game trailblazer

Chapter 176 Unexpected Gains

PS: If you still have time after reading the book, please post a comment by the way, otherwise the essence and points will be rotten.

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Time always passes quickly when concentrating on research. When Junpei Yokoi raised his head to look at the time again, he suddenly found that he had been off work for an hour. Suddenly he remembered that he had an appointment with Masayuki Uemura to go to the tavern, and hurriedly cleaned up Good thing, said goodbye to Masashi Sakashita and others, then hurriedly left the office of the first development department and walked out of the Nintendo headquarters building.

The tavern that Uemura Masayuki mentioned was a place that everyone used to go to after get off work. It was not far from the Nintendo headquarters building. It was only one street away. After walking for less than 10 minutes, Yokoi Gunpei came to the door of the tavern. .The tavern looked like it had been renovated not long ago, and there was no trace of the years left, just like the happy time of drinking together in the past, it has gone forever.

Opening the door of the tavern, a noise gushed out from inside. This was a very familiar atmosphere to Yokoi Junpei, but it has been a little forgotten since he hasn't been here for a long time.Walking into the tavern, Yokoi Gunpei looked up and saw men and women sitting in the tavern, drinking and laughing happily.Looking around a few times, Yokoi Gunpei saw Uemura Masayuki who was sitting at the bar drinking sake and eating sashimi, so he walked over there.

"Uemura-kun, I kept you waiting." Coming to Uemura Masayuki, Yokoi Gunpei said embarrassedly.

Uemura Masayuki turned his head and greeted with a smile: "It's okay, Yokoi-san, you used to be like this. You often forget the time when you work. If you don't mind, sit down and have a drink or two."

Yokoi Gunpei nodded and sat down on the high chair next to him.Masayuki Uemura stretched out his hand, and waved his fingers with the palm facing down a few times. The bartender immediately came over and asked, "Sir, what do you need?"

"Add one person's tableware, and bring a wine glass." Masayuki Uemura explained.

"Sir, please wait a moment." The waiter turned and left, and then quickly delivered the tableware and wine glasses to the bar in front of Yokoi Gunpei.

Uemura Masayuki poured a glass of wine for Yokoi Gunpei from the jug, and said, "Yokai-san, we haven't seen each other for almost three years."

"Yeah, it's been three years, time really flies." Yokoi Junpei sighed, with a hint of melancholy in his tone.

Masayuki Uemura looked around and sighed, "The tavern is not the same as before, and the people from the previous company are no longer here."

Junping Yokoi took a sip of his wine and said angrily, "Hmph, those people have long forgotten the past, and they will still remember this."

"Yokoi-kun, it sounds like you're not having a good time right now." Uemura Masayuki swallowed the grilled octopus in his mouth, put down his chopsticks and asked.

Junhei Yokoi shook his head, as if he was unwilling to talk about this topic, he took a sip from his wine glass, and put the sashimi into his mouth. After a long while, he said, "Mr. Uemura, you have been How did you get here?"

"What about me, after I left Nintendo, I wanted to go to Tokyo to try my luck first, but I didn't expect to be treated as a liar. Fortunately, I met Chen Sang (Chen Zhipeng). He is really a good person. After knowing my situation, he immediately helped me. I introduced a new job and took me to Hong Kong. It is a magical place. After I arrived, I found out that there is a game research institute with quite strong technical strength. The working atmosphere is very free, just like the previous one. Nintendo, so I gladly accepted the game console hardware R&D engineer job that Chen Sang introduced to me. After I gradually gained a foothold, I also found a few brothers from the former second development department to help me research and develop together. Console hardware, now I have my own development department again, just like the second development department before."

"Uemura-kun, it seems that you are doing well now, congratulations."

