Chapter 132: CEO Game
"Is this really okay?"
But having a screw means it can be opened, right?
Let's just open the lid first and if it doesn't seem like anything, put it back on the shelf. I cautiously consoled myself and carefully opened the back of the Game & Watch. My first impression upon opening the outer case was...
"There's nothing particularly special?"
Starting with the battery circuit responsible for power, there was a green motherboard in the form of a mainboard.
Actually, all electronic devices aren't significantly different as they are based on the computer's motherboard.
Attached to the mainboard are the CPU, graphics, and sound devices. Although in portable gaming consoles, with the addition of the display, the arrangement is a bit more complex...
After removing the screws firmly fixed on both sides of the mainboard, I cautiously lifted the board with a driver.
"Huh...?"
When I lifted about 1/3 of the board, I saw a faint light emanating from inside the device.
I wanted to lift the board a bit more out of curiosity, but from this point, I started feeling something stiff. The angle to peer inside was too narrow...
"Could it break if I continue?"
Thinking there might be screws I missed, I checked again, but I didn't see any other devices fixing the mainboard.
It might be possible to dismantle it if I tried, but I felt it might lead to irreparable consequences, so I decided to stop.
What if I break it and can't go back to the original time in 2015?
Honestly, at this point, I'm not feeling much merit in going back to the time before the time slip, but you never know.
"So, getting hints from here was impossible after all?"
Nothing's coming out easily.
I tossed the driver into the toolbox on the table and leaned back on the chair, closing my eyes.
The transition of the handheld console from a game console was actually due to Chandra's opinion.
The conventional method of combining two docking stations was not only bulky but also when a docking station using CDs emerged, the existing cartridge-based console seemed quite clumsy.
Amidst this, Chandra, who was researching the liquid crystal display for the Tamago-sama, proposed shifting the direction of the new gaming device towards portability.
The method of injecting liquid crystal between two thin parallel glass plates to change the arrangement of liquid crystal molecules through current pressure was mainly used in calculators, but thanks to Gunpei's idea, the Game & Watch was created, and it led to fluidic display capabilities in portable gaming devices from the Game Boy onwards.
Chandra's proposal was revolutionary at the time.
Since the Game Boy's launch in the winter of 1987, there had been increasing public interest in the liquid crystal display, especially after the development of color LCDs, becoming part of future industries.
However, accepting Chandra's opinion 100% wasn't without problems.
Actually, there was another company working on a full-color portable gaming device at the time, NEGA, with their 'Play Gear.' It had an 8-bit CPU with a resolution of 160x144 on a liquid crystal screen, which was amazing enough, but they went a step further and added a backlight feature. (It could be seen as the starting point for real innovation at that time...) As a result, despite using six batteries, which earned it the nickname 'battery monster,' users were discontent as it couldn't surpass 3 hours of playtime.
"Once it takes six batteries, it can't really be called a portable device, right?"
Taking a break from dismantling the Game & Watch from the future, I started sorting out the necessary features and unnecessary parts between Mintendo's Game Boy and NEGA's Play Gear.
Firstly, while having a backlight on the portable device would be nice, considering the battery issue, I decided to skip it for the first generation.
Secondly, regarding the 16-bit CPU, I planned to repurpose the CPU fitted in the Super Family by customizing it with latex.
Once I finished checking the sound and battery sections, the shape of the new next-generation model started taking form.
"This doesn't seem too bad, does it?"
But the biggest issue remained – the price.
No matter how much I tried to lower it, I couldn't pursue profits like Mintendo's portable Game Boy...
In that moment, I felt ashamed of my thoughts.
"Consoles originally sell at a loss. Restricting the device's performance to profit from the console is Mintendo's way, right? Did I forget why I came here with time-slip?"
Last year, I even urged President Kamauichi to invest some spare change, and now, what I'm thinking about is exactly like that, isn't it? Embarrassing, Kang Jun-hyuk.
Even if I pour all the capital I have now, I'll create the best device.
From now on, the path I walk will diverge from the history of consoles I knew.
Of course, it might fail...
But at least, I won't do something I'm ashamed of to myself.
