When it comes to grand gestures, Gamenova never disappoints.
In the vast CES exhibition hall, each major player had its own independent exhibition area.
Whether it's big or small, it all depends on how much the other party cares.
And Gamenova...
A temporary Pokémon Center was set up at CES.
It includes all the necessary functions of a flagship store and boasts complete interior design and decoration.
Rather than being Gamenova's own booth, this event felt more like a dedicated event for the Pokémon IP.
However, this time the protagonist is not a new work in the Pokémon IP.
It's not related to animation either.
It is a completely new registered brand name.
poképal
A direct translation would roughly mean "Pokémon Partner," a catchy name. It also cleverly uses the Poké Ball for "Pokeball," which is quite amusing.
After all, the name Tamagotchi is a completely neologism from Japan, combining an egg and a watch.
With Pokémon, a commercial behemoth with immense value, Gamenova had absolutely no need to start from scratch.
Is it a new game?
Fukuhara Kyoko stood on tiptoe, squinting as she carefully examined the situation ahead.
There were just too many people.
Despite the considerable size of Gamenova's venue, the crowds made it extremely crowded.
Judging from the new logo on the sign, it's probably some kind of Pokémon spin-off.
The Pokémon franchise is just as popular in Japan as it is in North America.
Even if a young woman like Kyoko has never actually played the main Pokémon games on NP, she has definitely seen the well-made animated series on TV.
Gamenova spared no expense in having Gainax handle the creation of the series, and each episode is of OVA quality.
This well-produced animated series is a rare gem even without the Pokémon IP. Furthermore, the management of the Pokémon IP is simply excessive, practically ubiquitous.
With a barrage of derivative works, toys, animated series, comics, and novels, it has long since grown into a behemoth spanning the entire entertainment industry.
Upon seeing the name "poképal," Kyoko instinctively assumed it was a new Pokémon game.
Otherwise, there seems to be no reason for Gamenova to make such a big show of it at CES.
However, as she struggled to push her way through the crowd, she immediately realized that she had completely misjudged the situation.
That was a... egg.
To be precise, it's an egg-shaped electronic device.
She recognized it; any player familiar with the Pokémon franchise would likely recognize it at first glance.
This is a Pokémon egg!
Looking at its curved shape and the patterns on it, it looks exactly like Pokémon egg.
But it's probably not the one that hatched Togepi in Gold/Silver.
It looks more like a special egg laid in a breeding facility. Judging from the markings, it could be a Grass-type Pokémon.
Although Kyoko likes Pokémon, she actually watches the anime most of the time and isn't particularly familiar with the game's mechanics.
I simply attributed it to my own lack of understanding.
The egg was displayed quietly on the stand, encased in a transparent glass frame, like a priceless diamond.
It's padded with soft stuffing and fine velvet, like a jewelry display stand, and also has a cozy, dog-nest-like feel.
Vivian stood by the booth, smiling and quietly waiting for the reporters to take photos, and giving the audience some time to process their thoughts.
Today's attendees weren't just die-hard Gamenova fans like those from "electronicgames".
Major media outlets such as CNN were also involved.
After all, CES is not something that happens at other times; it's a global consumer electronics event.
Since gamenova chose to make a public appearance at this time, they must have prepared something extraordinary.
Good morning, everyone.
As soon as she spoke, the noisy surroundings quickly quieted down. Gamenova has that magical power.
If it's something that people aren't interested in, no matter how loudly you shout it, people will just think you're being noisy.
But if everyone cares about this, even if it's said in a soft voice, everyone will quietly quiet down and listen attentively.
Some people who are oblivious to others continue to shout loudly, and they may even be stopped by their colleagues or passersby.
Do you remember your first pet?
Vivian said softly, turning her head slightly to look at the wall of televisions behind her.
Following her gaze, the surrounding audience also looked in that direction.
The Pokémon anime that was playing on dozens of television sets suddenly switched to live-action footage.
A child and his dog, an office worker and his cat, or a goldfish, a hamster running around with a ball, a parrot...
Each television set is playing a different segment.
These pet owners are playing with their pets.
"But... not every family can have a pet," she continued, as the images on the television began to change.
A little girl stood in front of a wire cage, reaching out her finger to tease the well-behaved dog inside.
"We don't have a yard, let it wait for a better owner."
"Good..."
The little girl reluctantly withdrew her hand.