"It's not bad now, compared to that time... I think you still remember the situation at that time," Uemura Masayuki took a sip of wine, looked up to see Yokoi Junhei nodded, he continued : "Originally doing well, the president suddenly wanted to give up the plan to cooperate with Sony to develop CD-ROM, and even brought in Philips as a shield. As long as their upper and lower lips touch each other, they are fine, but we The employees have worked so hard for such a long period of time, and it was denied in one sentence. The most injured in this incident was our second development department. Brother Gang was also demolished. At that time, I almost lost all hope. If Chen Sang hadn’t talked about it and introduced me to a new job, maybe I would have collapsed by now. The happy author does what he likes."

Maybe it was Uemura Masayuki's words that made Yokoi Gunpei feel a little bit hurt. After sighing, he couldn't help but said: "Yeah, these guys are short-sighted now, completely forgetting how our Nintendo developed. Always wanting to compete recklessly with others, this is simply comparing your own weaknesses with others' strengths, even if you can win, it will only be a miserable victory."

"That's right, those people don't even know what the future of game consoles is like, they just know that they are thinking wildly there, but it's a pity that the president was also deceived by them, otherwise..." Uemura Masayuki shook his head and sighed.

"Yeah, if the president is willing to listen to what I have to say, if VRBoy doesn't launch in such a hurry, maybe things won't be so unmanageable, alas." Uemura Masayuki's words resonated with Yokoi Junpei again, so Unknowingly, he slowly revealed his situation.

In fact, Uemura Masayuki had already learned about Yokoi Gunpei's current situation from an investigation report before he came here. He knew that Yokoi Gunpei had a very unhappy life during this period. The failure of VRBoy is only one aspect. The distrust of the president and the betrayal of his disciples are the biggest reasons for Junpei Yokoi's sadness.Uemura Masayuki sympathizes with Yokoi Gunpei very much. Seeing Yokoi Gunpei now is like seeing himself in the past. Although the task assigned by the boss is only to get in touch with Yokoi Gunpei and has no other requirements, but he hopes he can think about it. Like Chen Zhipeng back then, he was able to bring new hope to his good friend Junpei Yokoi.

After chatting for a while, Uemura Masayuki felt that the heat was almost ready, so he changed the subject and said, "Yokoi-kun, since you are having a very unpleasant time at Nintendo and you can't do your favorite research, why don't you think about other options like me."

"You want to poach me?" Junhei Yokoi suddenly became vigilant. Although he is not feeling well now, he is not ready to leave yet. At least he has a glimmer of hope for the president.

"That's not what it means." Uemura Masayuki shook his head, took out a business card and handed it over, and said, "I just hope that if one day you want to leave Nintendo, you can come to us and take a look, and treat it as your own." One more chance to choose. Just take a look, as for the final result, the decision is still in your own hands."

Junhei Yokoi took the business card silently, looked at it carefully, and put it in his wallet. His heart was a little shaken: "Mr. Uemura admires it so much, maybe you can go and see it when you have time, anyway, there won't be any What's the harm, it's just an extra chance to choose."

Seeing that Gunhei Yokoi had accepted the business card, Uemura Masayuki felt that there should be hope, but it was obviously inappropriate to continue talking about this topic now, so the conversation between the two gradually shifted to the weather in Kyoto and the wind and snow. The ground was picked up and poured, and the wine glasses on the bar went from full to empty and then full again, and the minds of the two gradually became blurred.

I don't know how long it has passed, but it was already the next morning when Yokoi Junping woke up, and he was sleeping in his own home.Because of the hangover, his head was still a little swollen and painful. Junhei Yokoi rubbed his head, went to the bathroom and washed his face with a towel, and his mind gradually became clear.Opening his wallet, Junhei Yokoi found the business card that Masayuki Uemura gave him, which reminded him of the topics he talked with Masayuki Uemura last night. He still remembers.But now is not the time to think about this issue, Yokoi Junpei shook his head, and stuffed the business card back into his wallet.

On the other side, Uemura Masayuki made a long-distance call in the hotel: "Miss Yan, um... I have contacted Yokoi Gunpei yesterday, and his current situation is really not good... What else do I need to do next?... Mmm , OK, I see."

