HAL Laboratory's Debt Crisis Erupts

Tokyo Metropolis, Chiyoda- ku, Akihabara.

As one of the most prosperous and important neighborhoods in Tokyo Metropolis, it maintained its vitality even during the period of the bursting of the bubble economy.

At present, Akihabara is still an electronics district.

A large number of consumer electronics brands and their latest gadgets are gathered here.

Although it hasn't yet become the kind of holy land for anime and manga fans it will become, it's already showing some signs of that.

Because games are an important part of the ACG (Anime, Comics, and Games) subculture.

Speaking of which, what truly propelled Akihabara into an anime district was Gainax and their "Neon Genesis Evangelion".

At this moment, Evangelion has not yet been created.

The entire Akihabara electronics district is still dominated by Sony and Panasonic.

Of course, familiar faces from various video games are also present.

[HAL Laboratory]

The then-president, and also the founder of HAL Laboratory, Mitsuhiro Ikeda, was sitting at his desk, fidgeting nervously. He didn't even notice the people talking next to him.

"President! Please make a decision quickly!"

"Um? Sorry."

Hearing the other person slam their hand on the table, Mitsuhiro Ikeda finally snapped out of his daze.

No wonder he's been so lost and dejected these past few days.

After all, the HAL Laboratory has reached this desperate situation, and as its president, he cannot escape responsibility.

It could even be said that they must take full responsibility.

Thanks to its close relationship with Nintendo and its strong collaborative foundation with a series of excellent titles such as Pinball and Golf, HAL Laboratory built a very solid foundation in the 1980s.

This is Japan, not Europe or America. Without Gamenova dominating the scene, HAL, backed by Nintendo, is indeed living a life of luxury and making a fortune.

As a result, Mitsuhiro Ikeda, the company president, became slightly... arrogant.

Expanding staff, taking on distribution responsibilities, building facilities, developing hardware...

HAL gradually transformed itself into a much larger developer. But he overlooked one thing.

With royalties and Nintendo as its owner, no matter how much HAL tries to change things, it can never turn things around like truly independent manufacturers such as Konami.

HAL's cash flow is not particularly stable; it can only be described as steadily growing.

But Mitsuhiro Ikeda doesn't think so.

In his view, Nintendo and the HAL Laboratory are thriving.

As HAL continues to expand its scale, its profits will increase, allowing it to undertake more ambitious and large-scale projects.

One day, HAL will grow into a true giant.

To realize this grand ambition, Mitsuhiro Ikeda went on a rampage of mortgage loans and financing from all sides, accumulating billions of yen in debt to fund HAL's expansion plans.

As a result, several of HAL Laboratory's flagship titles were quickly discontinued and failed.

Just then, the financial bubble burst.

The real estate he acquired at great expense saw its value halved overnight.

Coupled with the series of setbacks HAL Laboratory has suffered recently, it has entered a state of insolvency within just a few months. It's likely that HAL Laboratory will close down before the end of the year.

At that point, the rest of the company can simply pack up and leave.

But he has to carry this debt of over a billion yen and find a way to survive the rest of his life.

If this continues...

I might as well just sink Tokyo Bay today.

"President! Are you even listening to me?!"

Seeing that Mitsuhiro Ikeda had fallen into that distraught state again, the person slammed their hand on the table once more.

"Cong."

Mitsuhiro Ikeda struggled to lift his head and look at the furious young man before him.

He is Satoru Iwata, a programmer at HAL Laboratory, and the best one there.

"President, we need to ask Nintendo for help; it's the only way."

"No, if the bank..." "It's impossible to get any more funding, President! Please face reality!"

Satoru Iwata immediately interrupted him.

Given the current state of the HAL Laboratory, those ruthless bastards at the bank would have to be out of their minds to agree to the funding.

Unless a Naoki Hanzawa suddenly appears out of nowhere, all of this is just wishful thinking.

"The only way now is to seek help from President Hiroshi Yamauchi. Only Nintendo can save us!"

Despite the fact that Nintendo's overseas business doesn't seem to be doing particularly well.

After all, Gamenova is always watching closely.

However, in Japan, thanks to the amazing cost-effectiveness of the FC and SFC and Nintendo's unbeatable game lineup.

Nintendo is indeed doing very well.

It is also currently Japan's only console gaming oligopoly.

Let alone 2 billion yen, even 5 billion yen, if Hiroshi Yamauchi is willing, the Nintendo can come up with it.

"Knock knock knock"

As they were arguing, their voices were interrupted by a rapid knocking on the door.

Mitsuhiro Ikeda looked in the direction of the voice and found it was his secretary.

"President, you have a phone call."

"Who is it? Nintendo? Or has the bank finally relented?"

"Neither..."

The secretary shook her head hesitantly.

"It's... gamefreak."

"Who?"

The reception room.

Mitsuhiro Ikeda personally and respectfully presented the two guests with the top-quality confectionery that his secretary had recently purchased with the last of their funds. He then discreetly took a lower seat, glancing timidly at the man who had been sitting in his original spot, legs crossed.