Just adding a page to the grand history of consoles would be an honor...
I pushed aside the documents I had checked and took out the driver again to assemble the Game & Watch.
As I hadn't really dismantled the mainboard itself, after tightening a few screws, the Game & Watch returned to its original state in no time.
"If only I could have dismantled the board, I could have experienced the limits of over-technology..."
With a regretful heart, I opened the latch and pressed the power button. Thankfully, the device started working normally without any issues.
Wait a second...
"There are two screens, right? Does that mean the upper screen, not attached to the mainboard, can be detached?"
I quickly turned off the power of the Game & Watch and this time, I opened the upper case. And my guess was precisely right.
"Of course, the upper part responsible for sound and the main screen can be detached!"
With a straight screwdriver, I carefully pulled out the link connector through the latch and removed the display of the Game & Watch.
"Got it! I got it!"
That's how I obtained one of the feats of over-technology from the Game & Watch brought from the future.
...
"Kki-eek."
A while later, the car stopped in front of the Raytex factory, and I strode toward the dimly lit Raytex headquarters building.
Given that Chandra and my Indian friends were staying at the lodging inside the Raytex factory, meeting them late at night posed no problem.
"Junhyuk's here."
"Thanks a lot, Chandra."
"To be honest, I didn't do much. It's all thanks to the liquid crystal display you brought. But I'm still curious. How did you get your hands on that item? Is it really okay to use technology like that without any issues, even if the patent has been filed? It seemed like an unremarkable technology, even with a patent."
"Don't worry. There won't be any patent lawsuits. We should actually file for a technology patent ourselves."
"Are you sure that's okay?"
The low-power liquid crystal display produced by Raytex, although weak in light reflection due to the lack of a backlight function, boasted superior readability and graphics compared to the Famicom with its 320 x 280 resolution.
When we connected the prototype display to the Super Family console for testing, shortly after, the title screen of 'The Empty Streets' appeared.
"Is it excellent?"
"Though the screen is smaller, the dot arrangement has shrunk, making the graphics look better."
Such graphics running on a portable device would drive gamers crazy.
Moreover, Tamago Monsters could be enjoyed in full color, and with proper support from third-party developers, this could really take off.
The next day, after the announcement of the next-gen portable console by Pentagon Soft, the gaming industry turned upside down.
Among those most affected was none other than Mintendo.
To trample the potential of the new console, they had drastically reduced royalties for third parties since last fall and even lowered cartridge prices. But the machine they announced turned out to be a portable device...
In the conference room, the sight of President Kamauichi raging like a wildfire caught my eye.
The timing of Laon being announced as a portable device was January 12, 1991.
While others perceived it as a significant announcement heralding the start of a new year, this date had a particularly fatal impact on Mintendo.
Why? To ensure a smooth release on February 14th, 'Valentine's Day.'
Since it took about a month to produce cartridges for Super Family games, if Laon had been announced before that, Mintendo might have refused cartridge production.
However, Valentine's Day was already approved by Mintendo on January 4th, and cartridge production was underway. At this point, Mintendo couldn't unilaterally cancel the cartridge production for Valentine's Day.
Soon after the announcement of Laon, at the end of January 1991, Mintendo began raising the previously reduced royalties for third parties, citing a limited time period starting from February 1991, once the certainty of Laon being a portable device was established.
Many companies protested Mintendo's new terms, but bound by contracts for games already in development, they reluctantly agreed to renegotiate.
And at that moment, I timely distributed a kit containing the development tools for the new portable device Laon to third-party companies for free.
Startled by Mintendo's pressure, third-party companies began showing interest in Laon developed by Pentagon naturally.
In the midst of this, a considerably influential third-party company made a move.
Gaming magazine journalists showed an astonishing reaction to the announcement made by the third party that first partnered with Pentagon, and it was publicized to users two days before Valentine's Day on February 12th.
-Capcom, famous for the side-scrolling action game 'Final Fight 89'. They've decided to port 'Final Fight 89' and 'Street Fighter 2' for the home console, alongside the new launch title for Laon!!!-
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