Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Scarlett
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“Nice to meet you. I'm Seon Woo-hyuk, CEO of Savior. Feel free to call me Huck.”
“Nice to meet you, Huck. I'm Scarlett, handling marketing for Seton North America.”
A woman flashed a bright smile as she shook my hand and handed me her business card.
Marketing? Don't tell me this woman's the one behind those insane ads?
I was a little surprised as I took the business card from the woman who'd introduced herself as Scarlett.
Seton.
Alongside Nendo, it was one of the giants dominating the console gaming market.
It wielded massive influence not just in home consoles but in arcades as well.
Nendo still held the top spot overall, but in North America, Seton had even surpassed Nendo's market share.
And if you had to pick the single biggest reason Seton overtook Nendo in North America, everyone would point to their marketing.
— Nendo? Not do.
Brutal diss ads mocking Nendo's biggest weakness—its hardware specs—paired with aggressive bundles like including their flagship title, Running Hedgehog, free with every console purchase.
Everyone called those strategies insane, but amazingly, the aggressive marketing worked perfectly.
Thanks to it, Seton claimed over 50% of the North American market—the largest console market in the world.
“So this is where Dead Hills was made?”
“Not quite. Dead Hills was made in my college dorm. This place came later, once we got serious about development.”
“College dorm?”
“Yeah. Dead Hills was a solo project.”
Scarlett's mouth fell open in disbelief at my answer.
“No way! That didn't feel like amateur work at all!”
“You played it?”
“Of course! That's why I came here in person. I was certain Dead Hills would be perfect for consoles over PC.”
Dead Hills really was console-ready, no question.
It wasn't some RTS needing complex controls, nor an FPS relying on precise mouse work.
“Are you here to pitch a port?”
“Spot on. I'm proposing an official port to our Seton hardware.”
I let out an internal whistle of admiration.
Truth be told, PC wasn't my original target either.
I didn't have options back then.
With only Nendo or Seton in the console space, both were notorious for their arrogance.
Seton was a bit more approachable since they lacked partners compared to Nendo, but even they wouldn't publish games from unproven devs on their hardware.
Nendo was especially bad about it.
They demanded insane royalties from third-party devs, and sometimes even meddled directly in development.
So PC was my only choice, and I'd figured it'd be years before we could break into consoles.
But here was Scarlett, acting like Dead Hills' success was a sure thing and offering us a spot under Seton's wing right away.
Still,
“Just this one game? Or a full exclusive deal going forward?”
“Oh, if that's your concern, no worries. We believe in Savior's future. We're proposing an exclusive so you can focus purely on development from here on out.”
She spoke as if she already knew I wanted an exclusive with Seton.
But what I wanted was a one-off deal—just Dead Hills on Seton.
No interest in going down with a sinking ship.
In stock terms, Seton had peaked.
They were neck-and-neck with Nendo in the fourth-gen console wars thanks to Hyper Drive's strong showing.
But this success wouldn't last. In a few years, Seton would exit the console market entirely.
The Hyper CD launch marked the beginning of the end—they'd slide from there until their quiet retreat.
“No. I only want Dead Hills as a one-off with Seton.”
“You're serious?”
She double-checked like she'd misheard, then launched into why a full exclusive with Seton was a no-brainer.
“With an exclusive, you won't have to worry about marketing or distribution. Just focus on making games.”
It was tempting, from a dev's perspective.
“And that's not all! If you need tech support, we'll send engineers. Cash flow issues? Low-interest loans on the house.”
No wonder so many devs dreamed of becoming Nendo or Seton subsidiaries.
For cash-strapped indies, it was a full-service itch-scratcher.
“Huck, this sounds like a great deal, doesn't it?”
Even Jackson, who'd been listening in, looked tempted. Case closed.
“I appreciate the offer, but Savior isn't signing exclusives with anyone yet.”
I didn't drop out of Caltech to start a company just to become Seton's second-party dev.
Even if Nendo made the same pitch, I'd turn it down without a second thought.
The impenetrable fortress of home consoles will have a gaping hole in just a few years.
That's when Savior makes its move. Joining Seton now would be absurd.
“Sigh... Fine. Then let's do just Dead Hills as a one-off port for now.”
“Thanks for understanding.”
Scarlett tilted her head, still baffled by the rejection.
At least she seemed satisfied that we weren't exclusiving with anyone else either.
“By the way, are your other staff off today?”
“It's just me and Jackson here.”
“What? Okay, Dead Hills aside—but you're saying the game you're developing now is just you two as well?”
“That's right.”
Thwack.
Scarlett slapped her forehead in disbelief, then started venting with gritted teeth.
“You're renting out a whole floor, and your staff is just two people? Doesn't that waste rent?”
“The building's mine...”
“Oh my God! That's even worse. Why are floors 1, 3, and 4 sitting empty?”
“For when the company grows...”
“Cross that bridge when you get there! This kind of sloppy management could have you homeless soon.”
Scarlett's criticism cut sharp.
But her points hit on issues I'd been mulling over myself.
I could make games and run teams thanks to past-life experience, but company management was uncharted territory.
Nothing handled all the support stuff, so I never learned the details...
This time, I'd tried recruiting a graphic designer and a manager alongside.
— Sorry, I don't think there's a role for me at your company.
Couldn't exactly say we were too small. Qualified candidates shot us down flat.
Offered fat salaries to reel them in, but only scammers bit. Real talent wouldn't even consider it.
Managers bet on a company's future, not just paychecks. It was inevitable.
“With just two staff, you should aim to hire at least eight more.”
“For the tax breaks?”
“Exactly. In California, businesses with ten or more employees get tax incentives, plus state subsidies for hiring and health insurance costs.”
— Who'd join a tiny shop without insurance?
Scarlett kept scanning the office, pointing out frustrations, and I picked up facts I hadn't known.
She grilled me on finances, taxes—stuff I'd been handling okay.
“I'm impressed. You didn't just start this on a whim? Already using a corporate card, too.”
“Taxes and future royalties will be a headache, though.”
“Can't avoid it. But try your best—or the IRS will target Savior, and in three years, they'll gut you.”
She kept probing operations, then detailed fixes and safeguards.
She's better than most managers out there.
The advice was so expert, even I could tell.
Finally wrapping up, Scarlett downed her coffee like it was burning her up inside, then took a deep breath to calm down.
“You know a ton about company systems overall.”
“...I'm in marketing now, but I majored in business in college.”
Business major for a marketer? Not surprising—marketing's under the umbrella.
But,
If every business major could grasp operations this deeply, we'd all be CEOs.
I'd worked with plenty at Nothing, but none matched Scarlett's skill.
“Shall we get back to business?”
“Sure.”
She caught my skepticism and pivoted quick.
“I'll mail the Dead Hills console port contract this week.”
“That's fast.”
“The Dead Hills hype won't last over a year. Miss the window, and its value tanks.”
She was right.
Especially with Demon Slayer dropping next year—popularity could fade anytime.
“We lack console tech. Can you support that?”
“Yes. We'll send one engineer. Up to two total, we'll cover porting staff costs if needed.”
Two porting staff, paid by Seton?
Two names popped into my head immediately.
They're on break anyway—might as well put them to work.
No reason to say no to free labor.
Plus, I'd been planning to lure them back someday. Perfect opportunity.