Game Development Giant

This is also crucial for Bill Gates.

Because it is much easier for him to convince the board of directors than not knowing.

Although he was confident of convincing the board of directors even without Sega's hardware R\u0026D team, the effort and hard work involved were not the same.

At this time, Bill Gates suddenly thought of something, which was what Jester mentioned, Sega's intention to withdraw from the field of console hardware. Since Jester asserted that the other party would make this conclusion in a year at the latest , so does it mean that they already have this idea?

He didn't know much about the ins and outs of the video game industry, but he could ask Jester.

Jester didn't hide it, because there was no need to hide it. This was not a top-secret matter. Basically, anyone with an in-depth understanding of the industry could tell that Sega was at the end of its strength at this time. It was just suffering. Struggling to hold on, everyone is waiting for the day when Sega can no longer hold on, and then they can just shop at this big supermarket.

"If my guess is correct, Mr. Okawa Isao should have made a decision in his heart, but I don't think it is easy for him to give up so quickly. He will definitely let Sega persist for a while, and..." Jester thought about it In his will before his death, Isao Okawa donated all his personal property to Sega free of charge, but this incident was too shocking and there was no need to tell Bill Gates.

To be honest, if it weren't for Okawa Isao's financial donation, Sega might really have fallen completely this time.

"Furthermore, I think if you talk to Sega about this now, Sega may not necessarily agree to you, but it will definitely not reject you directly. If you can show enough sincerity, I don't think Okawa Isao will insist on it." , because he himself has already made a decision."

Jester said this very clearly. That is, Okawa Isao has decided to stop the hardware department long ago. The only difference is that he has not yet decided when to stop.

But as things get worse for Sega, that time will eventually come.

In this case, it would be better for Bill Gates to talk to Okawa about this matter himself. If an agreement can be reached, it will be of great benefit to both parties. First of all, Bill Gates can get what he wants and obtain an excellent hardware development team in a short period of time. You can come up with a console that is comparable to PS3 or even Dreambox 4.

Secondly, Sega was able to earn a good amount of income at the most critical moment. Although this did not have much effect on rescuing Sega from the predicament, it could at least delay the eventual outbreak, which is also a good thing. of.

Although this time the dinner invited by Bill Gates did not achieve its original purpose.

But it was good to know another solution from Jester's mouth, so when he left, Bill Gates was in a good mood.

And Jester naturally invited Bill Gates to visit California if he had the opportunity.

Not long after Jester returned to Mars Entertainment, a big event happened in the industry. That was when Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer visited Japan and had a private meeting with Mr. Isao Okawa, the president of Sega. No one knew what the two discussed, but according to Sega’s internal knowledge According to the reporter, it is said that Microsoft also wants to enter the TV game industry.

Therefore, this time Ballmer wanted to inquire about the feasibility of acquiring Sega, but this inquiry was rejected by Okawa Isao.

Regardless of whether this incident is true or not, after Ballmer returned from Japan, Microsoft suddenly made several acquisitions, none of which were considered big. But the target is very clear, they are all game development companies engaged in TV game production.

You know, Microsoft does not have a TV game project, but this time they are constantly contacting TV game development companies-this point illustrates one point. That is, Microsoft really intends to enter this industry.

So the argument that they contacted Sega and inquired about the possibility of Sega's acquisition was greatly strengthened.

In fact, in its original history, Microsoft's ability to enter the game industry so quickly was inseparable from the decline of Sega.

If it weren't for Sega's hardware department. As well as the full help of Sega's software department, Microsoft's first-generation XBOX may not necessarily have a fate, and the reason why XBOX is such an excellent console is also crucially related to the joining of elites from Sega's hardware department.

However, Ballmer's trip to Japan did not achieve what he originally intended, at least that's what the industry thought. Thinking back to the previous private meeting between Bill Gates and Jester that not many people knew about, and Jester's He has said that he will officially retire after the development of WOW is completed. Many people have wondered whether Microsoft plans to acquire Mars Entertainment.

However, this statement was quickly overturned.

That was Ballmer's trip to Japan, and his meeting with Sega's Isao Okawa came after Bill Gates and Jester's meeting.

In other words, Jester rejected Bill Gates' proposal.

Of course, this is all speculation, but according to an unnamed senior executive within Microsoft, Bill Gates did propose the idea of ​​acquiring Mars Entertainment to Jester during the meeting, and reported A price was offered that was difficult to refuse. From Microsoft's perspective, since Jester had decided to retire, their sincere price should be able to impress the other party.

But the other party rejected them almost without much thought.

As for the price Microsoft has given, no one has disclosed it, but according to speculation, it will probably not be less than fifty US dollars, or even higher.

Maybe even Bill Gates has proposed a share swap method.

Jester did not ask Bill Gates that his final offer package did not include the conditions for share exchange, but judging from the look on Bill Gates' face when he quoted a price of US$7 billion, this should not be his bottom line price.

It is very likely that the bottom line price is to exchange for Microsoft shares, which is a plan that Bill Gates does not want to adopt.

However, if he really had the idea of ​​selling it at that time, Bill Gates might really bring it up.

The reason why Bill Gates doesn't want to adopt it is very simple, that is, Jester itself holds a part of Microsoft's shares. Although it is not a large amount, it is definitely not a small amount.

