Traveling through the Tokyo bubble era

Chapter 209 Kickoff Exhibition and Invitation

America Time June NO.18.

Nine in the morning.

Hideki Hanyu led a group of senior executives from Spirit Entertainment and got on the plane to Las Vegas.

Hideki Hanyu and his group were the last group to leave from Spirit Entertainment.

The staff responsible for arranging the booth, led by Iwata Satoru and Michael Katz, arrived in Las Vegas as early as yesterday.

They even drove there because they had to carry supplies to set up their booth.

From San Francisco to Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, the flight takes an hour and a half.

As soon as he got on the plane, Yasuko Sawaguchi took out a red and white electronic pet Poké Ball and couldn't wait to play with it.

I saw that on the plane of the hemispherical body, there was a black and white screen that was half the size of Tamagotchi.

Although the screen still looks small.

But don't underestimate it.

Sharp, who provided screens to Elf Entertainment, did not pay much attention to Elf Entertainment.

At that time, it cooperated with the research and development of the screen of the first generation of electronic pets, because Elf Entertainment placed an order of 500 million units in one go.

As a result, the sales volume of Tuoma Gezi exceeded million, and Sharp immediately raised Elf Entertainment to the level of an important partner.

Therefore, when Elf Entertainment was developing the second generation of electronic pets.

Sharp cooperated very well in setting up a research and development team to help overcome technical requirements.

Only then did the monochrome LCD screen, which is inconspicuous but represents the most cutting-edge technology, come into being.

And after the development of the second-generation electronic pet was completed, the cooperation between Spirit Entertainment and Sharp did not end.

Elf Entertainment and Sharp have started joint research and development of a monochrome LCD screen that exceeds 2.4 inches and can display 4-color grayscale.

Of course, the new screen is nominally developed for the third-generation electronic pet, but it is actually for the GAME BOY handheld.

The screen under development is the same as the LCD screen on the Poke Ball. The main pursuit is low energy consumption.

The sales volume of Tamagotchi is stable, and Sharp attaches great importance to the cooperation with Elf Entertainment.

The development progress is still very smooth.

In fact, when it comes to cooperation with third-party hardware manufacturers, sales are always the top priority.

With a successful product, other manufacturers will pay attention to it and meet the research and development needs.

Looking at Yasuko Sawaguchi at this time, the Poke Ball in his hand has been turned on successfully.

The LOGO of Spirit Entertainment is no longer rigid.

Instead, a simple animation of the poke ball opening appears.

Then, a cute electric mouse appeared on the screen.

Accompanied by the sound of 'pickup, pickup'.

The second-generation electronic pet finally has a voice.

Although limited by the performance of the body, each Pokémon has only two calls.

Victory, fullness, good mood and other states will use happy calls.

If it fails, is hungry, or is in a bad mood, it will use an unhappy cry.

But even so, the familiar sound of the electric mouse gave Hanyu Hideki a feeling that the familiar world was coming.

Look at the image of Pikachu again.

Compared to the crude version shown to Michael Katz earlier.

After being optimized by the technicians of the American branch, it is obviously more vivid.

If the owner does not operate the Tamagotchi, it will not move.

But the Pokémon in the second generation of electronic pets, if the owner does not operate them, they will have their own small movements.

For example, Pikachu fed by Yasuko Sawaguchi.

If you don't operate it, you will flick your tail or shake your ears boringly.

Hanyu Hideki saw on the screen that the hunger value of this Pikachu was a bit low.

Yasuko Sawaguchi chose to feed.

In the setting of the manual, Pikachu likes to eat ketchup.

But even the second generation of electronic pets can't make a bunch of food alone.

So you can only see a dark mass being eaten.

Then when the hunger level returned to normal, a heart floated on the screen.

Shows increased affinity.

This is a newly added value after Satoshi Iwata's follow-up optimization in America, after the hunger value, health value, and mood value.

It will mainly affect the outcome of the combat system.

Then Hideki Hanyu saw Yasuko Sawaguchi operating Pikachu to fight.

The target of this battle is a monster like a small bubble.

According to Iwata Satoru.

In order to save collective storage space, the combat object has only one shape.

