Tourists, players, and journalists were all guests, and they were all very satisfied, with a strong response. Naturally, Takayuki, the host, was also very satisfied. The strong feedback from players was his motivation to continue making games.
However, while there was joyous atmosphere here, things weren't so happy over at Surui Electronics.
Mr. Hayakawa's expression couldn't conceal the gloominess.
Many things he had prepared beforehand were completely disrupted by Takayuki's statement of "149".
Losing money to sell game consoles, and daring to sell at such a big loss from the beginning, this boldness was quite remarkable.
This was equivalent to directly seizing the market with prices.
Surui Electronics would have to counterattack in the same way unless they wanted to have a hard time succeeding in the future.
But it had been very difficult for them to negotiate that price just now, so it was definitely impossible to lower the price of the game console further in the short term.
They absolutely couldn't accept selling a hardware product at such a big loss.
Even though they understood that game consoles could recoup these costs through later game sales.
"Hayakawa, you look really bad right now. I think you should take a good rest," suggested Nagatani suddenly approached to comfort Mr. Hayakawa.
Mr. Hayakawa shook his head. "There are just too many uncertain factors in this competition. I never expected Takayuki Electronic Entertainment to pull this move."
Nagatani asked in return, "Can't we also sell consoles at a loss?"
"Of course not. I have to be responsible to the shareholders. Takayuki doesn't have to. He can do whatever he wants. Such an unrestrained state is truly enviable."
"Are you saying that if you were not restrained, you could do the same thing? Are you sure you can recover the losses from selling the game console at a loss?"
"Of course I can," Mr. Hayakawa said confidently.
This time, he had great confidence in his product because it was a highly comprehensive mobile entertainment terminal.
Playing games, watching movies, listening to music, it was almost proficient in everything, all using their company's most advanced technology.
Such an entertainment multimedia terminal should naturally be accepted by everyone.
Players could play great games, movie watchers could enjoy movies anytime with this product, and music lovers could do the same.
"Then let's do it," said Nagatani with a slightly determined expression.
"Do what? How?" Mr. Hayakawa asked, slightly stunned.
"Lower the price of the handheld console to two hundred dollars. How about that? It's only fifty dollars more expensive than the competitor, and at the same time, bundle it with a game for simultaneous sale."
Mr. Hayakawa looked at Nagatani oddly. "But what about the upfront losses..."
"You hand over all sales channels except for your official stores to me. I'll handle it."
Mr. Hayakawa was startled by Nagatani's words. "You'll bear this part of the loss? I know you have money, but this kind of loss is probably a bottomless pit. How do you plan to recover it later?"
"Then you have to increase the scale of production and quickly reduce costs. I'm willing to bear this loss because I'm planning to press on Surui Electronics. Our latest games will all be available on your handheld console. If we fail, we fail together, and then all the game companies I bought will become bad debts."
At this moment, Nagatani also seemed a bit determined.
After being rejected by Takayuki, he would feel humiliated, but at the same time, he could also realize the future of the gaming industry. He hoped to enter the market but had not found the right direction.
Sometimes, business really needed a gamble, just to gamble on the direction of the future.
Win, and he would become the shining star of the new era. Lose, and he would be nothing among the crowd.
Now he had so much money on hand, not spending it would be a waste. Even if he failed, he would bear the debt that couldn't be repaid and then go on welfare until he died.
Nagatani was an Internet newcomer who rose from grassroots. The speed of his success was terrifying, so he wasn't as cautious as other conservative businessmen. He preferred to take risks.
Mr. Hayakawa looked deeply at Nagatani.
"I'll ask you, can you hand over all sales channels except for the official ones?"
"Of course, as the president, I still have some say in this matter."
It sounded equally absurd to hand over all sales channels of a product line to one company.
But if a president insisted on doing so, even if other shareholders were dissatisfied, they wouldn't want to create cracks over such a thing.
Anyway, if the sales situation was really bad, they could protest and take back the sales rights. It would be just a short-term loss, which was still acceptable.
"Okay, then I'll arrange it immediately. Recently, my company has been studying the sales channels of online shopping. I plan to open up the entire sales network through various methods. If I can obtain exclusive cheap game console sales rights, it may have unexpected effects."
Mr. Hayakawa finally made a decision, gambling with Nagatani. Failure wasn't scary; what was scary was giving up at the beginning.
A fifty-dollar difference seemed not insignificant, but if their side had better graphics, it wasn't an impossible fight. Next was the real battle of games. Whoever had the best games would win this competition.
...
The four-day International Consumer Electronics Show quietly ended.
But this year's popularity was much higher than in previous years.
Previous Consumer Electronics Shows occasionally had a few outstanding products reported.
But this year was different. The head-on confrontation between Surui Electronics and Gamestar Electronic Entertainment became a hot topic.
Humans probably really liked being spectators.
Such scenes of competing against each other always ignited their gossip fire.
"The battle between Gamestar and Surui, the strongest game consoles, is unfolding!"
"A competition where one side must win and the other must die. Who will be the final winner?"
"Breaking news, Brown Entertainment under Hark Brown announced that their works will simultaneously launch on both Gamestar and Surui platforms. Are they trying to have the best of both worlds?"
"The era of the gaming industry's true prosperity has arrived!"
Various headlines emerged endlessly during these few days, and people were full of gossip.
Players rarely had the chance to enjoy such gossip, but it was also a kind of seasoning in the process of playing games.
How players would choose naturally became the focus of attention. For a while, there were interviews about electronic games everywhere on the streets and in the community. They would find young people or children to conduct surveys on gaming preferences.
And the result obtained at this time was that Gamestar Electronic Entertainment had a certain advantage, but it couldn't be guaranteed that they would win absolutely at this point. Everything was still unknown.