On August 18, the PS2 officially made its debut on the historical stage. According to the latest statistics, global sales of the PS1 surpassed 70 million units.
Once the data was released, the world erupted in astonishment. It had long been said that Legendary World was profiting, but the numbers made it impossible to doubt its money-making capability anymore.
Although the PS2 was launched, the PS1 continued to sell. If everything went according to plan, reaching one hundred million users was well within reach.
As for the sales of the PS2?
They were hard to come by; many people arrived to line up a day in advance. Dazzling graphics, brand new games, and completely revamped controllers were the allure.
The response in the stock market was a full recovery. If it weren't for concerns over antitrust issues, stock prices would likely have soared even higher.
...
In Asia, the piracy has ramped up very much. They have already taken over everything. The saddest part is, William White couldn't make a dime. There wasn't any licensing fee, and game cartridges were just a pipe dream. If not for that, the PS1's sales would have probably already hit one hundred million.
Of course, the PSP fell into the same trap. Well, there was nothing that could be done. In a time of unrestrained growth, no one could really blame anyone else.
The only small comfort was that the 8-bit CPU continued to sell well; in this field, the 6000 series faced almost no competitors.
"Sir, if you restrict CPU exports, can't you limit those guys' development?" Tom asked curiously. He couldn't believe William White had no way to deal with the situation; the 8-bit CPU wasn't a core technology but still had its challenges.
"Tom, it's impossible. We're selling at cost price and no one's buying. Labor costs back in Asia are low, and tariffs don't help. Besides, if I don't sell CPUs, are the folks there going to stop? There are so many uses for this CPU, there's no way to control it."
Actually, William White wanted to say, "Control it? Please! If you don't sell, won't someone else just produce it? Instead, your reckless market assault just crushes all the other competitors."
The cost of electronic products was closely tied to their production volume. Don't let the current low prices fool you; there's still a lot of money to be made. The factories in Asia just needed to focus on cutting costs, without worrying about sales.
"Sir, what will we do if they snag the PS2 too?"
"Ha! We'll just produce the PS3. Don't worry; since the PS1 is a hot seller, if we don't cash in, they won't be too concerned about a new model. It all comes down to pricing -- people buy game consoles costing in the tens of dollars but choke at those in the hundreds. You think these molds come free?"
For a long time to come, issues of copyrights and patents would be impossible to solve. But honestly, it wasn't a big deal; it was just free advertising for him.
...
Seeing the PS games flying off the shelves again, a group of bankrupt game developers quietly seethed. It wasn't so bad to see everyone else struggle, but watching Legendary World get rich was likely to make anyone feel a bit sour.
Legendary World's powerful return with the PS2 shattered Wall Street's expectations. Those previous evaluations seemed downright laughable now.
Sales were booming in America, and it was no different in Asia. Observation of such explosive scenes led many to complain.
"Darn it! If all these were made in America, think of how many jobs we could create!"
"Don't be ridiculous. How many units did the PS1 sell? Do you really think America has factories that size?"
"Legendary World has the money; why wouldn't they build their factories?"
"Don't kid yourself; William White doesn't have factories in America. See? Laboratories, design centers, logistics centers -- just no factories."
The general populace felt helpless regarding the whims of the billionaire. Many believed this was actually quite effective; didn't they see how much money games could make? Those were all born from their designs.
The IT sector knew best; much like the White system, the profit margins didn't lie with hardware.
Managing a factory meant managing people, which was quite the hassle.
..
"Sir, you really should consider selling some of your stock; Legendary World's float is too thin."
"Yeah, sure. If I cash in big like this, won't the shareholders complain?" William White winked, clearly in high spirits.
"Shouldn't be a problem. Those fund managers who sold early are probably regretting it now; their clients are likely wanting to tear those guys apart."
"Ha! Filson, they keep talking about value investing. Look at us, sticking with a high dividend strategy, and we still can't keep those guys around."
Filson just shook his head in disbelief. The biggest issue was the information asymmetry between investors. You could disclose all the information you wanted, but if they didn't trust it, what could you do?
What stuck in their minds would be the massive financial losses. Hopefully, the Department of Justice wouldn't throw another wrench in the works because if they did, the boss was bound to cash in yet again.
In recent times, the American stock market performed quite well.
Oil, the lifeblood of industrial production, required stable pricing to be effective. If the prices could stabilize more reasonably, the economy would undoubtedly benefit.
Under pressure from the United States, major oil-exporting countries started ramping up production, as if trying to make up for previous losses.
The Soviets weren't too pleased about this shift; they were big oil producers too. While the U.S. couldn't force them to increase output, it could demand production boosts from other regions.
Caught in this corner, the Soviets had no choice but to increase supply, mainly because they were running low on cash. That damned Star Wars initiative was really putting a strain on their wallets.
Frustrated, the Soviets complained, "Here we are, working ourselves to the bone extracting oil, and still a game company is raking in the bucks! It's simply absurd."
As members of a fighting nation, they weren't big on gaming; or to say, the number of enthusiasts was severely limited.
William White had no plans to tap into that market either. The PS3's CPU might not even be allowed for export; at least not to Soviet Union.
Though Toshiba ultimately didn't face a $15 billion fine, it still cost around a billion or so. Good grief, how many consoles would they need to sell to make that back?
As for their secret purchases from the French, that was none of his concern; he just hoped they enjoyed the games.
*****
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