[Chapter 573: Fully Upgraded PS3]
Seeing William White down on his luck, young Bush couldn't help but feel a bit cheerful. In fact, William White's group of close buddies were reveling in his misfortune.
It wasn't that this guy's character was all that bad; his friends had just been held back for too long. With an oddball like William White around, it was only natural they would appear to be the unfortunate ones.
"Sir, is your hand okay?" Tom asked, as greasy as ever, his thinning hair barely clinging on to his scalp.
"Come on, has the PS3's design finalized or not?"
"It's finalized. We're using the Motorola 6890 CPU, with a core frequency of 40 Hz, and the main memory is two megabytes, with an additional 512k allocated for display output and sound card."
"40 Hz? What's our yield like now?"
"Still not there, but they're optimistic about improving it in six months. The issue remains the same; we can't drop the price. Sir, this game console has already exceeded the specs of mainstream computers."
"Mainstream? Heh, our architecture is just average. Trust me, Tom, Intel is definitely faster. If I'm estimating correctly, they're already mass-producing that 40 Hz CPU."
"Yeah, I've heard that too, but the price is sky-high. I hear they've also made breakthroughs on a 100 Hz CPU."
"Heh, when they're focused, Motorola isn't a rival. Plus, we've successfully pivoted. CPUs aren't our main focus anymore."
"We've tested the console, and it's pretty solid. Right now, the problem is cost; we can't make it happen at that $399 price point."
"Don't worry about that for now. There's still time. First, let's get those game development plans sorted."
"Sure thing, sir; that'll take quite a bit of time to wrap up."
"Alright then, let's go with the plan. No more development for the PS2 series, in principle."
"Got it."
The cost concerns that troubled Tom didn't even register on William White's radar. Semiconductor prices fluctuated wildly; they seemed to change daily.
What William truly needed was this first-mover advantage. Besides, he needed to keep an eye on the competition. If those guys planned to branch out, he wouldn't mind giving them a little lesson.
After all, the PS3 and PS2 were like night and day. The PS2 was merely a rushed product; just a transitional piece.
The PS3 was a different story -- it was a pure 32-bit system. From graphics to audio, it had no comparison with its predecessor.
The ridiculous game cartridges had been scrapped in favor of CDs. The increased capacity naturally provided much better visuals. Seen that way, the PS3 had essentially outperformed arcade games.
Transitional products weren't worth his attention; the team would handle them well enough. This project, however, he had to personally oversee from start to finish.
...
Wounded and feeling a bit piggish, William White lived like a hog after returning to the villa.
"Dear, I can cut my steak myself."
"And you, at your age, still being reckless. Just let me take care of it," she replied.
Well, the lovely Michelle Reis was quite thoughtful. William White found it curious; how did that goddess from his past turn into this?
"Alright, alright, I was thinking I could handle dinner, and you could help me with my bath." As he spoke, his injured hand started acting up again.
"Knock it off! The babies are here. You can't be thinking about other things with a sprained hand. I made you some soup -- drink it in a bit."
"Alright then."
William's injury wasn't a big deal, but many cared about him. Of course, some less admirable folks were quietly wishing for his downfall. Why couldn't it have been little William who'd taken the fall instead?
Having it all handed to him was already quite excessive. Now, he was practically being treated like livestock -- sigh, not just any livestock, but a breeding pig.
One quiet night later, his hand in a cast looked quite embarrassing. William only had the capacity to do the most basic tasks. As for the The Departed film crew, they might as well remain disbanded for now. If they started up filming again, it probably wouldn't be until after New Year.
During this period, Tom was kept on his toes. The boss's orders needed to be implemented ASAP.
...
"President, the PS3 from Legendary World should be finalized by now. But..."
"But what? Spit it out," he interrupted.
"Well, there are some unreliable rumors regarding their CPU, which exceeds mainstream computers' specs. Add in a hard drive, and it's basically a computer. I just can't figure out how much it would actually cost."
"Baka, think about the PS2; what's the difference? The Apple II was an 8-bit processor too, and it was still selling well."
"President, if that's the case, what's going to happen with our plan?"
"Regrettably, Nintendo is in my hands, but it seems that's how it's going to be. To turn the tables successfully, we'll need to wait for the right moment."
Times were tough for the competition. Making any big moves now would easily get them shot down by investors.
Everyone was struggling. If any experiment failed, the results could be catastrophic. After all these years, if he lost all the employees that had been loyal to him, well, he might as well cut himself open.
William White knew exactly what was on those guys' minds. In fact, a few gaming companies in the competition were already his people, dedicated to serving Legendary World. Betrayal was loathed, and he didn't even have to lift a finger; they'd implode from within.
"Katagiri, stop dwelling on those things. Let's temporarily put our plans on hold. You need to fly to Los Angeles. I heard Mr. White was injured; go and send greetings on my behalf. Most importantly, we can't fall behind on our new game plans."
"Understood, President. I'll book a flight right away."
The head of Nintendo knew that William White would grant them licensing, but it would certainly come with all sorts of restrictions.
In today's game market, there was a general consensus: money didn't matter; don't even think about challenging Legendary World's position.
As for whether it was a monopoly?
Heh, discussing monopolies in the absence of rivals would be laughable. Over the years, many companies had tried it.
Without even considering pirate sales, the PS1 had nearly 100 million units sold globally. The portable PSP had a few more units.
Fine, among those sales, licensed manufacturing outnumbered the rest. The part that directly belonged to the Legendary World brand didn't even reach a third of the total. Even so, Legendary World was making a fortune. He didn't care whether they were profiting; licensing fees absolutely couldn't be skimmed off.
As for game cartridge sales? They were even scarier. Even with all the ups and downs, Legendary World still stood firm.
That current franchise system resembled an industry association more than anything. Whether the competition was satisfied or not was hard to say, but development teams from other countries were certainly happy with it.
*****
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