Chapter 69 Super Mary

Early in the morning of that day, Su Yun heard the sliding door moving and just as she was half asleep, she poked her head out of the quilt and immediately sneezed because she was frozen.

"Sorry, did the wind blow you?" Zhuang Long quickly closed the sliding door.

"It's snowing outside?" Although it was just a surprised glance, he also saw the white color of falling snow mixed with the deep wood color behind Zhuang Long.

"It started snowing in the middle of the night last night. I was afraid you would freeze, so I asked someone to add a charcoal stove and a quilt. But since you two were both sleeping soundly, I didn't wake you up," Zhuang Long explained.

No wonder I feel a lot heavier than before when I slept.

Su Yun took a look at the extra quilts for herself and Fuzi Puchi next to her - Fuzi Puchi came in a hurry and there were no extra rooms in the hotel. Also, considering that she was only two years older than Su Yun and the room was relatively large, she simply let her make an extra bed next to Su Yun.

At this time, Fumihiko Kamachi, who was also awakened by the noises, was rubbing her eyes in a daze.

"Thank you. What time is it now?" Su Yun asked.

"It's almost seven o'clock. I have already notified the staff to prepare breakfast." Zhuang Long quickly answered Su Yun's question.

Remembering that today was the day they had agreed to meet with Yokoi Gunpei, Su Yun sighed.

Seeing Su Yun slowly coming out of the quilt, Pu Chi Fu Zi was a little confused: "Where are you going?"

"We have a business negotiation this morning. After the negotiation, we will fly back to Hong Kong to celebrate the New Year and come back on the 26th." Su Yun answered and looked at her gently, "Yoshida and the others will take you to the hotel in Yinshan, so you don't have to worry."

"Oh, I understand." Although Su Yun, a rare peer, had to leave for a while, Fumiaki Kamachi was not a child who needed to rely on others, so she felt relieved when she heard that someone else would continue to guide her.

After changing clothes and talking to Yoshida, the translator, and the Japanese teacher in the next room, Su Yun went out with Zhuang Long.

Kyoto is an ancient capital city that has preserved many ancient buildings. After a night of snow, the dark colors of the buildings blended with the white of the falling snow. The strong color contrast was like a scene from an old Japanese movie. When the wind blew the fine snow all over the sky, it always seemed to reveal a bit of aloofness that was out of step with the times.

But once the wind and snow stopped, the place became simple and peaceful again, with a hint of sadness like an ink painting.

The agreed meeting place was in a private room of a traditional Japanese restaurant. When Su Yun and Zhuang Long were led in by the staff, they immediately saw two people sitting inside.

Through Yokoi Gunpei's introduction, Su Yun learned that the middle-aged man wearing glasses sitting next to him was none other than Nintendo's current president, Hiroshi Yamauchi, who had not yet changed his name to "Hiroshi Yamauchi" in order to break through himself and express his ambitions.

Although Yamauchi Hiroshi has not changed his name yet, Su Yun is still most familiar with the name of this godfather in the gaming industry.

In addition, a big reason why Yamauchi Hiroshi changed the name was that the company began to transform, and now because of Su Yun's sudden joining, Nintendo may develop handheld game consoles ahead of schedule and transform into a game company, so they just use this name as a title.

It was obvious that they really wanted to make a good game. Not long after Su Yun and Zhuang Long sat down and exchanged a few pleasantries, Yamauchi Hiroshi signaled Yokoi Gunpei to take out a design manuscript. While explaining it in English, he pushed the manuscript in front of Su Yun.

Both of them were top students who had attended prestigious universities, so although they both had the unique Japanese accent when speaking English, it wasn't so bad that it was hard to understand...

Hiroshi Yamauchi is well-known in the industry for liking "newcomers". According to some information Su Yun knows: after Yamauchi's father died suddenly of an acute illness and he was ordered to drop out of school to take over the position of president of Nintendo, faced with the overt and covert resistance from those powerful veterans, he directly used tough measures to sweep out these old foxes who hindered innovation and stuck to the old ways one by one.

Afterwards, he recruited his classmates from Waseda University and top students from various prestigious universities in Japan with high salaries, and began to rule the newly cleaned up Nintendo with his unique iron fist.

Knowing that the person in front of him was a big shot who could negotiate with Disney, the copyright fanatic, for the exclusive agency rights in Japan, Su Yun naturally did not dare to play any tricks. After taking the design manuscript, he read it carefully.

Thanks to the fact that Nintendo's current bosses and employees are still people who have a devout heart for games, even though Su Yun is at this age and looks like this, they don't think there is anything wrong. Instead, they just sit here obediently, waiting for her opinion after reading the design manuscript.