It's just that the number ranging from one to three will appear randomly, representing different difficulties.

The screen size is limited, and multiple monsters do not appear at the same time.

Instead, one is killed and another appears.

The electric mouse flickered on the screen, and then a curved line hit the monster.

Although this effect is far from the real lightning effect.

But it's still better than the original version.

After defeating the first opponent several times in a row, the battle victory is displayed on the screen.

Apparently Yasuko Sawaguchi only got one random monster.

Then it will show how much experience has been gained.

Health value, mood value, and hunger value are all slightly reduced.

But intimacy increased instead.

Of course, after the victory in the battle, Pikachu cried out happily.

Yasuko Sawaguchi may find it boring to play alone.

Then she turned to look for Satoshi Tajiri who was sitting behind her.

Propose online battle.

Tajiri Satoshi is the same as Sawaguchi Yasuko.

After getting the electronic pet Poké Ball, he immediately became a serious fan of Poké Balls.

Satoshi Tajiri's favorite Pokémon in his previous life was Mosquito Coil Tadpole.

But the green elf ball he got was a little Charmander.

The poke balls of these two people have just been obtained, and the level is far from evolution.

But Satoshi Tajiri obviously played longer than Yasuko Sawaguchi.

Therefore, after going online, Charmander won several battles.

Yasuko Sawaguchi saw that he couldn't beat Satoshi Tajiri, so he turned around and came to bully Hideki Hanyu.

Hanyu Hideki also has an electronic pet Poké Ball in his hand.

However, after he opened a Bobo, he got acquainted with it, and he didn't play much, so he didn't level up at all.

So after connecting to the data cable, he was beaten by Yasuko Sawaguchi's Pikachu again and again.

After enjoying the joy of victory at Hideki Hanyu, Yasuko Sawaguchi was satisfied and put away the electronic pet again.

Hanyu Hideki looked back at this time, and found that Tajiri Tomomata and Sugimori Ken were fighting online.

The two are at the same level, and the competition is about intimacy and mood.

But when the status values ​​are basically the same, the result of the battle is randomly generated.

Limited by the performance of the body, the current electronic pet will only change the attack animation effect after evolution.

As for matching the lineup and using skills, that is simply impossible.

But even so, the two of them were quite involved in playing.

Eri Kitahara, who was sitting on the other side of Hideki Hanyu, of course saw such a scene.

She asked Hanyu Hideki, "Hanyu-san, Poké Balls seem to be very popular. Did we have a little less stock before?"

Asako Hirohashi knew that Hideki Hanyu's order for the second-generation electronic pet pokemon balls placed by Neon Factory was only 100 million units in the first batch.

Less than 50 units have now arrived in America.

Compared with the first batch of production quantities of the first generation machine Tamako, the difference is too much.

Eri Kitahara is worried that once sales increase, follow-up production will not be able to keep up.

Hearing Kitahara Eri's words, Hanyu Hideki smiled wryly.

"Kitahara-san, do you think I don't want to?"

"Is there a problem?" Eri Kitahara asked.

"Kitahara-san also knows that although the second-generation electronic pet has more functions, the cost is twice that of the first-generation device. We must consider the production cost."

After Hideki Hanyu finished speaking, Eri Kitahara said somewhat incomprehensibly.

"But if the sales keep up, even if the payment is slowed down, it can solve the pressure on production costs."

Hideki Hanyu shook his head when he heard the words, "Kitahara-san, the sellers of America will only settle their bills in December every year, and we also need to bear all the expenses of the distributors' discount activities."

"What!" Eri Kitahara was shocked.

The bill is settled once a year, and the expenses for discount activities must be borne by the manufacturer.

What a bloody rule this is.

Doesn't this mean that Spirit Entertainment has made a product, not only need to bear all the risks.

Also hope that the dealer's cash flow will not be a problem.

Otherwise, it would be nothing to fetch water from a bamboo basket.

And the more you sell, the greater the financial pressure.

"That's right, that's it." Hanyu Hideki said helplessly.

He also knows that Nintendo will also enjoy this treatment when they come to America in the future.

In the end, because the sales volume was good enough, I showed my confidence and asked the dealer to change it to a 30-day settlement.

