Autumn in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo Metropolis.
Lin Lixin leaned back in his chair, bored out of his mind, staring at the slowly loading page on the screen, veins bulging on his forehead.
"I mean... this is Shinagawa, are you kidding me with this internet speed?"
"Well..."
Hayao Nakayama felt somewhat helpless.
Sega's network is already the best in all of Japan.
A dedicated line directly connected to the Tokyo - Yokohama backbone network, with a maximum speed reaching an astonishing 192kbps!!!
But for Lin Lixin, this speed was slower than a tortoise crawling.
Can you believe that loading a static text file can take minutes?
"Those bastards, NTT, how can they possibly run a proper network like this!"
Lin Lixin curled his lip. Japan is not United States, and it's not within Nexus's business scope.
With these extremely conservative guys, I'm afraid that in another ten years, the internet speed will only be able to catch up with the current level of Nexus.
This really annoyed him.
With such a poor internet connection, NovaFusion's overseas expansion will be affected.
Many designs that rely on the internet cannot be implemented normally.
Forget about internet speed, Japan's backbone network isn't even connected to the main United States network yet.
This means that this area is even a large, independent regional network, where communication can only be done via long-distance telephone or by finding a way to relay calls.
"Chairman Lin, this is already the fastest dedicated line in Japan. We specially commissioned a custom-built line from the Japan Telegraph and Telephone Corporation."
"I really want to kick you all to death."
Lin Lixin sighed and rubbed his forehead in disbelief.
Well, this kind of thing is really difficult to handle.
Even with Nexus's current size, it would be difficult to handle such a transoceanic project independently. The only way to advance network construction is to create demand.
To be honest, Lin Lixin's trip was actually for something else entirely.
The autumn of 1992 was a significant moment.
If handled properly, it's entirely possible to secretly poach a company president who can shoulder a major responsibility in Japan.
But since we've encountered a problem, we should try our best to solve it.
"I originally came here to find someone, but this is a rare opportunity, so let's build an arcade machine together. Maybe it can help advance the development of the internet."
Japan is not United States; Japan has its own set of strategies.
If you want to make a name for yourself in this area, you'll have to set your sights on the otaku culture scene.
Especially now that the economic bubble has burst.
As the prolonged downturn causes further financial losses, this subculture will become increasingly prevalent.
Creating Shiori Fujisaki as a national goddess a few years in advance can be considered a good start.
"Arcade game?" Hayao Nakayama, somewhat puzzled.
If the goal is to advance the network, the best approach would be to replicate the situation in the United States.
Email service + World Wide Web service + online gaming service.
These issues can all be resolved using the PC.
Even Hayao Nakayama was already prepared to launch Sega attack into the PC market.
Japan happens to have a certain market share in the PC market, although most of them are older models.
But Lin Lixin suddenly veered towards arcade games.
Arcade games... are probably the hardware least related to the internet.
Whether it's a game console or a PC, they are all inextricably linked to the internet.
Just like Nintendo and Sega, they had already started researching telephone lines in the 1980s.
Although the final results were not ideal, it was still a great attempt.
"Yes, an arcade game, and a rhythm game arcade game at that." Lin Lixin grinned and called out to Satoshi beside him.
"Where's Sadamoto? Call him over. Oh, and Yu Suzuki too."
To move this project forward, we still need Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, the character designer for Gainax.
His previous project, " Tokimeki Memorial," has already proven his abilities.
"Vocal... vocaloid?"
Sadamoto repeated the new concept proposed by Lin Lixin, but still couldn't understand what it meant.
Is this a completely neologism or a loanword?
"Vocal-oid, 'vocal' means singing, and 'oid' means robot or something similar."
Lin Lixin wrote the letter on a piece of paper and showed it to them.
When combined, this term can be understood as something like [virtual singing voice] or [singing robot].
Both explanations make sense. Go to Bing search to see the latest chapter!
It was originally an electronic vocal synthesis technology developed by Yamaha Corporation.
In other words... a virtual singer.
"To promote the internet, we need to leverage the users' initiative. Therefore, UGC, or user-generated content, which allows players to create their own content, will be particularly useful."
In addition, there are nationwide online leaderboards, a friend system, a PK system, personal accounts...
The combination of various network-based social systems naturally creates a strong demand for the internet.
"Imagine if we didn't provide music directly, but instead offered a [sound library]? After purchasing the sound library, users could then create their own tracks using PC software or whatever."
"They can share through the internet or through certain offline means."
"Of course... it can also be released on our rhythm game arcade."
Virtual singers represent a typical example of user-generated content (UGC) in the early days of the internet.
