New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 197

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 197. Infrastructure Development (2)

After finishing my morning work at Nexpin, I headed to the Tiger Fund office.

As soon as I opened the office door, Song Sang-yeon jumped up from his seat with an urgent expression and rushed toward me.

“Branch Manager! Nintendo contacted us. They said they’ll accept our proposal!”

“That’s faster than I expected.”

Considering Nintendo’s closed nature, I thought it would take at least a few months.

But Vice President Hasegawa and the Technology Director must have pushed very hard to get approval in less than a month.

“I’ll send the working staff to Japan right away to get the contract signed.”

“And secure the promised 5% stake as well.”

“The funds are already prepared. However… I question whether Nintendo has investment value. Their stock price has dropped 60% in two years.”

It was ambiguous to call it aftermath of the IT bubble.

The stock price plummeted purely because their consecutive product releases were rejected by gamers.

“Since they’re joining hands with us, the stock price has no choice but to rise.”

“They were once the industry leader, but isn’t the situation different now? Sony and Microsoft have dominated the market. Is it possible for Nintendo to regain market share? I understand many loyal customers have left too.”

Breaking through walls wouldn’t be difficult if they had innovative products.

By introducing touchscreens that no one else had attempted,

and collaborating with us to raise that performance to the highest level, they could sufficiently regain their former reputation.

And I had a separate reason for being confident.

Nintendo’s stalled gears were slowly beginning to move.

And they were creating structures that were much faster and more massive than before.

“They have no choice but to succeed. The loyal customers who left will return, and they’ll pull in everyone who isn’t familiar with games.”

“If that happens, there would be investment value, but… wouldn’t it be difficult to expect high returns?”

“At minimum, it’ll be two to three times the return. You can tell just from the Technology Director’s reaction. His confidence in being able to create new concept games was almost bordering on madness. With that level of passion, it will definitely work in the market.”

Moreover, the return rate wasn’t the essence.

The profit from equity investment was merely additional.

The real value lay in establishing a partnership with Nintendo.

“Since Branch Manager says so, it seems we should buy more Nintendo stocks in the market, not just equity investment.”

“Stocks aren’t everything. Since we’ve become partners, we can now create mutual benefits in various directions.”

“Various directions… what do you mean by that?”

Making gaming devices requires countless components.

Semiconductors, displays, batteries. Among these, there were quite a few items we could supply.

“The first thing we’ll target is batteries. The fact that they want to include WiFi functionality means Nintendo is making a portable gaming device, not a regular console.”

“Then battery performance becomes important.”

“There’s no battery more suitable for portable devices than the lithium polymer batteries that go into iPods.”

We were already supplying batteries for some iPods.

These batteries boasted higher efficiency than any MP3 player on the market, and we had almost uniquely succeeded in commercializing lithium polymer batteries worldwide.

“The lithium polymer factory expansion was just completed. Supplying only to iPods couldn’t fill 100% capacity, but if gaming devices are added, the situation will be much more stable.”

“So we need to secure battery supply contracts in advance from now.”

ATL and GL Battery.

Tiger Fund had already acquired both companies, securing world-class technology and production lines.

But there was a problem.

Thanks to Dr. Robin, we succeeded in commercializing lithium polymer batteries for the first time in the world.

The problem was that there weren’t many companies that wanted or understood these batteries yet.

There were some interested parties, but considering the expanded factory, we definitely needed reliable partners.

“After batteries, are you targeting semiconductors too?”

“That’s right. Nintendo basically prefers a multiple supplier system. If the performance is solid, they won’t reject new suppliers. And the final goal is to bring in foundry work too.”

I was targeting beyond simple component supply to device production.

We were already operating iPod production lines stably.

If we could handle Nintendo’s portable gaming devices on top of this, we could explosively increase sales.

“Wouldn’t foundry be difficult? Nintendo’s core partner is Sharp. Sharp has been doing contract manufacturing for Nintendo devices for a long time. Sharp also makes the displays, so it won’t be easy to take away the foundry work too.”

“Business doesn’t move based on relationships or friendship. If we’re superior to competitors, they’re naturally bound to join hands with us. And Sharp is just an important partner, not an irreplaceable one.”

Song Sang-yeon furrowed his brow and fell into deep thought.

Taking Nintendo’s foundry volume was definitely not an easy task.

“I can’t grasp how to do it.”

“For now, bringing in just a portion is sufficient. While Sharp has worked hand-in-hand with Nintendo for a long time, they probably don’t have cutting-edge facilities like our factory.”

“Then… if the performance of products we manufacture is higher or the defect rate is lower, we can naturally receive more volume, is that what you mean?”

There was also a strategy possible because of the current timing.

Nintendo was in a situation where they had fallen to the brink of collapse, and their initial stockpile for the next device would certainly not be large.

