The God of Coding, Becoming an IT Conglomerate

33. What is a Partner(2)

a few days later

Kim Joo-jung was in the conference room of Sega Games headquarters in Tokyo.

‘I told you that this place is quite active in our proposal, right?’

According to Hoyoung’s words, Sega actively stepped forward as soon as they received a call from H&H.

Even yesterday, Kim Joo-jung asked Ho-young to send the proposal first so that the consultation could proceed quickly, so it was a situation where he and Ho-yeong had already sent the proposal.

“hello!”

Then someone opened the conference room door and bowed in greeting.

Since it had only been three minutes since he had been sitting in the conference room, Kim Joo-jung, who had been thinking about something else, got up from her seat and bowed her head in embarrassment.

“My name is Yoichi Takai, executive director of Sega Games.”

“I am Joo-Jung Kim from H&H.”

Yoichi bowed his head once more to Kim Ju-jung and said.

“Thank you for giving us a good offer. As usual, our new game machine is proud of its hardware performance, but it was a concern that the operating system could not support it.”

“no. As stated in the proposal we sent, we needed a great game from Sega.”

They chatted for a while, but Kim Joo-jung was impressed with Yoichi.

I could feel that Kim Joo-jung was really happy to come.

‘A general director would be someone with some level of status, but he’s quite polite.’

Kim Joo-jung remembered Nintendo’s Akisato Manzo.

Even though he was in the position of manager, he treated alcohol like a subordinate.

“Now then, shall we talk about work?”

“good.”

Yoichi sat down in a chair and opened the printed proposal.

“In fact, I don’t think there will be anything to discuss about fees.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I can accept the proposal right now to charge no fee for up to 50,000 copies, 0.2% for up to 200,000 copies, 0.4% for up to one million copies, and 0.6% for more copies.”

The fee content of the proposal sent earlier was a very slight modification of the original proposal to Nintendo.

Depending on the requirements, I was thinking of reducing the fee a little more, but there was no need for that.

“Are you hoping to fix it with a higher fee?”

“no. Thank you for accepting.”

Yoichi, who saw Jujeong’s puzzled expression, asked Jujeong, but Jujeong quickly came to his senses and thanked Yoichi.

“Then let’s see the next offer. Did you ask for the game software to be provided in the form of a diskette?”

“That’s right.”

Jujeong, who had been told by Nintendo to distribute the game using cartridges unconditionally, included this content in the proposal at all.

But Yoichi, who knew he would understand, shook his head and said,

“Hmm···. I’m sorry, but it seems a bit difficult to provide in diskette form.”

“For what reason? Maybe it’s because of the piracy problem? There are plenty of solutions for that part. Distributing it as a read-only diskette to prevent illegal copying would be sufficient.”

Kim Joo-jung said, slightly recalled.

It reminded me of bad memories of being abused by Nintendo regarding game cartridges.

“It’s not something we haven’t considered. But there are two downsides to using read-only diskettes.”

“What are the downsides?”

“The first is durability. Diskettes are weak in durability, so even a small shock will break them.”

“Hmm…”

Kim Joo-jung let out a quiet voice.

Yoichi continued.

“And the second is slow reading speed. Data exchange speed is important to maximize game performance. However, if you run the game from a diskette, it will take a lot of time to load. If that happens, gamers will definitely be frustrated.”

“Copying the game from the diskette to the computer’s hard disk and running it will solve the speed, but it won’t be free from illegal copying… Then how are you going to use it on your PC?”

At the drunken question, Yoichi grinned and took out the items he had prepared.

“It is possible with this object.”

“This···. Is that an expansion slot?”

“yes. It’s still a prototype, but we’re in the final stages of developing an expandable slot that can fit a cartridge slot into a PC.”

Kim Joo-jung looked around the expansion slots.

Since it was an early version, it still had a clunky design, but it seemed convenient to use by plugging it into a serial port.

“The product is almost finished. However, production facilities and mass production still need more preparation.”

“Are there any problems with mass production?”

To Kim Joo-jung’s question, Yoichi paused for a while before answering.

“It’s a budget. We invested most of our budget in the development and mass production of the Mega Drive, and the investment is only now being paid back. So, it is true that there is not enough cash available.”

And then I paused for a while.

Yoichi let out a quick breath and spoke again.

“Could H&H invest in mass production of expansion slots?”

Kim Joo-jung listened to Yoichi’s request and was lost in thought.

Inwardly, I wondered if Yoichi’s suggestion was a reasonable one.

Yoichi continued talking to Kim Joo-jung.

“Of course, we will pay incentives for profits from expansion slots. And we will take responsibility for both development and production.”

“How much do you expect the unit price of expansion slots to be? If it’s too expensive, no one will want to use it.”

“I think the unit price per piece is around 1,500 yen.”

