America: The Godfather of Game Development

Chapter 335 Is there no one who can fix Nintendo?

Sam was led into the reception room by the receptionist.

CEO James Horton had been waiting here for quite some time.

Corning, a materials manufacturer founded in 1851, produces world-class specialty glass and ceramic materials.

However, this was not the first time the two sides had met.

In fact, Corning was one of the key players in the sanctions imposed on Sharp for LCD technology by Gamenova in 87.

What is the most important material for an LCD screen?

That's definitely LCD glass.

There are very few companies in the world that can make this kind of thing, and Corning happens to be one of them.

It's no exaggeration to say that Corning and Gamenova have long been in cahoots.

Whether it's the current NovaPocket or NovaSwift, the LCD screens they use are made from Corning materials.

Upon hearing the commotion behind him, James Horton immediately smiled and strode over to meet him.

"Mr. Sam, how has Mr. Lin been? I was planning to pay him a visit before Christmas, but he seems quite busy lately?"

"Great, he's lively and energetic all day long."

Sam shook his head helplessly. "But it's true, we've been very busy lately. You know, we've been focused on our overseas expansion."

"That's typical of Mr. Lin. Well then, what new ideas does Mr. Lin have this time?"

When GAMENOVA collaborated with them last time, they immediately became Corning's largest customer for 7059 substrate glass.

Although the specifications are extremely demanding, it has genuinely generated substantial economic benefits for Corning.

This guy is a god of wealth.

"Well----"

At this point, it was Sam who was speechless for a moment, unsure of how to organize his thoughts.

This time, Lin Lixin's request was so outrageous that he was almost embarrassed to bring it up.

"Ahem—There's not much to say about the materials; it's still 7059 substrate glass, after all, it's currently the best material in the world in terms of performance."

He paused, then added, "It's just that you might need to open a new production line, because Lin wants it to be thinner."

"?"

James was stunned, not understanding what Sam meant.

薄？

How much thinner does it need to be?

The current 7059 is a material used for LCD screen panels, and it is already an ultra-thin material with a thickness of only 0.7mm from the moment it leaves the factory.

This is a new solution that Corning's R&D team came up with after working tirelessly for several months.

It's worth noting that the initial 7059 supplied to GAMENOVA was a full 1.1mm thick.

To put it bluntly, the panels used by GAMENOVA now are truly among the best in the world.

Even if it's thinner, Kangning really can't produce it in a short time.

Even a difference of 0.1mm requires the R&D team to rack their brains to improve the process.

Both the equipment and the strength of the materials need to be redesigned.

"Uh—to put it simply, Lin wants a piece of 7059 that is 0.3 millimeters thick."

",

i

This is infuriating!

If it were anyone else, James would probably have kicked them three meters away with his shoe.

If you're not looking for trouble, say whatever you want.

The 0.7mm version has only been in stable production for a short time, and there are still many technical aspects that are being refined.

After the job was done, the person who asked for the thickness was only 0.3mm, which is more than half the thickness!

But the person who came represented GAMENOVA, and given their usual behavior, this was definitely serious.

This is a serious inquiry into whether they actually possess this technology.

So what should we do?

Noticing James's unusual expression, Sam seemed to understand how outrageous the requirement was, and continued, "Lin has set a strict standard: at least 0.35mm, and 0.3mm would be best."

He paused for a moment, then dropped the bombshell, "As for sales—Lin said GAMENOVA can get at least ten million copies a year. If we can achieve 0.3mm and meet other requirements, 5000 million copies a year is not a problem."

This demand completely fills the annual production capacity of this production line.

The meaning is clear: no matter what you do, as long as you can actually make it, GAMENOVA will take as many as you have.

James frowned slightly.

Having worked in the specialty glass industry, he already had a preliminary idea of ​​what GAMENOVA's next project was going to be.

"I can't give you an answer right now; I need to have a few meetings with the engineering team to verify it."

"It's alright, we don't expect immediate results."

Sam shrugged. This was something Lin Lixin had casually mentioned. According to him, it wouldn't be available until the next generation of handheld consoles at the earliest.

"Mr. Sam, even so, I still want to remind you that even if we could achieve this specification, at a thickness of 0.3mm, it would still be a piece of scrap metal that would crumble at the slightest touch."

An exponential decrease in strength renders the glass unworthy of further processing.

"That's not my responsibility. I believe Lin will have a solution."

In all their years together, he hadn't encountered many things that Lin Lixin couldn't do.

For Sam, the name "Lin Lixin" was synonymous with reliability.

No matter what problem you encounter, as long as you ask Master Lin for help, there will always be a solution.

"————That's really true."

James had no objection to this.

After seeing Sam off, who had come from afar, James rubbed his throbbing temples.

"This has really given us a tough problem—"

"Boss, GAMENOVA is planning to—"

Only after the meeting between the two parties ended did the secretary dare to interject with a question.

