America: My Time

Chapter 32 Akio Morita
Chapter 32 Akio Morita

John was overjoyed to have resolved the management issues of two major companies in succession. Now he could finally be freed from the management of these two companies, allowing him to devote more energy to 'creation' and learning, and have more time to think about future development!

John also understood that he lacked more than just a few talents; he needed even more. The gaming world had a huge demand for talent, and Phoenix Group, located overseas, also had a massive need for talent.

The issue of outsourcing game development needs to be addressed urgently; at the very least, we need to have a clear understanding of the outsourcing arrangements with Japan. Moving forward, I can't relax yet; I need to accelerate our expansion in Asia and Europe.

With Robert Iger already at Legendary Entertainment, the European record industry could be entirely handled by him. John only needed to determine the direction of development, which would significantly reduce his workload. The main responsibility lay with Phoenix Media itself. Due to geographical and management issues, Phoenix Media needed to divide its development into two directions: Japan and Hong Kong. This presented a rather troublesome problem for John.

After settling things in the US, John finally boarded a plane to Japan, heading to the country once again. This time, the main issue for his trip to Japan was the game world; the OEM manufacturing couldn't afford the slightest mistake! Upon arriving in Tokyo and settling in, John immediately began communicating with the three major companies.

"I believe you have all done in-depth analysis of the North American market. It is obvious that we have underestimated its size. I believe everyone understands that previous orders are absolutely insufficient to meet the needs of the entire North American market. The market size in Europe and Asia is also astonishing. I know you are all working overtime to meet the demand, but I require you to satisfy the North American market. This is an inviolable decision. Only when the North American market explodes can we create a massive wave like a tsunami, sweeping across the entire game market, crushing all enemies, and allowing everyone to earn more wealth!"

The three Japanese companies conducted detailed market analyses to understand the sheer size of the gaming market and gained a clear understanding of the entire North American market. As John said, the North American market is larger than imagined, and the game consoles they currently produce are far from meeting the market demand. No wonder John was so eager to come to Japan to investigate and understand their production capacity!

The three major companies were also aware of the conflict between John and Warner, which was caused by GameWorld. If GameWorld could defeat Atari, it would naturally become the leader in the game market, and they could also gain access to this huge market. It would be a win-win situation, provided that the three major Japanese companies could meet the needs of the North American market!
John is so eager to stabilize the supply in the North American market, and intends to launch a funding round for Game World at the end of this year or the beginning of next year to obtain more funds. If there is a major boom in the North American market as evidence, the valuation of Game World will naturally rise sharply!
"To be honest, we did conduct research and confirmed the huge demand in the North American market. We are now operating our production lines at full capacity and doing everything we can to increase production!"

"Go all out? No, you haven't gone all out. If your company could keep the machines running 24/7, the output would be far more than it is now. Time is money!"

Faced with John's accusations, the heads of the three companies were speechless. How crazy would it be to have machines running 24 hours a day? How much exploitation of workers would that be? Although overtime is the norm for workers in Japan, it shouldn't be this crazy.

Overtime is normal in Japan, but keeping machines running 24/7 is insane, at least in their eyes. This idea would be impossible in the US; it's not impossible in rapidly developing Japan, but the cost would be too high—it would require a lot of overtime pay, and possibly even three shifts!
Seeing that the heads of the three companies were unwilling to accept his suggestion, John continued, "We don't need to continue like this. We just need to deal with the current demand before the summer. After the summer sales season, everything can return to normal. You will have enough time to prepare for the Christmas season. It will just be a short period of overtime. I believe the workers will understand your difficulties!"

The heads of the three companies were inwardly cursing. John spoke so casually; such a thing would be impossible in the United States. No one would agree to make workers work overtime, and the labor union would likely oppose it outright! However, this was Japan, and John chose Japan as his OEM manufacturer precisely because of this consideration!

John's suggestion was not intended to force the three companies to follow his arrangements, but rather to put pressure on them to do everything in their power to meet the demands of the North American market, and at least to avoid any significant shortages!