After reporting the situation, Uemura Masayuki put the phone away and sighed.Yokoi Junpei is very aware of his temper. Since he failed to convince him yesterday, he will not leave until he completes the research project in hand. The timing is not right. It seems that he has to go back first...

In the next few days, Junpei Yokoi completely forgot about Masayuki Uemura's invitation, and devoted himself to the improvement research of GameBoy. The manpower in the development department seems to be a bit tight, and everyone can only temporarily solve this problem by extending the working hours. We look forward to the company's re-focus on the first development department after the GameBoy improvement work has achieved results.

Unexpectedly, when it was almost time to get off work one day, a fat man named Yamada suddenly broke into the office of the first development department, took out a document and threw it on Yokoi Junpei's desk, and announced arrogantly : "Yokoi-kun, the N64 project is short of manpower, our information development headquarters needs to transfer some people from you."

Junpei Yokoi was already numb to such news, he didn't even raise his head, and asked, "How many people do you want this time?"

Yamada stretched out a hand, gestured and said, "Fifty people."

Masashi Sakashita, who just passed by, immediately became angry when he heard it. He grabbed Yamada and shouted angrily: "50 people! We only have 53 people in total now. You guys want to tear down our first development department!"

Yamada twisted a few times, but he couldn't break free because he was so fat, he hurriedly begged for mercy: "Sakashita-kun, this is the president's decision, you...you can't blame me."

Yokoi Junhei waved his hand and said to Masashi Sakashita: "Sakashita-kun, let him go, it's useless for you to tell him."

Masashi Sakashita let go of Yamada and snorted dissatisfiedly.After regaining his freedom, Yamada hurriedly turned around and fled out of the office. He probably felt safe, and muttered dissatisfiedly in the corridor: "Hmph, a bunch of old things addicted to black and white screens, sooner or later they will go away."

Unexpectedly, a gust of wind blew, and just brought in what Yamada said, and now even Junpei Yokoi couldn't help it, stood up and cursed: "Bastard!"

And Masashi Sakashita rushed out furiously, grabbing Yamada and beating him violently. If it wasn't for the company's security guards who arrived immediately, coupled with the dissuasion of Junpei Yokoi and some colleagues from the first development department, Yamada might not even get him. The old lady couldn't even recognize it, so Yamada's face managed to get a lot closer to the pig's head.

The next day, Masashi Sakashita was directly fired by the company for beating his colleagues. As soon as he got to work, security guards were sent to supervise him, and he was asked to pack up his things and leave within an hour.

The Information Development Headquarters also sent someone to Yokoi Gunpei again, this time it was no longer the pig-headed Yamada, but Shigeru Miyamoto himself, and ended up having a big fight with the angry Yokoi Gunpei. Although he didn't want to be successful, Shigeru Miyamoto left a cruel sentence "If you don't give me a person, then I will let you not even have to do the project."

In the afternoon, the development of the situation was exactly as Shigeru Miyamoto said, and the company issued a new announcement: "...in view of the shrinking market of portable game consoles, it is no longer necessary to continue to invest in improved GameBoy research, in order to ensure With the smooth implementation of the N64 plan, all the staff of the First Development Department are assigned to the Information Development Headquarters..."

Seeing this announcement, Junping Yokoi realized that the status of the first development department had fallen to such a low level, and he suddenly had a feeling of despair.After get off work, Yokoi Junhei invited the expelled Masashi Sakashita and Ryohiro Taki and other key members of the first development department to the tavern they visited a few days ago to drink and eat together to relieve their depression.During the dinner, the most excited person was Masashi Sakashita, who had worked hard in the company for more than ten years, but he was very unwilling to end up like this.The same goes for the others. They were used to being the favored ones in the club before, but now they are idlers. The gap is so big that it is unacceptable. While drinking, they scolded those blind people in the club.

"Boss Yokoi, why are you still getting angry at that place, why don't you come out and start a new stove..." Masashi Sakashita, who was already a little drunk, patted Junhei Yokoi on the shoulder and said vaguely.

