Chapter 79. Wolf Cub or Scumbag?
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The day after returning to Japan, Kutaragi Ken and Sony Director Idei Nobuyuki visited Nintendo headquarters together.
"President Yamauchi, this isn't what we agreed upon initially." Idei Nobuyuki felt his head was about to explode.
Although the collaboration between Sony and Nintendo was single-handedly facilitated by Kutaragi, Idei Nobuyuki had provided considerable support.
Without Idei Nobuyuki, the board of directors wouldn't have been able to approve the collaboration agreement.
It could be said that Idei Nobuyuki himself also bore great pressure.
Yet in the end, after the prototype had already been developed and displayed at the Chicago Electronics Show, they were played by Nintendo.
The board of directors was nearly furious over this matter.
However, Sony this year was merely a little brother in the gaming field.
Even after suffering losses and injustice, they ultimately had to bow their heads.
"Yes, President Yamauchi." Kutaragi nodded beside him.
He was the biggest victim in this incident.
"You really have the face to say such things." Yamauchi Hiroshi looked at the two, the cold light refracting from his glasses, and snorted disdainfully. "If we hadn't discovered it in time, Sony would probably have devoured us down to the bones by now."
"Eh?" Kutaragi was shocked. "What do you mean by that?"
"Isn't it so?" Yamauchi Hiroshi responded coldly. "The contract Sony signed with us—
It maintained your company's usual ambiguity. Sony stated in the contract that they could establish a specification to make the CD-ROM console and SFC interchangeable, but once Sony opened up the market using Nintendo's influence, they could completely exploit contract loopholes to develop a console with a new game specification compatible with the original format.
But the SFC couldn't be compatible with this new format. In that case, Nintendo's market dominance would unknowingly transfer to Sony's hands."
"Sony could develop games independently of Nintendo and still be compatible with Nintendo's game products, while we would be powerless to do anything about it."
"Is this your way of doing things?"
"If we hadn't discovered in time the underhanded tricks you used in the contract, the one kneeling and begging now might be me, Yamauchi Hiroshi."
Hiss...
Idei Nobuyuki covered half his cheek, feeling an unbearable toothache.
"President Yamauchi, if there are doubts about the contract, we can negotiate a solution. There's no need to seek third-party collaboration." Kutaragi said.
"I'm sorry, but Nintendo has lost trust in Sony." Yamauchi Hiroshi said decisively. "We will shelve the PSX plan. This is Nintendo's right as granted by the contract. If your company wants to continue fulfilling the contract, we don't object.
But Nintendo will use the CD-ROM developed by Philips."
"President Yamauchi!"
Idei Nobuyuki screamed nervously.
"President Yamauchi, please reconsider."
"Yes, President Yamauchi," Kutaragi Ken quickly stood up to persuade, "Sony has the world's best storage technology. Our collaboration would surely be a match made in heaven. After so many years of effort, are you going to abandon Sony like worn-out shoes because of one contract mistake?"
"Mm. I'm very sorry." Yamauchi Hiroshi nodded. "But all of this is Sony's own doing."
...
After multiple attempts at persuasion, President Yamauchi still wouldn't change his mind.
The two men left Nintendo headquarters looking dejected.
Outside, the sun was bright and glaring, but they felt as if the sky had fallen.
"Idei-san, what should we do now?" Kutaragi Ken asked painfully.
"I... how would I know?" Idei Nobuyuki was also desperate. "We can only go back and hold a board meeting, explain the situation, and then decide."
Later at the board meeting, after the two explained the situation in detail, the board members were stunned.
The board believed that if this was the case, with Nintendo essentially abandoning Sony, relying solely on Sony's own specifications would be unable to open the market, so they immediately terminated development of the Super Nintendo compatible console.
However, Sony Music Entertainment had already begun developing related game software. These programs died in the womb, resulting in a loss of 1.5 billion yen.
A full 1.5 billion!
Kutaragi Ken was about to explode.
Not only did he suffer from insomnia every night, but he was also frequently awakened by nightmares.
...
Nintendo's unilateral tearing up of the contract to develop a game console with Sony caused quite a stir.
This was contrary to the loyalty and trust that the Japanese had long pursued. Even because of the unilateral breach of agreement, Nintendo was criticized by quite a few players, who considered it a solid [betrayal].
Media reporters even went to their door specifically for this, requesting Yamauchi Hiroshi to explain the situation.
Yamauchi Hiroshi himself was also angry and responded directly, "The responsibility this time lies mainly with Sony. We hadn't previously seen clearly Sony's ambitions and schemes."
"In the process of signing the cooperation agreement, Nintendo held a sincere heart, hoping to contribute better games to players with an epoch-making game console.
But we didn't expect the traps hidden in the contract."
"In this contract, Sony could exploit loopholes to abandon Nintendo and independently develop a new game console, and the new console could even be compatible with all products released on the SFC."
"But Nintendo couldn't develop on the new console."
"This is clearly an unequal agreement. So why should we continue?"
...
As soon as these words came out, all of Japan was in an uproar.
Although people couldn't quite figure out the details and origins, nor did they know whether Sony had wolfish ambitions or Nintendo was an old scumbag—
The media still faithfully reported both sides' responses.
There were plenty of people sympathetic to Sony.
There were also many sympathetic to Nintendo.
But overall, it could be summarized in one sentence—
Nintendo and Sony had completely broken up!
...
"How lively."
Seeing the magazine report about the split between Nintendo and Sony, Kiyoshi Yuuma appeared extremely happy.
"Haha, indeed, President."
Ayase Akane gently placed the prepared coffee in front of him, herself laughing out loud with joy.
Regardless of who was right or wrong, just from the point that Nintendo rejected Pokeni's game release, forcing them to turn to Sega—
The small HR's impression of Nintendo wasn't very good.
Of course, this didn't prevent her from liking Nintendo's games—she just particularly disliked President Yamauchi's monopolistic hegemonic behavior of dominating alone.
The world was inherently open; win-win cooperation was common sense.
No one could swallow the entire world in one bite.
Even a HR like her understood this principle—how could President Yamauchi not understand?
Seeing Nintendo being attacked by the media now, she felt indescribably happy inside.
"Mm... it's a pity Sony was severely played." Ayase Akane said.
"Mm." Kiyoshi Yuuma smiled. "This is actually perfect."
"Eh?" Ayase Akane wrinkled her small nose.
This President guy really has a bad personality—is it really okay to gloat like this?
"Mm-hmm." Kiyoshi Yuuma put down the magazine in his hand and smiled.
"Sony probably feels very wronged.
They invested time, effort, and large amounts of money, yet it all went down the drain.
But for Pokeni, this is a rare opportunity."