Tokyo Video Game Tycoon.

Ota's voice rang out again: "The phone number is... If you're not interested, you don't have to call."

"Okay, I've made the call. You can go now, right?"

This message was clearly not left for Zhu Youxing, but rather for the salesperson who had made the request, and it seemed to be spoken with great impatience.

Salesperson.

The fact that someone is trying to contact themselves at this time must be related to what they are currently doing.

Since I don't have anything else to do, I might as well get in touch with them first.

So he went back to the telephone and dialed the number that Da Tian had left behind.

Hirohito Tomoda is in a bad mood today.

He was then ordered by his superior to sit on the ground and be scolded for more than an hour; of course, he wasn't the only one who was scolded.

I really don't know what bosses can do besides yelling at people. They're not even as good as the salespeople.

The factory is now receiving fewer and fewer orders, and only a few pitiful overseas orders are left to barely keep it afloat.

As for any major breakthroughs, forget about it in the next few years.

I've heard that China's economy seems to be slowly rising, so there might be a lot of market potential there.

But overseas markets usually don't even reach someone like him, the lowest-ranking salesperson.

Even after being scolded for an hour in the morning, they still need to work.

In desperation, he finally remembered the game console that his child had been talking about for the past two days.

He remembered that the kid had said that there was already a place to play, and he didn't need to pester him to buy that thing every day anymore. However, it would require continuous spending of money. At the same time, the kid also told him about a place where he could play this video game, and seemed to be looking forward to playing with him.

Having a keen sense for electronic products, he decided to try and find the location of the game console.

He soon arrived at the entertainment hall owned by Ota.

When he arrived, his son and a dozen other children were gathered around a spot not far from the entrance, shouting loudly.

Each child seemed completely absorbed, oblivious to anyone approaching.

Then he quietly observed the game console and how to play it for a long time.

After observing it, he came to the conclusion that it was not complicated.

With their company's technical capabilities, manufacturing it would be no problem at all.

Simply put, they are OEM manufacturers of circuit boards. As long as you provide the blueprints, they can handle any kind of circuit design for you.

At least in his view, this was certainly much simpler than manufacturing those commercial, industrial, and home computers.

Of course, if he could take the machine apart to see its internal structure, he would understand it more clearly.

However, the store manager here would never agree to him doing that.

He figured that the moment he was about to break it open, the other person would swing a baseball bat and knock him unconscious.

Then, he started pestering the store manager, Tadashi Ota, hoping to find out which company manufactured the product.

Eventually, the other party, fed up with the annoyance, made a phone call themselves.

Ota Masashi could not directly give Takeyusei his contact number.

But right now, Zhuyouxing is his cash cow, and he's counting on Zhuyouxing to quickly provide him with the remaining nine game machines to make a fortune.

He worried that if he rashly gave his contact number to a stranger, it would annoy Zhu Youxing and cause him dissatisfaction, which would create a rift in their future cooperation, something he did not want to see.

So he had no choice but to make the call himself.

"Okay, I've made the call. You can go now, right?"

"Understood, understood." Hirohito Tomoda smiled and placed some small gifts on the shop manager's table as a token of appreciation.

Seeing that the other party was offering a gift directly, he couldn't very well slap the smiling person, so he waved his hand slightly to urge him to leave.

Hirohito Tomoda was really just trying his luck.

He felt that this game console had never appeared before and was very likely a prototype from some company.

Judging from how enthusiastic the child is, it definitely has future market value.

He said that if things weren't perfect, he could contact this company to place an OEM order before the product was fully finalized.

Chapter 20 Telephone Negotiation

If compared to later game consoles, the first-generation Famicom was a true children's toy.

It's not that it lacks any technological content, but it's more than just a little bit.

As long as you have a basic understanding of electrical engineering theory (equivalent to a college graduate) and some basic programming knowledge, you can get started.

Purchase generic circuit boards, and then buy generic processors, computing processors, decoders, cache chips, etc., which are already widely available.

Next, the components were connected according to the specified welding method, and a Famicom was born.

This is why the Famicom was copied so quickly; anyone with a modicum of intelligence could do it.

For a mature circuit board manufacturing company, producing this kind of thing is child's play.

Not to mention that the technological level of this parallel world is more than ten years higher than that of the same period in Zhuyouxing's previous life.

The chips used in the Famicom are now commonplace and obsolete technologies.

If you just put your mind to it, you can find a whole bunch of these fully functional electronic parts at a junkyard, and they're sold by weight.

