game trailblazer

Chapter 194 The New Life of GB

In early December, using the pretext of inspecting the construction of the VisualSystem Group's research park, Zhang Lexing, who had been staying in Boston, finally got the laboratory construction budget issued by Chen Zishan's mentor, Jay McInerney.The entire budget is very detailed, among which Jay McInerney put forward his requirements for the level of the laboratory, the safety level must at least meet the P12 level, and the cleanliness level must not be lower than the ten thousand level.From this budget, Zhang Lexing knew for the first time what is called a secondary biosafety laboratory (P2). Zhang Lexing was dazzled by the equipment needed in the laboratory, such as sterilizers. If he hadn't consulted Aix Dabier, he would basically not understand it at all.

Fortunately, the amount of the budget does not seem so dizzying. To build a biological laboratory that meets the requirements of the P2 level requires an investment of more than 200 million U.S. dollars, and if some auxiliary facilities are added, it will only exceed 300 million U.S. dollars. , but in order to continue to carry out research, there must be an investment of no less than 920 million U.S. dollars per year. In addition, in order to purchase the original research results, an additional sum of money is required.Zhang Lexing made some calculations, even if he built laboratories in Boston and Hong Kong at the same time, it would not cost much, and the annual research expenses in the future would not be too high, and the annual dividends of any company would be enough to pay.So after asking someone to review the budget, Zhang Lexing formally signed a contract with Chen Zishan and her mentor Jay McInerney, and began to prepare for the construction of biological laboratories in Boston and Hong Kong.Jay McInerney is in charge of the Boston area, while Chen Zishan will be in charge of the Hong Kong area as previously agreed. This is a very big challenge for her. Fortunately, there are experts recommended by her mentor. In addition, Zhang Lexing invited a lot of professionals to help, and Chen Zishan got rid of the initial panic, and gradually took care of it.

Since Chen Zishan came to Hong Kong to start the construction of the biological laboratory, Zhang Lexing also came to Hong Kong. The official explanation is to inspect the operation of the local company. Of course, everyone knows the actual purpose.Not two days after arriving in Hong Kong, the Game Research Institute received good news. The research team led by Junpei Yokoi had completed the improvement of the GameBoy. Zhang Lexing suddenly became interested, and immediately took people to run, intending to see it for himself. Check out this latest achievement.

When they came to the Game Research Institute, Zhang Lexing and his entourage went straight to the development workshop where Junping Yokoi was engaged in development. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Junping Yokoi and his team members discussing something around a round table, each of them seemed very emotional. I was so excited that I didn't even notice that someone entered the door.

Standing at the round table and listening for a while, it seemed that the focus of the debate was the issue of the backlight. Seeing that everyone hadn't stopped, Zhang Lexing coughed twice on purpose, and finally managed to attract Junhei Yokoi's attention.

"Oh, Mr. Zhang, you are here." Yokoi Junping stood up and greeted, and the other people who were still arguing quickly stopped and stood up to say hello.

Zhang Lexing smiled and nodded to everyone, then turned to Junping Yokoi and asked, "Mr. Yokoi, I heard that your GameBoy improvement research has been completed."

"Yes, Mr. Zhang, please come with me." Yokoi Junping brought Zhang Lexing to the workbench, picked up a GameBoy from the table and handed it over: "This is the one, please take a look first."

Zhang Lexing took it over and weighed it in his hands. It was quite light. Its appearance was not much different from the original GameBoy. The only difference that could be seen was the screen, which seemed to be a bit bigger than the original one.Zhang Lexing, who didn't see the name, couldn't help asking again: "Mr. Hengjing, what are your main improvements?"

Yokoi Junping didn't answer directly, but took another GameBoy and handed it over. Zhang Lexing could tell that it was the original old model.After receiving it, Zhang Lexing found that the improved GameBoy was much smaller in size than the old one after comparing the two. It looked even smaller, and it could just fit into a pocket.

"So, your improvement is mainly in the two aspects of size and screen." Zhang Lexing expressed his conjecture.

Junhei Yokoi nodded and said: "Simply speaking, it is these two aspects. One is that the size has been reduced by 30%, and the other is that the screen has been upgraded from 2.45 inches to 2.6 inches, and the performance has also been improved. But in order to achieve these two goals, Especially the 30% reduction in size, we have made a lot of efforts, such as optimizing the size of the circuit board, more reasonable power management, redesigning the casing, etc., and finally we have this improved GameBoy.”

