Philips? Not Sony?

However, Minoru Arakawa's next sentence left everyone's pens frozen in mid-air.

"This SNES-CD will be jointly developed by Nintendo and our new partner, Philips." He paused, emphasizing the pronunciation of the name, "And its core CD-ROM drive technology will be fully licensed and technically guided by Philips."

Philips?

Not Sony?

These two words shot into everyone's brain like an electric current, causing a short-circuit-like silence.

The Wall Street Journal reporter, whose tie had been straightened by Minoru Arakawa that morning, suddenly felt a buzzing in his head. He suddenly remembered that Philips and Sony were the two major developers of the CD technology standard back then! They were giants who owned the most fundamental patents!

Nintendo has ditched Sony and gone straight for another major player!

"Then... then what about the PlayStation that Sony released this morning?" a reporter couldn't help but exclaim.

This question reflects the sentiments of everyone.

Minoru Arakawa seemed to have anticipated this question, and the smile on his face finally became clear, no longer concealed.

"About Sony and their very innovative product----"

He paused deliberately, savoring the tension of the countless people below holding their breath, before dropping the bombshell that would truly shake up the entire city of Chicago, word by word.

"Nintendo of America will, effective immediately, unilaterally terminate all cooperation with Sony and revoke all licenses for SNES-CD."

"Boom!"

If the past was silence, now it's an explosion.

But before the reporters could even jump up from their seats, Minoru Arakawa's cold and clear voice rang out again, like a precise scalpel dissecting Sony's most fatal weakness.

"At the same time, we have officially filed a lawsuit in court, asserting that the ownership and right to use the 'PlayStation' trademark belong to Nintendo. Until the outcome of the lawsuit, Sony is prohibited from selling any electronic entertainment products on the market under the name 'PlayStation' or any similar name."

Dead silence.

Absolute silence.

The entire audience seemed to have been collectively petrified.

What followed was a complete and utter loss of control, like a volcanic eruption!

My God!

"Sue for trademark rights?! Is that even possible?!"

"Ruthless! That's fucking ruthless! This isn't just breaking up, it's burning the other person's birth certificate!"

Cut off the fuel supply at the source!

This is the real solution!

Sony can build machines and attract developers, but if they can't even use the name, then their grand press conference this morning has become a complete international joke!

Minoru Arakawa looked at the completely boiling crowd below the stage; the flashing lights, shouts, and staggering figures all became a perfect backdrop in his eyes.

He didn't say another word.

She bowed slightly, then turned around and gracefully walked off the stage amidst a chaotic uproar.

Minoru Arakawa's figure disappeared into the darkness backstage, leaving behind a scene of utter madness after a deathly silence.

"My God!"

"Quick! Grab the phone! Grab the phone!"

The reporters finally snapped out of their daze, and their first thought wasn't to organize their thoughts, but to seize communication tools.

A brutal brawl, more savage than a rugby match, erupted in the public phone booths closest to the main stage.

"Get out of here! I saw it first!"

"Fuck! Stop pushing! My manuscript! My manuscript!"

The Wall Street Journal reporter, taking advantage of his physical strength, pushed past two colleagues, slipped a precious twenty-five-cent coin into the coin slot, and dialed the editorial office number with trembling fingers.

"Headline! Change it! Throw all the news about Sony announcing PlayStation this morning into the trash!" He roared into the phone, spitting on the glass of the phone booth. "Listen! Nintendo is suing Sony! For the name 'PlayStation'!"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone; the editor was clearly stunned by the news.

"Are you drunk? Aren't they allies?"

"Allies my ass! They've found a new lover! Philips! Yes, the Philips that sells light bulbs and shavers!" The reporter felt his blood pressure soaring. "Sony's press conference this morning has become an international joke! A multi-million dollar suicide attack!"

After hanging up the phone, he leaned against the glass of the phone booth, panting heavily, feeling more tired than if he had run a marathon.

Another group of reporters who failed to get a phone call headed straight for Sony's booth.

But when they arrived, they found nothing.

The Sony booth, which was bustling with people and full of futuristic technology in the morning, is now only occupied by a few trembling low-level employees trying to manage the situation.

The PlayStation prototype, quietly displayed in the glass case, looked particularly ironic under the flash of the lights, like an expensive tombstone left unattended.

"Where 'Ken Kutaragi? Tell him to come out!"

What is Sony's response to this? You've been played, do you realize?

The employees would only bow mechanically, repeating "No comment."

Meanwhile, Ken Kutaragi, the central figure in this storm, is currently hiding in an unused storage room at the convention center.

He gripped the phone receiver tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hand, a far cry from the spirited demeanor he displayed on stage that morning.

"—Yes, President Ohga." His voice was dry and hoarse, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth, "They knew all along— Minoru Arakawa was acting from beginning to end—the trademark, they wanted to seize the trademark rights to 'PlayStation'—"

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

Ken Kutaragi could even picture the suffocating atmosphere in the conference room at the Tokyo headquarters.

Their meticulously crafted plan, the sharp dagger aimed at the Greed of Man's back, was snatched away at the last moment before its success and plunged into their own heart.

A small group of reporters, with a unique approach, bypassed the video game exhibition area and went straight to the home appliance area in the main exhibition hall, where they found the Philips booth.

Philips ' booth was huge and bright, exuding the elegance and composure characteristic of Europe companies. A blond-haired, blue-eyed Netherlands manager was smiling broadly as he demonstrated their latest electric shaver to a group of dealers.

"----It can perfectly conform to the contours of your face, giving you the smoothest shaving experience."

"Sir!" a reporter rudely interrupted him, shoving a recorder in his face. "What is Philips' comment on the SNES-CD project in collaboration with Nintendo?"

The Netherlands manager was stunned. He looked at the group of reporters with their faces full of fanaticism and their eyes bloodshot, then at the razor in his hand, his face full of bewilderment.

"----What CD? Sir, would you like to buy a razor? This new model is on sale."

The reporters looked at each other in bewilderment.

They were talking past each other.

The entire Chicago Convention Center was in complete chaos.

The air in the arcade was thick with an absurd yet exciting atmosphere. Yesterday people were discussing the business model of the 3D0, this morning they were still amazed by Sony's performance monster, and now, all the topics have converged on one thing - Nintendo's comeback.

Nobody cares about 32-bit technology or polygon rendering capabilities anymore.

The media and capital are only concerned with this open, cutthroat war.

This is no longer just business competition.

This is a blood feud that must be fought to the death!