Zhu Youxing was too lazy to go through any trouble, and since he wasn't short of money, he simply purchased directly from legitimate channels.

The circuit board itself costs only 1,000 yen, plus 500 yen for the mass production cost of the cheap plastic casing and 400-500 yen for the connection lines and interfaces.

The fact that the cost of cheap plastic alone is half the cost of circuit boards shows just how cheap the electronic components needed for the Famicom (Nintendo Entertainment System) have become in this world.

If these circuit boards were manufactured on an assembly line instead of by hand, the cost could be reduced even further. With bulk purchases and manufacturing costs, Takeyusei estimates that the ex-factory price of this thing would be at most 2,500 yen.

However, technology will inevitably advance, and Zhuyouxing certainly cannot continue to develop games using the Famicom. Sooner or later, it will use more advanced chips to create better games.

But for now, let's first make the most of the existing profits from the Famicom itself.

Finding a contract manufacturer is indeed the most important thing that Zhuyouxing needs to do right now.

"Hello, I'm Zhu Youxing. I heard you were looking for me?"

Zhu Youxing dialed the number and took the initiative to introduce himself to the other party.

On the other end of the phone, Hirohito Tomoda, holding his phone, was a little excited.

The other party is at least willing to contact me.

"Hello, Takeyu-kun, I am Hirohito Tomoda. I am a salesman from Shinta Electronics Co., Ltd. Our company is a factory that specializes in manufacturing PCBs."

When Zhu Youxing heard the other party introduce themselves as a circuit board manufacturing factory, his heart skipped a beat.

It's like everything I need comes to me.

I spent the whole day thinking about finding a contract manufacturer to produce circuit boards, but I didn't expect them to come to me so quickly.

I haven't actually gone looking for it yet.

Bamboo Star was an unexpected occurrence, but in this day and age, it's not really anything unusual.

When the bubble bursts, no one suffers; the Japanese are desperate to make money.

Especially for those who still have jobs, they can fight tooth and nail for even the smallest bit of hope.

Everything is for the sake of life.

When he heard the term "video game" from his children, he took note of the word "electronic".

Then he personally observed the appearance and operation of the game console, and he was certain that if their factory had the corresponding blueprints, they could manufacture it as well.

If he could secure such an order, his life would be much easier from then on.

Even if the transaction amount isn't high, at least I won't be yelled at by that damn boss for an hour every day anymore.

The English abbreviation for circuit board is PCB. The other party also took the initiative to use a relatively professional term to introduce themselves, also wanting to show their professionalism.

Takeyusei was surprised, but he remained calm on the surface: "Hello, Tomoda-kun, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Ah, it's like this, Mr. Zhuyou. I learned through some channels that you are making a brand new product called a video game console."

Zhu Youxing nodded: "That's right, I did make it. Is there a problem?"

"Well, I can tell this thing has a certain market, but considering the current circulation of video game consoles in society, I think you're probably still just making them in a small workshop, right, Mr. Zhuyou?"

Zhu Youxing was slightly surprised, but still nodded and said, "You guessed right."

"So, Mr. Zhuyou, if you have plans to mass-produce video game consoles, our factory is very willing to manufacture PCB circuit boards for you, and the price will definitely satisfy you."

So that's exactly what they came for.

There is no shortage of perceptive people in this world; they can discover clues by following the slightest hints.

"It's not appropriate to discuss this over the phone. How about we come to this address tomorrow and discuss it in detail?"

Zhu Youxing didn't intend to make a decision right away; doing business over the phone wasn't very formal.

"Of course, of course, I will definitely arrive on time tomorrow, so I won't bother you any longer, Mr. Zhuyou."

He noted down the address, hung up the phone, and Zhida Hirohito clenched his fist slightly. This time, he had a good chance of securing a decent order!

After leaving Ota Masashi's arcade in the morning, Hirohito Tomoda did not go straight back to the company. Instead, he went to several other places to check out video game machines, following the addresses his son had given him.

He then asked the children who were playing the game and came to a relatively accurate conclusion.

This thing is not actually being sold to the public; it is indeed just a prototype.

Moreover, this doesn't seem to be a product from a major company.

If it's a product from a large company, it should at least have the company's logo printed on it.

Moreover, large companies have their own testing teams and more professional testing processes, rather than simply dumping samples in a few entertainment venues and shopping malls and then ignoring them.

From this, he has come to a basic conclusion.

This product is made by an individual and has great potential.

It was not mass-produced.