It truly perfectly embodies the essence of "learning is endless and those who achieve success are the first."

After reading the design manuscript, Su Yun looked up and said, "Is this the best design you can do at the moment?"

To her, this design was terribly crude; but for this era, this design was far ahead of its time in terms of concept alone.

It is hard to believe that President Hiroshi Yamauchi, under the suggestion of Gunpei Yokoi, would be willing to hand over the design manuscripts of the main product to be developed by his company in the future to an outsider for review.

Gunpei Yokoi knew there was something interesting and quickly replied, "Yes, but the operating buttons are indeed rather simple, so we are very interested in the 'cross key' you mentioned on the Shinkansen before."

"If your design can indeed improve the quality of the machine, then everything will be fine," Yamauchi Hiroya added.

Seeing their sincerity, Su Yun took out a pen and asked, "Do you mind if I make some changes directly on it?"

"Don't mind, please!" Yokoi Gunpei, who had a strong pursuit of new knowledge, was so excited that he even used a honorific.

After receiving a positive response, Su Yun started to modify it with a pen: "Look, the two round buttons on the left and right representing 'LEFT' and 'RIGHT' can actually be directly changed to a cross key representing 'up, down, left, and right'."

This first-generation handheld game console has two very simple left and right directional buttons, with A and B buttons in the upper right corner for changing the difficulty of the game, and a Time button for displaying the time. The reason for adding a Time button is that it can be used as a portable clock to prevent the machine's functions from being too simple.

"In this way, the cross key on one side occupies the area on the left, and the right side can be changed to some function keys, such as adjusting the volume of sound effects or music or muting it, adjusting the screen brightness, pausing, or even saving and reading files..."

Gunpei Yokoi looked at the part that Su Yun had modified, thought for a moment, and felt a little embarrassed: "These suggestions are all good, but if we want to make such a function key, with our current technology, it will take more time..."

“We can first release an affordable popular version with less engineering and fewer functions, and then slowly upgrade it to a hardcover version or premium version with more functions and games…won’t that be enough?” Su Yun, a former loser who was well versed in the money-making tactics of unscrupulous businessmen, immediately came up with these classic money-making tactics based on her position after she became one of the unscrupulous businessmen.

"However, I suggest that the cross key should be installed directly on the affordable version. On the one hand, it will allow arcade users to get used to this small machine that controls both direction and function more quickly. On the other hand, if the operations of the affordable version and the subsequent upgraded version are different, we may lose a group of customers who started out playing handheld games and are used to the original operation methods..." Currently, all games are basically played on huge arcade machines, which make people switch from large arcade machines that are taller than people to small handheld machines the size of a palm. Although people can enjoy the benefits of portable and convenient entertainment, they also need to try to give people a smooth adaptation process.

Gunpei Yokoi nodded as if he suddenly understood something: his original design was actually based on the operation method of arcade games. However, handheld game consoles were originally designed to be small and portable, and installing a joystick would only increase the cost and significantly increase the space, so he had to change the design to left and right buttons.

His idea at the time was to carve out a path for portable game consoles in a market full of giant arcade machines, and reap the benefits of portable entertainment, thereby creating a brand new huge market - after all, for an office worker like him, it was impossible to just pick up a large game console and play on the Shinkansen.

Considering that most people would naturally put their hands in front of them when sitting, he decided to define the new design as "a small game console that can be played with the thumb in this posture"...then the size of the calculator is just right.

In the comparison between arcade machines and handheld game consoles, apart from the difference in size, the operation method proposed by Su Yun, which is a cross key on one side and a function key on the other side, is very similar to the operation method of an arcade game console with a joystick on one side and a button on the other side. However, compared with the original idea of ​​installing a joystick handle, the new design of the cross key is obviously more advantageous on a handheld game console.

Because arcade machines are large in size, they can accommodate joysticks and multiple function keys; but handheld game consoles are small enough for an adult to hold in one hand, so there is very little space left for buttons.

The design of a cross key can free up the need to control the displacement direction with one hand, and free up key positions for more function keys.

With these modifications, the quality and playability of this handheld game console can be improved, and its confrontation with arcade machines can be strengthened.

"In fact, your idea of ​​the portable game "Ball" is more suitable for such a simple left and right double key, but the game is easy to modify, but the subsequent additions to the game are difficult to modify." Su Yun briefly explained the advantages and disadvantages of left and right double keys and a single cross key, and then added, "Since I have the idea of ​​a cross key, I don't just want to play one game on one game console."

