[Chapter 689: Explosion of New Products]
The PS3, American gamers were no strangers to it. Fundamentally speaking, this should have been the real next-gen console, as the PS2 was something that the Justice Department forced out.
"Oh my God, these kids are crazy. They're lining up in the middle of the night! Gent, I only have five hundred units. Is that not a bit short?"
Gent looked at his clueless boss and thought, how on earth did he make so much money being this thick-headed? Even one thousand units might not be enough to satisfy demand.
"Well, sir, we should tell the people at the back that they don't need to wait in line after the five hundred."
"Go tell them quickly! If these guys lose their minds, my store can't handle the chaos."
This electronics store was merely a snapshot of the day. The PS3, which had been hyped and noisy for years, finally unveiled its mysterious face.
...
"$399? How did he pull that off?"
"Michael, can't your Dell do that? From what I see, your cost control is already pretty impressive."
Michael smiled ruefully; although they were both Texans, he wasn't too familiar with that fellow Texan. After all, he was a significant shareholder at Dell.
"Bill, you must be joking. William White has a truly global enterprise. That's something we are currently far from reaching. Plus, the key components for these consoles are all under his control."
Bill Gates, curious -- though he didn't dabble in hardware -- knew some of the rules. It was all well and good to produce memory chips personally, but selling them cheaply to oneself would be unfair competition.
"No way, Michael. When you buy memory from him, he isn't going to raise the price, is he?"
"Ugh, you know what? When we buy CPUs from Intel, the price for a thousand CPUs is the final discount rate. White Systems' subsidiary companies? That standard is in the millions."
"A million? Has he lost it?"
"Heh, actually, he hasn't. Computers can't sell that many units. If we order too many at once, there's a considerable risk for the company. But game consoles? He orders in the millions."
Consoles and computers were two different beasts. Though people claimed the PS3's actual processing speed far exceeded that of current mainstream computer configurations.
That was somewhat true; with a forty hertz clock speed and nearly three megabytes of memory, the optical drive was standard. If you added a hard drive, it was practically a computer.
Today's 486 machines didn't come standard with sound or graphics cards or even optical drives. The PS3's configuration truly left people speechless.
The modding community was prevalent in the US. Those who were into it concluded that Legendary World lost a hundred dollars on every console sold.
Legendary World shrugged off such claims. Although they were close to the cost price, running at a loss was virtually impossible. As a publicly traded company, you could find such information in their annual reports; there was nothing to hide.
...
While the game console stores remained packed with customers, Motorola's new product launch was commencing. Three new models-- 268, 278, and 288 --simultaneously debuted, igniting an already booming communications market.
Stylish, flip, and standard; three styles of phones truly had a way of stunning people.
"Whoa, are they really making phones this small?"
"Dude, haven't you seen Fast and Furious? Or were you just checking out the legs?"
"Ahem, hey man, no spoilers, I just snatched some IMAX tickets."
"Ha ha ha! Let me tell you the story!"
Right in front of the phone store, two clueless guys had no one caring as they started arguing. They just hoped this didn't turn out like the game console chaos.
Damn, it'd take three months to sort out the supply issue. What exactly was William White doing? Somebody needed to arrange some overtime; skipping a few dates wouldn't hurt.
In reality, the Taiwan folks were quicker to worry. The more consoles sold, the better the games sold. The current CDs were easier to produce than those old cartridges.
As for phones, both the Koreans, Chinese, and Taiwanese were ramping up production, so there really wasn't a supply shortage issue. It wouldn't take long before their own brands would emerge. One thing was certain: the upcoming mobile market would absolutely be a battleground.
Some might say, "Isn't this nuts? The entry of China, Taiwan, and South Korea will affect your market share."
This needed clarification; Motorola wasn't just theirs. This market belonged to everyone. Even if the those companies were strong, without intellectual property rights, they were definitely paying their share of tolls.
Were there any backdoor deals?
Heh, in this world, nothing comes for free. If the little European buddies teamed up against him, choosing to face them one-on-three might turn out to be a losing proposition.
But the situation had changed; William White was obviously backed by power in numbers. Once the Taiwan factories were up and running, Nokia and Ericsson might just find themselves out of luck.
...
"Hans, all lithium batteries?"
"Yes, all three models. We've tested and they last over 12 hours on standby."
"Damn cowboys! What did Sony and Panasonic say?"
"Sir, their production capacity is limited; we won't see anything until March next year."
"March next year?" The Siemens chief was fuming; damn Americans were definitely doing this on purpose.
"Sir, can we sue them for monopoly and unfair competition?"
"Hans, are you crazy? Talking reason with the Americans? They're simply uncivilized brutes. Let's negotiate and see what they want. Our lab also has some breakthroughs; let's see if there's a chance for cooperation."
...
William White didn't have plans for Siemens. That was a diversified enterprise that wouldn't be focused solely on mobile phones.
Nokia and Ericsson were what he cared about the most. If he could delay their progress even a bit, that'd be ideal.
Ha ha, my phone can last a day while you need to carry three batteries. Tsk tsk, I'm just raising the stakes here; you guys are in deep trouble.
Hmm, let's brainstorm a couple of ad concepts first.
"Lisa, come in here."
"Sir, what can I do for you?"
William White paused; why did they dress her like a maid? Come on, I'm busy right now.
"Ahem, nice outfit, Lisa. Bring the head of the advertising department in here."
"Sure, sir." The assistant rolled her eyes; while the busy side of the boss was intriguing, it seemed today would not be one of those days.
The moment for some intimate moments was lost, as his phone was dead. And then...
The house caught fire while he bravely rescued his phone. And then...
The heads of the advertising department were all completely baffled. What was this guy thinking?
"Right, we also need two security-themed ads. For example, while you're on the phone, you just need that last confirmation and then -- you're out of battery. But Motorola, even with no battery, as long as you input a code, 120 seconds -- we grant you two minutes of talk time. With those two minutes, you can close the deal and get the firefighters there just in time, and your stock will make money! That advertising concept needed to be turned into a series. Got it?"
"Ahem, sir, shouldn't we build suspense first and later introduce a grand twist?"
"That's exactly what I mean; the ads from a few days ago, the more confusing, the better. I'm giving you all one week to complete this plan."
"Got it, sir. Don't worry."
*****
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