Picking up this improved GameBoy alone, Zhang Lexing can't see anything, but compared with the original old GameBoy, it is still quite different. Not only the screen is clearer and smoother, but the portability of the game console is also better. Zhang Lexing can't help but click Nodded, very satisfied with this.

Junping Yokoi looked at Zhang Lexing who was playing with the GameBoy, and said, "Mr. Zhang, this improved GameBoy has not been named yet. You just came here, why don't you give me some advice."

"Hmm..." Zhang Lexing looked at the improved GameBoy in his hand, pondered for a while, and said, "Since this GameBoy is small enough to fit in your pocket, why not call it GameBoy Pocket."

Junhei Yokoi thought about it, and thought the name was good, but he was still a little worried: "Mr. Zhang, this GameBoy name cannot be used casually by any company except Nintendo. Trouble."

"You don't have to worry about that, we are talking to Nintendo about it. By the way, Mr. Yokoi, what were you discussing with so many people around there just now?"

"We're working on whether to backlight the GameBoy," Yokoi explained.

"Oh, the problem of the backlight? How much difference does it make with or without the backlight?" Zhang Lexing asked.

"Actually, we have already made test machines with and without backlights. After adding backlights, the impact is not too great, but after turning on the backlights, the game time will be shortened a lot. We have calculated that it is about 40%. That’s shortening from 2 hours to 12 hours.”

"Well, did the debate come to an end?" Zhang Lexing asked.

"Not yet, but I personally think that the GameBoy Pocket can be released first, and after a while, a version with a backlight will be released, which will be good for sales."

Zhang Lexing understands what Junhei Yokoi means. In fact, it is to increase repeated consumption. Nintendo has done a lot of this kind of thing. At first, the GameBoy was only available in gray, and later it also introduced several colors such as red, yellow, green, white, black and transparent. The GameBoy, which has not changed in any way, has attracted many players who like to collect.Junhei Yokoi’s proposal is to sell the ones without backlight first. After a while, everyone gets used to it, and then sell the ones with backlight. Don't like that, and don't want to make money off the backlight.

"Mr. Yokoi, I think it is still necessary to add a backlight, so that you don't need to use a flashlight when playing under the covers, and you don't need to buy additional accessories. This is much more convenient for players." Zhang Lexing He expressed his opinion, and added a sentence at the end: "This is my voice as a GameBoy player, you must consider it."

The boss had already spoken, and Yokoi Gunpei didn’t insist on it anymore. He didn’t want to fall twice on the same problem, so the two branches that should have appeared, GameBoyPocket and GameBoyLight, combined into one with backlight. The GameBoy Pocket, indirectly saves a lot of expenses for players.

The product is ready, and the next step is how to mass produce and sell it on the market. Fortunately, good news came from RB Kyoto at this time. Nintendo finally let go and agreed to transfer the patent authorization related to GameBoy. The corresponding Dongfang Electronics Co., Ltd. The game development company under Entertainment Co., Ltd. must support N64, especially "The Legend of Zelda" must not be launched on other platforms. The reason why Nintendo will let go is also because of its latest development policy.

Since 1993, the GameBoy market has continued to shrink. The number of games launched has declined year by year, and the sales of GameBoy consoles have also fallen sharply. It is so miserable that there are only 1995 models left, and the market prospect of GameBoy is gloomy. Even Miki Watanabe and Isabella Nagano, two female players of "FAMI Tong", still bet in the magazine on who will come first between Nintendo's GameBoy and Sega's GameGear Disappeared from the software preorder list.

In order to be able to hold up the banner in this gap where GameBoy and Super Nintendo (SFC) are gradually declining, Nintendo once, or Yamauchi Hiroshi once gave high hopes to VRBoy, but unfortunately the hasty launch only resulted in a miserable failure. Yokoi Junping was also forced to leave get out of class sadly.In this way, in order to fight against the powerful next-generation game consoles PS and SS, Nintendo can only pin its hopes on the upcoming N64. The game development camp has become thinner, which is why Nintendo had to abandon the GameBoy in exchange for the support of Eastern Electronic Entertainment Co., Ltd., because they urgently need heavyweight masterpieces to support N64, and for this reason, there is no development in sight. Hope's GameBoy can be said to be a very cost-effective deal, but at this time Hiroshi Yamauchi and everyone at Nintendo have not discovered the opportunity hidden under the GameBoy crisis. After all, in the eyes of Nintendo at this time, the next-generation game console's gorgeous graphics are the only thing that can sustain the scene. Small things like GameBoy still can't make it to the stage.

