Game Development Giant

Gunpei Yokoi, as the head of hardware development at Nintendo, will certainly not be idle. Although he has participated in the development of game software before, he is not essentially a software developer, and he cannot even write code.

"It's pretty smooth. After all, we have the foundation of GW before, but the real palm game console we discussed before is still very different from our previous GW, such as how to miniaturize it and how to transplant it as best as possible. Some things about the game are still being discussed on paper..." Gunpei Yokoi heard Hiroshi Yamauchi asking, and he quickly answered.

However, he also knows that for President Hiroshi Yamauchi, who has never paid much attention to hardware, it is not easy for him to start two huge hardware development teams at the same time.

This is because Nintendo, which only owns the Japanese market, is far less financially powerful than Mars Entertainment, which almost dominates Europe and the United States. Hardware development is the project that requires the most investment and is the least likely to recover costs. For example, Jester’s Mars Entertainment just After the successful development of the 16-bit arcade basics and the successful development of the 8-bit basics, Jester's father personally led the research and development, and it was not until recently that the official version was successfully developed. It has a history of nearly three years and an investment of over $50 million.

\u0026nb≡万书≡巴≠小≠说 .nsb.msp;???If such an investment fails, it will be an almost irreparable loss for a company.

Yes, three months ago, Gunpei Yokoi's plan for palm games was approved by Hiroshi Yamauchi, and he invested a lot of research and development funds and mobilized a large number of developers from within the group to participate in the project. This is not because Hiroshi Yamauchi saw the huge market for handheld game consoles. Eight years ago, Gunpei Yokoi told him about the theory of using some people's time when they go to work, take trains, fall on the ground, or other fragmented time, so he developed gw .

This was indeed a product that made Nintendo an instant hit, but apart from being a hot seller when it first went on sale, its subsequent sales were not very impressive. In the end, Nintendo no longer even produced its own GW game console hardware. Instead, it sold GW's patented technology to external parties.

The reason why he was able to agree to Yokoi Gunpei's plan again was because he wanted to expand the market for FC.

However, this time, the development priority of the 16-bit game console is obviously superior to the brand new handheld console mentioned by Gunpei Yokoi. However, if you want to draw people from the handheld mobile phone development team that was just formed before, needless to say the person in charge of this project, Gunpei Yokoi, and even Hiroshi Yamauchi find this a bit difficult, because they originally agreed to let the hardware department concentrate all resources on the project. The development of mobile phones and the mobilization of elites from within the entire group. It was his own order.

And now, in just three months, when the mobile phone project has just begun to take shape, he suddenly changes his mind. Doesn't that prove that his previous choice was wrong?

As the wise and powerful leader of Nintendo, how could he make such a mistake?

Therefore, the decision to reduce the mobile phone development team cannot be made by him. Instead, other people are needed, and the most suitable candidate is right in front of him.

Yamauchi Hiroshi raised his head and looked at Yokoi Gunpei. Obviously, he wanted Yokoi Gunpei to take the initiative to propose a proposal to reduce the development team of the handheld mobile phone, and then he went down the steps, but Yokoi Gunpei obviously had completely different ideas from Yamauchi Hiroshi.

in his eyes. If you want to rely on home game consoles to compete with Mars Entertainment, judging from the current situation, it is basically impossible, and in the game market. The only way Nintendo can defeat Mars Entertainment is to open up a brand new market, since it cannot compete in the home console market. As for itself, arcade is not its strong point.

So, why don’t we take the initiative to create a market?

Driven by this kind of thinking, Gunpei Yokoi couldn't help but think of his proud work in video game consoles, gw.

It is true that GW is not a successful handheld game console in terms of performance or sales. However, in Yokoi Gunpei's view, the reason why GW sales are not high is just because GW was at that time The price is too high, and a game console can only play one game. If you want to play other games, you can only buy a new gw palm game console.

This form that is not easy to promote is due to technical limitations, but in the end, this was the primary reason why gw failed to become popular.

Originally Yokoi Gunpei thought so, but when he saw that Mars Entertainment purchased the patent license of gw, and then improved the electronic pet machine by itself, it became popular around the world, and now it has reached the third generation, and it still has fans. When there were many followers, he knew that the reason why gw failed to achieve true success back then was probably not just what he had thought before.