"Yes, Lin is planning to target touchscreens."

In addition to LCD screens, touch screens have also been a high-tech technology that Corning has been closely monitoring.

Whether this route is viable or not, no one can say for sure at the moment.

The debate between resistive and capacitive touchscreens remains unresolved.

"What about Bell Labs? Aren't we supposed to be negotiating with them later about 0.5mm conductive glass substrates?"

GAMENOVA isn't the only company eyeing touchscreen technology.

"Tell him to talk to the sales representative and say I'm not here."

James waved his hand.

He would naturally bet on both sides, but he still had his own reasons for betting more on one side.

From the moment he officially joined the petition to sanction Sharp, James had already decided to be in cahoots with GAMENOVA.

Rather than gambling on something with an uncertain future, believing in a myth that has never failed is obviously more reassuring for him.

Theoretically speaking, Sam wasn't lying.

Lin Lixin is indeed extremely busy these days.

Long before Sam departed, Lin Lixin had already boarded a plane and traveled across the ocean to Japan on the other side of the Pacific.

January 1989, Namco.

A notice was mailed here.

The sender's name was listed as Nintendo Co., Ltd.

As for the contents, even without opening the letter, President Masaya Nakamura already knew.

Changes to royalty preferential treatment agreements.

However, Masaya Nakamura never expected that Hiroshi Yamauchi would not even inform him personally, but would simply send him a cold document.

Back when Nintendo hadn't yet grown into the dominant force in Japan, Namco was the first company to announce a contract with Nintendo.

It was also a major contributor to Nintendo and their amazing FC, which helped them dominate half of the gaming industry; it can be considered a meritorious contribution.

However, the president, Hiroshi Yamauchi, was far too arrogant, clinging to power tightly from beginning to end, refusing to relinquish even a fraction of it.

Masaya Nakamura had met with Hiroshi Yamauchi more than once to discuss this matter.

While this high degree of monopoly on profits undoubtedly created Nintendo's golden age, it also damaged its relationships with numerous third parties.

Whether it was because they couldn't stand the privileges of big companies like Namco and Konami, or simply because they wanted to gain more benefits for themselves, a host of smaller third-party companies have had countless conflicts with Namco and Nintendo over this.

This tension intensified as time went on, and yet no one seemed capable of stepping in to put Nintendo in check.

For this reason, Masaya Nakamura personally intervened.

The results of it?

Hiroshi Yamauchi just glanced at him blankly and said in an extremely displeased tone, "This is jealousy. You see Nintendo making money and you're dissatisfied."

"If you have any complaints about our practices, you are welcome to create your own market in accordance with the rules of a free market economy."

Perhaps Namco did indeed play a significant role in promoting the FC.

Hiroshi Yamauchi really couldn't stand this guy who thought, "Nintendo's current success is because of me."

Multiple lawsuits in 88 further strained the relationship between the two sides, and it now seems to have officially reached its lowest point.

Masaya Nakamura had anticipated this.

He simply hadn't expected this moment to come so quickly, so suddenly, and so ruthlessly.

[The regulation allowing unlimited game software production within one year has been cancelled.]

[Adjustment to additional production cartridge royalties]: Originally 100 yen, now 2000 yen.

"Damn it!"

Hayao Nakayama slammed his fist on the table. "Robbery! Pure robbery!"

The royalty system was absolutely the most disgusting cooperation clause he had ever seen in his life.

Only three software programs can be produced within a year, and all cartridges must be manufactured by Nintendo.

These two points alone are enough to break the backbone of all third parties.

Want to make money?

Yes, but you can only earn as much as we allow you to.

Want more? Sorry, you'll have to pay a royalty fee first.

No matter how well you sell, you're still essentially working for Nintendo.

For every additional cartridge produced, a substantial royalty fee must be paid to Nintendo according to the rules.

This is pure Yakuza, which means they paid a hefty protection fee to be allowed to develop the game.

But----

Even with all the dissatisfaction, what can be done?

Who in this world can control Nintendo?

Withdraw from the agreement?

After that, forget about releasing games on the SFC and FC.

These are the two machines with the highest ownership in all of Japan.

Losing this market is no different from cutting off both of your own arms.

Are we counting on Sega?

Don't be ridiculous. It's because they went against Nintendo that Sega was forced to disintegrate and sold off at a low price to Gamenova in North America.

PC-E is even more of a heavyweight.

Hudson, the company next door, has also been given an ultimatum by its furious president, Hiroshi Yamauchi, for collaborating with NEC on the PC-E project. The regulations have been revised even more drastically than those of Hudson.

Even with his neck being tightly gripped, he was still resisting.

What we should do now is to endure and live on.

But sometimes, it is only when things reach such a dead end that things take a turn for the better.

Masaya Nakamura stared at the list of regulations in the notice with resentment, growing angrier the more he read.

until----

"Ring ring ring————"

The phone next to me suddenly rang.