The joke made by America drew criticism from people all over the world.
No wonder there are no job placements; you folks ruined it yourselves. How could there be employment? How could there be exports?
We could save you and even improve the exchange rate, but you keep infighting like this. Honestly, even the gods would have a hard time saving you.
People watching from the sidelines looked at these issues with conspiracy theories, and those with a bit of depth surely understood the darker sides. You wonder how a perfectly good company became a monopoly? This company has only been around for a few years.
Forced robbery, but they ran into a tough character who would rather take the company down than give in to you.
No need to overthink; the general situation is just like that.
As for the Department of Justice? They're just accomplices.
...
William White couldn't do anything about Bush Jr.'s proposal. Not only did he have no intention of releasing the PS2, but even if he did, he couldn't bring the cost down.
"Seriously, at least two years?"
"Yeah, Dad, the configuration he mentioned just now costs over a thousand bucks."
Bush Sr. was speechless; he knew this price wouldn't sell at all. By William White's pricing standards, it was capped at $299, and it couldn't be any higher.
"Fine, there's nothing we can do. It looks like that memory factory in Europe was set up just for this game console."
After learning this, everyone else chose to keep quiet. It seemed the market's decline would last for quite some time.
...
Legendary World, which had become the center of attention, had not changed much. After successfully slimming down, the company had fully shifted to developing the new system.
Yes, the PS3's basic specifications were confirmed, and the engineers were busy, completely ignoring the chaos outside. Most of those who were let go came from Atari; they had been laid off, which meant at most a bit of severance pay.
Union opinions?
That didn't matter. If you weren't satisfied, you were free to communicate with the Department of Justice. In fact, those related to the union had faced ruthless purges.
Not opening for business? Great, let everyone play together. The industry was crashing anyway, and if you came out now to stir up trouble, you'd only end up in worse shape.
Look at that -- what a lofty excuse to cut back on payroll.
But the problem was, you didn't have many staff to begin with. Pulling this stunt practically wiped out the union. Was this personal revenge?
William White shrugged off this kind of complaint. If you're unhappy, feel free to sue; we'll cooperate.
Now, let's talk about the unfortunate Big Blue that got caught in the crossfire. They had been entangled with the Department of Justice for much longer.
Now was a bull market; you have a ticking bomb, so of course investors wanted out. What if it ended up like Legendary World?
IBM's monopoly was undisputed, which was why some congressmen were dissatisfied. In areas that should have been dealt with, there was still no word, while they got involved in matters that didn't need their meddling.
...
"Young Master, everything is in the underground vault; about five hundred tons."
William White nodded and said, "Good work, this wasn't easy." Although he appeared calm, inside he was fuming.
In the past, the TV show only mentioned over three hundred tons; he believed he wasn't mistaken. It seemed nearly half the goods had vanished without a trace, and he wondered who got the benefit.
"Tanner, arrange for some manpower to recast everything."
"Got it, Young Master."
"Go check what the brothers working down there need, and arrange things as best as you can. If they want to open a shop, that's fine; if they want to farm, so be it. Bring their families up as well; no need to force it."
"Sure, Young Master. I think they all want to come up; conditions aren't great down there."
"Yeah, that's fine. Set up for their livelihoods. I bought a large farm in Australia; I'm short on manpower too."
"Aussie land is nice; the climate is quite suitable."
Looking at the array of yellow and white items, William White felt great. The frustrations of the previous period vanished in an instant.
"Wow, there are quite a few pieces of jewelry."
"Yeah, Young Master, some diamonds are really large, but the craftsmanship isn't great; they're basically antiques."
"Haha, those are indeed antiques, but their craftsmanship is poor."
"What should we do with the jewelry, Young Master?"
"Let's sell them in batches; don't do too much at once. And hold on to the gold coins for now; the rarer ones are worth more than gold."
...
The richest man was off on vacation and didn't care about the crumbling gaming market. Faced with this situation, shareholders were equally at a loss for words.
These guys weren't too worried about short-term profits; they understood Legendary World's long-term plans and knew the company's potential. So even though Legendary World's stock was volatile, it never crashed.
As for other companies, they weren't so lucky. In one night, American gaming companies collapsed, with piles of game cartridges stacked high, giving everyone a headache.
Forget about what was worth $4.99. Even if it was just a dollar, there wouldn't be many buyers.
Thus, shutting down became the only option.
There's no such thing as a pill for regret. At this point, talking about regret was laughable; the hard-earned money wasn't just gone; there was a mountain of debt to boot.
Of course, you could declare bankruptcy, but bouncing back would take forever. America has strict regulations on bankruptcy; don't even think about fancy dinners -- better stick to fast food.
In a time of apparent economic prosperity, the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose, making the situation quite awkward. Fortunately, it wasn't a labor-intensive industry.
...
"Sir, the Asian market hasn't been hit too hard; it seems only America got burned this time."
"How is that possible?"
"That's how it is; the Japanese guys even plan to open a factory in the U.S." The old man felt like his intelligence was being challenged. After managing a wall street firm for so many years, this was the first time he had seen such a situation.
"How strange; why don't they sell games in Asia? Did they set up barriers?"
"No, these folks rarely release Japanese versions. Even if a few want to venture into that market, their quality issues lead to dismal sales."
"Well then, they brought this upon themselves. Can't blame anyone else for that."
...
The market crashed, yet they hoped someone would come to clean up the mess. William White really didn't see why he should be responsible for this. Did they think they could destroy things while he built them back up?
Destruction is easy. As for construction? That's not even on the table right now.
William White had no time to bother with these fools. Looking at the beautifully shaped stones on the table, he felt very pleased.
These items aren't cheap now, and their future prices will be even higher. He casually picked out a few, but returned the rest. After all, something is worth more when it's rare. If all these items flooded the market, prices would definitely plummet.
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.