Now that Nintendo has retreated, Zhang Lexing doesn't mind pushing it again. After completing the official signing and obtaining the GameBoy authorization, he borrows Nintendo's factory to directly produce the improved GameBoy Pocket. Hiroshi Yamauchi is very upset about this. Yes, but it's just a feeling of discomfort.

While assigning Junping Yokoi and others to prepare and manage the mass production of GameBoy Pocket, Zhang Lexing also began to prepare for the launch of "Pokemon". The first thing that appeared was an electronic gadget developed by Camry Toys. With a tiny LCD screen and three tiny buttons, it looks like an egg from the front.This electronic gadget is also very simple to play, just use three small buttons to feed and take care of an electronic pet, so that it can grow happily and healthily.The idea of ​​this electronic gadget came from Zhang Lexing’s sudden whim one day. On that day, he happened to think of the once-popular “electronic chicken” his mother Ge Chi (now Tama Gezi). It is not complicated, even very simple, but it is very useful for the development of Jiamei Toys, so Zhang Lexing handed it over to the design center of Jiamei Toys, and asked them to develop such a toy according to their own impressions. .Last month, Jiamei Toys Design Center has completed the research and development of the product, and began to hand over to the authorized factory for production. When the first batch of products leave the factory, the time will be just in time for Christmas, which is just in time for "Pokemon" To open the way, and by the way, also open up the market for Camry Toys.

In the blink of an eye, Christmas is here, and many RB children near the toy store of Nostalgia have discovered a novel gadget, an electronic gadget that can feed electronic pets. Few people pestered their parents to buy one for themselves.Due to the simple rules and convenient operation of electronic toys, those people who bought them home soon became addicted to playing. Do you want to take some time to see if your electronic chicken should eat, take a bath, and Don't clean up, even after returning to school, I often take it out to play with, which immediately attracted the attention of his (her) classmates, and a craze for electronic pets gradually became popular, and "electronic chickens" began Become the new favorite of children.

……

At the beginning of February 1996, the long-awaited GB version of "Pokemon" officially landed on RB. In order to improve the sales of the game and the fun of exchange, the officially launched "Pokemon" was divided into two versions, red and green. The difference lies in the frequency of appearance of various monsters. Some monsters appear more frequently in the red version, but less frequently in the green version, and there are several different monsters in the two versions. All this is for Enhanced the fun of exchanging monsters between players and friends.

It's a pity that the sales of "Pokemon" after its launch were not satisfactory. The two versions added up to only 15 sets of orders, and the feedback from retailers is not optimistic, which makes it expected to reach 100 million sets. Tianzhiyuan was very disappointed in the sales volume, and made Nintendo, who was watching coldly, both happy and annoyed, but Zhang Lexing was not panicked at all, he knew that the success of "Pokemon" would not be achieved overnight.

Soon after, a children's magazine "korokorocomic" affiliated to Kunpeng Animation Co., Ltd. (originally from Xiaoshokan) began to serialize a comic called "Wonderful Pokemon Pipi", and at the same time held an event called "Fantasy Gift". Reader sweepstakes, giving gifts to 20 readers per issue.The content of the manga was completely designed for children, and it quickly attracted their attention. Naturally, some curious children participated in the reader's lottery by the way.Some of the lucky ones got prizes, which was just a surprise for them, but when they found out that this gift was actually a new monster "Dream" that had never been announced in "Pokemon", these lucky ones felt very happy. It was an incomparable surprise, some people couldn't help showing off when they returned to school, which attracted more players to participate in the lottery, and many eager-eyed kids who played with electronic pets felt that electronic pets Too naive senior players have also found suitable games for them. The attention of "Pokemon" has continued to increase, and the sales of the product have also begun to rise steadily. Even the GameBoy, which has been silent for a while, seems to have a little bit of vitality.

(End of this chapter)