What does $139 mean?
In the United States in 1988, this figure was equivalent to nearly 50 pounds of canned ham.
It sounds like a lot, but it's far from being unaffordable.
Nintendo's flagship console, the NES, is currently priced at around $149.99.
Keep in mind that this is the result of supply chain optimization over the years.
When it first arrived in the United States, an NES cost a whopping $199.
If it weren't for the emergence of NovaBo, Atari could have survived for a while longer by relying on its price advantage.
However, even now that the NES has undergone multiple price reductions and entered its long-tail phase, its price is still only on par with the newly launched NovaSwift.
But----
NovaSwift is a true 16-bit machine!
SWIFT DOESWHAT Nintendon't.
This is not just a catchy slogan, but a truly overwhelming and comprehensive defeat.
But for Robert, this might not be such good news.
He had just recently bought a brand new NP handheld console for his child.
It's only been half a year, and next-generation models are already here!
Inside the office.
Robert's legs were shaking involuntarily as he flipped through the pages of a copy of "Electronic Games" that he had picked up on his way to work.
Ever since he discovered his daughter's interest in video games, Robert has been keeping an eye on related news from time to time.
"Introducing the product for $139, which includes a launch edition of the new title, Hill Climb Racing."
To be honest, this price is really nothing special.
He was, after all, the CEO of a reasonably sized company; a mere hundred dollars was nothing to him.
But the game's name made him somewhat worried.
Robert had observed Yuli's interests.
At the very least, she definitely has no interest in games like Rock N' Roll Racing.
Although she liked Nova Kart, Yuli was so bad at it that she almost never played with Sean except when Sean asked her to.
"Should we wait for the new work?
If you buy it and the recipient doesn't like it, you might as well study Madonna's new album instead.
Just as he was fretting over this, Sean suddenly burst into the office, shouting, "Boss, the NEXUS maintenance guy has gone back. The equipment is fine, and the monthly rent has been paid through the accountant."
"Thanks for your hard work."
Robert nodded.
Today was the day for NEXUS's routine check-up.
After all, network connectivity is still a relatively new technology, and its stability needs further testing.
These maintenance personnel visit them periodically to check the condition of their equipment.
"Oh, right," 6
Seeing Sean about to leave, Robert suddenly stopped him. "You know [NovaSwift]? What do you think about me buying one for Yuli?"
"Of course I know! I know it all too well!"
Sean immediately announced loudly, "The Switch is backward compatible, Boss, which means it can use all of NP's cartridges normally, so you don't need to worry about not having any games."
If we're talking about the biggest news in the gaming world these past two days, it has to be the release of GAMENOVA's new console.
16-bit! Handheld! And a new game!
In fact, Sean had already pre-ordered it and the goods were already in his hands.
"Wait, Boss, you didn't... pre-order, did you?"
Judging from the way the boss is talking, he might be completely ignorant about this area.
This is going to be troublesome.
Pre-order? Do I need to pre-order this?
Robert frowned slightly and looked down at the concept diagram in the booklet.
He still remembers the wall covered with various themes and color schemes of NP handheld consoles when he first went to the game store to buy one.
Handheld console.
He had never heard of any pre-order system.
"Hiss----Boss, if I may be frank, it's not really a big deal if Yuli doesn't like the NS if you haven't pre-ordered it."
77
Sean counted on his fingers and estimated, "Hmm—if you place an order today, conservatively speaking, you should be able to get the goods by the end of next month."
"What the heck? The end of next month?"
Robert was startled.
Keep in mind that it's only mid-February, which means that even if he places the order today, he'll still have to wait a month and a half.
Damn it, you wouldn't be taking this long to buy a car yourself.
This is the first time I've heard of buyers begging manufacturers to sell their products. Isn't that just throwing money away?
"I'm afraid so—"
Sean nodded helplessly.
His gaze fell on Robert's somewhat stiff expression, and suddenly a flash of inspiration crossed his mind.
Immediately, his lips twitched almost imperceptibly, and he reached into his pocket, trembling as he pulled out a brand new white Nintendo Switch.
Good heavens, I just received the goods this morning, and haven't even had a chance to play a couple of rounds yet!
But the situation is urgent now, and we can't worry about that now.
Sean gritted his teeth, took out the NS, and gently placed it on Robert's desk.
"Boss, I bet you forgot about the pre-order. Guess what? I bought one extra."
The Hill Climb Racing cartridge is still plugged into the machine.
Robert glanced at Sean in surprise, picked up the machine and looked at it for a few moments, then his expression turned serious.
"That won't do. Consider it as me buying it from you at a higher price."
He took out his wallet and casually pulled out two hundred-yuan bills.
Sean's hands trembled slightly as he picked up the bill, but his heart was bleeding.
Good heavens, $200? There are plenty of buyers for this stuff even at $300 these days.
That only happens if you meet someone you click with.
At this point in time, getting your hands on a NovaSwift in stock is practically impossible.
Okay, let's just consider this a way to make Yuli happy.
I'll order another one from the game store later.
Having learned from this experience, Sean vowed that next time he would order an extra set as a backup.
He used to find it laughable when he saw people in magazines buying three of everything, but now he can't laugh anymore.
Sean left the office, leaving Robert alone sitting there, holding the brand-new NovaSwift in his hands.
" Hill Climb Racing - Let me see what's going on."
After turning on the power and briefly loading, the game's start screen appeared on the large 4-inch screen.
Robert was truly astonished by the incredibly fast loading speed.
He watched Yuli play with NX every day and knew exactly how fast it loaded.
This speed is even faster than the previous generation handheld console, the NP, and it's in a completely different league from the slow-loading NX.
The incredibly smooth loading experience immediately gave Robert a very high impression of the machine from the first moment he used it.
A handheld console that you can pick up and play in seconds!
This is the quality a portable entertainment device should have.
"Let me see, A button for accelerator, B button for brake—no other controls? It's that simple?"
Robert was somewhat taken aback.
This is supposed to be a flagship title for the next-gen consoles, is it really okay to treat it this simply?