Jujeong nodded at Yoichi’s words.

At the current exchange rate, it was about 12,000 won.

At that level, it was an amount that customers who purchase PCs could afford to buy without burden.

“All right. Instead, H&H will be in charge of Korean distribution along with incentives in total sales, and we will keep the profits from it.”

“Hmm… I see.”

After thinking about it for a while, Yoichi accepted the drunkard’s proposal.

Kim Ju-jung decided that if the expansion slot was distributed in Korea, he would be able to use the distribution network that had already been formed through the distribution of Hangeul 1.0 and 2.0, resulting in a decent operating profit with less burden. I decided that I could enter the world market.

It was a moment when mutual interests met.

“And we will stop selling the current Mega Drive and announce a new game console with Chronos.”

“Are you planning on using the hardware as it is and replacing only the OS accordingly?”

“That’s right. However, there is one thing that should be pointed out. Would it be possible to design it to be backwards compatible with Megadrive games that are already released today?”

At Yoichi’s question, Kim Joo-jeong nodded as if she had waited.

“sure. Anything is possible.”

In fact, being compatible with the Mega Drive was an idea that Hoyoung came up with first.

It was a method found because it was judged that if a game machine that had just been released was released again, there would be a strong backlash from existing consumers.

“Then, the last game. The games that H&H wants to supply…”

“In fact, existing games may or may not be present.”

“What is that…?”

“Instead, I heard that a great game is being built.”

“Hmm···. How did you get the news…”

Yoichi thought about what to say next for a moment.

Sega was currently working on a game that could defeat Mario by shouting Nintendo.

“What···. I have nothing to hide, so I’ll tell you everything. In fact, planning was finalized not too long ago, and production has just begun.”

“We will hand over the Kronos development tools first. How about making it right for Cronus?”

“If we get a deal here, that would be the best way.”

Kim Joo-jung admired the fact that the more she negotiated with Sega, the more things went according to what Ho-yeong said.

The more I worked with Hoyeong, the more I realized why H&H employees like Lee Jin-chan and Kim Jin-taek believed his words.

“Development of the game should be completed by at least next spring.”

“Is it spring? It’s too soon. Isn’t there only a year left?”

“yes. Cronos is scheduled to start sales in earnest from next spring. At that time, I hope that Sega’s new games will be distributed together.”

At Kim Joo-jung’s words, Yoichi showed disapproval.

“That seems a bit difficult. Unless all developers work overtime until then…”

“Miss Yoichi. Do you know of the ECEC held in New York next January?”

“You mean ECEC? Of course I know.”

ECEC was a large conference that attracted worldwide attention, so Yoichi, who worked in the IT industry, was familiar with it.

“The Kronos will debut in markets around the world with the New York ECEC announcement in January next year.”

“Is that true?”

“yes. It has already been tentatively decided to introduce Kronos on the main stage of ECEC.”

“Are you going to be on the main stage?”

“you’re right. At that time, I think it will be a great publicity for Sega if we introduce Cronos and complete an introduction video and a simple play video of a new game that Sega will make and promote it together…”

Kim Joo-jung deliberately blurted out her words and looked at Yoichi.

And he did not miss the flash of desire and passion in Yoichi’s eyes.

“Simple play videos until January, and releases until next spring… Are you tired?”

“ha ha ha! This can’t be helped.”

After laughing for a while, Yoichi smiled and added a word.

“I can already hear the screams of the developers.”

“haha! I believe in Sega’s ability.”

Kim Joo-jeong stopped laughing after hearing Yoichi’s story.

Then, I happily signed a contract with Yoichi.

The contract was easily carried out because each side yielded one step at a time and found a compromise.

“Then, I wish you well in the future. partner.”

Yoichi reached out his hand to Kim Joo-jung first.

“We want a mutually evolving relationship to continue.”

Kim Joo-jung took her outstretched hand.

After a warm handshake, Kim Joo-jung left Sega with a light heart.

On the taxi ride back to the hotel, Kim Joo-jung recalled a line from a book she read as an undergraduate.

‘What is a good partner? It’s that simple. A relationship that strives for the benefit of both you and the other person. That’s a partner.’

He was convinced that H&H and Sega could be good partners.

.

.

.

After receiving a call from Kim Joo-jung in Japan that the contract went well, Ho-yeong clenched her fists.

It felt like the scattered pieces of a puzzle were coming together one by one.

“Then let’s organize it. The word processor is Hangeul 2.0, and the spreadsheet is Hancell.”

The spreadsheet to be distributed by H&H was named Hancell.

“In games, we have an RPG game, an arcade game from Sega, and a bunch of Mega Drive games. Okay, perfect.”

Everything Hoyoung had prepared so far was running towards ECEC next year.

All Hoyoung needed now was time.