After successfully distributing promotional posters throughout the town, the ZAGE team shifted their focus toward ensuring everything was ready for the ZEPS launch. Shinsuke had carefully selected six retail stores that would serve as the first official sellers of the ZEPS console. These stores were ones where he had strong connections, ensuring that the consoles and cartridges would be properly marketed and sold.
The plan was straightforward: each store would receive 50 units of ZEPS, totaling the 300 available consoles, and the 800 cartridges would be divided evenly among them. These stores would serve as the testing ground for ZEPS' market potential. If sales went well, they could expand distribution to additional retailers in the future.
Meanwhile, Zaboru had also secured the next batch of consoles and games, scheduled for delivery in two weeks. Thanks to Saiko Machines' growing familiarity with the ZEPS manufacturing process, production would be much smoother and more efficient. Tetsuo, the head of Saiko Machines, had even agreed to allow deferred payment for the second batch, giving Zaboru time to generate revenue from the first wave of sales.
Despite the positive momentum, Zaboru knew that further optimizations were necessary. One of his biggest concerns was the manual assembly of ZEPS cartridges. With demand expected to rise, continuing with the current process would eventually become unsustainable. Seeking a solution, he decided to call Tetsuo to discuss automating the cartridge assembly process.
"Hello, Tetsuo-san. I wanted to ask if it would be possible for Saiko Machines to handle the full assembly of ZEPS and its game cartridges directly after production?" Zaboru inquired.
Tetsuo took a moment before responding, "That can be arranged, Zaboru. In fact, I've been considering something similar. I recently had a fallout with one of my long-time clients—they failed to uphold their payment agreement. I'm planning to cut ties with them completely. However, before making any major decisions, I want to see how well ZEPS sells."
Zaboru was surprised by the revelation. "But why such a drastic move, Tetsuo-san? Even if ZEPS sells well, there's no guarantee that my next product will be a hit."
Tetsuo chuckled over the phone, "Call it intuition, but I have a feeling your company is going to be something special, Zaboru. If ZEPS performs well, I'd be interested in making Saiko Machines the official manufacturer for ZAGE's products. That way, we'd focus entirely on producing your consoles and games."
Zaboru leaned back in his chair, contemplating the proposition. Having a dedicated manufacturer would be a huge advantage, but it also meant putting a lot of trust in Tetsuo's company. However, he understood the long-term benefits of such a partnership.
"Alright then, let's see how the second batch sells. If everything goes well, we can negotiate an official contract between ZAGE and Saiko Machines," Zaboru finally said.
Tetsuo agreed, and the call ended. As Zaboru set down the phone, he smirked to himself. "A personal manufacturing partner, huh? I was planning to build my own factory in the future, but maybe this is the first step. If things go well, I might just buy out Saiko Machines someday."
With that thought lingering in his mind, Zaboru returned his focus to the final preparations. The ZAGE team worked tirelessly to ensure that the first 300 ZEPS units and 800 game cartridges were shipped to the six selected stores in time for launch day. Everything was now in place, and all that remained was to see how the market would react.
And so, time passed. The fateful day arrived. It was now September 19, 1991—the official launch day of ZEPS**.**
To be continued...