"But this doesn't explain why Nintendo invited my brother-in-law… no, the Chairman, to their press conference. What connection could we possibly have with their new console?" Leng Zhimeng mumbled.
"Brother-in-law…" Ito Makoto, overhearing this address, felt a thrill run through his body, his mind conjuring up scenes from adult films. So stimulating!
"Do you know what's going on?" Leng Zhimeng directly asked Ito Makoto.
"Heh!" Ito Makoto nodded, then said, "Regarding this matter, we've had many discussions and analyses internally. One point worth noting is that Nintendo didn't communicate the invitation via phone, but rather sent a director-level executive in person, accompanied by an invitation letter."
"This is top-tier treatment even within Fusang, usually only afforded to top third-party companies like Capcom and Namco, as well as some gaming media. We were all stunned when this director appeared!"
"Fusang places great importance on hierarchy and ceremony, and this extends to corporate interactions. Important matters must be handled by weighty figures, and less important matters would never be entrusted to someone of the director's rank."
"Therefore, we believe that Nintendo's invitation for the Chairman to attend this press conference is not merely a matter of courtesy, but rather a strong indication that they wish to establish some form of cooperation with our group's headquarters, and they are extremely eager!" While Ito Makoto's name might be unfortunate, his capabilities were evident, at least in his ability to analyze certain situations.
"Do you know what Nintendo specifically wants from us?" Boss Huang continued to inquire.
"Heh!" Ito Makoto went on, "Nintendo is a pure gaming enterprise; all their operations are related to games. Our 00 Game Center is also a game-related enterprise, primarily functioning as a distributor and operator for PC platform games."
"Furthermore, Nintendo has no presence in the PC gaming market. At this very moment, Nintendo is facing operational difficulties. Therefore, I believe Nintendo intends to expand into the PC game market, migrating their extensive library of console games to PC. To achieve this, they will undoubtedly need to leverage the power of our oo Game Platform, a massive PC single-player game platform that spans the globe."
"So, I believe Nintendo is seeking cooperation with us in PC game distribution!" Ito Makoto declared loudly at the end, his confidence in this conclusion evident. Leng Zhimeng nodded in agreement.
This analysis was quite sound. Aside from Nintendo's desire to utilize 00 Game Center's capabilities in the PC game market, it was difficult to fathom any other needs they might have from 00 Game.
It couldn't be that Nintendo wanted games like Warcraft to be released on consoles… even if that were the case, they could simply approach Blizzard directly, rather than coming to Jiangnan.
Although Jiangnan was the parent company of Blizzard, and dealing with Jiangnan could indeed lead to dealing with Blizzard, such a roundabout approach would surely be met with outright refusal from Boss Huang, given any common sense.
Therefore, seeking cooperation with 00 Game Center was the most probable assumption.
However, was the situation truly as it seemed?
Boss Huang felt the likelihood was low. In Nintendo's future developmental history, regardless of the circumstances they faced, they never showed any intention of entering the PC market. There was no reason for them to change their minds now.
Secondly, if Nintendo truly intended to do this, they wouldn't need to rely on the power of 00 Game Center. After all, Nintendo possessed its own global product sales network. Within three days, Nintendo could place any game product on store shelves in any country worldwide.
If Nintendo were to engage in PC gaming, they could simply develop a PC version of their games and sell them globally. There would be no need to cooperate with 00 Game Center and have them extract intermediary fees. That would be a nonsensical idea.
Thus, Boss Huang believed Ito Makoto's speculation was incorrect. However, as to the actual situation, Boss Huang was somewhat baffled, like a monk touching a statue, and could only wait for the press conference to unfold.
With the press conference still a day away, Leng Zhimeng immediately pounced on her brother-in-law, saying, "Brother-in-law, why don't we go visit Akihabara!"
"Akihabara!" Boss Huang mused. If there was one street name in Fusang that was most famous domestically, it would undoubtedly be Akihabara.
Akihabara was originally a street in Tokyo specializing in various electronics. By the 1970s, shops selling game consoles began to appear in large numbers in Akihabara, which later became the launch area for game manufacturers like Sega and Nintendo.
In the 1980s, various industries related to gaming and anime culture settled in Akihabara, transforming it into Fusang's most renowned street for otaku culture, or the "Second Dimension Street," and the like, gathering all of Fusang's otaku products.
It could be said that for any otaku enthusiast, Akihabara was a must-visit destination in their lifetime.
As a former customer service representative for Bandai, as well as a veteran model builder and otaku enthusiast, Boss Huang was naturally filled with interest for Akihabara. Coupled with the ample time available, he readily agreed to Leng Zhimeng's request. The next day, they set out together to explore Akihabara, accompanied by Boss Huang's personal secretary, Hu Jing, and the branch president, Ito Makoto.
