Chapter 190: A Twinge in the Back - Part 1

Though Ethan Jones raised the corners of his mouth in a smile, the skin-deep, unnerving expression sent a chill down Arakawa's spine as he glanced at the COLOR TV GAME 6 and COLOR TV GAME 15 on the coffee table. Taking a deep breath as if to confirm something, it seemed more like he was gathering courage.

After a moment, he shifted his gaze back to Ethan, locking eyes with him.

"Mr. Jones," Arakawa began, his Adam's apple bobbing, his tone steady. "As you've mentioned, I'm aware of the friction between you and Magnavox. You had a stint there, and due to internal reasons at Magnavox, you were forced to leave. Following that, Magnavox sued you over the success of 'Snake,' though a settlement was eventually reached. However, in the ensuing years, collisions between you two persisted, until the middle of this year, when you decisively defeated Magnavox with 'Star Wars.' Unable to bear the losses, Magnavox's parent company dismissed their entire management team, temporarily ending the friction between you two..."

Arakawa pressed his lips together, his gaze serious. "I understand all this, hence I can empathize with your current sentiments. It's unsettling when a business partner suddenly introduces a similar product to that of an adversary. Not to mention, presenting an older product from years ago indeed stokes the fires of betrayal, considering the longstanding close cooperation."

"Hah," Ethan laughed.

He found Arakawa rather amusing.

Analyzing the situation so meticulously?

Wow!

This guy is really calm—

"Mr. Arakawa, are you conducting a lecture?" Ethan interlaced his fingers, resting them on his lap.

With a smile, he stared at Arakawa. "Mr. Arakawa, personally, I think if you weren't in business, you'd make a fine teacher. You could teach law, as they're adept at swaying hearts."

Arakawa, unphased by the sarcasm, nodded with a smile.

"Mr. Jones, although I don't have the right to urge generosity from you, I must admit, I don't know why the COLOR TV GAME was launched. However, I want to say, under the excellent partnership between my father-in-law and you, launching this product doesn't align with our interests."

"You've seen the report I brought. 'Snake' sold 65,000 units under our management in our country. 37,000 units were sold at $2,000 each, and the remaining 28,000 units at $1,500 each. Just this project alone brought Nintendo $116 million in revenue."

"Of that, your share was $16.24 million. After production costs, sales costs, and some administrative and financial expenses, roughly $60 million, the earnings belonging to Nintendo would be $39.76 million."

"While this money is rightfully Nintendo's, as my father-in-law indeed exerted much effort to promote this product, even employing forceful strategies to ensure 'Snake' appeared in electronic stores across major cities at the same time and had advertisements aired on all major TV stations... But if 'Snake' wasn't an exceptional product, even with my father-in-law's strong arm tactics, it wouldn't have been possible to earn nearly $40 million in a year and a half. This is a success born from our collaboration."

At this, Arakawa squeezed out a smile toward Ethan.

"Mr. Jones, with 'Snake' selling so well, and with the impending launch of 'Pac-Man,' a better project, knowing that 'Star Wars' is even more profitable, why would we want to anger you?"

"There's no reason, right?"

"If I were the president of Nintendo, I'd have immediately killed off the COLOR TV GAME project, regardless of whether we've already spent $5 million, $10 million, or $20 million on it—because working with you brings us much more!"

Arakawa cast a sincere look at Ethan.

His earnest, wide eyes shimmered with sincerity, as if he wanted to lay bare his heart to Ethan!

He couldn't wait to prove to Ethan...

"Mr. Jones, could this be a misunderstanding?" Arakawa raised his eyebrows, seeking Ethan's opinion.

"Applause—"

Ethan clapped his hands.

Leaning on the sofa, his smile widened.

Truth be told, he knew who Arakawa was.

In his past life, this guy was the president of Nintendo of America.

If Gunpei Yokoi, Masayuki Uemura, Genyo Takeda, and Shigeru Miyamoto were the four pillars supporting Nintendo's R&D, then Arakawa alone spearheaded Nintendo's expansion in North America. His tangible capabilities couldn't be summarized in a few words.

And now...

His ability to handle situations...

Was indeed commendable.

"A misunderstanding?" Ethan sighed

 with admiration. "What a wonderful term—" He looked at Arakawa, who stood his ground, nodding continuously. "Mr. Arakawa, do you believe that yourself?"