After finishing his meetings with three companies, John was preparing to go to his comic book company in Japan when he unexpectedly received an invitation from Sony President Akio Morita!
Despite having a cooperative relationship with Sony, John didn't believe that his mere game console was enough to gain Sony's approval. He accepted the invitation personally extended by Akio Morita, regardless of Morita's intentions.
Time flew by, and night fell quickly. Akio Morita sent a car, and John went to the banquet alone without anyone else. The banquet was held in a villa on the outskirts of Donghuajing. The villa maintained the ancient features of Japanese architecture. There were small bridges and flowing water, rows of pine and bamboo trees, winding paths leading to secluded spots, and exquisite elegance. Entering the villa made people feel relaxed!

A woman dressed in a traditional Japanese kimono approached with small steps, first bowing deeply. "Mr. Bayard, Mr. Morita is waiting for you at the backyard hot spring. Please follow me!" She then bowed again and turned to lead the way. John was somewhat surprised by this situation and realized that this was not a normal meeting invitation, but a private one. This further puzzled John, who couldn't understand what the Sony president's purpose was!
After wandering around a few times, they arrived at the front of the house. There were two young and beautiful women in kimonos in front of the house. The woman who had led the way bowed to the two women and said, "Mr. Morita's guests have arrived!"

The two young and beautiful women at the door waved their hands, and the woman who had led the way left. The two women came to John and bowed in unison, saying, "Sir, please come inside to change your clothes. Mr. Morita is waiting for you in the hot spring."

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Despite having many questions about the meeting, John nodded and strode into the house. At that moment, a beautiful girl in a kimono walked over and bowed to John again. "Mr. Bayard, please follow me!"

After speaking, the beautiful young woman led the way. John was taken aback at first, feeling as if he had seen this woman somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where. This was the first time he had encountered such a Japanese-style private meeting, and he couldn't help but feel a little expectant.

Upon entering a room, the beautiful young woman stopped. "Sir, please let me help you undress!"

After a moment, John suddenly realized and carefully looked the beautiful girl in front of him up and down. This was the Japanese idol Naoko Kawai. No wonder he felt somewhat familiar with her.

After undressing, John was led to an indoor hot spring pool by Naoko Kawai. In the pool, a naked old man was leaning against a naked young woman, resting with his eyes closed. John recognized him at a glance as Akio Morita. John was full of doubts about why Akio Morita, a president who was well-versed in American business, would choose a Japanese-style private invitation!

An unusual meeting naturally involves unusual conversations. John couldn't understand what Akio Morita wanted to talk about. If Akio Morita wanted to break into Hollywood, he shouldn't have approached him. It was 1982, many years before Sony acquired Columbia Pictures!

Upon seeing Naoko Kawai leading John to his location, the young woman in the middle of the pond whispered in Akio Morita's ear. Akio Morita opened his eyes, his gaze sharp, and turned to look at John.

Naoko Kawai arrived at the edge of the hot spring. With a wave of her hand, her kimono fluttered down, revealing that she was wearing nothing underneath. A young and vibrant female body was exposed in front of John. Holding John's arm, she slowly walked into the hot spring.

"Mr. Bayard, you've arrived!" As if knowing that John was fluent in Japanese, Akio Morita did not use English to communicate!

“Mr. Morita, hello, nice to meet you, but I feel like you know me very well. I wonder if that’s just my imagination!” John replied politely to Akio Morita in Japanese.

“Indeed, before inviting you, I needed to do some research. You are an important client of Sony, so how could I not do some research?” Akio Morita said calmly. John’s face did not change. All of this was expected and only natural. There was no need to be surprised!

The business world is like a battlefield. Although it was only their first meeting and such a private one, John did not want to fall into a disadvantageous position and let Akio Morita take the initiative. He had to be careful and cautious when facing such an old fox and could not be careless in the slightest. Perhaps from the very beginning, when he entered this place, he had already stepped into Akio Morita's scheme!
(End of this chapter)