The speaker is interested in the listener, and Yokoi Gunpei couldn't help but think of Uemura Masayuki's invitation, "Maybe this is really an opportunity..." he thought in his heart.

Junpei Yokoi, who had something on his mind, hardly drank any alcohol. After everyone dispersed drunk, he also returned home. After saying hello to his family, he took out the business card left by Masayuki Uemura and called past.

……

"What? Junpei Yokoi plans to go to Hong Kong the day after tomorrow."

Zhang Lexing just finished talking on the phone with Chen Zishan, when he received a call from Yan Ruofei, who also brought a shocking news.Zhang Lexing remembered that Junhei Yokoi resigned from Nintendo only next year, why there was such a movement this year? Could it be that his influence has spread to such a large extent.But I dare not do anything, since Yokoi Junping has such a meaning, Zhang Lexing can't let him run away, and I have to rely on him for the future handheld.

Thinking of this, Zhang Lexing explained to Yan Ruofei over the phone: "Get a plane ticket to Hong Kong immediately. Tomorrow is the latest. I want to talk to Junping Yokoi in person. Also find someone to investigate why Junping Yokoi did this time. Come here, is there something going on inside Nintendo?"

"Okay, boss, I'll do it right away!"

Putting down the phone, Zhang Lexing calculated the date: "The day after tomorrow will be August 8th, ah, it happens to be the day when we make an appointment to see the villa, but we have to go to Hong Kong, so it seems that we have to make another phone call."

Picking up the phone, Zhang Lexing dialed Chen Zishan's number again: "Shanshan, I'm sorry, the day after tomorrow..."

On the afternoon of August 8th, Zhang Lexing had arrived in Hong Kong from BJ.Sitting in the spacious guest room of the Peninsula Hotel, Zhang Lexing was carefully watching the investigation report sent by Yan Ruofei.After reading it, Zhang Lexing found out that Junhei Yokoi came to Hong Kong because the GameBoy improvement plan he was hosting was cancelled, and all the staff from the first development department had to be transferred.

"From this point of view, isn't Nintendo going to give up the portable handheld market temporarily? This may be an opportunity..." Zhang Lexing suddenly felt that the plan for the handheld might be advanced, but the key still lies in Yokoi Junping. He, then basically there will be no more obstacles.

On August 8th, Yokoi Gunpei came to Hong Kong, a very strange city, as promised. As soon as he walked out of the airport, he saw Uemura Masayuki waiting outside, and beside him was a young man who looked familiar.

"Mr. Yokoi, long time no see!" When Junping Yokoi approached, Zhang Lexing spoke first.

Yokoi Junhei showed a thoughtful expression: "I remember I should have met you before, um..."

"This is my boss, Mr. Zhang." Masayuki Uemura interrupted at this moment.

Yokoi Junping suddenly realized, and said: "Oh, I remembered, it seems that you went to Nintendo more than ten years ago, Mr. Zhang, and you brought quite a few people with you at that time."

"Yeah, I showed you the game." Zhang Lexing said with a smile, "I remember that Mr. Yokoi personally tested the modified Nintendo Famicom, but unfortunately Mr. Uemura was not there at that time."

It is relatively easier for people who have met before to deal with each other. The same is true for Zhang Lexing and the three of them. After exchanging pleasantries for a while, everyone got into the car and drove to the Peninsula Hotel together.

On the way, Zhang Lexing asked: "Mr. Hengjing, the journey is exhausting, why don't we talk about it tomorrow."

"No need, Mr. Zhang, let's talk about things directly later, otherwise I won't be in the mood to rest." Yokoi Junping rejected Zhang Lexing's proposal, and seemed very eager for this meeting.

According to the information obtained before, Zhang Lexing believed that the reason Yokoi Junping was so anxious was not for himself, but nine out of ten he wanted to find a way out for his subordinates, but this situation was very beneficial to Zhang Lexing.

(End of this chapter)