Wednesday 10 September 1999.
While Sanika joined ZAGE as an intern, Zaboru couldn't see her at ZAGE Tower—not even to check on her first day—because he was currently on ZAGE Campus USA. The schedule over there was packed with important meetings, all focused on one thing: Steam, ZAGE's digital platform.
Steam was close, painfully close, but two final problems still blocked a full release. The first was internet speed. Japan was improving fast thanks to the Sendou Fiber project, but outside of that, the world still wasn't ready yet. Zaboru knew it would be solved in the coming years as Sendou expanded—he could already see the path.
The second problem was the real headache: payment.
Internet speed could be fixed with infrastructure and time. Payment, however, was fragile. If the system was unstable, if people couldn't trust it, or if the method was too complicated, Steam would crash before it even started. Worse, a single major fraud incident could destroy public confidence immediately.
That's why Zaboru flew to the ZAGE Campus USA himself. He needed answers, not reports. He wanted to look the team in the eye and feel whether they were actually ready. And most importantly, he wanted to speak directly with Gabe Newell—Gaben—the CTO of ZAGE USA, the man leading the Steam payment development.
Zaboru wasn't there to micromanage. He was there because this part was critical, and he couldn't afford surprises.
Right now, Zaboru is already in a meeting with Gaben. Even though Steam was originally Zaboru's idea in this world, the person leading the project day-to-day is Gaben himself—the CTO of ZAGE USA, the one carrying the weight of the payment system on his shoulders.
Zaboru leaned back in the chair, fingers tapping once on the table like a quiet metronome. "So, Gaben… how's Steam? Any updates on the payment method?"
Gaben sighed, rubbing his forehead like he'd been waiting for that question all morning. "We canceled our deal with the digital payment company X.Com," he said bluntly. "They want more than they can chew. If we use their payment feature, they want us to share our revenue with them. Not a service fee—revenue share. That's unrealistic, Boss."
He shifted his posture, irritation leaking through even his calm voice. "And worse… they were disrespectful. They talked to us like we were some small startup begging for permission. They should know we're ZAGE. We're not a pushover."
Zaboru exhaled and scratched the back of his head, half amused and half annoyed at himself. "Well… ZAGE has a pushover reputation because of me, though," he admitted with a small chuckle. "In the past, I did acquire companies without thinking too much. Maybe people assume we'll always bend."
Gaben grinned, but it wasn't a lazy grin—it was the kind of confidence that came from knowing the numbers. "Boss, every company you acquired became better after you bought it. You didn't 'bend'—you built. That's why people trust you." He leaned forward slightly, eyes sharpening. "But we still need to draw a line here. Steam is the foundation of our digital future. If we let one payment company take a bite out of our core, everyone else will try the same thing.
"We're not small anymore, Boss," he continued, voice firm. "We're ZAGE now. And if we don't act like it, the world won't treat us like it."
Zaboru thought about X.Com for a moment. In his previous life, if the timeline kept its shape, this company would eventually transform into something much bigger—something like PayPal by 2001. It was almost ironic. A future giant, acting arrogant now. Still, it didn't matter. Zaboru didn't need them to build Steam's foundation.
Zaboru nodded. "It's fine if they don't want to work with us. Sooner or later, they'll be the ones begging us." His tone stayed casual, but the confidence behind it was sharp. "For now, we start simple. Credit cards… and we build our own system on top of it—Steam Wallet, and Steam Cards."
Gaben grinned and nodded, visibly energized. "Honestly, Boss, your idea of Steam Wallet and Steam Cards is insanely brilliant." He leaned forward, hands clasped like he couldn't wait to show progress. "My team at ZAGE USA is pushing hard to pull this off. We're making sure every code can only be redeemed once, every transaction is safe, and the whole flow feels smooth—so even normal people can use it without fear."
Zaboru nodded and asked, "What about distribution for the Steam Cards? Have you noticed any problems?"
Gaben grinned, looking oddly proud—as if this part proved ZAGE's machine could move even while the engineers were still building the engine. "Ohh, I love working at this company. All of its subsidiaries are competent," he said. "While we focus on the system, ZAGE's distributors across the world are doing their magic. They already locked in deals with most major supermarkets and electronics chains to stock our cards."
He gestured loosely, like he could already picture the racks near the cashier lines. "That's important. We don't want Steam Cards to feel like a niche gamer thing. We want them next to phone vouchers and gift cards—places families already understand. A first-time user shouldn't have to 'trust the internet' to get started. They should be able to buy a card in a familiar store, scratch the code, and feel safe."
Gaben's grin stayed, but his tone shifted into business mode. "Of course, third-party stores will take a cut. We'll pay placement fees, and the retailers will want their margin for stocking, distributing, and promoting it. That's normal. It's the price of being everywhere."
Zaboru nodded, already calculating the cleanest pricing rule. "So we do it like this," he said. "If the card is worth 100$ of Steam Wallet value, we sell it in supermarkets for 101$. If it's 10,000 yen, it sells for 10,100 yen. That difference gives them their share without confusing customers."
He paused, then added the part that mattered for trust. "But if players buy from an official ZAGE store, it's one-to-one. 100$ is 100$. No tricks."
Gaben nodded, satisfied. "Exactly. Third-party convenience costs a little extra. Direct from ZAGE is pure value. Simple rule, easy to explain, easy to remember—and it keeps trust high while still letting us flood the market with Steam Cards."
Zaboru nodded. "I see… so distribution is good, then?"