Elf Entertainment wants to learn from Nintendo to change the rules, at least to prove the sales of electronic pet Poké Balls.

In fact, there is another most important reason, which Hideki Hanyu couldn't say.

That is the electronic pet Poké Ball, even if it was welcomed by the employees of both Neon and America during the trial.

But as something completely original to him, he can't guarantee that it will be a big hit in America.

So it was decided to be conservative at the beginning.

Even if it is really popular, there is still time to replenish it when it is out of stock.

After all, for an electronic product, if you don’t let customers enjoy the feeling of being out of stock, how dare you say that you are popular.

After an hour and a half flight.

Hideki Hanyu and his team arrived at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.

The moment you walk out of the airport exit, the scorching heat hits your face.

Hideki Hanyu feels that the sun in California is full.

But after arriving in the desert of Nevada, I didn't know what heat is.

Las Vegas, the first of the four major furnace cities in America, really deserves its reputation.

Fortunately, Satoru Iwata, who arrived early, had already asked the hotel to arrange an air-conditioned bus for them.

After the group got into the car, feeling the cool temperature, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hanyu-kun also said it's fun here, why go out when it's so hot."

Wearing a sun hat and sunglasses, Yasuko Sawaguchi did not forget to fan her face to cool down after getting in the car.

"You can come out to play at night. In addition to the casino, you can also see various large-scale performances, circuses, large-scale musicals, and everything else."

After Hanyu Hideki finished speaking, seeing that Yasuko Sawaguchi was not interested, he continued.

"In addition to sightseeing, Las Vegas is also the city with the highest density of luxury stores in the world. Not only can you buy various big brands by boat, but you can also buy your favorite clothes while watching fashion shows."

When Hanyu Hideki said this, not only Yasuko Sawaguchi's eyes lit up.

Even Eri Kitahara, who was riding in the same car, became interested.

"Miss Sawaguchi, after the exhibition starts, let's go shopping together."

"Hanyu-kun, do you want to go together?" Yasuko Sawaguchi went to see Hanyu Hideki.

"I'm busy with the exhibition, so I won't go."

Hanyu Hideki hurriedly found a reason to refuse.

Go shopping with a woman, just do it once in a while.

But there are many shopping centers in Las Vegas, gathering all the famous brands in the world.

If this woman starts shopping, she won't be able to finish shopping in a month.

If this is the beginning, he will not be exhausted.

Besides, even if he went, it would be a personal wallet, so it was better to just give the money.

So he directly took out a card from his wallet and handed it to the other party.

"You and Kitahara-san don't hesitate to spend, if you see something good, buy some for me, and I'll send it back to my friends."

"Hanyu-kun is the best." Yasuko Sawaguchi happily took the card.

Looking at the girl like that, if she wasn't on the bus, she would have thrown herself into Hideki Hanyu's arms to kiss her.

"Hanyu-san is so generous, then I won't be polite." Kitahara Eri also said excitedly.

Women, even strong women.

It's the same when it comes to shopping.

"You're welcome, don't you and Ming Caijiang often go shopping, help me buy some gifts for her, and I'll pack them up and ship them back."

"no problem!"

Eri Kitahara immediately agreed.

For women, there is no need to explain such things as spending money.

"When you go out to play, remember to inform Marco and ask him to arrange someone to protect you." Hideki Hanyu explained.

This time I came to America except for the staff.

There is also a team of bodyguards led by Marco.

He even brought two female bodyguards with him.

Although the law and order situation in America in the 80s was stronger than in the future.

But be careful.

After sitting on the bus for a short time, they arrived at the hotel they booked.

Not Caesars Palace, the Metropolitan, and the Bellagio, which are familiar to tourists.

It is a three-star hotel that looks ordinary but has a good environment.

Saving money is part of the reason.

The main reason is that it is closer to the venue of the exhibition.

Want to enjoy premium hotel services.

After the four-day exhibition is over, there is still time to change places.

Anyway, Neon has nothing important to do recently, so it doesn't matter if you play for a few more days.

But when they arrived at the hotel, the first thing they did was not to play, but to let the staff take them to the exhibition site.