To be honest, when Mars Entertainment's electronic pet machine was just released and became an instant hit in Japan, Gunpei Yokoi thought that this gadget with little technical content would have a similar fate to his GW back then, but he didn't expect that he was wrong.

Under Yamauchi's direct gaze, Yokoi Gunpei did not flinch. He was not a person who only knew how to follow orders. For Yamauchi, he had direct respect and promoted himself from an ordinary person to a Nintendo. I am grateful to the hardware development director of such a huge company, but he will not give up easily if he has identified something in his profession.

So, he took a breath and tried to convince Yamauchi Pu.

"President, with all due respect, in my opinion, it is necessary to develop a 16-bit machine as soon as possible, because the home machine market is our root. If our root is broken, then we will only be a big tree no matter how small it is. Those who prosper will inevitably die." Hearing what Yokoi Gunpei said, Yamauchi Hiroshi nodded with satisfaction, thinking that his most proud general understood what he was thinking.

However, after Yokoi Gunpei said this, his tone immediately paused and continued: "But, President, I think if we are just satisfied with the current situation and just want to maintain the current situation, for the broader America, If the European market has no interest, I agree to reduce the size of the handheld mobile phone team and supplement the development lineup of the 16-person console R\u0026D team to be established. However, if we have ambitions for the European and American markets, which are several times larger than the Japanese market, I agree I feel that handheld mobile phones are our best and most promising weapon."

When he heard Yokoi Gunpei's sudden change of tone, Yamauchi Hiroshi knew that his beloved general might not want to act according to the script he wanted to see, but he still didn't expect that he would speak so fiercely. .

What does it mean that without his mobile phone, it would be impossible to gain access to the European and American markets? What do you mean we don’t pay attention to the European and American markets? Could it be that my huge Nintendo wouldn’t be able to play anymore without him, Gunpei Yokoi?

Hiroshi Yamauchi narrowed his eyes, but he still forced himself to think out his true thoughts. Now for Nintendo, Gunpei Yokoi is indeed an indispensable figure, not only in terms of hardware development, but also in terms of software development. , Yokoi Gunpei's influence is very huge, and Yamauchi Hiroshi confidently thought about what Yokoi Gunpei just said, and it is not unreasonable.

In fact, he himself also knows that it is basically impossible for them to fight against Mars Entertainment in the home console market by upright means, but doesn't he want to defeat his biggest opponent?

That is of course impossible. How could a person like Hiroshi Yamauchi, who never admits defeat, be allowed to say that he does not want to defeat his enemy? What Gunpei Yokoi said this time is still blank now, like Like the home machine, the cassette-type handheld machine can be replaced to open up a new market. This will definitely open up a new situation in the European and American markets.

We only need to draw conclusions from the popularity of the electronic pet machine that Mars Entertainment originally unintentionally introduced.

But it’s also like what Gunpei Yokoi said just now. Home consoles are our foundation and we absolutely cannot afford to lose. Moreover, our base is originally in Japan. Mars Entertainment is an American company. No matter how suitable their games are for Japan. Players also need to take care of the American market. Moreover, coupled with the Japanese's conservatism and xenophobia, Mars Entertainment has no chance to completely defeat itself in the Japanese market.

But Sega is completely different.

Although the birth of Sega has a strong American origin, after Hayao Nakayama sold Sega of America in 1984, their American origins were completely severed. Although Sega later re-established in the United States own branch, but this company has nothing to do with the Americans who originally founded the company.

In other words, this is a company of true Japanese origin.

This is what Hiroshi Yamauchi is most worried about. His biggest advantage over Mars Entertainment will be lost when dealing with Sega.

Originally, if Sega had only maintained their MS game console, he would not have taken it to heart, because even though the performance of this console was better than that of FC, it was still limited. It lacked excellent development capabilities, and Without the participation of third-party manufacturers, this home game console is destined to fail.

But sixteen-bit home consoles will be completely different. You know, Sega has a large number of excellent arcade games, but these arcade games cannot be simulated on eight-bit consoles. But if this carrier is switched to a sixteen-bit console, then The situation is completely different.

If Sega were to gain a foothold in Japan with 16-bit machines, it would be a disaster for Nintendo.