“If Nintendo’s next gaming device becomes a huge hit, demand will suddenly explode. Then Sharp’s factory alone could never handle it.”

“If only we prepare in advance, we can bring in the volume. But for it to be such a hit that stockpiles are insufficient, at least several million units would need to sell.”

Nintendo was suffering from bad inventory.

In such a situation, no matter how innovative the new product’s features were, they couldn’t set initial production volume high.

Since they had no choice but to start with conservative volume, gaps opened for us to penetrate.

“Then I’ll go to Japan with the working staff to negotiate. I’ll do my best to bring back at least 10% of the total volume.”

“And let them know we can also do contract manufacturing for semiconductors and chips. When volume explodes, they’ll need additional production of semiconductors and chips, not just assembly factories.”

“If that’s possible, Nintendo might actually become dependent on us.”

I planned to sweep up everything.

There was a reason I listed so many conditions in front of Vice President Hasegawa.

“We’ll bring all the revenue streams Nintendo creates to our side. Don’t let even a single drop flow to other companies. Only then will a satisfactory picture be completed.”

“…”

Song Sang-yeon unconsciously took a step back.

My plan must have sounded like a declaration of plunder to his ears.

If it was plunder, it could be plunder.

But my target wasn’t Nintendo itself, but the suppliers surrounding Nintendo.

I planned to completely overturn the supply chain they had monopolized for decades and take their place.

***

The first contract was completed.

It was a basic contract centered on patent usage licenses and Nintendo’s game IP usage licenses.

Semiconductor and foundry clauses needed additional discussion, so they were moved to a second contract.

Song Sang-yeon went to Japan personally to resolve this and was continuing daily negotiations with Nintendo.

Not all contracts were finished yet.

But since we secured game IP usage licenses, I immediately headed to Neowiz to create mobile versions.

“CEO Park, I’ve brought good news.”

“What news? My heart is already pounding since Branch Manager says that. Did you perhaps secure classic masterpiece IPs?”

CEO Park sent me an expectant gaze.

I responded to his gaze with a smile and continued speaking.

“I secured Nintendo’s game IPs.”

“…What? Nintendo? I understand Nintendo has never entrusted their IPs to outside parties until now. May I… ask which IPs they are?”

Nintendo had countless IPs.

Among them were many unsuccessful works too.

CEO Park seemed to think I had brought such ambiguous IPs.

“We can make any of Nintendo’s IPs, up to 10 titles.”

“Any of them… doesn’t matter? Then does that mean we can make games like Super Brothers or Pocket Beast?”

“That’s right. You can make whatever you want. However, if the graphics or gameplay don’t meet Nintendo’s standards, they can request to halt the release.”

CEO Park seemed unable to hear my words at all.

His mind seemed filled only with the fact that he could make games with Nintendo’s masterpiece IPs.

“We can really use all of Nintendo’s IPs?”

“Are you that pleased?”

“Any game developer has dreamed of this at least once. To think I can do it! How could I not be pleased!”

I gave CEO Park enough time to enjoy himself.

Only then did I continue with the next part of the story.

“And Neo Marvel has agreed to participate as a third-party game company for Nintendo.”

“What? So we have to make console games too?”

“Not just any console games, but a type of game that has never been attempted before.”

“I’m not sure what type of game you’re referring to.”

At his question, I pulled out the modified PDA.

It was the very same PDA that had surprised Vice President Hasegawa and the Technology Director.

“First, you can start by making games that can run on a PDA.”

“It’s a PDA with a touchscreen, isn’t it? There are no buttons or wheels, so how do you play games? Do you mean we need to make games where all actions are done through touch?”

CEO Park immediately grasped my intention.

Since I had already shown him the modified iPod version before, this kind of deduction was possible.

“To dominate the mobile game market, this is experience we absolutely must accumulate. So think of it as giving up on profitability and focus on applying various technologies.”

“My pride won’t allow that. I’ll make it both fun and technically advanced!”

“If you can achieve that, nothing could be better.”

“First, I’ll start by converting our existing games to touch-based controls.”

CEO Park seemed restless, constantly fidgeting with excitement.

For such a CEO Park, I promised generous support.

“The Development Team, Nexpin, and the Prototype Department will provide full support. We’ll support everything from UI to new control methods and even physical simulation.”

“Thank you so much. Deciding to work with Tiger Fund was truly the best decision of my life!”

“I’m grateful you think that way. If you need anything, please feel free to ask anytime. We’ll support whatever you need.”

Neo Marvel was heading in a completely different direction from other game companies.

Since it was an uncharted path, it wouldn’t be strange to have doubts, but CEO Park trusted me and boldly took the step forward.

For his sake, I absolutely had to complete the big picture I was drawing.

Once that picture was complete, Neo Marvel could leap beyond being Korea’s number one to become a global game company.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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