Anyone facing him would probably not perform much better than him.

"As you know, Mr. Lin happened to be on a business trip to Sega at the time. I mentioned the situation of HAL to him, and he suggested that he come and take a look."

Gamefreak president Satoshi Tajiri, sitting in the second seat, spoke first.

Japan people value rules and regulations, so going through these formalities and procedures is a way of putting on a show of force.

Even though Lin Lixin is intimidating enough just sitting there.

"Yes..."

Mitsuhiro Ikeda nodded slightly to Satoshi Tajiri with gratitude.

It wasn't just that he was grateful that the other person was willing to bring up Hal in front of Lin, but also that he was grateful that the other person was willing to take the initiative to ease the tension.

After all, it was impossible for Mr. Lin to say anything in this situation, but when Mitsuhiro Ikeda was asked to speak, he couldn't find the right words for the moment.

"We are deeply grateful for your kindness, sir, that you would be willing to come to a small place like ours..."

"Back when I was developing ' Double Dribble,' I was inspired by ' Pinball,' so I guess it's a bit of a coincidence," Lin Lixin said softly.

This wasn't just a polite remark.

He first learned skills like physics engines by leveling up his proficiency while playing Pinball.

"I was deeply impressed by the amazing physics simulation in Pinball on the FC; they even managed to make table lookups so beautiful."

"That's Satoru Iwata's masterpiece. I wouldn't dare say it inspired us, but the fact that Mr. Hayashi likes it is already an affirmation of our work."

"Um."

Lin Lixin nodded noncommittally.

Silence fell over the room once more.

In his awkward moment, Mitsuhiro Ikeda noticed that Satoshi Tajiri seemed to be conveying some kind of message in his eyes.

He immediately realized what was happening and then spoke again:

"However, HAL Laboratory hasn't been doing well lately. If Mr. Lin had come a few months later, this place might have been empty."

"Hmm? How could that be? Aren't all of HAL's works quite excellent?" "Uh... that's a long story..."

Mitsuhiro Ikeda looked embarrassed.

How can this be explained?

Did he mess up his own brain and squander all of Hal's savings, leaving him with debts of over a billion yen?

Just as he was feeling down, Satoshi looked at Lin Lixin and offered an explanation for him:

"President, as you know, Japan's economy has been declining recently, and everyone is a bit disorganized. Not everyone is as fortunate as Gamefreak and Sega to have Gamenova as a solid backer."

Damn! What a good person!

At that moment, Mitsuhiro Ikeda felt an urge to pounce on Satoshi Tajiri and give her a few big kisses.

Look!

Look at my half-brother, whom I've never met before and who is not from the same father or mother!

"So..."

Lin Lixin nodded knowingly, "Is this guy named Satoru Iwata still working at HAL?"

"Of course, of course. Go and call President Lin in."

Mitsuhiro Ikeda immediately went to the door and greeted his secretary.

Shortly after, Satoru Iwata was led in.

He is actually over thirty years old this year.

But for a conglomerate like Japan, where the management is generally aging, his age is indeed in his prime and he is still young.

After all, this isn't Silicon Valley.

"President Hayashi, President Tajiri."

He bowed in greeting and only after receiving affirmation did he walk over and sit down in front of Mitsuhiro Ikeda.

"Are you the lead programmer at HAL?"

"Yes, sir, Pinball, Golf, and Air Fortress are all my works." Any one of them is a valuable IP on the FC (Famicom).

It's no wonder that HAL became Nintendo's right-hand man.

"Um..."

Lin Lixin nodded and looked at Mitsuhiro Ikeda.

"It seems we've met by chance. Since that's the case, I have a suggestion. Gamenova could provide the HAL Laboratory with a three-year interest-free loan."

2 billion sounds like a lot, but it's just dollars.

Given the current environment of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Gulf War, and the Japan economic bubble.

Converting this number to US dollars would require removing two zeros and then cutting it in half to roughly reach the black market price.

That means it's only a few million US dollars.

"Of course! Thank you so much, President Lin!"

"But there's a condition."

Lin Lixin interrupted Mitsuhiro Ikeda's elation and continued, "The conditions are... HAL Laboratory becomes a subsidiary of Gamenova, and all debts are paid off within three years. And..."

He pointed his finger at Satoru Iwata.

"Let him become the president of the HAL Laboratory."

"Wait, but..."

Mitsuhiro Ikeda's expression froze as he looked at Lin Lixin with a puzzled expression.

If this had happened before, and he had heard that someone was willing to solve Hal's predicament, he would naturally have offered his full support.

Not having to be the president of the company is even better.

They can retire happily without ever having to worry about these debts again.

But now that Gamenova has intervened, it's naturally better to find a way to keep myself on this ship!

"There's no point in saying anything more. Either sign the retirement papers or wait for the court to liquidate your assets."

Lin Lixin waved his hand, "How can we play a good game with such insects around?"

"However, it also depends on your opinion, Satoru Iwata. Taking over as president means that all of HAL's debts and responsibilities will fall on your shoulders." "Everyone is still holding on here, and I won't run away either."

"That's fine."