Gaben nodded back. "Very good. In fact, we've had regular meetings with ZAGE distributors across the world—Emerald Wings in the USA, Flocks in Europe, Sora Distribution in Japan, BEAK in Brazil and Latin America, and Red Falcon in Korea and China. So far, everything is already moving, Boss. You don't need to worry about the pipeline."
He exhaled through his nose, expression turning serious. "The real battle this last month hasn't been distribution. It's been making sure the Steam application and Steam Wallet work properly—without bugs, without loopholes, and especially without fraud. One mistake there, and we don't just lose money—we lose trust. And if we lose trust on day one, Steam is dead before it even breathes."
Zaboru chuckled. "I trust my team—and I trust you, Gaben."
Gaben laughed too, but then his expression tightened into something more practical. "Still, Boss… are you sure you want to sell these vouchers one-to-one?" he asked. "I get it—supermarkets and third parties will add a small margin. But for official ZAGE stores… are you really sure? These cards still have production costs. Printing, packaging, distribution logistics… it's not huge, but it's real. Doesn't that mean we lose money on every card?"
Zaboru chuckled again, because Gaben wasn't wrong. If a player bought a 100$ card, they expected to receive a full 100$ of Steam Wallet value. But ZAGE wouldn't receive a pure 100$ in profit—there were manufacturing costs for each card, even if the cost per unit was small.
In Gaben's eyes, that small loss looked like a leak in the foundation.
But Zaboru knew from experience in his previous life that this was rarely a real problem. The true power of a digital platform wasn't squeezing every cent out of the first transaction. It was building a user base—volume, trust, habit. Once people trusted the platform and felt comfortable spending digitally, they tended to spend more often, in smaller bursts, and with less hesitation. That was the real money.
Gaben didn't fully know that yet.
Not like Zaboru did.
Zaboru then said, "It's okay, Gaben. This is a transition. We'll make more money from digital in the long run—quantity of players, trust, and habit. Trust me."
Gaben chuckled, still unconvinced. "But it wouldn't hurt to add a little extra price, right? Even just a small margin would cover production costs and reduce the risk."
Zaboru smiled, not mocking him—more like he appreciated that Gaben was thinking like a builder, not a dreamer. "Listen," he said, leaning forward slightly. "Steam Wallet isn't just a voucher. It's going to become ZAGE's foundation for digital payment. If people feel even a tiny 'trick' on day one, that foundation starts cracked."
He tapped the table once, calm but certain. "We want normal people to trust it. Parents. Teenagers. Office workers. Someone who has never bought anything online before. When they see the card value, they should understand it instantly. One-to-one. Clean. Simple."
Then Zaboru continued, voice warming with vision. "And in the near future, we'll add delivery options too. Players will be able to buy physical games from our website using Steam Wallet. No complicated bank forms, no awkward transfers—just one wallet that works across everything. Digital now, you will get physical later delivered to your address. That's why this is big, Gaben."
He shrugged lightly, as if greed was too small a word for what he was building. "So no—greed isn't the option here. Not for the first step. We can still earn a lot of money, but we earn it the right way: by making people comfortable spending."
Zaboru didn't say what he was really planning.
In his previous world, Steam had a weapon that wasn't technology—it was psychology. The Discount Trap. The moment digital games could be discounted cheaply, people who didn't even plan to play would still buy them, thinking, I'll miss out… it's only twenty dollars. Digital distribution made it easy, and the platform profited from volume, impulse, and "one more purchase." It even created that infamous Steam backlog—libraries filled with games people promised themselves they'd play someday.
Gaben didn't need to know that yet.
Not today.
Gaben smiled and nodded. "Hahaha! Now I understand why players love you so much," he said. "You don't think like a normal capitalist boss. You think like someone trying to build a culture."
He lifted his shoulders in a small shrug. "Still… sometimes being a little greedy is fine, you know. If you're never greedy, sometimes you end up getting nothing—because other people will take it first."
Zaboru went quiet for a moment, contemplating. He didn't look offended—just thoughtful, like he was weighing two different futures. Then he nodded. "I understand, Gaben. But remember… I'm a terrible businessman," he said with a playful grin. "Hehehe."
Gaben laughed, then leaned back and changed the topic, curiosity sharpening his eyes. "By the way… there's no plan to make ZEPS 3 fully digital with Steam?" he asked. "I've heard rumors you want to do something like that. People are talking."
Zaboru chuckled, shaking his head. "No. After we calculated the cost, it's not worth it," he said. "Technically, it's possible. If we put internal storage inside ZEPS 3 and build a proper download system, we could do it."
He tapped the table lightly, like he was listing problems in a meeting. "But it would cost a lot. Storage isn't cheap at this scale, and we'd need additional components, stricter QA, and a whole new manufacturing flow. Then the console price goes up—and once the price goes up, adoption goes down. ZEPS 3 is strong because it stays accessible."
Zaboru's expression stayed relaxed, but his thinking was sharp. "Also, the market isn't fully ready. Internet speed will improving, but not yet and we're still building the foundation. If we force full digital too early, the user experience becomes inconsistent—and nothing kills trust faster than a service that feels unreliable."
He smiled again, confident. "So no, I think ZEPS 4 will be the one that properly supports the digital platform in the future—when storage is cheaper, infrastructure is wider, and Steam has already proven itself."
Gaben nodded, and the discussion continued a little longer until the meeting finally wrapped. Steam was one step away—on track to be completed in October, and ready to be introduced to the world.
To be continue .
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