The investigation by the Fair Trade Commission ended without a hitch. Not only were they criticized by people from Legendary World, but also accused by other game development companies. The feeling was utterly nauseating.
With coordination from various forces, a large number of third-party development teams rushed to join the embrace of Legendary World.
In the first round of competition, William White emerged victorious. The game providers not only needed to pay fees but also required their game content to be approved by Legendary World.
Don't be surprised; these folks are completely shameless. There were at least thousands of games on the market in America. These games were just trash, constantly copying off each other, way too similar. It was actually quite irritating.
Later in history, the North American video game market collapsed, mainly due to these homogenized games.
Now everyone's seeing William White making money, and they all want to rush in and grab it. Naturally, William White wouldn't support such behavior.
To outsiders, it seemed like William White was meddling. Why didn't he just charge fees, regardless of labels? What's the point of causing so much trouble?
Once upon a time, Atari got played out like this. Otherwise, you wouldn't have a thing like Nintendo. Now it's William White's turn, and there's no way he's gonna repeat those mistakes.
"Boss, the negotiations between Britain and Argentina hit a snag. The situation's a bit tense, affecting last night's gold trades in London."
"Tut, I don't think there's much of a problem. The scale's not proportional. Most likely, it'll just end inconclusively. Don't expect much from gold recently. The Fed is still tightening monetary policy. Just keep watching."
William White couldn't possibly tell Filson they'd clash next year. It's just too bad there wasn't a way to profit from it.
The world nowadays seemed full of hostility. If you couldn't come to an agreement, you'd get physical. Seriously, why couldn't people just live peacefully?
The Americans are egging the Russians into Star Wars, and the Brits still want to hold on to some dignity. Okay, to them, dignity is occupying someone else's land.
The Russians weren't having a good time either. Their military exercises went wrong. While they managed to intimidate the neighbors, they also triggered a military buildup from their old rivals.
Afghanistan wasn't peaceful either. Just couldn't figure it out -- why were there so many darn caves? It's too big of a headache. The worst part was, these guys seemed trained, and the weapons were quite advanced. No need to say more; it was definitely America's dirty hand at work.
Tensions high, economy down the drain, unemployed people everywhere, and everyone's life was pretty grim.
...
At this time, folks suddenly realized there was a guy who seemed unaffected. Nearly every project he touched made money. The only shaky one was the massive farm.
Well, it wasn't entirely unprofitable. At least their wine was good, and the grape juice sold really well.
These folks were rather superficial. William White's wine and juice weren't particularly profitable. It was just a branding exercise, an image project he couldn't avoid.
"Hey, Fulton, keep expanding the wine factory. It should at least double the current size, and the wine cellar must also be expanded."
"Sir, we already have a lot of stock. Do we really need more expansion?"
"Sigh, Texas expanded a lot of vineyards. If we don't expand, who knows how many grapes are gonna get wasted."
"Alright, young master. I'll get right on it."
Acting all sanctimonious was a bit much, but there was no choice. The '82 vintage was probably the best in nearly a century.
Don't think only the '82 Lafite is valuable. Any '82 red wine is also valuable. That's not just talk.
How complicated can fruit wine brewing be?
Even if the French are a bit better, didn't I hire a lot of their winemakers? These guys are pureblooded French, couldn't be too far off.
Yep, there's also the darn Bordeaux region, can't really match up to that.
"Yeah, next year, just next year. Once you've brewed the wine, I'll quietly acquire it," William White pondered over others' wine cellars. If your wine isn't as good and your brand isn't strong, then just use capital means.
The economic climate isn't great; there won't be many competing. Just pack up the wine and ship it back, or build a massive wine vault in Bordeaux.
...
Now, the only sector that seemed okay was entertainment. If we narrowed it down, movies and TV fare the best.
Television's a given. You lie at home and watch TV; it hardly costs you anything. If you're really down, maybe catch a movie. Just skip the super educational stuff. Life's already tough enough; don't need more grief.
Yeah, video games are pretty good too. Mess around, and a day just flies by.
Funny, ain't it?
William White made money because the economic climate was rough. Seeing the consulting firm's research report, the Wall Street fat cats were speechless.
There's the pantyhose theory, the lipstick theory, and now an entertainment theory?
Well, that's probably unavoidable.
William White's businesses made money because his numbers defied the overall trend. The worse the economic situation, the more money he raked in.
Lighting up a post-action cigarette, William White pondered deeply.
"What's up, honey, what you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking if you dressed like a noblewoman, would there be any surprises?"
Madonna rolled her eyes at him, thinking he was up to something again.
"Wanna go again? Next time, I'll play the noblewoman." She said as she playfully caught him by surprise.
"Quit it, quit it, I'm thinking about some plot."
"Hmph, you think your stuff, I'll busy myself with mine."
After a long while of fooling around, William White said, "I've thought about it. Dress up as Evita Peron."
"Huh, you really like stage plays?"
"Isn't that obvious? Why do you think I go to Broadway?"
"Fine, I'll borrow a costume from my old coworkers, but you better not ruin it. I gotta return it."
"Silly girl, borrow what? I'm planning to bring this stage play to the big screen. You wouldn't refuse to play Evita Peron, would you?"
*****
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