Rebirth Tokyo 1986

Chapter 425 The Best Conditions
Masato Takeshita's encouragement was quite effective, and Rogers quickly made new progress.

Nintendo has finally relented and is willing to let Starsea Group and Gunpei Yokoi negotiate.

Yes, although Rogers often took the opportunity to chat with Gunpei Yokoi, he never mentioned poaching anyone.

This is a sign of respect for Nintendo, and also for Gunpei Yokoi.

But starting today, things will be different.

Gunpei Yokoi has submitted his resignation to Nintendo, and Nintendo is willing to accept it.

So his steps were light, and he exuded a joyful aura.

"Yokoi-san, did I disturb you?"

"No, there's nothing I could possibly bother you with right now."

Gunpei Yokoi's voice was somewhat cold, just like his inner state.

But there's nothing he can do; he's lost his place at Nintendo. Unless he's willing to wait for retirement, he has no choice but to leave.

"Um, well, I was mainly worried about affecting Yokoi-san's thinking."

Rogers' explanation was dry and unconvincing.

This is normal, though, as Gunpei Yokoi has already lost power at Nintendo. In the entire First Development Department, besides him, only two young assistants remain.

Even if Rogers wanted to smooth things over, the current office space of less than 50 square meters wouldn't allow it.

"Fine, all I have left is the ability to think."

Gunpei Yokoi was extremely disappointed with everything, even somewhat resigned to his fate. The place where he had dedicated most of his life to his work had abandoned him like this.

It has a strong resemblance to the mass layoffs of state-owned enterprise employees in a certain country in the 1990s.

However, Gunpei Yokoi was lucky because his talent was recognized by companies all over Japan except Nintendo.

Even if he leaves, other companies will be eager to hire him.

Xinghai Group is a typical example. They painstakingly built relationships for several years before finally having the opportunity to persuade him to join.

Seeing Yokoi Gunpei's disheartened state, Rogers began to rack his brains.

However, he was clever and didn't say anything about Nintendo losing him because it was Nintendo's loss.

Because Gunpei Yokoi still has a deep affection for Nintendo, direct criticism would only provoke resentment.

Rogers simply got straight to the point to avoid saying too much and making a mistake.

"Yokoi-san, our guild leader would like to meet with you, is that alright?"

"President, President Takeshita?"

Gunpei Yokoi was somewhat surprised, not expecting that the top leader of Xinghai Group would meet with him, and he couldn't help but feel happy.

He is a world-renowned genius, and it is an honor to be received in person.

"Yes, our president highly recognizes your talent and has long wanted to meet you."

"It would be my honor. I'm available anytime, but I'm not sure when would be a good time to go?"

After hearing what Gunpei Yokoi said, Rogers waved his hands repeatedly.

"No, no, no, our guild leader is coming to Kyoto, not asking you to go there."

When dealing with talented individuals, one should learn to treat them with respect and take the initiative.

Even if Masato Takeshita is incredibly talented, he can't just sit in his office foolishly waiting for talented people to visit him.

"Okay, how about tomorrow afternoon at 3 PM at the Starbucks not far from the company?"

Xinghai Capital's investment in Starbucks will certainly not yield more than just stocks and money.

One of the gains was securing the Starbucks franchise rights throughout Asia.

Then there's the Starbucks brand, which thrives in Japan thanks to its management methods and the backing of Xinghai Foods.

In just a few years, more than 1000 coffee shops have opened across the country, and they are all doing well.

This is evident from the fact that Yokoi Gunpei immediately thought of Starbucks when discussing matters.

Of course, the two didn't meet today to discuss Starbucks, so Rogers' conversation remained on track.

"No problem, our president will definitely arrive on time."

Rogers was well aware of how much his chairman valued Gunpei Yokoi, and had repeatedly told him that there was a good chance of a successful invitation, and that he was ready to go to Kyoto at any time.

Therefore, Rogers readily agreed, and everything was based on Yokoi Gunpei's opinion.

After they finished talking, he couldn't wait to call the young man on his way back to the hotel.

"Good afternoon, President. I am Rogers."

"Hmm, good afternoon. What's up, any new developments with Nintendo?"

Masato Takeshita was aware of Rogers' work schedule and knew that he had gone to Kyoto a few days earlier.

The way the person sounded relaxed when they called me this time meant that the poaching deal must have made progress.

"That's right, just as the chairman predicted."

Rogers smiled and nodded, then continued.

“Nintendo will no longer prevent us from contacting Gunpei Yokoi, and Gunpei Yokoi would like to meet with you at the Starbucks next to Nintendo at 3 pm tomorrow.”

"As expected of Rogers-san, his efficiency is really high."