If you are doing a share swap. Then Jester will become a shareholder with great weight and voice within Microsoft, and Jester's own style is also very tough in his career, which is why Bill Gates does not want it.

He fears that his power will be challenged.

In fact, this is too much to think about.

Sega's DC did not improve much in the following time, and it was still tepid. The main reason is that the lack of high-quality games prevents players from having a strong impulse and desire to buy a console, not to mention that since the release of DC. Mars Entertainment and Sony seemed to have reached an agreement and suddenly made significant price cuts on their consoles and games.

On some festivals, the price reduction even exceeds 30%.

This extremely sniper-like method has made the sales of DC and DC games even worse.

It can’t be said that DC doesn’t have good games.

For example, there are four or five sets of games that have sold more than one million copies.

The much-anticipated "Shenmue" also received acclaim, with sales approaching two million copies.

However, these are too insignificant for the DC console.

The most important thing is a developer willing to develop a game for DC now that it's been nearly ten months since its release. There are no more than fifteen!

We have already made third-party games on DC, not even 20 games.

Let’s not talk about the quality. The quantity alone is already a death sentence for DC and Sega.

In the past six months, Microsoft's layout has become more and more clear. The mystery of the meeting between Ballmer and Okawa Isao, which was still somewhat mysterious at first, has also been revealed, because in this six months, the staff of Sega's hardware development department have become more and more clear. Several core members also resigned from Sega one after another and joined the Microsoft game department.

Microsoft's game department was established very early, but before that it was only responsible for the development of PC games. There are a few well-known PC games, such as "Empire Earth" which is very similar to Genjest's "Age of Empires" because the graphics are better and the AI ​​is also better. "Age of Empires" has not released the latest works in recent years.

Therefore, among similar games, more people play "Empire Earth".

But before, Microsoft only had a PC game department. This time they recruited some console development engineers from Sega. What is the reason for this?

Is Microsoft also planning to enter the video game industry?

Although everyone in the industry is speculating on Microsoft's next move, whether it will enter another giant beast in the gaming industry. However, the fall of Sega has basically become the consensus of everyone. Since Sega is now willing to give up its own hardware development department, it means that Sega may not have any future hardware development plans.

As for how long DC can hold on, that is unknown, although the latest Sega financial report was very ugly and caused turbulence in the stock.

Many people lost patience with Sega and sold their Sega stocks one after another.

However, Isao Okawa spent 50 billion yen of his personal assets to acquire Sega's stock, so it did not cause Sega's stock price to decline too much. However, it can be seen from this incident that investors have completely I have lost patience with Sega. This time Isao Okawa can use his personal assets to save Sega once, but can he save it a second time next time?

the most important is.

Another piece of bad news for Sega is that Mr. Isao Okawa has been hospitalized for recuperation due to physical reasons, and it is basically impossible to deal with Sega's affairs.

Sega is internally discussing who will replace Okawa Isao to handle company affairs during this period.

Finally, after some intense internal discussions, it was decided that Tetsuo Xiangshan would temporarily handle the company's affairs.

Of course, the president is still Okawa Isao.

In the hospital, Okawa Issei ignored the advice of doctors and family members and had a long conversation with Xiangshan Zhe. It lasted for five hours. You must know that this was conducted while he was seriously ill, and the content of the conversation was unknown. People know it, but there is no way to escape Isao Okawa's decision on Sega's future.

Okawa Isao's hospitalization has once again cast a shadow over the future fate of Sega, which was already in trouble.

However, during this period of time, Jester's WOW development team has not made any big moves. However, every once in a while, about three to five months, they will announce some game development ideas and screenshots of the game for the players to review on their own. .

Therefore, WOW is extremely anticipated. Whether it is IGN or GS, the number one most anticipated game is Jester's new game.

Despite this, because there is not much information known to the outside world, players can't find any place to discuss it if they want to.

But this does not mean that Mars Entertainment has no news.

Mars Entertainment shows no signs of weakening because of Jester's withdrawal from the development of console games. Mars Entertainment, which already has a large number of top producers, is still irresistible to other game companies for the time being.

Even some game studios just starting their debut games are bursting with unimaginable charm.

Take for example the Rock Star that was founded a few years ago.

At that time, Jester was saying that they were developing a game based on American gangsters. In fact, this theme was not recognized by the vast majority of people in the gaming industry. Now the name of the game revealed by Rock Star is " Judging from the content of the game "GTA3", it is indeed not the type of game that can be accepted by the vast majority of people in the industry.

Otherwise, this game is too violent.

Therefore, during this period of time, many people criticized this game on major forums, and many people even started to criticize Satoru Iwata.

Because in the eyes of many people, this game was developed only after Jester announced that he would no longer be involved in Mars Entertainment and Satoru Iwata came to power. If Jester was at Mars Entertainment, he would definitely not have given this game to him. So much support.

Not only the outside world, but even within Mars Entertainment, there are some people who have great opinions on the company's emphasis on a game that is violent, bloody or even pornographic.

Because this kind of development thinking has gone against what Jester said at the beginning, when making games, you can never just exploit a certain psychology of players. (~^~)