After several people arrived at the entrance of the exhibition, they found that although the exhibition had not started, there were quite a few people coming in and out.

Basically, they are the staff and workers who come to arrange the booth.

Bringing the work pass prepared by the staff, Hideki Hanyu and his party entered the exhibition site.

After entering the door, Hideki Hanyu immediately saw many familiar brand booths.

HP, IBM, Motorola, Apple, Philips, Siemens, Nokia, Sony, Casio, Panasonic, Nikon, Toshiba, LG, Samsung...

Although the booth layout of many brands is not as technological as that of later generations.

But it already represents the most cutting-edge consumer electronics products of this era.

Hanyu Hideki really wanted to go shopping.

Unfortunately, these booths have not yet been arranged, nor are they open.

What's more, he has more important things to do.

Led by the staff, Hideki Hanyu soon arrived at the booth of Spirit Entertainment.

Their booth was in the back of Sony, quite out of the way.

No way, this is the treatment of newcomers.

Although the booth is remote, the staff arranged it very carefully.

Dolls, comics, brochures, and demo units are well arranged.

There are also televisions dedicated to advertising.

In addition to mainly displaying electronic pets.

At the corner of Elven Entertainment's booth, they are planning to promote their own games by the way.

"Kung Fu", "Kung Fu: Death Breaker", "Mario Brothers", "Crack the Ice".

There are also games developed by the American branch.

In addition to selling arcade boards, there are also PC versions.

Although these two markets are not as good as home consoles, no matter how small the legs of a mosquito are, they are still meat, and they can make a little money.

And before that, it became famous, and when it was transplanted to the handheld, at least there would be potential consumers.

……

Hideki Hanyu had just arrived at the booth and had just glanced at the layout.

Michael Katz, who came yesterday, stepped forward and said to Hideki Hanyu, "Mr. Hanyu, please come with me."

Michael Katz didn't say what he was going to do, but Hideki Hanyu followed immediately.

The two walked all the way to the back corner of the exhibition hall.

Hideki Hanyu couldn't help but sigh, "It seems that Nintendo's booth is treated the same as us?"

"Mr. Hanyu, I know you see Nintendo as an important competitor, but no matter how successful they are in Neon, they are in the same position in America as we are." Michael Katz said.

Hideki Hanyu realized it when Michael Katz said it.

Although Nintendo has sold nearly 4000 million units in Asia relying on G&W handhelds, it is one of the giants in the neon game industry.

But in America, there are only arcade game developers who are a little famous because of Donkey Kong.

What makes him scruples is the future Nintendo.

Not the current Nintendo.

Led by Michael Katz, Hideki Hanyu finally saw the Nintendo booth.

It was a remote booth, which was not the same as the booth of Elven Entertainment.

Hanyu Hideki didn't approach, but just glanced at it from afar.

After discovering that there were many Disney elements on the booth, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Mr. Katz, I don't think we need to worry."

Katz asked a little strangely, "Why."

"Because they're definitely not here to sell consoles. The only thing Nintendo can do with Disney is the Disney version of the G&W handheld."

Hanyu Hideki said firmly.

Although the sales of G&W handhelds in Asia are exaggerated, the sales have already fallen into a period of stagnation.

Nintendo is probably planning to open up a new market for America.

Regardless of the sales of G&W handhelds in America, this kind of old-fashioned handheld with one machine and one game will not pose any threat to his plan.

Relieved, Hideki Hanyu returned to the booth of Spirit Entertainment.

Next, Elf Entertainment only needs to do what it should do.

Of course no challenge is best.

If there is a challenge, just meet the challenge.

They have already come to this point, what is there to be afraid of.

next.Relying on his experience of visiting exhibitions in later generations, Hideki Hanyu began to help guide and arrange the booths.

"Iwata-san, the number of TVs is too small, and they are arranged on both sides. I hope that anyone who walks by can look up and see our advertisement."

Hanyu Hideki pointed to the TV and explained.

The location of the booth is inherently remote, so all means must be used to attract visitors.

And the most intuitive feeling is undoubtedly the picture.

Hanyu Hideki is still very confident in the advertisements they made.

I believe that as long as you have seen it, you can't help but experience it.

