those leading actors alone, as long as there are no accidents, it is a sure thing that they will become popular with this TV series.

And with the TV series airing.

The actor-limited group 'F4' also made their official debut with the single "Gaining Through Losing".

Immediately afterwards, Yuki Saito, the actor of Makino Sugina, also announced his debut with the single "Planetarium".

At this time, everyone found out that these two extremely excellent songs were actually written by Hideki Hanyu, who had not appeared for a long time.

And the performance of the two songs also lived up to the expectations of cloud entertainment.

In the first week of its release, it landed in the top 10 of the public credit list.

"Gaining Through Losing" ranked seventh.

"Planetarium" ranked sixth.

And with the second episode of "Boys Over Flowers", the third episode was broadcast one after another.

The TV series "Boys Over Flowers" began to explode with unstoppable momentum.

As the absolute protagonist of the play, the 'F4' group, with the influence of the TV series and the excellent appearance, the red is out of control.

"Gaining Through Losing", the F4 debut song, sat at the top of the public trust list after being on the list for three weeks.

A poster of F4, which appears in the rooms of girls of all ages.

In the streets and alleys, their singles are playing.

On the TV show, they are all there.

As long as they participate in offline activities, they will definitely be surrounded by female fans, and screams will come and go.

Even because the four of them collectively said hello, some female fans were so excited that they fainted on the spot.

With such a rapid speed of popularity, even Yunshang Arts did not expect it.

Manufacturers, large and small, are scrambling to cooperate with F4.

The invitations of various announcements flew into the clouds like snowflakes.

At the same time, although Yuki Saito's popularity has also increased, it is far less than that of F4.

The song "Planetarium" was even more crushed by "Gaining Through Losing" on the public credit list.

For this reason, Iijima Sanchi also called specifically to inquire about Hideki Hanyu, who was still staying in America.

"Mr. Hanyu, Yuki Saito's plan for baseball heroes, can you start early?"

On the other end of the phone, Hideki Hanyu thought about it for a moment and said.

"Let's wait a minute, now that the TV series is hot, Yuki Saito still needs to continue to maintain the label of Makino Shanna, which is not suitable for being associated with baseball heroes."

"I see."

Iijima Sanchi replied and asked again, "When will Hanyu-sensei return to Neon?" ”

"Maybe a few more days, what's the matter?"

"Yasu Akimoto, who has worked with him before, came to Yunshang Arts yesterday and said that Hanyu Sensei promised him that he would cooperate on the debut of a newcomer."

"Well, I promised Qiu Yuan-san about this matter, you let him make a specific plan first, and everything will be talked about when I go back."

"Yes, I see."

After ending the phone call with Michio Iijima.

Hideki Hanyu looked at the female secretary next to him who was waiting to report to work, "Is there something wrong?" ”

"This is a document from the sales department, saying that there is some information about Sega."

Monica Bellucci said, handing a document to Hideki Hanyu.

Hideki Hanyu took the document and smiled playfully after reading it.

"Sega...... Hayabusa Nakayama, I really didn't expect it. ”

Thank you for the tip

Thanks to JGreenwich for the tip

Tonight, my friends called me to do activities, since I wrote the book, I haven't participated in group activities, and if I don't show up, my friends should think that I had an accident, so that's all for today, brothers, forgive me.

(End of chapter)