The Christmas season passed smoothly.
The sales of nvafsin have been proven by the market, maintaining a strong growth rate and continuously encroaching on the new market of fifth generation.
On Sony's side, Ken Kutaragi remained calm and unhurried.
Now that he already has a solid backing and ample funds, there's no need for him to force himself into this situation.
Nintendo's unusual activities went unnoticed by outsiders.
Everyone knows that Nintendo will not sit idly by and will eventually move into the next generation.
But what they will actually do remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, on Amenva's side...
With the ranch in Marin County under construction in an orderly manner, the relocation work has finally officially begun.
The first to move in were naturally the development department staff—the kind of guys who could work anywhere as long as they had a computer. These past few days, entertainment media and various magazines have been saying the same thing:
Amenva is building its own " Hollywood "!
With a territory exceeding 8.1 square kilometers, Lin Lixin and his group could freely create anything they wanted.
It's no exaggeration to say that they could fit several small towns (I mean building complexes) here!
"The turf here isn't laid yet; the whole area will be a standard-sized football field eventually."
"This is naturally a basketball court, and it's a standard size, built according to international standards."
"This includes tennis, badminton, and track facilities. The heated swimming pool is indoors, and the central ventilation system for the entire building has been installed. As far as this complex is concerned, residents should be able to move in before at least next spring."
Trevor, CEO of Umbrella Corporation, led Lin Lixin on a tour of the park.
This is a stadium surrounded by a group of buildings.
The road surface was paved with various materials depending on the needs.
The main roads in the park are asphalt roads, while secondary routes are paved with concrete.
Beyond that are brick-paved pedestrian areas and field paths made of stone slabs and rammed earth on the grass. The multi-level road network perfectly divides the vast building complex into countless small functional areas.
"That's Papa John's's Pizza. John Schneider personally oversaw the design and interior work, and it's all up to flagship store standards. Of course, there's also a coffee shop."
For programmers, these things that aren't exactly "high-end delicacies" might be their favorite everyday choices.
"Mr. Saul Bass was in charge of the entire building structure; it's in the classic Bauhaus style."
The two stopped in the middle of the pedestrian plaza.
This is the central area of the entire complex, surrounded by buildings.
As internal roads, they are all paved with bricks and stones, yet they are remarkably smooth.
It turns out that as long as they are paid enough, their initiative in doing the work is exceptionally strong.
"It looks like it will take quite a few years to build the entire ranch."
Lin Lixin nodded in satisfaction and looked around.
This area, though large, only occupies a small portion of the entire ranch.
"Indeed, but we're already at full throttle. Now comes the most important part, which I call... the Dream Factory!" Trevor pointed to the building facing the square; its exterior style immediately identified it as Amenva's old headquarters.
"This building is the new development department, complete with offices, meeting rooms, archives, and warehouses. Although it can only be reached via a walkway, there is a dedicated underground passage for freight vehicles, and there are also dedicated bicycle paths within the park, so there's no need to worry about logistics."
"It sounds like some kind of KopeTech..."
Lin Lixin's lips curled into a grin. This sounded a bit ominous, as if a mute little boy was going to come in disguise as a deliveryman and rob them.
Not far away, a group of people arrived by park bus and walked closer along the brick path.
Even from a distance, you can tell they are all Amenva's capable henchmen.
"Lin, all the equipment and stuff has been transported up from underground, Sam insisted on looking around first, so we came up from the surface."
"Shut up, Carmack! You dare say you don't want to see it?"
"At least I know I need to pack my things first."
"Then why are you following me up there?"
The group approached, playfully joking around, showing none of the "composure" expected of a big shot, which was rather frustrating.
But perhaps this vitality and creativity is the secret to their eternally youthful spirits. Lin Lixin laughed heartily, his already beautiful mood rising even higher.
"New year, new look! Let's get ready quickly, we still need to prepare for the President's Day sale after the Christmas holidays."
That's just how it is sometimes.
Don't be fooled by the fact that everyone's quality of life has always been quite good.
But it is precisely this kind of genuine, material stimulation that can truly give people a feeling of being recharged.
Amenva's new headquarters is quite different in style from Mr. Lu's Skywalker Ranch next door.
The area is still more natural, with very sparse buildings; large building clusters are almost nonexistent.
However, Amenva was built entirely with the intention of creating a "theme park".
