America: My Time

Chapter 34 The Test (Part Two)

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Test (Part Two)
"Mr. Morita, in principle I agree with your suggestion, but I have an idea that requires your and Sony's assistance. You know me quite well and can see my direction in entertainment development; a media and entertainment group is my focus. Due to various reasons, everything is developing slowly. A true media and entertainment group cannot be without a public television network. You know the situation with television networks in the United States; they are not something I can take over, at least not now. I need to accumulate experience. Asia is a good option; Phoenix Media is my testing ground!"

Upon hearing this, Akio Morita instantly understood John's intention: John wanted him and Sony to help him take over the Japanese television station—a truly insane idea.

"Phoenix Media Group is interested in acquiring Japan Television? Do you know how much pressure is behind this? The Broadcasting Act is no joke!"

“I know and I understand, but it’s not unavoidable, and things aren’t as difficult as you think. Because of funding and the influence of the overall environment, my target isn’t the top private broadcasters, but the last one, TV Tokyo, the poorest station. Even if it changes hands, it won’t cause too much of a stir, given its size!”

"This won't have a big impact on TV Tokyo. But you should know the situation of TV Tokyo very well. Acquiring it might not be a problem, but running it well will be very difficult. I wonder what your specific thoughts are?"

Akio Morita didn't see anything wrong with TV Tokyo. What difference would it make if this American acquired it, given that it was the weakest of the private broadcasters? It wouldn't cause a major upheaval or suppress the other four major private broadcasters. As for controlling speech, that was even less likely; American influence in Japan was already deeply entrenched, and TV Tokyo's presence or absence made no difference. In Morita's view, acquiring TV Tokyo wouldn't pose a threat to Japan, but he still wanted to hear John's thoughts!

"For animation, I need a TV station to rely on, a backer for Phoenix Animation. With TV Tokyo, Phoenix Comics' development into animation will no longer be a problem, and we won't be held back. That's my plan! Of course, if the Japanese authorities have any concerns, I can step in to explain. Even after the acquisition is successful, TV Tokyo can abandon news and focus solely on entertainment. Entertainment is my main focus!"

Giving up news broadcasts meant giving up the influence they had gained. This decision shocked Akio Morita, and it was precisely because of this that Akio Morita truly believed that John's plan was only for entertainment, and not to control the Japanese media to exert influence on the government!
This is a deal, a seemingly mutually beneficial cooperation. From an immediate perspective, everything is in John's favor, Legendary Entertainment's favor, and Phoenix Group's favor. But in the long run, it's not so certain. Although Akio Morita didn't ask John how to circumvent the Broadcasting Act, since the other party dared to say that, there must be a regulated way.

Akio Morita could refuse, but refusal would mean the collapse of the cooperation, and Sony would face even greater obstacles in its future expansion into North America! John had such an amazing plan at the age of eighteen; one can only imagine how terrifying his achievements would be in a few years. Making an enemy of such a person would not be good for Sony!
"In principle, I have no problem with it either. You need to negotiate the acquisition of the TV station yourself. Sony can help you make the initial contact. If the deal goes through, Sony will step in to eliminate any issues with the Japanese government and ensure that the acquisition is not affected by external factors!"

At this time, the Japanese public did not harbor much resentment towards the United States. Acquiring a commercial broadcasting giant like Fuji might be difficult, but acquiring a weakling like TV Tokyo wouldn't be a problem! This wasn't the 1990s; the bubble economy hadn't even begun!
Neither party had any objections, so the cooperation was considered finalized. As for the final outcome, no one knew. It was just a verbal agreement, and there was no written contract.

Was Akio Morita worried about Sony's acquisition of Columbia Pictures being leaked? No, he had nothing to worry about. The biggest problem with acquiring Columbia Pictures wasn't the US government, but Hollywood's xenophobia. Winning over Hollywood meant winning everything; having allies made a huge difference. In contrast, John's acquisition was the real secret, and that's why he was afraid of his secret being leaked!

Akio Morita even suspected that John's proposal to acquire TV Tokyo was a test of his and Sony's capabilities. If Sony couldn't even solve this problem, the so-called cooperation would be nothing but an empty promise, and there would be no result. This acquisition was a test of Sony's strength!

