Looking for a solution? What solutions can there be now? Could we bypass US rules through some unconventional means to avoid the disclosure of source code and patents?
But this is almost impossible to happen. These two law enforcement agencies will never give you a chance to exploit loopholes.
Even if there were loopholes to exploit, they would immediately patch them up and make you cough up even more, it's quite domineering.
However, Matsuki Shi still honestly explained all the sanctions that the two agencies are imposing on GameStar Entertainment.
First, the Taxation Bureau decided to uniformly increase tariffs on electronic games and game consoles by twenty percent. Unless you're willing to build a factory in the US and sell there, they can turn a blind eye, as mentioned before.
In other words, the Taxation Bureau hopes to bring a large factory to US soil, increase employment rates a bit, so the Taxation Bureau can still extract taxes from the employed people, and it can also reduce public dissatisfaction, a win-win situation.
But the cost of building a factory in the US is high, and labor costs are the biggest expense. The hourly wage for industrial workers nowadays is at least $20.
If it's a skilled trade, wages must also increase. On average, each worker's daily wage will exceed $200.
This kind of daily wage is terrifying, and it's not as scary as accepting the twenty percent tariff increase.
Takayuki didn't say anything about this requirement.
The Taxation Bureau is just asking for a little more money, it's just a minor matter, fluctuations in tax rates are normal, they haven't really overreached, they just raised tariffs slightly higher than usual.
What's really annoying is the Department of Justice.
Their Antitrust Division, under various pretexts, is forcing GameStar Entertainment to disclose multiple patents and also to disclose the source code of their game consoles.
This is very lethal.
Never mind the disclosure of patents, once the source code of the game consoles is made public, the most serious problem is piracy.
And it's the lowest level of piracy, these four game consoles will be defenseless against piracy in the future.
Once it's made public, it's almost like surrendering to piracy.
So Matsuki Shi absolutely refused to accept it.
In addition to the disclosure of the console source code, the mandatory authorization of patents includes the light gun, directional pad, shoulder buttons, and some patents that were preemptively taken but haven't shown their usefulness yet.
However, perhaps the Department of Justice is also afraid that GameStar Entertainment will act recklessly and abandon the US market, then the patents won't be disclosed.
So they are also just asking GameStar Entertainment to authorize for a fee, but absolutely cannot lock down the patents and prevent anyone from using them.
And the authorization fee for patents will also be subject to certain restrictions, it cannot be too expensive.
They call this promoting industry development.
After listening to the detailed explanation, Matsuki Shi also mentioned the efforts of their team, which delayed the enforcement of these rules for a period of time.
This is their final effort.
"Oh, by the way, President, besides our team's efforts to delay the situation, there's another company that helped us, which you probably didn't expect, that company also influenced the formulation of the rules with its own influence, we were supposed to disclose more patents mandatorily, but the intervention of that company immediately reduced many."
"Huh? It sounds like a big company, who is it?"
"Morgan Group."
Takayuki was very surprised.
This company is helping him?
For what? Just because the release of Doom Soldier promoted the popularity of their system?
That would be quite a remarkable return.
The reason why he allowed Doom Soldier to be released on PC was mainly because the performance of PCs was indeed stronger, and it could also improve the graphics, Takayuki just wanted to experience a game with better graphics, and at the same time do some high-performance game testing.
But it seemed to have invisibly gained himself a friend.
Morgan Group is very similar to Microsoft in his previous life, a super giant in the US electronics field, its position is almost unshakable, and it has so much money it can't spend it all.
Takayuki said, "I really didn't expect Morgan Group's help, but I will definitely remember this favor, and I will consider cooperating with Morgan Group in the future if there is an opportunity, but for now, we should come up with our response strategy."
Matsuki Shi asked in confusion, "President, have you already figured out the response strategy? So soon?"
Takayuki shook his head, "No, it's not something I just came up with now, it's something I planned a long time ago."
"What's the strategy? Is there a way to avoid the disclosure of our game console source code?"
"No, that's unavoidable, let it be disclosed. In fact, this is a good thing."
"A good thing?" Matsuki Shi almost thought she misheard.
If the source code is made public, then the revenue from GameStar Entertainment's games on these consoles will probably plummet.
Previously, legal protection could ensure that these game consoles remained top sellers to some extent.
But now, with the US government forcefully pushing for the disclosure of the source code for four game consoles, it's like telling people they can pirate these four game consoles at will, and they will turn a blind eye. GameStar Entertainment can certainly use legal authorization to protect its rights, but if they have to sue one by one, the cost is immeasurable, and the biggest cash cow has also been knocked down, lacking successors, and it's possible to be dragged down instead.
Takayuki patiently explained, "This is how I see it. Since the source code is inevitably going to be made public, let's just use it to our advantage. We might as well make all four game consoles completely open source, and let's just go ahead and make the development kits for the four game consoles public as well, squeezing out the last bit of value: talent value."
"How do we squeeze it?" Matsuki Shi was getting more and more confused.
"You can start preparing now, change the ads, publicize the game development kits, hold an event, reward everyone who develops games on our game consoles, from individuals to groups, as long as their games meet our requirements, give them bonuses, give them long-term contracts. I want to sweep all the game developers in the US into my camp."
Takayuki paused, then said, "As for the name of the event, let's call it the GameStar Plan, to discover the future stars of gaming."
This world will never lack talented people. So far, Takayuki hasn't found many, but it's just the right opportunity to recruit such talent while making the game consoles completely open source.
Geniuses, come join us. Our game consoles don't need you to pay any licensing fees. As long as you have interesting ideas, you can freely develop games on our game consoles, and all the sales revenue will belong entirely to you, we won't take a penny, and at the same time, we will give you a new contract, a contract that binds geniuses.
"In addition to all this, I feel that it's finally time to release our long-hidden trump cards, the GBA and the GS1 game console, these two consoles have been developed for a long time and have been hidden for too long, now is the perfect time for their release, isn't it?"