According to the plan, in addition to the central park, which is responsible for administration and development, all branches of Hans Zimmer Studio, the Jackie Chan Stunt Team special effects team, the film and television post-production team, the hardware and software testing team, the arcade team, the NEXS network team, etc. will also move in one after another.
Apart from industries like wafer fabs, which are very difficult to relocate and rely on the city's established logistics network, everything else can be moved to the industrial park.
At that time, a large community will be formed, with many stars surrounding the moon.
It's also a pilgrimage site that gamers all over the world dream of visiting. "Speaking of which, where are David and the others? Didn't they come with you?"
Lin Lixin glanced at everyone.
They were all from Amenva headquarters; I didn't see anyone from Activision.
Moving from Los Angeles isn't so easy. We still need to clean that run-down rental building. I'll be lucky to get to San Francisco by the afternoon.
"Sam said, his eyes scanning the surroundings with excitement.
Even now, he still has a sense of unreality and superficiality.
"That's true. What about Carmack and Christopher? Dedicated offices have been reserved for you in the ne Engine Department and n Graphics Laboratory."
"Have no idea."
"... All right."
Lin Lixin gave a few helpless, bitter laughs.
Making Carmack a "leader" is really asking too much of him.
Although he is now nominally in charge of NE, the overall coordination is actually handled by Christopher, or rather, the original Bethesda team. At most, he just shows off his skills in front of this amazing guy when NE encounters technical problems.
"There are several hundred acres of nature reserve reserved to the south. If you're interested, you can take a drive there later. Remember to bring your camera and film; they can add a bit of vibrancy to the office when you get there."
Lin Lixin noticed Hideo Kojima's gaze, then gestured with his lip towards the distance.
" Sam and Carmack have been to the residential area many times; you can figure it out yourselves."
With such a large area, building a few small detached houses is a piece of cake.
Let alone residential properties.
It has everything: bars, gas stations, restaurants, general merchandise stores, parking lots, and more.
If Bullfrog Studio wanted to throw a party, they now have an entire street to spare for their boundless energy.
Lin Lixin even deliberately requested that some typical scenes be set up in the park.
This includes the firing range and closed roads.
It can be used to shoot special effects scenes.
Whether shooting game PVs or CGs, location shooting is possible, providing a lot of inspiration. "While the server room and wafer fab can't be moved, other departments at NEXS can be moved in normally, including the R&D department of Micro-Nova Semiconductor."
Trevor continued explaining to Lin Lixin.
The hardware facilities are housed in a separate building, very close to the development department.
Micro-Nova Semiconductor's situation is unique.
Traditionally, the chip development process has been one of design over design and production over production.
While the wafer fabs can't be moved, we can certainly pack up and send over the guys who design the chips and make the boards.
This also means that Vivian, who has always felt like she's been exiled to the frontier, finally has the opportunity to get closer to Lin Lixin and the others.
"That's all for now. Thank you for your hard work."
Lin Lixin stretched and, seeing that the sun was approaching noon, ended today's tour.
"It's not hard work!"
Trevor shook his head repeatedly.
He was a trusted lieutenant whom Lin Lixin had personally promoted. Although he was a second-line backbone, he was also a staunch believer. After escorting Lin Lixin all the way to the foot of the main building, he immediately hopped on his bicycle and headed straight for the construction site.
Standing in the empty office, Lin Lixin and Carmack looked around.
"Aww--"
Suddenly, Lin Lixin let out a loud howl for no apparent reason, startling Carmack.
"Can you feel it?"
Lin Lixin held up a finger to make a shushing gesture, indicating that he should listen carefully to the echo inside the building.
"Sound field physics is an indispensable part if we want to create a system that enhances a performance."
The gaming industry has always had very limited access to audio processing.
At most, it will play a sound effect or background music.
The most innovative approach in this area was actually Amenva's collaboration with Maikou on " MJ's Moonwalker." The true physical sound field effect, combined with multiple speakers, created a realistic surround sound experience.
"What if we used that technology in the Dynasty Warriors 3 game? The energy decays with distance, and different materials have varying degrees of penetration and attenuation; we could deduce the opponent's location just by hearing them..."
When sound is no longer a sound effect triggered by a chip, but a real "entity" that continuously and realistically spreads throughout the world...
"Design a dedicated physics engine for sound too? This...?"
"That's so cool! Right?"