Yokoi Gunpei's Discovery

Minister Kobayashi paused for a moment, then waved his hand, laughing drunkenly, "Mr. Yokoi, what are you joking about! No matter how rich Sony, they wouldn't dare to mess with Nintendo! That would be like provoking a powerful enemy!"

Besides, aren't they still helping you develop the SFC-CD? They're allies, allies! Enix is also a Nintendo ally of Nintendo; what's the difference between poaching them and poaching Nintendo?

"Ally----"

Yokoi Gunpei repeated the word, and for some reason, the wine in his mouth tasted slightly bitter.

His mind works incredibly fast.

It's common knowledge that Sony is helping Nintendo develop a CD drive for the Nintendo Famicom (SFC).

But this "ally" is secretly undermining the entire gaming industry.

They poached people from Sega, Konami, Namco, and Capcom —almost no established company escaped their clutches.

However, they carefully avoided Nintendo and several third parties with the closest relationship to Nintendo, such as Enix.

This is not respect.

This is a tactic to lull the enemy into a false sense of security!

They didn't want to disturb Nintendo, which was still dreaming, at the most crucial moment!

Yokoi Gunpei felt a chill rise up his spine, instantly dispelling all the effects of the alcohol.

He suddenly stood up.

"Mr. Yokoi? What's wrong?" Kobayashi and the others were startled by his sudden movement.

"It's nothing, I just remembered I had something urgent to attend to." Yokoi Gunpei pulled a few bills from his wallet and slapped them on the table. "It's on me today, please continue."

After saying that, he walked out of the izakaya without looking back.

The cold night wind woke him up completely.

Back at headquarters, Miyamoto and his comrades were still overjoyed by the strong support from their "allies."

But this ally has already secretly betrayed Nintendo, delivering a vicious stab in the Nintendo!

No!

He paused, then turned and strode off in the opposite direction from home.

The president must be informed of this immediately!

The atmosphere in the conference room at Nintendo's Kyoto headquarters was so oppressive it was almost palpable.

Yamauchi Hiroshi looked extremely grim.

Just an hour earlier, Yokoi Gunpei, whom he had sidelined for a long time, suddenly rushed back to headquarters in a great hurry and demanded to see him.

As a veteran and meritorious employee of the company, Yamauchi Hiroshi would still give him this much face.

As a result, the news brought by Yokoi Gunpei led to an emergency summons of all Nintendo's top executives.

On the long conference table, there was only a summary of information that Yokoi Gunpei gleaned from a familiar Enix programmer, a summary that was half true and half false.

Sony is indiscriminately poaching talent from all game companies of any size throughout Japan.

"That's the situation." Yokoi Gunpei's tone was calm, no different from before he was marginalized. "Sony, with its size, once it decides to enter the fray, its goal is definitely not to be a small-time third-party player. What they want is their own console platform."

These words sparked a murmur in the conference room.

Having just returned from leave, Shigeru Miyamoto, still somewhat listless, propped his chin on his hand, his focus remaining on the game itself. "Sony is a large and powerful company; if they want to enter the game industry, there's nothing we can do to stop them."

Many people nodded in agreement.

"Can't stop them?" Yamauchi Hiroshi snorted coldly, tapping his finger on a piece of paper on the table covered with company names. His voice wasn't loud, but it instantly silenced the entire conference room.

"Then why does Sony dare to poach people from Sega, but deliberately avoid Nintendo?"

This question, like a needle, precisely pierced the wishful thinking of everyone present.

Yes, why?

One director remarked instinctively, "Perhaps—it's because we and Sony are allies in the SFC-CD market? They're hesitant to make a move?"

Before he could finish speaking, he felt a cold gaze fall upon him.

Yamauchi Hiroshi didn't even look at him, his eyes fixed on the paper on the table, but the invisible pressure he exuded caused cold sweat to seep down the director's back.

ally?

This word made Masayuki Uemura, who was in charge of SFC hardware development, feel a sudden jolt in his heart.

His mind went blank for a moment. Sony's aggressive poaching, the SFC-CD project, the alliance—these seemingly unrelated fragments suddenly pieced together a chilling picture.

His face turned from red to white in just a few seconds, and finally became completely bloodless.

This subtle change did not escape Yamauchi Hiroshi's notice.

"Uemura-kun," Yamauchi Hiroshi's voice remained steady, "What have you thought of?"

Masayuki Uemura's lips trembled, and cold sweat slid down his face. He felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his throat.

"President—back then—back then, in order to get Sony to agree to our CD-OM licensing plan as quickly as possible—in the supplementary terms of the contract—"

"Speak!" Yamauchi Hiroshi's voice suddenly rose, like a thunderclap.

Masayuki Uemura trembled, almost crying as he cried out, "The terms clearly state that Sony can not only produce and sell compatible consoles for the SFC-CD, but also—and has the right to independently publish games for that console! We—we have no right to interfere, nor do we receive royalties!"

Boom!

The entire conference room erupted in chaos!

"What?!"

"How is this possible!"

Shigeru Miyamoto was so startled that he sat bolt upright in his chair. He wasn't a businessman, but he understood what this meant.

This is equivalent to Nintendo painstakingly setting up the stage and hiring the best performers, only for Sony to step on stage and perform a competing show at any time, without having to give Nintendo a single penny of the ticket sales revenue!

They could even form their own band and sing better than you!

This is like inviting a wolf into your house! No, it's like shoving the key to your house right into the wolf's mouth!

Yamauchi Hiroshi's expression calmed down; the deathly stillness before the storm was more terrifying than any roar.

He didn't look at Masayuki Uemura, whose face was ashen, but simply picked up the internal phone and dialed a number.

"Legal Department? Get everyone who handled the SFC-CD project contract to my conference room now, immediately."

He put down the phone and looked around at the crowd, who were all silent with fear.

"That concludes today's meeting."

Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Yamauchi Hiroshi's next words made their hearts leap into their throats again.

"However, no one is allowed to leave the company until the Legal Department releases its review results."

His gaze finally settled on Masayuki Uemura was slumped in a chair.

"You wait too."

Time ticked by, and the air in the conference room seemed to freeze into lead.

The clock on the wall was pointing to seven o'clock. The night outside was deep, but the room was brightly lit, illuminating the solemn expressions on the faces of each director.

Masayuki Uemura sat slumped in his chair like a statue that had lost its soul, not even having the strength to move a finger.