"Check the AC power supply, and there must be no power failure during the trial."

That's right, the batch of electronic pet pokemon balls for trial play at the exhibition has a built-in AC power supply system.

You can use the supporting power supply to supply power with alternating current.

This system is actually prepared for the Game Boy handheld.

But because of Michael Katz's suggestion, a special batch of Poke Balls was made.

But it will only be used at the exhibition for the time being, and the basic version that is officially sold is not available, and it can only use batteries.

It's not that I don't want to match.

But after adding the power supply system and power supply, the original retail price of 29 US dollars must be increased.

In fact, even after the price increase, the price is considered cheap among electronic products.

After all, in the future, a Nintendo FC game cartridge will cost about forty dollars in America.

But Hideki Hanyu and Michael Katz considered that electronic pets are new products that have never been seen in America, and they still hope to open up the market at a low price.

When the product becomes popular, it will not be too late to launch other versions.

At that time, the version with AC power supply system will only be one of many versions.

A version with an increased number of Pokémon.

Comes with a limited edition of unique Pokémon.

The appearance changes, and the random Pokémon pool changes.

As long as the product is popular, there are many ways to make money.

After Hanyu Hideki was busy for a long time, he finally saw the promotional comics on the table, and called Iwata Satoru over again.

"Iwata-san, are the doll costumes in the image of Pokémon ready?"

"It's done." Iwata replied.

"Arrange people to wear doll costumes to distribute Pokémon promotional comics now. The weather is so hot, remember to hire a few more people to rotate to prevent accidents." Hideki Hanyu urged.

"I see."

After Iwata Satoru finished speaking, he arranged work according to Hanyu Hideki's instructions.

Michael Katz on the side looked at Iwata's back and couldn't help but praise Hanyu Hideki.

"Iwata is a very good young man. When he acquired Starpath, he performed very well."

"That's why I kept him in America, hoping that he can learn a lot from Mr. Katz." Hideki Hanyu said.

"Don't worry, I won't let such an outstanding talent sit idle. Don't blame me for being too ruthless when the time comes, Mr. Hanyu."

Michael Katz joked.

"Haha, of course not." Hideki Hanyu said with a smile.

But remembering the fate of Satoru Iwata's untimely death, he still couldn't help saying, "But we still have to pay attention to the health of our employees."

"Of course, whether it is Iwata or other employees, they are our most precious assets."

"I can rest assured that."

……

In the methodical preparations of Elven Entertainment, the time came to June th.

The International Consumer Electronics Show has finally kicked off.

Tourists, dealers and buyers from all over America and even other countries poured into the exhibition.

Las Vegas, the casino city in the desert, has become a bit more technological for a while.

Enter the exhibition site.

Everyone can clearly feel that due to the impact of Atari, the game elements in this exhibition are extremely weak.

Among other things, just look at the dying Atari booth, and you will know that there is no one at all.

Not only ordinary tourists are not interested, even dealers are not interested.

At this Electronics Fair, the most popular booths are undoubtedly the major home computer brands.

The popularity of the home computer market has made these manufacturers make a lot of money. Each of them started with a million dollars in booth layout.

However, in addition to big-name manufacturers, some small manufacturers in remote locations have also attracted a lot of attention with their unique products.

Elf Entertainment is one of them.

Especially compared to other small manufacturers, Elf Entertainment started promoting electronic pet Pokémon before the exhibition started.

Whether it is the "Pokémon" comics or the "Game Base" magazine, they have all been warmed up.

Many tourists come here because of the publicity in advance.

After all, the gimmick of hyping electronic life has attracted some attention in America.

Coupled with several publicists wearing Pokemon doll costumes, they began to distribute brochures containing comics two days ago.

Therefore, when the exhibition started, the booth of Elven Entertainment became the most popular among the small factories.

Such popularity also proves that the efforts of Spirit Entertainment have not been in vain.

Except for the pre-publicity.

The well-crafted TV commercials of Spirit Entertainment also played an important role in publicity at the exhibition.

In the booth, the same advertisement is being played on TVs facing different directions.

The two young actors stood opposite each other, throwing the poke ball in their hands violently.

