[Chapter 797: Growing Wild Like Weeds is the Human Heart]
Life never goes perfectly, often seven or eight mishaps at a time, yet you can't share them with just anyone. No one could have everything go right; it was clearly unrealistic.
On the issue of digital video standards, William White was currently ahead. Regardless of how satisfied the others were, as long as the US moved, there wasn't much else to say.
"Fujita, has Nintendo made up its mind?"
"Yes, boss. I've tried to persuade them, but they're sticking to their guns."
"Sigh, must think it's too easy for me to make money. Fine, if it rains, let it pour. How are Sega and Namco doing? Do those other game companies have any plans?"
"Not at the moment. Sega had some ideas, but the board rejected them. As for the others, they should be quite happy."
"Ha, one less competitor? So be it, Fujita, increase support for those medium-sized game companies."
"Understood, sir. I'll do my best."
Fujita was immensely frustrated with Nintendo's decision. He was already a senior executive in the group company, in charge of managing Legendary World and Viking Comics.
And now, just days later, they encountered problems.
In his eyes, those guys were ungrateful; if he were the boss, he'd definitely establish an internal circulation system.
Though he didn't fully understand the boss's decisions, it didn't prevent him from executing them. This was one reason why William White trusted him so much.
Fidelity to the enterprise was something William White valued highly. Even if a genius like Jobs or Larry Ellison was incredibly capable, he wouldn't bring them into the main company.
Human ambition truly knows no bounds.
What? You say this is the driving force behind social development?
Cough Cough No need to argue; his current situation was already large enough -- or rather, too large. Given that, of course he'd be seeking stability.
What Nintendo wanted to do didn't sit well with him. Times had changed; Legendary World had become a colossus; partnering with Sony was a tough sell.
Now that game consoles had developed to this point, the key was ultimately content. There were simply too many games on the PS platform; competing with it was no simple feat.
After downing the remainder of his half-empty whiskey glass, William White shook his slightly dizzy head.
He could only smile wryly. He'd done his best; he had pressed on his competitors for years, and frankly speaking, he had already exceeded his goals.
...
"Sir, there hasn't been any significant drop."
"Ha, looks like the capital market isn't optimistic about this Japanese company."
"Sir, based on their previous agreement, games on the PS platform can't be ported to others, and future versions are not allowed."
"Andy, does that even matter?"
"Sir, some games experience high stickiness; whenever a new version appears, people will buy it. Unless Nintendo has a few excellent titles, they won't necessarily be doing better than Sony."
The old man fell silent. Morgan Stanley was truly wary of the increasingly troublesome William White. His contact with Don Valentine revealed that William White's various investments far exceeded their understanding.
Consider Cisco, for example. Sequoia had not been ousted long ago; don't even mention a 50% premium; now, it might even take a 100% premium to recover anything.
Who would have thought that Sequoia had successfully ousted the founding couple only to trip up at the last minute?
As for who was right or wrong, there was no way to evaluate. Don Valentine simply had bad luck; approach things gradually, and it might not be impossible.
...
William White found it hard to understand the sentiments of the old-timers. Had these robbers gotten so accustomed that they considered everything a given?
If conflicts didn't break out, William White would eventually take action. This guy clearly had ulterior motives.
Fine, many people dismissed the opinions of Sequoia here. Losing was losing; the chairman's position had always been yours, and getting casually kicked out like that attracted all the hate.
Just look at Cisco now; it hadn't undergone any major clean-out. Apart from a few people from Sequoia, nearly nothing had changed.
As for the events that followed, that was just blatant retaliation. William White didn't care about Citigroup; why would he care about a venture capital firm?
Constantly squeezing your survival space, incessantly messing with your investments.
Human greed is uncontrollable; if you could control it, the temptation wasn't great enough. The risk you had to bear simply didn't match the potential gains.
Fighting with Citigroup and Sequoia was merely a show of posture. Greed itself isn't a problem; as long as you can withstand the consequences, it's fine. With Sequoia behaving like this, don't think I won't teach them a lesson.
"Sir, it's not wise to swim after drinking."
"Ha, I only had a sip; it feels like it's even expired. Did someone add water? Those darn hustlers."
"Pfft, sir, even if there are hustlers, that was fifty years ago."
"Alright, alright, is Tom here?"
"Yes, he's waiting for you in the conference room."
"Mm, I'll freshen up; bring me a latte."
With age, William White's personality took on a darker tone. Some said this was the aura of an individual in a position of power.
In truth, William White wanted to say, "Give me a break, I'm just an ordinary young man." Man, it's exhausting to put up with you all. Don't poke the bear again; next time, I won't be so nice.
Even though he had to respect Morgan Stanley, since Sequoia conceded, there was no need to target them. However, what had happened was already done; don't dwell on it. Poking William White must come with consequences.
No one could offend me without facing repercussions.
As for Citigroup, Morgan Stanley wouldn't care. The more fiercely you fought, the better. If one day Citigroup couldn't hold on, they wouldn't mind taking over.
Ha, Citigroup had once been beholden to him. If they were to submit again, they'd best be careful. If that lady were to run away again, it'd be mighty embarrassing.
...
"Tom, how's AMD?"
"Sir, they just began research on the new architecture. Honestly, their R&D capabilities aren't anywhere near Intel's."
"Bull, I already knew they weren't as good. Intel is strong enough; if they get any stronger, you think they won't expand horizontally?"
Cough Cough "Uh, sir, they are indeed developing 3D acceleration cards."
"See, I told you, human hearts are never satisfied. Haha, wanting both flights at the same time? They must be exhausting their hopes. By the way, how about the 586, no, AMD's 586?"
"Sir, it seems they're more skilled in manufacturing. AMD has a much higher yield rate than Intel. It's just that the naming is a bit annoying; they can only call it X86, unable to ride on Intel's coattails."
"Sigh, if they take too long to develop a new architecture, they'll have at most one generation left. The next battle, I'm afraid, will be Intel thrashing them."
"Sir, what if we create a design center..."
"Not for now. We still have a Motorola CPU here. If they abandon desktop PCs, the old-timers will surely be furious. If I were to start from scratch, haha, the board would turn into a battlefield."
The face of fat cat Tom displayed a fascinating expression. He had heard Filson say that if it weren't for this guy walking out, the old-timers would have been out long ago.
"Sir, I don't understand these fools. Don't they just want to earn money? Don't 8-bit or 16-bit CPUs make money?"
William White shook his head and smirked. "Tom, that's not the problem. What's the full name of a personal PC? It's called IBMPC. If that Big Blue doesn't acknowledge it, neither Motorola nor AMD stands a chance."
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.