Takeshita Masato was also very happy at this moment, and words of praise came out of his mouth.

Because Xinghai Group is developing too fast, it lacks this kind of top talent.

"You flatter me, Chairman. I only helped a little. It's mainly because our Xinghai Group has a high profile."

"Alright, enough with the formalities. I'll definitely be there on time tomorrow."

In front of acquaintances, Masato Takeshita was too lazy to engage in such modesty and politeness, and directly interrupted Rogers' possible flattery.

Then he asked Rogers if he had anything else to say, and when he learned that he had nothing, he simply hung up the phone.

He's very busy right now and needs to take care of his current tasks first. He's also asking his secretary, Uchida, to arrange his schedule.

Being late is a bad thing.

Kyoto is already very beautiful in May, making it a great time to visit every year.

However, Kyoto is still mainly a domestic tourist destination, and its international tourism is relatively limited.

Unlike later times, Kyoto attracts a huge number of Chinese and Korean tourists every year.

After getting off the plane, Masato Takeshita sat in the car and looked at the ancient buildings on both sides of the road, and couldn't help but make a slight complaint.

"It's really beautiful, but it feels a bit like someone holding a golden bowl and begging for food."

"Begging for food while holding a golden bowl?"

"That's right, Kyoto is like holding a golden rice bowl and begging for food."

Masato Takeshita nodded, then continued to complain.

"Kyoto tourism is so popular, but most of the revenue doesn't go into the hands of the Kyoto government. Isn't that like holding a golden rice bowl and begging for food?"

Kyoto has a thriving tourism industry, but much of it is comprised of shrines and temples, which generate enormous wealth without paying taxes.

As a result, tourism in Kyoto has become a black hole for the government's finances. It requires spending money to build various public facilities, but only generates very little revenue.

This is also the biggest reason why Kyoto repeatedly teetered on the brink of bankruptcy in later generations.

The majority of tourism revenue goes to temples and shrines, with the Kyoto government receiving nothing.

"Um, hasn't it always been like this?"

"Yes, but doing it this way all the time doesn't mean it's the right thing to do."

The vast majority of religions are groups that amass wealth in various ways, and therefore should be taxed, or even taxed more heavily.

Unfortunately, this is not very feasible to implement in Japan.

Unfortunately, politicians often rely on religious groups to garner votes, which makes it difficult for them to gain influence. Furthermore, Japan's deeply ingrained religious atmosphere is also a factor.

One Buddhist sect even formed a political party to participate in national affairs.

The two chatted briefly, but feeling bored, Masato Takeshita quickly chose to shut up.

He's not a politician, why would he say these things to the Secretary-General? If outsiders find out, it will only offend people and bring no benefit whatsoever.

Instead of going directly to the Starbucks next to Nintendo, the young man had some lunch and then took a nice nap at the hotel.

"Very good, very energetic!"

Takeshita Masato tidied his appearance in front of the mirror, then went downstairs with satisfaction to head to his destination.

"It seems today's guests are very important."

When Miho Uchida saw her chairman change into a suit that he almost never wore, she immediately understood the importance of Gunpei Yokoi.

He would only wear a suit to meet people whom he highly valued.

Normally, I wear t-shirts and jeans all the time.

The car arrived smoothly at Starbucks, and after a brief greeting, the two sides went to the private room that Gunpei Yokoi had prepared in advance.

This time, Masato Takeshita did not get straight to the point and talk about business, but instead chatted with Gunpei Yokoi about the Japanese economy.

"A few months ago, the government was still discussing things like the economy overheating. In the end, it turned out to be completely unfounded worry. Not only is the economy bad, but people's employment is also a problem."

When it comes to the economy and employment, Gunpei Yokoi is full of anger.

There were also economic factors involved, partly because Nintendo didn't want him.

Yes, although Gunpei Yokoi's idea of ​​innovating with outdated technology was more cost-effective, Nintendo had economic considerations in mind when they asked him to leave.

The reason is simple: Japan is in an economic crisis, and companies need to store large amounts of cash to weather the crisis.

Nintendo is currently unable to support Gunpei Yokoi in forging a new path.

Even with outdated technology, it still requires a lot of money. If it fails, Nintendo will be plunged into crisis again.

Even high-ranking officials, including Hiroshi Yamauchi, dared not gamble on something like this.

Because Nintendo had once lost a bet and almost went bankrupt, they developed a habit of liking to store cash.

Therefore, no matter how reluctant he was, Hiroshi Yamauchi had no choice but to execute Ma Su with tears in his eyes.

There's nothing we can do; it's just fate.

If Nintendo had the same ample funds as Big Penguin, it would definitely choose to pursue both paths simultaneously and would never give Starsea Group the opportunity to poach its talent.

