Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Change
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-Do you know why game development companies are popping up and vanishing like mushrooms after rain right now?
Before leaving after signing the conversion contract with Seton, Scarlett's words came back to me.
'The difficulty of running a game company in this era is truly hellish.'
The typical operation of a game company in this era was generally very straightforward.
Develop a game, release it, sell it, and use the profits to make the next one.
Most game companies followed this cycle, but the problem lay in the revenue structure.
A game usually made 50% of its total sales in the first month after release, then sales plummeted, and by the end of a year, it was as good as zero.
Yet game development periods commonly exceeded a year, creating this bizarre structure where companies had to survive without revenue while waiting for the next title.
'Savior's development is so fast and our team so small that we're fine for now, but other companies must feel like they're walking on thin ice.'
Even assuming they survived the no-revenue periods on profits from previous games, what if the new title flopped?
They'd just jump off the Han River... no, this is America, so the Golden Gate Bridge.
That's why so many companies that created masterpieces in the early PC game market closed their doors without a peep, and it was still happening.
'I never planned to make games exclusively anyway.'
Scarlett had pointed out the instability of game company operations and warned about diversifying revenue streams, but to me, that was secondary.
I had zero doubt that the games I made from now on would succeed.
Yet the reason I planned to diversify revenue was simple.
'Full-dive virtual reality games.'
These were games far beyond what a regular game company could produce.
Even by 2025 standards, giants like Nendo in the game industry wouldn't touch them.
Ironically, focusing solely on games would make virtual reality games impossible.
"So, we're making a chat program for internal networks first?"
"Yeah."
"That drops the difficulty a ton, then?"
Rogers and Jason, who had been glaring at me like they wanted to kill me when I mentioned a real-time chat system, now looked somewhat relieved.
"But if we make this and sell it to companies, will it even have market appeal?"
Separate from his relief, Rogers didn't seem impressed by an internal network-based chat program.
"I agree. Waffle uses WaffleTalk, and MiniSoft has MiniPopup."
Jason chimed in, agreeing with Rogers.
Honestly, they had a point.
Even in '92, LAN-based chat programs surprisingly existed.
The two giants dominating the PC software market, Waffle and MiniSoft, came bundled with basic chat features: WaffleTalk and MiniPopup.
But,
"Sure, they get used as chat programs, but you've tried them, right? Do you really want to keep using that crap?"
"Well..."
The issue was their shoddy quality.
Even for basic text exchange, they were so slow it was faster to just walk over and talk in person.
Of course, they lacked file-sharing features standard in future chat apps.
So they only got used once in a blue moon, and users treated them as practically nonexistent.
"The bigger a company gets, the more people it has."
IBM, America's flagship IT company, had over 300,000 known employees.
At its peak in the '80s, it hit 400,000.
"How many floppy disks do you think they exchange daily?"
"Thousands... no, tens of thousands?"
"No one knows exactly, but even if it's around that and they recycle, it's an insane amount."
Especially in America, where recycling wasn't even considered, the daily floppy disk costs at IBM alone must be astronomical.
"What if a program came along with fast real-time chat and the ability to attach files the size of one floppy disk? How do you think companies would react?"
"They'd lose their minds..."
No company would turn down saving millions a day.
"Fast speed and file attachments are key, but that's not enough."
"Adding more?"
"Not right away, but eventually, we'll integrate word processors, spreadsheets, calculators, image editors—everything into the chat program, all linked seamlessly."
Rogers and Jason gaped at my words.
I knew I was asking for a lot.
'But no choice. A plain chat program would trend briefly then fade away.'
So we'd hook users with a simple chat app first, get them accustomed to Savior's software.
Then gradually add features that itch right where office workers need scratching, until they couldn't work without ours.
"So, the core of this program has to be built on interoperability and expandability?"
"Exactly."
"You make the main chat program, and me and Rogers code like maniacs on the details?"
"Spot on."
"Die!!!"
Dodging an enraged Black man's fist was too much for an Asian.
Scarlett wasn't a smoker.
But right now, she needed a cigarette—or something even stronger.
"I'm starting to hate Japan."
Seton's headquarters, where she worked, was in Japan.
That was turning her hatred from Seton to the entire country.
Thinking about it, Japan was packed with things she despised.
From rival Nendo, to the even more loathsome HQ.
And Japanese gamers' extreme rejection of Western games.
-Hyper CD's new title did decently, but to prepare for the future, North America branch should fully support next-gen console development.
'All bullshit.'
Hyper CD was a massive flop.
Record-breaking, even.
When it tanked, HQ dumped the blame on the North America branch and ordered them to develop add-ons to salvage it somehow.
Scarlett fiercely opposed, but her boss—North America president Tommy Hwang—bowed to HQ instantly, rendering it useless.
Now the branch was desperately developing Hyper XD to extend Hyper CD's life even a bit.
Today's message from HQ turned all that effort to dust in an instant.
"Team Leader, you're here?"
"Yeah. If I stayed inside, I'd punch Tommy in the face."
"What can we do? He's the only one with HQ connections; he's practically king here."
Scarlett nodded silently in agreement with her subordinate.
She didn't hate Tommy Hwang just for being spineless.
'No talent, yet sitting as president solely because of HQ ties? Makes no sense.'
Even in America, school ties led to favoritism, but skill always came first.
In U.S. society, where lack of skill meant getting weeded out regardless of seniority, she couldn't fathom HQ placing an incompetent like Tommy Hwang in charge just because he was buddies.
"Actually, I got a scout offer from Uni recently."
"You too?"
"What? You got one too, Team Leader?"
Scarlett glanced around to ensure no one was listening, then spoke carefully.
"Yeah, a while back. Looks like Uni's eyeing the home console market."
The home console market, split between Nendo and Seton, was increasingly valued over time.
Many American homes owned at least one Neo Famicon or Hyper Drive.
Dominating it meant dominating American living rooms—an irresistible prize.
"Uni's a top global giant, even in Japan, right?"
"True. But they've nailed home appliances without ever making a game console, which worries me a bit."
Uni entering the console market now.
By sheer size, Uni dwarfed Nendo and Seton.
It rivaled America's biggest corporations.
Especially in home appliances, where it boasted world-leading tech.
But regardless of size, Scarlett saw low odds of success.
'Other companies aren't sitting idle because they're idiots.'
Nendo and Seton's power wasn't just hardware.
Their true assets were legions of first-party and partner developers.
Dev studios wanted proven consoles with millions sold, not gambles on untested new ones.
'Unless devs mass-defect from Nendo and Seton, newcomers can't break in.'
So Scarlett had put Uni's offer on hold.
"Oh, that company you recruited last time? Pretty interesting."
"The one I recruited? Oh, Savior?"
"Yeah. I'm heading there for tech support."
Just resuming work after a break, Scarlett halted at her subordinate's casual mention of 'Savior'.
"It's just a simple conversion; what's so interesting?"
"No, it's me and their president, Huck, handling it. One employee gave me a game... I thought it was insane."
"What was it?"
"Uh... he said not to share with others. Just for you, Team Leader; I'll pass it along later."
How could he drop that bombshell and leave her hanging?
Scarlett glared at her departing subordinate for a moment after his "later" remark.