The dog clearly hadn't had enough of being petted. It barked anxiously twice and circled around the cage, trying to lure her back.
"Hmm..."
Kyoko watched the images on the television intently, deeply agreeing with the sentiment.
For United States, owning a pet is probably not a difficult thing.
Especially the United States in this golden age.
The houses are all large single-story buildings with front and back yards, and each household has its own lawn to maintain.
This is especially true in the western region, particularly California. It's a vast and resource-rich area with a sparse population.
Japan are the complete opposite.
Just like Kyoko herself, she usually lives in an apartment for easy commuting to work.
The apartment was so small that it was difficult to even care for herself, let alone keep a pet.
Even a small mouse or bird can make the whole house smell terrible.
For working-class people living in big cities, keeping a pet is a luxury, a slightly more luxurious activity. It's actually a little better back in her hometown of Kumamoto.
But Kyoko couldn't possibly give up her job opportunity in Tokyo.
"But now..."
When the montage on the television ended, Vivian's voice rang out again.
"Now everyone can have their own companion..."
She opened the glass display case and took the egg out.
Then... it was flipped over! Due to the previous angle, everyone only saw its back.
Only after it was flipped over did everyone realize its extraordinary nature.
The front is not the same eggshell pattern, but almost a flat surface.
A TFT-LCD screen, slightly smaller than the device itself, is embedded in the center.
Its name, "poképal," is engraved at the top, and there are three buttons at the bottom.
Apart from that, the entire A-side is incredibly clean, with only simple eggshell texture decorations on the border, maintaining a consistent style.
The design of the entire Egg Watch is highly consistent with Pokémon, featuring iconic smooth lines and a minimalist design.
All unnecessary redundancy has been optimized away.
Although simple, it gives a luxurious feeling, making you want to grab it immediately at first glance.
Vivian waved to the staff.
The photographer immediately sprang into action.
A professional camera used its macro lens to aim at this tiny machine, which was no bigger than the palm of your hand. The video signal was processed in real time by the workstation, and with only a short delay, it was output to the CRT television set next to it.
This is arguably a major drawback of current LCD screens.
Its specifications are excellent compared to those of a cathode ray tube, but its size simply cannot be increased.
Let alone the size of the TV, if it's even slightly larger, the yield rate will drop precipitously.
Even at this size, you'd be lucky if a few out of ten were usable.
Despite its small size, it contains a groundbreaking technology that is worthy of Nobel Prize and is considered one of the most important Civilization.
Blue LED light.
Yes, this is Gamenova's first commercial attempt since developing Blu-ray LEDs.
Prior to this, although it had been developed, it had always existed in a laboratory environment and had very little commercial value.
Both the low yield rate and the immature technology make production costs highly unstable.
But one advantage of pokepal is that it's very small.
For an LCD screen of this size, only a very small amount of blue LEDs are needed to produce a very good backlight. Due to the physical structure of the LCD screen, the liquid crystal itself does not emit light.
This is completely different from CRT televisions.
Traditional CRT televisions use a cathode ray gun to excite phosphors of different colors, displaying various colors on the screen.
LCD, on the other hand, took a completely different approach.
Liquid crystals themselves do not emit light, but the transmission of light can be controlled.
With just a back panel that can emit light, it can display different images.
However, this has always been a major flaw of LCD screens.
Prior to this, LCD screens had always used CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent lamps).
Various LCD screens, including Gamenova's own Hermes laptop, actually use this structure.
Its advantages are very obvious: high and uniform brightness.
However, its drawbacks are equally fatal.
It's bulky and heavy, operates at high voltage, and has a complex structure. And of course, there's the most crucial point... power consumption!
For mobile devices, even a watt of power consumption can have a fatal impact on battery life.
If the backlight issue cannot be resolved, then the only viable development path for mobile devices is to continue developing battery technology.
And on this road...
Unfortunately, graphite anode lithium-ion batteries are currently the optimal solution.
Until materials science and engineering continue to advance, commercially available batteries will reach their capacity limits unless they are made on larger areas.
The reduction in chip power consumption is also highly dependent on the development of manufacturing processes and technologies.
If the goal is to develop low-power devices at this point in time, the only remaining avenue for progress is...
It's a blue LED light.
The true cornerstone of mobile devices, and the most crucial driving force that made LCD screens truly qualified to replace CRT displays and enter the mainstream stage.