Sega Corporation Headquarters.
"Are you kidding me? How could we possibly collaborate with Sony?"
Hayao Nakayama sported the hairstyle of a formidable man.
Especially the few long strands on the top of his head, which seemed as if they would be blown away by the wind the next moment.
Mainly due to his balding, Nakayama had deliberately grown his hair long and combed it to one side to cover up the sparse amount of hair he had left.
Although a bit comical, the powerful aura he exuded made no one dare to underestimate him.
"To challenge Nintendo. President Nakayama, don't you want to defeat Nintendo?" asked Aoki Haruhi.
"Even if that's the case," Hayao Nakayama didn't hide it at all, speaking bluntly, "how can Pokeni and Sony help?"
In his previous life, Sega had a unique opportunity for a collaboration with Sony, but unfortunately, it fell through because Nakayama changed his mind at the last minute.
Because Sega had chosen another partner at the time—Bandai.
It must be said that Sega has always been an unlucky child, never having had much luck.
In the original timeline, due to Bandai being in the red, Sega had an opportunity to merge with them, a deal that had already been finalized.
However, the hot sales of a series of electronic pets led by "Tamagotchi" resolved Bandai's crisis, and with the opposition from Bandai's employees, the merger plan was aborted.
When EA entered the American gaming market, the first thing they did wasn't to apply to become a third-party developer for Sega, but to quickly reverse-engineer the Sega Genesis and develop games that could run without Sega's authorization.
It was absolutely absurd; with that kind of effort, why didn't they go crack the Nintendo SFC instead of specifically targeting Sega?
Later, when Sega was doing promotions in the US, their mascot Sonic's giant balloon leaked air and injured a number of people...
Such situations are too numerous to count; even Aoki Haruhi felt sympathetic towards them.
"Sony doesn't know how to make game consoles at all, and they aren't good at software development either. Why should we still collaborate with them?"
Of course, there was a deeper, real reason that Nakayama Hayao didn't directly state—
Sega's consoles were doing just fine. If they let Sony and Pokeni get a foot in the door, wouldn't the pie be divided up?
It wasn't really enough to go around as it was; how could they possibly allow a few more people to share it now?
The console wars were, by nature, a battle for supremacy. How could Sega possibly let others get their hands on it?
"Sega's GG has a very serious problem with battery life, and this is a problem that, as it happens, only Sony can help solve," Aoki Haruhi replied, neither humble nor pushy.
Sega, this company, really is...
Not only are they unlucky, but their naming sense is also truly unique:
Their handheld was called the GameGear, abbreviated as GG. Although the concept of "GG" didn't exist in this era, the ultimate fate of this handheld was exactly that—it was GG.
The console they developed later was called the Demon Blade.
The Demon Blade Muramasa of Japan is known for consuming its master, and the result was, without a doubt, also GG.
Hearing the words "battery life issues," the corner of Hayao Nakayama's mouth twitched noticeably.
Haruhi Aoki had hit his sore spot squarely.
While the current GG handheld had inherent advantages in hardware—
A color screen and gaming performance significantly higher than Nintendo's GB.
But the biggest trouble was—
To achieve the color screen, a fluorescent lamp was used for backlighting, which caused a massive, sudden increase in power consumption.
Six AA batteries could only power the GG handheld for a little over 2 hours, not even reaching 3 hours.
And Nintendo's GB? Although it had a black-and-white screen and simple games, it boasted an 8-hour battery life.
A portable game console that could only be played for a little over 2 hours had effectively lost the meaning of being portable.
Such a console was simply not something an average gamer could afford to keep powered.
Moreover, to accommodate the fluorescent tube and six AA batteries, Sega's handheld was forced to be made bulky and thick, like a brick.
It even reached a staggering weight of 0.5 kilograms.
This wasn't a handheld console at all, was it?
This is clearly a damn wrist strengthener.
"Sony possesses not only storage technology; in fact, they also have remarkable achievements in the field of batteries," Aoki Haruhi said with a smile. "If we get Sony involved, Sega's handheld console will see a qualitative leap, forming an overwhelming advantage over Nintendo's GB."
Yes, Sony's expertise isn't limited to just leading the world in storage technology.
This company has another little-known achievement—
Sony was the first company to bring lithium-ion batteries to market, launching the commercial era of lithium-ion batteries back in 1991 and changing the history of batteries forever.
Compared to dry cell batteries, lithium-ion batteries are a dimensionality-crushing blow.
First of all, they are rechargeable, and their battery capacity is levels above dry cells, while at the same time, their size is significantly smaller.
This invention laid the foundation for later mobile phones and handheld consoles.
If Sega's handheld console were to combine with Sony's lithium-ion battery technology, it would drastically reduce the size of the device while also solving the battery life problem.
There was substance to what Aoki Haruhi was saying.
Hayao Nakayama began to waver.
"We—Pokeni, Sony, and Sega—all have a common enemy, and that is Nintendo," Qing Zhiyuan continued. "I can understand how you feel, President Nakayama, but before Nintendo is taken down, why not work together?"
"I don't know how much you know about Chinese history, specifically the Three Kingdoms period, President Nakayama."
"During the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao was the most powerful, and Liu Bei and Sun Quan united to oppose him from the north, ultimately defeating his army at the Battle of Red Cliffs. This later led to the three-way division of the land."
"However, if Liu Bei and Sun Quan had undermined and fought each other instead, they would have only been swallowed up by Cao Cao."
"Before Sega becomes the hegemon, please consider Pokeni's proposal," Qing Zhiyuan said.
Upon hearing the word "hegemon," Nakayama Hayao's heart skipped a beat.
It must be said, Aoki Haruhi was a very persuasive lobbyist.
He knew exactly what the other party needed and understood well what he could offer in return.
Complementing each other and getting what each side needs—that is true mutual benefit.
More importantly, he had truly struck a chord with Nakayama Hayao. Sega's long-standing dream had always been to defeat Nintendo and take its place.
As for whether to join forces with others...
After hesitating for a while, Nakayama Hayao let out a sigh.
"Please give us some time. Sega needs to hold a meeting to discuss this."
"Of course, President Nakayama."
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