Silicon Valley's Mountain of Gifts
The day after the super synergy effect. Yoo Jae-won and Choi Kang-wook made do with a simple sandwich for breakfast. Thanks to the lavish dinner they had been treated to the night before, they weren't particularly hungry even after waking up. The unfortunate part was that Robert Halley was on vacation until tomorrow and had missed out on that meal. Still, for him, a home-cooked dinner from his parents would have tasted far better than any Michelin-starred restaurant.
After a quick breakfast, the two rode in the Cadillac loaned by President Hawkins and headed south from Silicon Valley to San Jose. They didn't drive themselves; with a chauffeur provided as well, it felt as though they had chartered a taxi for the entire day, allowing them to travel comfortably wherever they needed to go.
Remington Sting was in San Jose. The private investigator who had once run his own detective agency had seen his life turn 180 degrees after a single phone call from Yoo Jae-won. Now the sign on his office had been changed to ID Technology, making it look like any other venture company in Silicon Valley. Since it was essentially ID Technology's U.S. branch, under normal circumstances he should have been there to greet them when Yoo Jae-won and his party arrived at San Francisco International Airport the other day. The fact that Hawkins had been there instead of Remington was partly due to Electronic Arts' involvement, but also because Remington Sting had been buried under a mountain of work.
Yoo Jae-won had made the rational choice to let Remington's team handle their own tasks while he collected what was owed from President Hawkins. That it had been an excellent decision became clear the moment they arrived at Remington Sting's office. The small, single-story office located in Roberts Hill, San Jose, served as both ID Technology's U.S. branch and Remington's workspace.
Even as Yoo Jae-won knocked and stepped inside, Remington was loudly engaged in a phone conversation.
"A deal? Hmm, no deal, you say? Well, can't be helped. Let's talk again next time."
Remington hung up without hesitation, apparently having failed to reach an agreement on some transaction. Then he spotted Yoo Jae-won and Choi Kang-wook entering and sprang to his feet.
"Oh, Boss! Hey! Ellen, get out here! The boss is here!"
A brief commotion followed.
"Good to see you, Mr. Remington. Mr. Ellen."
Once the excitement settled, they received a warm welcome from Remington and Ellen. Neither of them had reacted the way Hawkins had upon seeing Yoo Jae-won in person for the first time. That was because Yoo Jae-won had already faxed over photos of himself, Choi Kang-wook, and the other Korean staff members in advance. While faxed images weren't the clearest, they were still recognizable. Later, when sending documents for corporate account openings and investment contracts via airmail, they had included high-resolution photos as well, so recognition was immediate.
When they had first seen the faxed photos, they had been skeptical. But when the clear airmail photos arrived, both Remington Sting and Ellen Smith had been stunned, their jaws dropping. That shock had already passed, however, and now they could shake Yoo Jae-won's hand with calm expressions.
The sensation of grasping Remington Sting's large hand felt different to Yoo Jae-won. In his previous life, the person closest to him after his parents had been the elderly Remington. Meeting this younger version across time made the feeling transmitted through their handshake both strangely unfamiliar and deeply familiar.
"Ah, don't even get me started."
At Yoo Jae-won's question about whether he had been busy lately, Remington's complaints poured out. Ellen, seated beside him, nodded in agreement. Ever since the detective agency had become ID Technology's California branch, Remington's work had changed completely. At first it had been sales. It felt like only yesterday that they had uploaded the program to CompuServe and selected paid testers for reviews, yet in an instant they had become major players in Silicon Valley. Now the situation had reversed. Where they had once scrambled to sell products, they now spent their days analyzing and rejecting the flood of proposals coming from every direction. Naturally, Remington and Ellen's workload had exploded.
"And all that stuff over there? It's all for you, Boss."
Yoo Jae-won had already noticed something odd when he first entered the office. One side of the small space was piled high with computer components like a mountain. They weren't scattered haphazardly; rather, they were neatly boxed finished products stacked in rough piles. Since the California branch had no development duties whatsoever, he had wondered why they had purchased so many computer parts. Now he learned they had been sent to him.
"We've organized them into a list here."
Ellen handed over several sheets of A4 paper. Yoo Jae-won took them and read through quickly, immediately understanding. ATI Technologies, Cirrus Logic, S3 Graphics, and so on. The names listed on the first page were all graphics card manufacturers. Each box sent by these companies naturally contained VGA graphics cards. The reason was simple: the massive success of Keyboard Warrior.
When a game became a true blockbuster, people bought systems just to play it. Consumers didn't buy a Nintendo Family Computer and then choose games; they bought the Nintendo Family Computer specifically to play Super Mario. Keyboard Warrior operated on an even larger scale. The commotion currently sweeping across America was people buying computers just to play the game. 286 users upgraded to 386s, and those 386 users who hadn't bothered with VGA cards purchased them. There were even many buying Ethernet cards to build networks. The entire computer market was visibly seeing increased sales.
The problem was that when purchasing new components, consumers had only one criterion: Keyboard Warrior's benchmark scores. Computers that consistently maintained a fantastic 60 frames were considered top-tier, while those that reliably held 30 frames were considered standard. Anything that couldn't even reach 30 frames because hardware scrolling technology wasn't properly activated was deemed garbage. Under this standard, 8086 XTs that couldn't even run the game had been given a death sentence, while 286 ATs were finally recognized as actual computers.
Naturally, component sales fluctuated wildly based on benchmark scores. While this phenomenon had initially been limited to internet and PC communication users during the preview version's release, now the entire North American parts market was in upheaval. Components with good scores were experiencing shortages, while those with poor scores wouldn't sell even at reduced prices. A prime example was Cirrus Logic's VGA cards. Previously, they had been the eternal second-place finisher, unable to catch ATI, and had even been in danger of dropping to third place behind the rapidly closing S3. This wasn't due to inferior functionality, but rather weak distribution networks and marketing. Yet starting in November, Cirrus Logic had taken the top spot in retail sales, and that position had held through January.