Masato Takeshita agreed with his point of view and expressed his sincere feelings.

"Yes, that's why we need to vigorously develop the technology industry. Salaries in Japan are too high, even higher than in the United States. We can only make up for this deficiency through innovation."

"For example, Sony created tens of thousands of direct jobs in our country by inventing the Walkman."

Sony ships at least tens of millions of Walkmans every year, and the company alone has an estimated tens of thousands of employees responsible for the related supply chain.

If you also include collaborators and patent licensors, the number of employees is easily in the tens of thousands.

This is also the best way for developed countries to maintain their employment rates.

Because developed countries are destined to have little to show for themselves in areas such as contract manufacturing.

"Yes, the entertainment industry and high-tech industry are the future of the country."

The two hit it off more and more as they talked, and when they were quite familiar with each other, Masato Takeshita finally revealed his true intentions.

"I think the mobile phone industry has great development value for Japan."

"But the price of mobile phones is still too high, even for Japanese people, let alone selling them all over the world."

"So I really hope that Yokoi-san can come and help us develop a cheap and easy-to-use mobile phone, so that the whole world can use a cheap mobile phone."

For things like mobile phones, the prices have to be driven down.

It is too expensive, which is not conducive to the development of Xinghai Electronics, nor is it conducive to the development of Xinghai Communications.

However, finding a way to make it cheap is a skill that requires a lot of expertise.

Masato Takeshita felt that Gunpei Yokoi would be the best choice.

"Does Chairman Takeshita mean he wants to invite me to help develop a mobile phone?"

Gunpei Yokoi was somewhat surprised, as he had never been involved in this industry before.

Wasn't I supposed to be at Xinghai Group developing handheld game consoles?

"That's right, it's a mobile phone, or more accurately, a PHS phone."

Xinghai Group and Nintendo have an agreement that he is not allowed to enter the game industry for five years.

Masato Takeshita would never joke about his reputation.

Furthermore, Starsea Games is currently very stable and has no plans to enter the handheld gaming industry in the short term, leaving no room for Gunpei Yokoi to make a difference.

For PHS (Personal Handyphone System) phones, the most important task right now is to save money. And Gunpei Yokoi happens to be very good at saving money, perfectly meeting the requirements of PHS phones.

After hearing Takeshita Masato's reasons, Yokoi Gunpei took action.

But he was already over fifty and hesitated.

He worried that he wouldn't be able to adapt to the PHS (Personal Handyphone System) industry and wouldn't be able to complete the task.

"What's there to worry about? Try it for a few years first, and if it doesn't work out, switch to another position."

"Besides, I don't believe that someone with withered technical thinking skills can't complete a money-saving task."

Gunpei Yokoi was a master who fully combined thought and practice, not to mention PHS phones, even real mobile phones.

He can also reduce production costs while ensuring call quality.

“That’s right, Yokoi-san, don’t underestimate your abilities.”

Influenced by his own chairman, Rogers also realized that Yokoi Gunpei was exceptionally capable.

He also tried to persuade them, not wanting the company to miss out on this gem.

Despite the back-and-forth between the two, Gunpei Yokoi was not swayed by their rhetoric.

He shook his head and remained silent for a long time before saying, "I'll think about it some more. I'll give you an answer when I officially leave Nintendo."

"No problem, Xinghai Group welcomes you anytime. This is the contract we have prepared for you."

Takeshita Masato immediately agreed and then presented him with the generous benefits offered by the company.

"So many zeros."

Gunpei Yokoi looked at the document in front of him and found it quite eye-catching.

Because in the annual salary section, the document shows 1 followed by 8 zeros.

This figure is high not only in Japan, but also in the world; it is several times higher than his figure at Nintendo.

Gunpei Yokoi was very moved and touched.

Besides the basic salary and bonuses (whether they are empty promises or real benefits), the document also mentions crucial project funding.

A minimum of 150 billion yen per year is a figure he never dared to dream of at Nintendo.

Let alone tens of billions, even billions of dollars in R&D funding, Gunpei Yokoi has never enjoyed such a thing.

The largest amount of R&D funding ever received was only a little over a billion yuan.

Yes, Gunpei Yokoi's research and development was indeed very meager. Not only was funding limited, but Hiroshi Yamauchi also frequently put immense pressure on him.

But in the end, he still didn't agree to anything.

Gunpei Yokoi had a premonition that this would be the most important choice of his later life, and he could not be too careful.

However, he wouldn't drag it out for too long, remaining hesitant and indecisive.

Not only will it waste my own time, but it will also affect Xinghai Group, which has been very good to me.

(End of this chapter)