Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Greg
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“I don't like it.”
“Pardon?”
AE, the leading game distribution company in America.
And Greg, who had been with AE from the very beginning and played a major role in growing it from a domestic powerhouse into one of the top distributors in the world, was dissatisfied with the current state of AE.
‘Didn't you see the Savior case, Hudson? Lowering the distribution royalties even a bit would actually become the driving force for AE's future growth.’
‘Savior is an exception—a so-called special case. If a game flops, the distributor takes an even bigger hit than the developer. Considering that risk, our current royalties aren't excessive at all.’
Greg was on his way back after having his proposal firmly rejected by AE's president, Hudson, in their meeting just moments ago.
“With the current distribution structure, even if another company like Savior pops up, it'll be snuffed out before it can take root.”
“Isn't that a bit of an overblown worry? The gaming industry is exploding with growth every year.”
“Growth isn't the only issue. The direction of that growth is what's important.”
Why had the Atari 2600, the first console to spark a craze in America, ultimately failed?
It chased short-term profits down the wrong path, lost consumer trust as a result, and collapsed.
In Greg's view, the PC gaming scene lately was heading in a similar direction.
‘The royalties distributors demand are too high. And with IPs belonging to the distributors, why would developers bother making proper games?’
Even if they poured their hearts into creating games with captivating worlds, developers got only a small cut while the distributors snatched up those enticing game IPs. It was killing their motivation.
As a result, more and more developers were starting to slap together half-baked games, figuring the distributor bore the risk if they didn't sell anyway.
Greg felt that overcoming this situation desperately required concessions from distributors.
After all, developers and distributors weren't adversaries—they coexisted. If one side crumbled, the other would follow suit predictably.
But AE's president Hudson and the board dismissed Greg's concerns as mere delusions, leaving him frustrated.
‘I didn't graduate from Caltech and enter the gaming industry for this...’
Greg had jumped into gaming when it was still dismissed as mere child's play, seeing its future potential.
He was convinced games weren't just toys—they would become a true culture.
And as he'd predicted, games were indeed evolving into a culture, but the rot festering inside it displeased him deeply.
A bit more fresh...
A bit more innovative...
Greg felt the gaming industry needed a true savior to transform it for the better.
“I have an external appointment today, so tell anyone who wants to report to hold off until tomorrow.”
“Understood.”
Greg said to his secretary as he slipped on his overcoat hanging in the corner of his office.
‘Did he predict even this situation? If so, he's one terrifying junior.’
Right now, Greg was heading out to meet his school junior—the very savior he had in mind.
“Mind if I say I honestly wasn't expecting you to show up like this?”
“If I admit that back then, I inwardly scoffed at what you said, would that be rude?”
The white man with an intellectual look that suited his glasses well was trading light banter and greetings with me right now.
It was unexpected that Greg—my Caltech senior and current AE board member—had come to see me.
‘If you ever want to jump ship, come to our company. Spots might fill up, so the sooner the better.’
Those were half-joking, half-serious words I'd tossed at Greg after wrapping up our first distribution deal with AE.
But I'd never thought he'd actually come.
AE was undeniably America's number one game distributor.
And Greg, who had helped build it from the ground up and now held a board position for his contributions, had no reason to leave AE, or so I'd thought.
Of course, Savior had skyrocketed over the past two years, surpassing even AE in value now.
Still, Greg knew full well that his standing at a company he'd built from the start differed from what he'd have at Savior, so expecting him to come was the odd part.
“I'm not happy with the current state of the gaming industry.”
“May I ask which parts exactly?”
Greg took a breath before launching into his answer to my question.
“First off, console hardware makers and distributors are gouging developers with excessive royalties, only fattening their own pockets.”
‘Ho.’
This was intriguing.
For Greg—not a developer, but from AE, America's premier distributor—to kick off by criticizing distributor flaws was downright bold.
