"President, we've identified the exact cause."
Three days after several consoles experienced unexpected damage and even explosions, the engineering department finally pinpointed the issue and immediately reported it to Takayuki.
"What's the cause?" Takayuki asked.
"It's a chip yield issue. The latest AI chips we're using are still relatively new technology, and some details aren't fully mature yet. Cyberpunk 2077 can push any processor to its absolute limits. Some AI chips with slightly poorer quality couldn't handle the load and ended up burning out."
A senior manager from the engineering department took out several photos and handed them to Takayuki.
They were images of damaged consoles retrieved from players in the United States.
The U.S. engineering branch had disassembled the consoles as soon as they received them.
After teardown and inspection, they found that the most severely damaged area was the AI chip region. Several auxiliary components supporting the AI chip also showed varying degrees of damage and short-circuiting.
"The U.S. team also recovered diagnostic data from the damaged units," the manager continued."They confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 was consuming over 130% of the AI chip's rated performance. Even with normal overclocking tolerances, our current AI chips simply can't withstand that level of stress, so burnout was inevitable."
The photos clearly showed the aftermath.
A section of the motherboard had been scorched black—the exact spot where the AI chip was located.
"So the AI chip manufacturer delivered subpar quality?" Takayuki asked.
"That's part of it, but not the whole story. Even some chips that barely meet quality standards still couldn't sustain Cyberpunk 2077's performance demands."
"What's the chip manufacturer's response?" Takayuki asked.
"They've already sent representatives to both the U.S. branch and here. They've promised to help resolve the issue as quickly as possible. To be honest, this alone isn't the biggest problem—the real issue is that Cyberpunk 2077 pushes performance far too hard. Many consoles simply can't handle that level of strain."
This was truly an unexpected development.
Cyberpunk 2077's visual and computational demands were indeed extreme.
In Takayuki's previous life, the game had also been a benchmark for high-end graphics performance.
But even then, it never pushed hardware to the point of outright failure.
In this world, however, Takayuki's standards for Cyberpunk 2077 were even higher than before.
The game's quality was undeniable—it was easily among the best games ever made in this world.
The downside was that the hardware simply couldn't keep up.
At that moment, Sawazawa Airi spoke up.
"Takayuki, I think we should release a patch for Cyberpunk 2077 that slightly reduces performance demands. At the same time, we can offer compensation to affected players. That should resolve the issue."
With years of industry experience, Sawazawa Airi was well acquainted with standard industry responses.
Lowering performance requirements and issuing a public explanation was the most reliable and cost-effective solution.
Takayuki looked around the room."Do you all agree with this?"
"President, that's indeed the most economical solution," another executive said."It's also the lowest-cost approach. Once we release an upgraded console in the future, we can raise performance limits again."
Takayuki frowned slightly."Reducing performance consumption would mainly mean cutting back on AI processing, right? That would lower the intelligence of NPCs in the game."
Sawazawa Airi nodded."Yes. The AI chip is the biggest performance drain. And since AI processors are still new technology worldwide, imperfections are unavoidable. Unexpected issues like this are normal at this stage."
Takayuki thought for a moment, then said,"Let's not make a decision just yet. Wait for the AI chip manufacturer to arrive. I want to hear their explanation and see if they have a better solution."
That afternoon, the AI chip manufacturer's CEO arrived at Gamestar Electronic Entertainment in a frantic rush.
He had boarded a flight the previous night in Japan and, after more than ten hours in the air, came straight to the company without rest.
Gamestar Electronic Entertainment was their biggest client.
The initial procurement order alone exceeded 100 million AI chips.
Follow-up orders were already in preparation.
The company's latest console had sold over forty million units so far, and there were plans to release a new handheld console in the future—one that would also require AI processors.
If all went as planned, that handheld would likely sell over a hundred million units as well.
For a young AI chip manufacturer, Gamestar Electronic Entertainment was nothing less than a lifeline.
Now that their biggest client was facing a crisis—and the root cause might be their chips—the CEO couldn't sit still.
He canceled all planned celebration events for new orders and rushed to Japan overnight to meet Takayuki in person.
"Boss, how should we explain this?" one entourage member whispered nervously."Our chips aren't really that bad… No one could've predicted Cyberpunk 2077 would push performance this hard. Maybe we can shift some of the blame—"
"Are you an idiot?!" the CEO snapped, glaring at him."Keep your mouth shut in there. Don't say a single unnecessary word."
AI processors were an emerging industry with plenty of uncertainty.
Gamestar Electronic Entertainment had been willing to place an order for over a hundred million chips from the start—something no other company dared to do.
Other clients preferred conservative approaches and avoided risks.
Losing Gamestar would likely mean instant bankruptcy for them.
No matter the outcome, they had to fully cooperate and help resolve the problem.
Soon, the reception desk guided the group into a prepared conference room.
Takayuki had already been waiting there, still studying photos of the damaged consoles.
At that moment, he wasn't thinking about public relations or media fallout.
What weighed on his mind was the players.
Losing a console alone was bad enough—but losing hundreds of hours of saved progress could be devastating.
Takayuki had already ordered the engineering team to recover and preserve all possible data from the damaged consoles, ensuring that players' hard-earned progress wouldn't be lost forever.
Fortunately, the damage was limited to processor chips, not storage devices, so data extraction was manageable.
"President Takayuki, we're terribly sorry for being late!" the chip manufacturer's CEO said, bowing deeply as he entered."I must personally apologize to you."
Takayuki looked up as the group entered, his expression calm but heavy.
The meeting to decide the fate of both hardware and players' trust was about to begin.