ATI, which had always held first place, was greatly flustered. They had assumed the Cirrus Logic craze would fade in a few days, but as time passed, it only grew heavier. In truth, the retail market didn't hold much significance for computer component manufacturers. Their largest market was major corporations like HP and Compaq that shipped millions of PCs annually. But if things continued this way, even those large clients might be stolen away.
ATI's solution was to remove the cause. They needed to ensure good scores in Keyboard Warrior. Not only had they released tuning drivers that forcibly accelerated hardware scrolling functions, but they had also attempted to lobby ID Technology. However, that lobbying hadn't reached Yoo Jae-won in Korea directly; instead, it had been directed at Remington Sting here.
The components delivered to the office were separate from the lobbying efforts. ATI had sent ten brand-new VGA products fresh off the production line. These were high-end models with 1 megabyte of video memory, supporting up to SVGA. The request was to use these for development and optimize the code for ATI. The unfortunate reality was that this kind of lobbying wasn't unique to ATI alone.
Though Cirrus Logic had reached first place, they hadn't yet fully savored the sweetness of the top position. Having risen by luck, they couldn't afford to lose it. Cirrus Logic had also sent their latest models requesting optimization, along with promises of support funding.
"It's not just VGAs. There are CPU manufacturers as well, and motherboards sent from Taiwan. Even without a confirmed answer, they started sending packages."
CPUs? Approaching closer, he spotted a yellow box clearly marked with AMD's logo in one corner. They hadn't sent just a few individual units; they had shipped an entire box containing around twenty units. Whether they were simply generous or desperate was unclear. Digging around a bit more, he found Cyrix as well. In contrast, no matter how hard he looked, there was no Intel box. As expected, the number one company had room to spare.
"Some places have offered 300,000 dollars if we optimize so their components rank first in patches, version upgrades, or sequels to Keyboard Warrior."
"These were sent as free gifts regardless of any contract. Just in case, we've also confirmed return addresses."
Alan and Remington reported in succession. Remington's team was clearly doing excellent work. Even without specific instructions, they had set everything up neatly. Not only had they organized the components, but they had also listed all the amounts and conditions promised by the companies. At a glance, it looked like they could build at least twenty high-end 386-class computer units using only the parts here. According to the conditions, most companies were grateful and appreciative even if their components were merely used in development, without requiring any confirmed commitments.
Looking at Remington, Yoo Jae-won could see he was prepared to return everything without hesitation if ordered to do so. But was there really any need? They had been sent with the request to use them freely. So? He would gratefully accept them. A series of brilliant ideas flashed through his mind.
Finding capable programmers in Korea had been difficult. But what about here? This was Silicon Valley, after all. It was a place teeming with talented programmers. Since Keyboard Warrior had already raised ID Technology's profile, posting recruitment ads would bring talent their way. If anyone seemed lacking, they could simply scout the named developers who had made their mark during this period. America's IT environment was far deeper than Korea's, so losing a few people wouldn't matter. Giving them these computers and having them program would be perfect. Contrary to the component suppliers' intentions, these machines would be used for developing office programs rather than games. Still, it wouldn't be a bad thing for them. Office software also placed heavy loads depending on the size of the data being handled, and compatibility had to be considered as well.
The mountain of component boxes seemed to represent ID Technology's current status, and Yoo Jae-won felt pleased. He and Choi Kang-wook sat on the sofa and began discussing various matters with Remington's team. They were briefed on the amounts offered by software companies wanting Aegis Shield, as well as companies inquiring about purchasing the Keyboard Warrior engine. After the package bomb, what tormented Remington Sting the most were the external calls inquiring about purchasing Aegis Shield and the engine.
Though he received the reports, Yoo Jae-won didn't immediately accept any contracts. He intended to make decisions after thoroughly considering each company, the nature and character of the games they wanted to create, and the amounts they had offered. While receiving these reports, he also firmly established the hierarchy. When asking for opinions, he always sought Choi Kang-wook's input first. Next came Remington, with Alan last. In other words, the company hierarchy Yoo Jae-won had established placed Choi Kang-wook in second position, Remington Sting in third, and Alan in fourth.
Technically, Remington had been the first to work with Yoo Jae-won, and he was also older. However, since ID Technology's foundation was in Korea and the person handling practical affairs on Yoo Jae-won's behalf in Korea was Choi Kang-wook, this arrangement was unavoidable. Remington had no complaints. After all, organizational hierarchy was determined by how close one worked to the boss. Since ID Technology's headquarters was in Korea, he considered Choi Kang-wook's second-place position only natural.
Once the ambiguous hierarchy was settled, the office atmosphere improved considerably. Thanks to that, Yoo Jae-won could easily move on to the main topic.
"By the way, did you find the person we put out the search for?"
"Boss, what was my previous job?"
"California's finest detective, of course!"
He was a skilled detective capable of matching a person's appearance based solely on voice and impression. That was why Yoo Jae-won had made the difficult request, half hoping for results.
"That's right! The results are right here. Take a look."
With a confident expression, Remington pulled out a document he had kept in his jacket and handed it to Yoo Jae-won. At the same time, Remington looked at his young(?) boss receiving the document with an extremely pleased face, curiosity stirring within him. Until now, Yoo Jae-won's business domain had always been related to computers. So why had he suddenly asked to find someone who had dealt in oil futures at the New York Mercantile Exchange? And it had been a request made only seven days ago. Though he had searched diligently as asked, Remington Sting couldn't begin to guess what his young boss was thinking.