"The key to determining the success or failure of a game is whether it is interesting enough."

"That's right." Yamauchi Hiroshi nodded: After the emergence of arcade machines and arcade games, Daito Shoji Co., Ltd. created a business myth with an arcade game called "Space Invaders", with a development cost of only tens of thousands of yen but annual sales reaching an astonishing 10 billion yen. Even though he had failed repeatedly in his side business, he couldn't help but follow this emerging wave and join it.

Unfortunately, even though Nintendo, a maker of flower-style poker cards, had the intention, it let the active-minded Gunpei Yokoi, as the head of the development department, take the lead in studying BASIC programming on his own and copying other companies' successful work to make a follow-up game "Space Rangers". In the end, it was of no use - when the financial and technical capabilities are completely unable to compete with other companies, then everything depends on the leader's instructions.

Thinking back to the huge arcade center, high-tech products were always placed in the most conspicuous position; while the copycat works of Nintendo and other manufacturers were often cramped in the corner... Yamauchi Hiroshi felt extremely sad and aggrieved.

This time, he is determined to use this brand-new "handheld game console" to avenge his past mistakes and carve out a path for himself in the electronic game world!

For this reason, he did not hesitate to offer Su Yun a gross profit share that seemed high at present - during the conversation, Su Yun was obviously not satisfied with the game "Ball", so she must have better suggestions for improvement.

In order to get the new ideas in her mind, Yamauchi Hiroshi, who is used to recruiting talents with high salaries, was very generous.

"At present, a handheld calculator war is erupting in the country between Sharp and Casio. Therefore, Sharp, which has been losing a little, now has two production lines of 'portable micro-LCD panels' in a semi-shutdown state. If we place a large order for micro-LCD panels at this time, we will definitely get a very low and favorable quotation." Yokoi Gunpei quickly told him about the market research he had done before.

Su Yun was relieved to hear that the cost could be further reduced and she could get a share of the profits. After another round of price negotiations, they came up with a tiered price in which the profit sharing ratio changed according to sales volume.

At the lowest, she can get 10%; at the highest, she can get 50%!

This is certainly not as good as the 70% or more share that independent developers in later generations can get, but this is under the condition that she provides ideas, designs and other cost-free businesses, so this share ratio is already enough to be astonishing.

After densely writing down the design ideas, character settings, story outlines and other information of the two classic mini-games, "Snake" and "Super Mario", on the manuscript paper, Su Yun slowly pushed the manuscript back.

At the same time, we also took over the contract to revise the profit sharing ratio.

After reading the new design manuscript in his hand and taking a look at the new contract that Su Yun had already signed, Yamauchi Hiroshi couldn't help but sigh: "Although the game design of "Super Mario" is very amazing, the most amazing thing is you, "Super Mario"!"

"Thank you." "Super Mario" has a history of being mistranslated into "Super Mario" after entering China, so Su Yun is really not surprised by this title. "If I don't make money doing this, I might as well stay in the film industry."

"What film industry?!" Yamauchi Hiroshi and Yokoi Gunjun were stunned.

"No way, you don't know us?!" "Artificial Intelligence" became an overnight sensation after it was released in Japan. Today, the two of them went out because it was snowing, and they covered themselves with three layers of clothes inside and outside before they dared to go out.

"Look, that's the poster." Zhuang Long, who had been decorating nearby, took off his sunglasses and shocked the two people opposite him with his looks. He then stood by the window and motioned them to look at the huge poster on display at the cinema opposite.

"Are all you actors so idle?" After taking a closer look at the two people in front of them, they really were poster spirits. Then they thought about those foreign actors who were part-time inventors, some who changed careers to become governors and even presidents... Yamauchi Hiroshi and Yokoi Gunpei were suffocated.

Seeing that the two big bosses of the old Ren family were shocked, Su Yun turned around and started chatting with Zhuang Long: "After you return to Hong Kong, do you want to live in my house?"

"Do you have any empty rooms in your house?" Having known each other for so long, Zhuang Long naturally knew the layout of Su Yun's home.

"Not yet, but you can stay in my room. I'm going to sleep with my mother-in-law for a few nights. I can't let you travel thousands of miles back to Hong Kong and stay in a hotel." Su Yun said.

"Will this be troublesome?" Zhuang Long was still a little hesitant.

"It shouldn't be too troublesome." Su Yun waved his hand: A true warrior is one who dares to bring new people to meet old ones!

It would be best if they could live in peace!

Mary Super Mary Sue thought so, despite her young age and big ambitions.