Akio Morita wasn't worried about funding. He was well aware of Phoenix Comics' phenomenal growth in Japan; with a comic book company involved, many banks would be willing to provide loans, and Japan had plenty of US dollars these days. After concluding the negotiations, Akio Morita patted the face of the woman beside him. "Riko, you and Naoko go prepare a sumptuous dinner!" Riko said "Okay" and left with Naoko.

Without the two beauties, Akio Morita discussed cooperation on personal computer hardware with John, constantly encouraging Dream World to enter the hardware market and develop its own personal computer—a test for Dream World.

Would John not be tempted by the development and research of personal computers? Of course he would. He knows perfectly well how huge the market is, but he simply doesn't have the capability right now. The reason isn't just a matter of funding or hardware; it's a software issue. Dreamworld doesn't have its own operating system, and that's the biggest problem—it's easily blocked by its enemies.

Not only is the operating system a major problem, but Dream World's lack of its own sales channels is also a huge headache. The saying "distribution is king" is no joke. Even if Dream World wanted to create its own personal computer brand, it wouldn't jump in easily. It wouldn't take such a risky step without its own sales channels. Dream World isn't a top-tier industry giant like IBM! Trying to monopolize the market is deadly; making both hardware and software isn't a good thing!
However, Akio Morita's words reminded John that ordinary personal computers shouldn't be rushed into development; laptops were different. At this time, not many people would pay attention to them, and the market was limited. However, if they were developed into a high-end brand, it would be easy to achieve success.

The world's first true laptop computer was the Toshiba T1000, developed in 1985. This product used an Intel 8086 CPU, 512KB RAM, and had a 9-inch monochrome display. It had no hard drive and could run the MS-DOS operating system. While it was somewhat lacking in today's dream world technology, it was not entirely impossible.

John also learned a lot from his conversation with Akio Morita. Although the old fox kept testing the strength of the Dream World, it cannot be denied that the old fox had a unique and powerful insight!
After their conversation, John came up with a new direction for Dream World's development: hardware and software must be separated, and quickly, as soon as possible, to avoid future complications. He had previously only considered the ease of management of Dream World, forgetting the powerful weapon of monopolies. Dream World is neither IBM nor Microsoft; it would be difficult to overcome any obstacles related to anti-monopoly measures!
It's not feasible yet. We need to wait until the hardware research is successful before splitting up. This way, we won't have to worry about insufficient funding for hardware, and the software can focus on development without needing to coordinate with hardware research! However, once the split is complete, John will have to worry about talent again. It's a tragedy—he has plans and dreams, but not enough development and management talent! Talent is crucial; we must seize the time to accumulate it, otherwise, we'll truly be letting down all the knowledge and plans in our minds!

Sony was also researching personal computers. Akio Morita's attempt was to learn from Dream World. Unfortunately, Dream World was not as impressive as Morita had imagined. Everything was just beginning. In terms of software, Dream World was indeed very good, with its flagship products. However, in terms of hardware, it was worlds apart from Sony.

During his conversation with Akio Morita, John considered many things, but Bell Labs was the most appealing to him. However, acquiring it now was difficult, as it was still part of AT&T and could only be done after the company was broken up. If he could acquire the lab, many of his plans could be smoothly implemented. Bell Labs was a vast talent pool; acquiring it would greatly alleviate his need for skilled personnel!
If all goes well, acquiring Bell Labs at the right time is not impossible. None of the seven Bell brothers, formed from the split of Telephone and Telegraph, had any intention of taking over Bell Labs. In their eyes, the lab was too expensive; it not only failed to generate revenue for the company but also consumed a large portion of its funds. After the breakup of Telephone and Telegraph, Bell Labs was unpopular, so if someone was willing to take it over, they naturally wouldn't have any problem!

Bell Labs is a matter for the future. The problem facing John now remains unresolved: the talent gap is too large to be solved in a short time. The game world needs manpower, and the dream world also needs talent, especially in both software and hardware. This is the biggest problem.

If they could eliminate Atari in one fell swoop, perhaps this problem could be solved. Atari has a vast talent pool, and poaching people might not be easy, but if Atari were to lay off its own staff, the outcome would be different. They could find the talent they needed in both the game world and the fantasy world. If before John's conflict with Atari was merely a matter of interests, now a new conflict has emerged: the pressure of needing talent!

(End of this chapter)