Chapter 37

Chapter 38

On December 3, 1994, Japan's Sony unveiled the PlayStation game console. A few years later, it united the home entertainment console market under its rule. From then on, a saying emerged in the gaming industry: "Right or wrong, victory or defeat-all comes to nothing in the end." It meant that every generational change in electronic entertainment meant starting over. No one could win forever, and no one necessarily had to lose forever.

By 2002, video game revenues in the United States had surpassed Hollywood's, and Sony was still a winner.

It was not the most profitable, but it was the most influential. Countless people around the world who had never known what video games were became gaming enthusiasts thanks to the PS and PS2.

Anyone familiar with the history of video games probably knew that, back in 1988, Nintendo had already begun technical cooperation with Sony while developing the Super Famicom to counter SEGA's sixteen-bit Mega Drive. Both companies had their own agendas: Sony saw promise in the console market, while Nintendo coveted Sony's technology. They began discussing the possibilities of CD-ROMs.

The two companies reached a preliminary agreement in early 1990. Sony would provide the technology, and Nintendo would use Sony's CD technology in its next-generation Super Famicom. But Sony's ambitions to monopolize the market were too great. It hoped to establish its own CD format to unify the market, which displeased Nintendo. Nintendo would not let anyone take away its exclusive profits, and ultimately abandoned Sony in favor of Philips.

This scheming stretched from Sony America's proposal of the Super Famicom CD project in 1987 to Nintendo's sudden announcement in 1991, the day before the Chicago trade show, that it had already signed with Philips. Sony was shocked, but could do nothing. The original contract had been incredibly vague, glossing over countless crucial details. Nintendo's agreement with Philips did not conflict with its earlier Sony contract at all, leaving Sony powerless.

Sony's entire involvement in the Super Famicom CD console project was called "PlayStation"-the PS project that would later become so famous.

After being deceived by Nintendo, Sony spent nearly three years repeatedly studying its options, abandoned two plans, and lost a total of 1.5 billion yen before finally unveiling the actual PS home console on December 3, 1994. This generation of console became the standard for those that followed, with memory cards, analog sticks, and CD-related functions becoming standard features of later home consoles.

One important figure who had followed the PS project from the late eighties onward was Ken Kutaragi.

He had been involved throughout the PS project's development, SCE's establishment, and the console's release. In November 1993, Sony established its Sony Computer Entertainment subsidiary-the famous SCE-and he was its head.

A legendary figure like him had turned the PS into the world's most popular console within a few years and sold entertainment to the entire world. What did he want with me now?

Liu Mingyao cleared things up over the phone. "He's very interested in With You and wants to talk to us. He also wants to meet the game's creator. I figured you'd be interested in him, so I passed him on to you."

What was this? I was supposed to meet the head of SCE? A kid not even twelve meeting a senior Sony executive?

Liu Mingyao had picked up my shameless joking manner remarkably well. "It's fine, it's fine. I told him you came up with the idea and refined it together with Zhang Xiaotong. He's very interested in you... A twelve-year-old genius game creator-Japan's never had one of those."

While loudly cursing Liu Mingyao for selling out a friend to get ahead, I muttered inwardly, This had to count as an alternate history by now, right? What little I knew was becoming less and less useful. The way things were changing, this was practically another world already.

Cursing aside, I still had to meet him. I asked Liu Mingyao to arrange a meeting at Beiguan City's famous coarse-grain restaurant, where I would treat Kutaragi to cornmeal steamed buns and sorghum porridge.

Ken Kutaragi did not look much like the photographs I had seen. He was not as fat yet, his eyes were not as small, and he looked perfectly genial when he smiled. Remembering that in a few years even Bill Gates would shudder at the sight of that smile, I lost any fondness for his friendly expression.

The interpreter was a square-faced young man named Zhao Shijia, with straight brows and deeply sunken eyes. He looked rather like a wastrel worn down by drink and women, and a little like someone from an ethnic minority. I hated the way he looked at Zhang Xiaotong. Damn it, he was much more lecherous than me...

The talks began in a friendly, pleasant atmosphere. The six of us had booked out the entire restaurant. Zhang Xiaotong, Liu Mingyao, and I formed one group, while Zhao Shijia, Kutaragi, and his secretary formed the other. We sat facing one another, with Kutaragi directly across from me.

"Mr. Zhou, your game is exquisitely designed and wonderfully conceived. It brings out all the pleasures of collecting, nurturing, trading, and exploring. We're deeply impressed."

I tilted my head back and laughed theatrically. "Ha ha, you're too kind. Just a little game on a little budget..."

"At your age, Zhou-san, you must be considered a genius even in your country?" Kutaragi continued flattering me. "This single work is enough to place you among the ranks of first-class game creators."

"You flatter me, Mr. Kutaragi." I deliberately gave the interpreter a difficult time. I could understand the Japanese perfectly well, but it always came out a little different after passing through his mouth. "We have an old saying in China: ambition knows no age. Our history is full of people who accomplished great things at twelve or thirteen. It's just that people's attention is elsewhere these days. Children, you know-just a disadvantaged group."

The interpreter hesitated, unsure how to translate "disadvantaged group," and finally settled on "a weak group."

"You're too modest, Zhou-san." A shrewd light shone in Ken Kutaragi's small eyes as he stared at me. "I asked Mr. Liu whether he intended to port With You to the PlayStation, and he said he would have to ask you. There aren't many precedents even in Japan for a creator determining a company's decisions."

The PS would step onto history's stage in less than a month. Ken Kutaragi certainly had a discerning eye. Nothing had even sprouted on my end, and he was already here to pick the flowers.

