Game Market 1983

Chapter 34: The Worthless Company

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kudo, the CEO of Triangle Soft."

"Ah, hello. I'm Kang Junhyuk, a Korean exchange student."

"Korean?"

"Yes, is that a problem?"

"No, it's just that this is my first time interviewing a foreign student, so I was a bit surprised. You speak Japanese very well. Have you been here for long?"

"Yes, for about three years."

"I see. Junhyuk, do you have any programming skills? We are currently recruiting programmers to develop family games."

"Of course, I can do it. But is the hourly wage I saw on the flyer, 1,500 yen, accurate?"

Kudo's eyebrows twitched slightly. Hmmm, he must be hiding something.

"Well, yes, hahaha, 1,500 yen per hour."

"Why is the hourly wage significantly higher here than elsewhere?"

"Of course, if you meet one condition."

"What condition?"

"If Junhyuk can sell more than 50,000 copies of the game he creates, you can earn more than 1,500 yen as an incentive."

What... you mean you'll distribute profits after I make the game and sell it first? I chuckled in amazement.

"What if I can't sell 5,000 copies?"

"In that case, it might be a bit challenging for your salary... Junhyuk, do you lack confidence in the game you create?"

Look at this! He's trying to scratch my ego and manipulate me somehow, isn't he?

"What is the basic hourly wage excluding the incentive?"

"It's 280 yen."

Unbelievable. I let out a deep sigh, rubbing my face with both hands.

In reality, having such an attitude during an interview is very disrespectful. But I didn't come here for a real interview. It seems like the CEO's mindset is already rotten from the start, though.

"Um, Kudo-san, actually, I'm not here as an interviewee."

"Really? Then..."

I took a business card from my pocket and handed it to Kudo, greeting him again.

"I'm Kang Junhyuk, in charge of the MinTendo next-generation console development department."

"Mi... MinTendo employee!?"

"The reason I came here today is to meet with CEO Kudo and discuss something, but it seems to have taken an unexpected turn."

"No, why is a MinTendo employee here...?"

Instead of answering, I opened my mouth while looking at the boxes filling the office.

"Are these games developed by Triangle Soft?"

"Yes, that's right. We haven't had any major hits yet, but we've already released our fourth family title, 'Kids Quest.'"

So you've made four titles and none of them were successful, which is why you have this much inventory. But why is the CEO the only one in the game development office?

"Are there no other employees? Why is the CEO alone in the office on a weekday?"

"Originally, there was a planner and programmer named Kawaguchi, who created 'Kids Quest,' but he hasn't been coming to work lately."

"Why not?"

"Well, you see, Kids Quest isn't selling as well as we hoped, and our payroll is falling behind."

It's a complicated situation, and I can't see a clear solution...

"Despite our current situation, you're hiring part-timers again?"

"We need to create games first to generate revenue. By the way, why did you come to our company?"

I took a moment to compose myself and explained the reason for my visit to CEO Kudo.

"I came here today to meet with you, sir."

"With me?"

"It seems that the financial situation of Triangle Soft is not good. You've produced four family titles for us, but without a hit, so I thought I'd offer some technical advice."

"Ah, I see. But are you saying you don't know anything about game development? And you're the CEO of a soft company?"

"Haha, isn't it the same for President Kawamuchi of MinTendo? I just gather talent that can make game software and provide development funds."

This guy has a complete crook mentality, doesn't he? So, he just sits idly while his employees make games, and he only covers the cartridge production costs? I can't believe it... Did the game market seem that easy?

"Do you realize how risky Kudo's idea is right now?"

"Well...? I mean, President Kawamuchi is doing something similar..."

"Kudo, do you have a lot of money? If you're the CEO of a company, at least you should evaluate whether the games your subordinates create have market potential. Aren't you frustrated seeing all these cartridges piling up in the office?"

"The game business could take off at any moment. Once we have a hit, we can recoup all the losses we've suffered so far, like Phoenix Corporation's Dragon Warrior."

My goodness...

Waiting for a game to take off like it's a pachinko game in front of a train station? If I continue talking, I might lose my mind.

I rubbed my throbbing temples with my hand and closed my eyes. Before coming here, I examined the financial situation of Triangle Soft through Game & Watch. Their capital has been deteriorating since before the release of Kids Quest. CEO Kudo practically bet his second-tier financial resources to produce Kids Quest cartridges. However, it failed to become a hit, leading to another surplus of inventory.

"How could you...?"

"Wouldn't it be obvious if you just checked the inventory piled up in the office? With this situation, I doubt you have any resources left to create the next game."

"That's..."

"Why not? Are you going to use debentures if the second-tier financial resources dry up?"

"Gasp..."

"Sir, in my opinion, that's really not the right way..."

In the end, CEO Kudo lowered his head with a gloomy expression. For a while, I left him alone and examined the office. You can sense the company's atmosphere by looking at the state of the office.

MinTendo's headquarters, with a giant cartridge production factory and many employees working like clockwork. Phoenix Soft, with a relatively relaxed family-like atmosphere. Fox Soft, monitoring each employee like the military... among countless other game companies. Among them, Triangle Soft was the worst-performing company I'd visited.

"But this is the company that has what I truly desire..."

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