“Developers have issues too. Sure, the high royalties play a part, but they're churning out low-quality trash they can just sell off quick, especially ripping off whatever's trending—self-destructive behavior.”
I nodded as I listened to Greg's voice rising with emotion as he spoke.
The gaming industry was indeed lax on plagiarism.
Even my Dead Hills and Village Maker had countless copycats now—too many to count.
And,
‘Imitation is actually encouraged. The problem is the shoddy quality.’
No industry was as forgiving of plagiarism as gaming.
Adventure games all stemmed from Nendo's Super Daniel, unable to escape its shadow. FPS games, no matter how hard they tried, couldn't break free from Demon Slayer's systems.
But gaming demanded more than straight copies.
Just look at Dragon Mission and Last Fantasy sweeping Japan. Last Fantasy started as "Dragon Mission rip-off," but as the series progressed with originality, no one called it that anymore.
“Consumers aren't innocent either. For simple-to-copy PC games, people think you're a fool for paying. Even console games see more users modding and pirating.”
Distribution-Development-Consumers.
Greg's face grew bitterly somber as he described how this trio's synergy was darkening the industry's future.
“That's too grim to call sharp market analysis.”
“Exactly. That's why I'm leaving AE. I think saving the gaming industry's hope requires me to wield my skills elsewhere.”
His prophetic assessment startled even me.
‘A perfect explanation for why the future gaming world got overrun by mobile and gacha games.’
As Nothing's director who contributed to wrecking that future industry, I had no grounds to argue.
But as a gamer, I hated that gaming landscape.
The game fantasy novel Savior Quest—that's what first made me want to create games.
I wanted to make games like that.
“Greg, sir—er, can I just call you Greg now?”
“Of course.”
I love talent.
In a company, the team leader is crucial. Pick the right leaders, and even if underlings lack skill, you can still get decent results.
In that regard, Greg perfectly matched the talent I'd been desperately seeking.
His hands-on experience building a giant like AE from the bottom made him coveted anywhere.
Even more astonishing: he had computer science knowledge surpassing most developers.
‘One of my promising students got hooked on games!’
Even Professor Jo Nerdan—picky as anyone about talent—had lamented Greg's choice to join AE. His skills spoke for themselves.
“I think exactly the same as you, Greg. The market will grow by leaps—dozens of times over—even if it keeps going like this. But I don't like this direction either.”
“!”
Greg's eyes sparkled at my response.
“Will you join us?”
I extended my hand to him.
“I never dreamed you'd recruit Greg.”
“Lucky break. Now Scarlett can share the load.”
“You still don't get it, do you, sir? I don't see profitable work as a burden.”
I'd called Scarlett in to discuss Greg's recruitment, and her reaction was intriguing.
“Greg was famous even back at Seton. Rumors said he built AE's current distribution systems.”
“We got lucky. Seems our connection swayed him to choose us.”
With Greg's specs and track record, he could've picked anywhere after leaving AE. Snagging him was pure fortune.
“Sigh... I finally hired some Harvard grads to escape the Caltech Republic of Savior.”
“Caltech Republic?”
“Isn't it? Incoming Greg, Professor Jo Nerdan in two years. Plus Rogers and Jason dominating development teams.”
Listening to Scarlett, I realized—unintentionally—key positions were packed with Caltech alums.
“Ahem... Anyway, once Greg joins, I'll have him oversee this handheld console project. I'll handle design, but too many companies are involved for me to micromanage everything—short on time.”
“Makes sense. He's perfect, coming from negotiating and coordinating with other firms.”
Handhelds used fewer parts than consoles, but still plenty, involving many companies.
Impossible for me or Scarlett to handle alone—we needed someone reliable like Greg.
“With most tasks wrapping up, are you diving into full development now?”
Scarlett asked, eyeing me.
“Yeah. Now I can focus solely on the game.”
All the frenzy—acquiring companies, negotiating deals—was for one reason.
Time to seriously produce Fighter.