I scratched my head, feigning hesitation. "That could be difficult..."

"Difficult?" The Japanese man did not understand my scheming and asked with an apparently guileless expression.

"Well," I said, "With You originally sold on the idea of portability and simplicity. Porting it to the PS now might go against the PS's original intentions, wouldn't it? A port without flashy graphics-just thinking about it would probably give you a headache."

Surprised by my understanding of the PS's strategic plans, he asked, "Are you familiar with the PS's specifications as well?"

I casually deflected the question toward the book import-export company. "I've been reading overseas gaming magazines for years. I know a little."

"There are actually that many people in your country who like video games?" Ken Kutaragi asked in surprise. "I believe you should bring With You to the whole world, Zhou-san, and let everyone see the standard of Chinese game development."

Actually, Sony approaching us was a good opportunity.

Just as Kutaragi said, I should bring virtual pets to the whole world, and Sony was one of the world's best salesmen. Frankly, their products were only average, but their packaging, publicity, and marketing were superb. Much of what I was using now had actually been learned from Sony.

Considering the timing... Kutaragi ought to be having a pretty rough time right now. Should I bring him on board?

After thinking it over carefully, I decided against it. His baby was about to be born, so he surely would not want to leave. Besides, however lavishly I spent, how much could I really offer? Though I nominally qualified as an electronics industry magnate, I had no connection whatsoever to the world's cutting-edge technology. How could I win him over?

Better to stick to straightforward cooperation.

I said slowly, "I'm just a kid who makes games. Of course I want the games I make to sell more copies. But I don't really understand these details, so you should discuss them with Mr. Liu. I've already licensed it to Sun Electronics."

Kutaragi immediately turned to Liu Mingyao. "Mr. Liu, please give our cooperation proposal serious consideration."

Liu Mingyao had shown me the draft agreement. In essence, Sony wanted us to sign on as a third-party software developer for its console, preferably making With You a PS exclusive. After 2000, the very notion of a particular game being exclusive to a particular console practically became the gaming industry's biggest joke. How could I possibly agree to a deal like that?

With a stiff expression, Liu Mingyao told Ken Kutaragi, "Given the current circumstances, your company's wish for an exclusive really puts us in a difficult position. The situation is still very unclear... At most, we can provide third-party software and a portable version of With You that links to the PS. Further cooperation will depend on how things develop."

Kutaragi clearly had not held particularly high hopes for his earlier proposal. Liu Mingyao's response was fairly close to his ideal answer. Everyone in the world knew this business had to be approached cautiously. Sony's original PS project had flushed 1.5 billion down the drain precisely because it had not been cautious enough. Kutaragi probably still wasn't having an easy time, was he? I noticed deep dark circles beneath his eyes despite his seemingly relaxed face. Either too much sex or too much worrying.

Once he understood Liu Mingyao's position, Kutaragi left in a hurry, praising the coarse-grain meal we had treated him to before he went. I told Liu Mingyao, "At last, one more Japanese person knows there's more to China than mapo tofu."

Liu Mingyao curled his lip. "That stuff they eat is expensive and tastes awful. Whenever I'm out on business and someone suggests Japanese food, I get a headache."

I burst out laughing. "It's the money that hurts, isn't it? Seven or eight thousand for a meal, and when have you ever not picked up the bill?"

Liu Mingyao muttered, "You can damn well say that... A few scraps of lousy meat cost hundreds. Do the Japanese run restaurants by robbing people?"

"They spend enough on a netted cantaloupe to buy a used car," I said. "Apart from chicken, there's nothing cheap to eat in Japan. You have to understand their situation. Such a tiny scrap of land..."

"Are we really going to work with them?"

"Of course. Get their development kits and learn the technology..." I gazed out the window and said leisurely, "Right now, we have nothing but one game. However you look at it, we come out ahead in this partnership. Besides, making money off the Japanese-that's been our dream for years..."

Liu Mingyao looked at me cautiously. "You really take national integrity seriously?"

"I do. How could I not?" I said. "Whether it's an excuse or sincere, this is the only way to handle things now. If we can get into the Japanese, European, and American markets through Sony, we'll have scored a huge bargain."

Liu Mingyao nodded, then asked in the tone of a petty collaborator in a war movie, "Well... what does Your Excellency plan to do next?"

I played along with a sinister chuckle. "Heh heh heh, just wait for the show... We're going to turn Greater East Asia into our DI cultural co-prosperity sphere and remake those Japanese devils into cultural slaves who worship our Celestial Empire. Heh heh heh..."

Comrade Liu Mingyao, commander of the puppet army, raised his thumb. "Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant..."

Then his face turned miserable again. "Those people at Sony aren't pushovers. I hope Your Excellency will give due consideration to all the complications."

Like a conjurer, I tossed him another document. "Take a look. This is my draft cooperation agreement. Find a couple of smooth-talking managers to haggle with them. SCE is short on support right now, so they're bound to accept most of the conditions."

After skimming it, Liu Mingyao could not help raising his thumb again. "Brilliant! Truly brilliant!"

I smiled. The first sentence of that proposal read, "Bring entertainment to the world."

Zhang Xiaotong loved reading my things most of all. She snatched it over and was flipping through it when Liu Mingyao's phone rang.

Zhang Xiaotong and I both looked at him. After murmuring a few acknowledgments, Liu Mingyao hung up and told us, "Yu Chunrong asked me to tell you that Ting Hsin and Uni-President have decided to temporarily stop fighting over the instant noodle market and enter China's tea beverage market at the same time."