Though it was a question, Ethan didn't allow for a response.

He straightened up, patting the sofa armrest. "Okay, since you say it's a misunderstanding, I'll give you a chance to prove it. How many days do you need? How many days will it take for you to prove to me that the COLOR TV GAME project is a misunderstanding?"

Ethan's left hand gestured simply towards the devices on the table.

He made a welcoming gesture to Arakawa.

At this moment, he genuinely didn't believe Arakawa had any more excuses to make.

And Arakawa, perhaps not expecting Ethan's aggressive approach, stared at the two Nintendo gaming consoles on the table for a long while, then...

His palms, resting on his lap, tightened.

In the next second, he looked up sharply.

"Mr. Jones, to show my sincerity, may I use your company's phone?"

"Normally, I should contact our headquarters immediately upon my return to clarify the situation and aim to provide a satisfactory response swiftly. But I know that doing so wouldn't quell your anger. Hence, I'd like to stay here a bit longer and contact them directly, hoping for your permission..."

Arakawa's proposition was met with Ethan's grand gesture.

"Please, feel free."

He agreed without a second thought.

"I'll wait for you."

He was curious to see what story Arakawa could come up with in such a short time!

To Ethan, the fact that Nintendo was a subsidiary of Magnavox had already been established. When Philips backstabbed MCA in the compact disc collaboration, dangling MCA while waiting for their patents to expire, all while attempting to acquire Magnavox to monopolize the benefits of the well-known American consumer electronics company, Nintendo's involvement in these plans was inevitable.

Though he was unclear about Nintendo's exact role, considering the current scale of Philips versus Nintendo, Nintendo was likely just a tool being used. They weren't yet qualified to be Philips' ally, but...

What did it matter?

As Arakawa had just mentioned.

If Hiroshi Yamauchi was wise, he would have killed off the COLOR TV GAME project and pretended all was well.

For the sake of profit, Nintendo shouldn't have launched this uncertain project!

For the sake of profit, Nintendo shouldn't have severed ties with him, Ethan Jones!

For the sake of profit, even if the project was completed, it had to be swallowed down!

After all, before the launch of COLOR TV GAME, Ethan Jones had already settled the score with Magnavox. He had knocked Magnavox out of the game with a single blow!

Under these circumstances, for Nintendo to still dare to cause trouble?

That's just—

Crazy?

Following Ethan's response, Arakawa also stood up to bow, then left the reception room with Alan Macy to borrow a phone from the administrative department.

Given the nearly sixteen-hour time difference between the West Coast of the United States and Japan, when Arakawa made the call to the headquarters before 10 a.m. Pacific Time, Ethan didn't expect an immediate answer. Thus, he returned to his office to attend to his own affairs.

However, just forty minutes later, someone knocked on the tightly closed door.

"Come in," Ethan called out, ushering in two figures and a message.

"Boss, we have a result."

Alan Macy, who had been accompanying Arakawa, entered the office and relayed the news Ethan wanted to hear, "Mr. Arakawa has made contact with Mr. Yamauchi."

As soon as these words were spoken, Arakawa, who entered with Macy, bowed to Ethan, saying, "Mr. Jones, our president, my father-in-law, Mr. Yamauchi, wishes to speak with you."

'???'

This fact stunned Ethan for a moment.

Though transatlantic telephone communication, facilitated by radio waves and undersea cables, had been possible since 1915, and New York and London had achieved official wireless telephone communication by 1927, the process had evolved significantly over the decades. Now, making a call to virtually any part of the globe from the United States was feasible, albeit not as convenient as in the future due to the need for connections. Moreover, it was 4 a.m. in Japan!

At such an unusual hour, Arakawa had managed to get through to Hiroshi Yamauchi?

Wow—

They must have come prepared!

Such swift action made Ethan feel perhaps he was being played by these Nintendo folks!

Arakawa repeatedly claimed ignorance about the COLOR TV GAME situation, asserting it was a misunderstanding. But what was the result?

In just forty minutes, he managed to contact Hiroshi Yamauchi at 4 a.m.?

This speed was even faster than Barry Allen's!

If Hiroshi Yamauchi wasn't prepared, would he have talked at this hour?

Oh—

"Alright, put him through."

Ethan no longer wanted to witness this amateur performance.