When "The Mermaid's Heart," developed for the MD, was presented, everyone couldn't help but be won over by the game's exquisite graphics.
To be able to achieve such results on this kind of hardware, aside from having a very talented hardware engineer, the team's capabilities must also be extremely strong.
Hasn't this just about pushed the MD's graphical performance to its absolute limit?
No, perhaps even further than that.
Seeing this, everyone had a general understanding of Pokeni's "graphical prowess."
"The current total sales for Onmyoji 1 are 285,000 units."
Aoki Haruhi displayed the data in his hands.
Previously, he had demonstrated their strength through video recordings, and now it was time for the data.
It was essential to make the people at Sony fully recognize Pokeni's value, and most importantly, to let them see the potential of P Corporation in the future.
This point was crucial.
If it came down to competing on existing achievements and fame, Pokeni was nothing more than a small shrimp.
"Onmyoji 2 has sold 265,000 copies."
"Next is 'The Mermaid's Heart', which just broke the 200,000-copy milestone yesterday," Aoki Haruhi said, showing the data in his hands.
While 200,000 copies is a high number, and could even be considered legendary in the galgame world, it still pales in comparison to Nintendo's sales, which easily reach the millions.
More importantly, Pokeni is a company with almost no name recognition.
"Next is a new game we are about to start developing. It's called 'Pokémon', or you could call it 'Pocket Monsters'," Aoki Haruhi said, directing everyone to turn to the page on Pokémon in their materials.
On it was a color picture of Pikachu.
In terms of color and appearance, it was incredibly cute, with an unconquerable spirit revealed in its eyes.
"We hope to leverage Sony's power to make Pokeni's games shine," Aoki Haruhi said without hesitation. "Sony is the only company I believe can defeat Nintendo in the console—no, the gaming console field."
Tsk, tsk.
He really knows how to talk.
The several Sony executives each weighed what Aoki Haruhi had described in their minds.
"So, what are Pokeni's demands for Sony, and how should we cooperate?" Akio Morita asked.
"We hope to cooperate with Sony on research and development, starting with a handheld console. We want to launch a color-screen handheld with strong battery life and infrared transmission capabilities to enter the gaming market.
As for Pokeni, the new Pokémon game we're developing will offer a unique online battle feature."
Online battles?!
Everyone looked at each other, their eyes filled with deep shock.
Doing online functionality on a handheld console?
It was unthinkable.
Even after Nintendo created the Game Boy, it would be years before it featured connectivity, and that would only be possible via a data cable.
The current year is 1991.
While networking is indeed being developed in the computer field, it hasn't reached a level of mass civilian adoption yet.
"Why a handheld?" Ken Kutaragi asked, very curious.
After all, the application prospects and performance of handhelds are inferior to home consoles.
This is exactly why major manufacturers basically compete in the home console, or so-called 'console', arena.
"The performance of the best handheld on the market right now isn't even as good as the 83's FC," said Kutaragi.
"Precisely because of this, I believe we should first make our breakthrough with handhelds," Aoki Haruhi said with a smile. "Nintendo's Game Boy has very limited performance, and it only has a black-and-white screen.
"However, the biggest advantage of a handheld is its portability.
"You can play anytime, anywhere, as long as you have power; you aren't restricted by your location.
"The Pokémon game we are developing is actually best suited for a handheld.
"With Sony's R&D capabilities, you could easily defeat the current Game Boy in the handheld market."
"Regarding that... we aren't sure if we can pull that off," Morita Akio pondered. "And..."
He blinked, truly struggling to make a decision.
"We aren't even sure right now whether entering the gaming market is a wise decision."
It was clear that Nintendo's unilateral breach of contract had hit Sony very hard.
"The handheld is just the first step," Aoki Haruhi continued to push. "In the future, Sony can develop a new type of TV console."
"And all the new games Pokeni develops from now on will be exclusive to Sony consoles."
"Although it may sound a bit too arrogant to say this today, I believe you have all already witnessed Pokeni's R&D capabilities. We are capable of not only providing products that are ahead of their time in terms of game graphics, plot, gameplay, quality, and all other game content,
but we can also push these products to their absolute limits.
With the goal of squeezing every last drop of performance out of the console, we aim to let players fully experience an unprecedented gaming feast."
Aoki Haruhi raised his voice, his entire demeanor radiating passion.
If he didn't seize the moment to sway Sony now, Pokeni might lose this opportunity.
The Sony executives frowned, momentarily at a loss for how to respond to him.
"However, President Qing."
Morita Akio looked up, gazing directly into Qing Haruhi's eyes. "Do you know what the consequences will be if you do this? If you partner with Sony?"
This guy was more than just a little arrogant; he was absolutely lawless and incredibly daring.
To openly propose teaming up with Sony to oppose Nintendo—was he not afraid of retaliation?
Qing Haruhi nodded seriously, then smiled. "Of course I do. If Nintendo is the dragon of this era, then Pokeni and Sony are the dragon slayers!"
"If Nintendo is a vast gaming empire, then Pokeni and Sony are the rebels of the future."
"If Nintendo is a demon king conquering the world, then Pokeni and Sony are the heroes holding swords to uphold justice."
This...
Even Ishino Mika and Senkawa Hiroichi were stunned listening to this.
Where did the President learn to talk like this?
His oratorical skills were simply MAX!
Aoki Haruhi finished his impassioned speech, and the entire conference room fell silent.
This determination and courage were incredibly infectious.
Honestly, if this hadn't been a business negotiation, but rather some form of speech, Morita Akio would have almost wanted to give him a standing ovation.
Or even cheer him on.
Morita Akio was almost swayed by Aoki Haruhi's momentum, his bluntness, and his courage.
He let out a heavy sigh and asked earnestly, "Pokeni will completely offend Nintendo. It's possible that in the future, none of your gaming products will be able to be released on Nintendo's entertainment platform. Even so, your company still wants to submit this proposal?"
"Yes."
Aoki Haruhi replied with a calm, and perhaps even joyful, expression, "Pokeni is willing to bet its own life on this."
Huh?!
Beside him, Senkawa Hiroichi was so startled he nearly jumped out of his chair.
President, we didn't say anything about this when we came here!
Damn it, Aoki Haruhi is a complete lunatic!
Although it was a nice-sounding speech, Aoki Haruhi actually didn't have much of a choice.
He had already offended Yamauchi Hiroshi, anyway.
It doesn't matter if Pokeni's games can't be on Nintendo; the key is whether someone can emerge to replace Nintendo.
Of course, it would be best if that someone were Pokeni.
Please Support me by becoming my patreon member and get 20+ chapters.
[email protected]/Ajal69
change @ with a
Thank You to Those who joined my Patreon