When the poke ball flies in the air, it turns into animated Pikachu and Charmander.

After a duel of lightning and fire, the two Pokémon were taken back into the Pokéball again.

However, after the retraction was completed, the screen changed.

The Pokéball in the hands of the two young actors has turned into an electronic pet Pokéball body.

The two bodies are also connected with a data cable.

In addition to this ad, there is also an ad for catching Pokémon and another online battle.

A total of three commercials play alternately.

The advertisement combining live action and animation, and its unique creativity, immediately attracted many people to stop.

Driven by curiosity, most of the attracted people will come to the booth to experience.

According to the employee trial questionnaire survey, most people think that the electronic pet Poké Ball is very interesting.

that's it.

Either because of the inexplicable publicity in the early stage, or because of the attraction of advertisements, or because of the recommendation of friends at the scene.

More and more tourists came to the Fairy Entertainment booth.

This also led to a situation where the supply of trial units was in short supply on the afternoon of the first day at the Fairy Entertainment booth.

Backstage at the Fairy Entertainment booth, Hanyu Hideki and others couldn't hide their joy when they saw such a scene.

At this time, Michael Katz suddenly opened the door and walked in, and said to Hideki Hanyu excitedly, "Mr. Hanyu, you would never have guessed, who did I see just now?"

"It must be a very important person who can make Mr. Katz so happy." Hideki Hanyu said.

"It is indeed a very important person. People from Wal-Mart's purchasing department have come to contact us!"

Hearing Michael Katz's words, Hideki Hanyu couldn't help but get excited.

Needless to say, Wal-Mart's position in the North American retail industry.

Although cooperating with such a large retailer, the price will definitely be lowered, and related negotiations will not be easy.

But considering the size of Wal-Mart, the difficulty is worth it.

And as long as the electronic poke ball can enter Wal-Mart, it will immediately drive other retailers to follow up and cooperate.

"What did Wal-Mart say?" Hideki Hanyu asked.

"It's just a preliminary contact, and we need to continue to follow up." Michael Katz said.

"Then I will ask Mr. Katz next, you are more familiar with this aspect."

"Mr. Hanyu, please rest assured."

……

Just when Hideki Hanyu and Michael Katz got excited about the Walmart approach.

At the same time, in front of the booth of Elf Entertainment, two neon people came.

They didn't have to line up to experience the electronic pet Poké Ball.

Just standing in the distance, looking curiously at the booth of Elven Entertainment.

One of the men saw how popular the elf entertainment booth was, and said to his companions.

"Just now I was still wondering why so many people ran towards the back of our booth, so they all came here."

Upon hearing this, the companion asked strangely, "Does Minister Aoki not know about this club?"

"Please also tell me Kutaragi-san." The person called Aoki said.

"Some time ago, Neon's famous electronic pet was a product of this Elf Entertainment." Kutaragi, who was mentioned by Aoki, replied.

"It turns out that this company is planning to enter the American market. Since it is the Neon Club, let's send them an invitation for the evening party."

……

At the Elf Entertainment booth, Hideki Hanyu led Yasuko Sawaguchi, opened the backstage door and walked out.

Elf Entertainment went well at the exhibition, and Hideki Hanyu felt that it was meaningless for him to continue guarding.

Seeing that there was still an hour to go, the first day of the exhibition was coming to an end, so he planned to stroll around.

But before he could take a few steps, he heard someone calling him from behind.

Looking back, I found that Iwata Satoru had chased him out.

Hideki Hanyu thought that something happened to the booth.

After all, Eri Kitahara and Michael Katz are still there.

It's not a big accident, it's impossible to come to him.

He hurriedly asked, "Did something happen to the booth?"

But Satoru Iwata shook his head and said, "There was nothing wrong with the booth, it was an invitation letter sent by a Sony employee."

Iwata Satoru said and handed an invitation letter to Hanyu Hideki.

Hanyu Hideki glanced at the cover of the invitation, and saw that it said.

[International Consumer Electronics Show, Neon Social Networking Dinner]

　Thanks to Slow Travel Books, Xuanwu, Saynol, Master Tongzhai, mouse pads, book friends 20221002162433115 for their tipping.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)