Indeed, Ito Makoto was primarily there to handle the payments.
"I want to buy the complete set of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, the complete set of Pokémon cards and figurines!" Leng Zhimeng exclaimed excitedly, holding a list of all the things the president wished to purchase.
"Buy them, buy them all!" Boss Huang declared imperiously. It was just a small amount of money.
The two first arrived at Akihabara's largest comprehensive shopping complex, which housed 70% of the otaku products. Essentially, most desired items could be purchased within this single building.
Leng Zhimeng rushed towards her primary objective, buying a complete set of Pokémon figurines. These were unique Japanese designs, incredibly cute, and the price for the entire set was close to 200,000 yen. However, Leng Zhimeng bought them without blinking.
Her monthly salary was now over a million RMB, all legally earned and taxed. Purchasing these items worth 200,000 yen was no issue at all.
After visiting many more places, and even having Ito Makoto call company employees to help carry their purchases, they finally reached their last destination: a shop specializing in trading cards.
Various trading cards have always been among the most iconic and lucrative products in the otaku world, with Yu-Gi-Oh! being the most famous.
Yu-Gi-Oh! was a manga created in 1996 and adapted into an anime in 2000, after which it became unstoppable. The accompanying Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game became the pinnacle of board games worldwide.
Due to its core gameplay revolving around various cards, the Yu-Gi-Oh! card products were immediately met with fervent pursuit throughout Fusang and even globally upon their release.
Throughout 2001, Yu-Gi-Oh! cards generated nearly 30 billion yen in sales in Fusang, with global sales reaching 500 million US dollars, a peak sales performance for trading cards.
Because Yu-Gi-Oh! cards often featured deliberately rare cards, such as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and the Four Sacred Beasts, they also held high collectible value. The most valuable Yu-Gi-Oh! card sold for $1.8 million.
Later, a Taiwanese individual in the domestic market, after defrauding tens of millions of assets, did not gamble or indulge in prostitution. Instead, they exclusively purchased various otaku merchandise, including a Gold Blue-Eyes White Dragon card, which later sold for 87,326,098 yuan at auction.
Of course, this price was highly unreasonable, and the bidder ultimately forfeited their deposit, as it was only a few hundred yuan.
In any case, the situation was quite bizarre, but it also demonstrated the extremely high collectible value of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards.
Leng Zhimeng, being such a seasoned Yu-Gi-Oh! card player… well, in fact, anything related to games that captivated Leng Zhimeng, she was an enthusiast of.
Domestically, she had purchased many legitimate Yu-Gi-Oh! cards through various channels. Now that she was in Fusang, she was naturally going all out.
"This time, I will conquer the world and acquire all 2,574 cards!" Leng Zhimeng declared arrogantly.
Yu-Gi-Oh! card release began with its first edition in 1999, with only a few hundred cards initially.
By the 2004 release, it was still the same version of Yu-Gi-Oh!, but several booster packs and some limited editions were released annually, bringing the total number of different cards to 2,574. [Due to the inability to find detailed data for 2004, this is an invention. If any knowledgeable readers are aware, please provide corrections, and I will revise immediately!]
However, this number would become even more astonishing by 2020. As of August 23, 2020, Yu-Gi-Oh! had a total of 23,862 cards, with 8,184 types in the overall card pool. The OCG card pool had 8,126 types (632 types exclusive to OCG), and the TCG card pool had 7,552 types (58 types exclusive to TCG).
Due to the lack of legitimate Yu-Gi-Oh! sales channels in China, purchases could only be made through informal channels. Additionally, Leng Zhimeng had not invested too much effort, so she currently possessed only over 2,200 cards, with more than 300 cards yet to be collected.
Now that she was in Akihabara, Leng Zhimeng was determined to acquire all the missing Yu-Gi-Oh! cards in one go.
So, Leng Zhimeng made her way directly to the area specializing in card sales and imperiously told the staff, "Bring out all the versions of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards you have here!"
"Nani?" The staff member looked at Leng Zhimeng blankly. Ito Makoto quickly translated for his boss into Japanese.
"All the versions?" The staff member paused, then said, "Miss, as many early versions have been discontinued, although we still have some stock, the prices!"
"Don't worry about the money, our chairman has plenty!" Ito Makoto quickly added.
Well, if money was no object, then there was no problem. This staff member did not exhibit the idiotic behavior sometimes found in novels about Chinese people, and instead, very readily brought out several boxes of Yu-Gi-Oh! from various editions in their store.
Thus, Huang He, Hu Jing, Ito Makoto, and Leng Zhimeng herself, all gathered around a counter, embarked on a long card-pulling session.