Even into later generations, producers continued to diligently create content.
In this era of AI-driven big AI, those producers who still insist on using traditional, handcrafted methods represent the true essence of VOCALOID. Of course, there's also the entire subculture community that has sprung up around VOCALOID.
Concerts, CD releases, streaming platforms, illustrators, music videos...
This is a truly virtual artist, and a completely two-dimensional virtual artist who transcends the three-dimensional world.
But right now, Lin Lixin faces a whole host of problems.
One of the most serious problems is that streaming platforms simply lack the necessary environment for development.
Streaming media requires an extremely high level of network infrastructure. With the current state of development, not only Japan, but even the United States couldn't afford to operate it.
The second problem, while not life-threatening, was still very difficult for Lin Lixin to solve.
Her Highness is only 8 years old this year.
Saki Fujita, the voice actress for Hatsune Miku, was born at the end of 1984.
Well, thankfully, there are solutions to both of these problems.
Although it cannot produce streaming media, Gamenova has accumulated a lot of technical expertise in rhythm games and arcade games.
Both early titles like " Rocksmith " and " Beat Hazard " were excellent rhythm game arcade machines. Furthermore, arcade machines didn't require network infrastructure, meaning the associated costs could be entirely borne by the arcade owners or even the developers.
As for the Hatsune Miku issue...
Since Vocaloid-related technologies are still in the planning stage, there's absolutely no need to rush into it.
Gamenova has Shiori Fujisaki, a rising star and national anime goddess.
Just keep packaging her as a guest star for one season.
"However... the rhythm game market is already very saturated."
Yu Suzuki suddenly said.
The arcade culture in Japan is quite different from that in the US.
Rhythm games are especially popular here.
The aggressive entry of manufacturers like Konami further saturated the rhythm game arcade market.
Today, conventional 4K drop-down music, analog instrument playing similar to " Rocksmith," and even karaoke-style music are all thriving.
Trying to carve out a piece of the pie in Japan is no easy task. In this regard, Sega has virtually no experience or expertise.
Yu Suzuki, as the head of the arcade department, is a perfect fit for the professional racing arcade game.
"We don't need to innovate too much in terms of gameplay. Suzuki's selling point is its community ecosystem and social features. As for gameplay... we can make a simple 4K drop-down variation."
The so-called "falling 4k" game is actually a gameplay where notes fall on four tracks, and players press the corresponding buttons at the right time.
"We can make a... washing machine, a front-loading washing machine."
Many people have probably seen it in arcades.
A group of oddly dressed, long-haired otaku, wearing strange gloves, beat up a front-loading washing machine in an arcade on a weekday.
They fought so fiercely, they lost all passion, they were risking their lives!
Not only do they have to fight, they have to fight in circles.
It just outputs a lot of power into the drum of the front-loading washing machine.
This thing... is actually the legendary " Mai Meng maimai," Sega's most famous arcade series in the anime and manga community.
Its appearance allowed Sega to successfully step out of its long-standing comfort zone for the first time.
That is, the hardcore arcade culture circle.
Prior to this, Sega's products included Outrun, After Burner, Virtua Racing, and Virtua Fighter...
These are undoubtedly excellent works, and they are also frequent visitors to arcades.
But for otaku in the ACG community, "maimai" is the name they are most familiar with, rather than some random "outrun".
An otaku might not know what "Outrun" is, but they'll definitely recognize that front-loading washing machine.
"Its core function is social interaction, so it must be easy to use but difficult to master."
Lin Lixin offered an explanation.
Gamenova's most famous rhythm game is undoubtedly the original " Rocksmith ".
Even today, this thing remains an indispensable part of the rock music scene.
If any arcade is lucky enough to be exceptionally fortunate, it might even be able to enjoy free concerts every day. But this thing also has a fatal problem.
threshold.
The underlying logic of Rocksmith is that players can play a real electric guitar or electric bass.
The arcade machine reads the microphone signal and performs signal processing in the game.
This requires the player to have at least a certain level of playing skills.
For a game, this first requirement alone is enough to filter out 90% of the players.
"The falling-note design aligns with players' intuition, allowing everyone to understand what to do at a glance."
It looks like a big red button.
It's just sitting there, and anyone passing by would feel the urge to press it.
"As for why it was designed in a circle... naturally, it's to make it easier for passersby to watch; the greater the range of motion, the more advantageous it is for us."
Come on, if you see a long-haired weirdo beating up a washing machine, wouldn't you be curious?
At the same time, rhythm game players are a group with a naturally strong performative personality.