Chapter 70: Assistance from Namco

  Yang Yun, accompanied by Inoue Takeo and Matsumoto Yoshino, as well as Nagano, stood in front of Sega China headquarters waiting for Kudō Akiko, the lineup was quite grand.

  To keep this woman, Yang Yun made his first move at Longteng Company, winning the support of the National News and Publication Bureau and the Beijing Cultural Bureau. He used a fake product catalog, along with some ambiguous messages that were hard to distinguish as true or false, to subtly showcase his power, and the effect was not bad.

  Now Yang Yunla comes with Shi Jia China to assist in the fight. This is the second move, showing off his allies and strength.

  Kudō Akiko had heard about Sega from Inoue Osamu in Japan, but this time she met Nagano personally and felt a different kind of passion, which was completely at odds with her impression of Sega Corporation as being cold, arrogant, self-conceited and strict.

  Longzheng wants to poach Namco's game planner, create his own version of the Three Kingdoms game, and then release it globally on Sega platforms. As an ally, he can poach from Nintendo's camp, and Sega will definitely support him!

  In the Japanese gaming circle, it's not a big deal to say that Nagoya has an incredible female game planner, which is quite rare. So he didn't hesitate to praise her, and exaggerated Kudou Akiko and Inoue Osamu as a match made in heaven, making them blush.

  This time, apart from Yang Yun and Nagano's translation, the rest were all Japanese. A group of eight people came to the Hokkaido restaurant, sat around on tatami mats, and chatted freely in a private friend setting.

  After some small talk, Yang Yun asked under Yoneda's hint: "Miss Kudou, what is your overall impression of China?"

  Kudou Akiko smiled: "It's great, life is stable and everyone is warm and friendly."

  Yang Yun couldn't help but tease Gao Jian: "Hmph, he's already fallen in love with this place! He's planning to stay in China and get married and have kids!"

  Everyone burst out laughing, and Akiko Kudou hung her head in shame, not daring to look at anyone. On the other hand, Gennosuke Inoue was quite calm, and under the encouraging gaze of Yoshino Matsumoto and Nagano, he asked in a low voice: "Akiko, are you willing to stay?"

  Kudou Akiko regained her composure, lifted her head and looked at Yang Yun with some hesitation: "Mr. Yang, Zhongyuan's Overlord has already proven its success, I can continue to make Three Kingdoms games in Namco for another ten or twenty years, how do you prove that joining Longteng is a better choice for me?"

  She also thought about continuing to play the Three Kingdoms game for another ten or twenty years, which was a huge success of Zhongyuan's overlord and brought her an illusion, and it is human nature.

  Yang Yun knew that Namco was thriving at the time, but Guangrong didn't slack off either. In 1990, Guangrong made a strong push on the PC front, immediately regaining momentum and then rapidly advancing. Meanwhile, after Namco released the mainland version of "Pac-Man", there was no more news from them. They transformed into making Gundam models and continued to make game peripherals, seemingly profitable but heavily affected by the physical economy, ultimately ending up merging with Bandai.

  Yang Yun smiled and said: "In our Longteng product catalog, there is the High series, the Iron Fist series, and projects that any Japanese game manufacturer is exploring. This is enough to show that our design concept is not much worse than that of Japanese game companies. And our biggest advantage is the huge Chinese market, as well as Sega, a global partner. Ms. Kudou, you can ask Mr. Nagano if he would be willing to promote Three Kingdoms globally with all his might if it were made?"

  Nagano didn't even ask, and immediately said: "Absolutely will go all out!"

  Yang Yun continued, "Miss Kudou, I'm not afraid to tell you more. I am determined to succeed with the Three Kingdoms game. I spent tens of millions of dollars and recruited the best programmers, the best Three Kingdoms game writers, and the best historians from among 1.1 billion Chinese people, with strong support from relevant national departments, taking on the responsibility of promoting Three Kingdoms culture in overseas markets. So please don't misunderstand, Longteng is not just representing me, but an entire nation!"

  These sentences are very misleading, 90% false and 10% true.

  Having national support, undertaking the heavy responsibility of promotion, are all Yang Yun's self-proclaimed boasts, giving himself a golden face. In fact, the country has never made such promises or put forward any requirements. The so-called policy support is just an empty slogan that doesn't cost anything, just a few documents and instructions. Moreover, the country will not entrust the heavy responsibility of promoting Chinese culture to a private enterprise.

  Spent tens of millions of dollars, that's an exaggeration, and the last sentence is even more shamelessly self-boasting by Yang Yun, at least over 100 million people were represented without their knowledge.

  Negotiations are all like this, boasting is also an important means, as long as you can bluff people, it's okay.

  It was clear that Akiko Kudō was taken aback, and she couldn't help but glance at Osamu Inoue, who gave her a serious look in return. She then looked over at Nagano, whose face was filled with a warm and genuine smile.

  She held a cup of clear tea, placed it at her lips, and didn't take a sip for half the day. Her eyes stared at the tea water, lost in thought that had long since flown elsewhere.

  Knot in the heart, still have knot in the heart.

  Jumping from Namco to a rival, then turning around and beating the old employer Namco is called disloyalty, while loyalty is one of the most valued traditional virtues for Japanese women.

  If one can't even be loyal to a company, what's the point of talking about loyalty to family or husband?

  The meal was eaten in a lively atmosphere, but it was tasteless for Kudou Akiko.

  Sake is drunk merrily, geishas sing melodiously. Even with Sino-Japanese cultural differences, it can't stop these men from talking loudly and addressing each other as brothers.

  When dispersing, everyone deliberately let Inoue Takeo personally send Kudō Akiko back to the Kyōto Hotel. Yang Yun took the opportunity to remind him: "Inoue, we've already said what needs to be said, her heart knot is definitely on Namco's side, do you need me to teach you how to do it? You must conquer her, otherwise all our efforts will be in vain!"

  Inoue Osamu didn't drink much, but the liquor was enough to give him Dutch courage. He said something in a low voice that only men would understand, and Yang Yun almost burst out laughing with a snort, waving his hand to let it go.

  Watching the two of them get into Sega's special car and leave, Nagano instantly wiped away his drunken expression and asked seriously: "President Yang, are you confident?"

  Yang Yun smiled and said, "As long as Ikegami Takeo doesn't become a turtle and retreat clinically, I'm confident. This old man just said that tonight he's going to force his way through!"

  Nagano didn't understand the Chinese idiom, but it made the little girl blush and stutter for half a day, making several Japanese people laugh loudly and sigh that Inoue Takeru was really lucky to have this Kudō-san who was not only gentle and capable but also beautiful...

  The next day, Inoue Takeo brought good news that Kudō Akiko had agreed to cooperate to a limited extent.

  She did not agree with Yang Yun's comments on Namco at the dinner table, and did not think that Namco would lose to Glorious, nor did she think that Namco's Three Kingdoms game would be like fireworks, brief and brilliant but then disappear. She also did not agree that Namco's top executives would gain success in TV games and then shift their focus to competing with other Japanese giants for the Gundam copyright instead of continuing to consolidate and develop.

  So, the Three Kingdoms game of Longteng Entertainment Game Company will be technically supported by Kudo Akiko, who will architect the entire framework of the Three Kingdoms game and refine it to each module. However, she won't come to work in China for the time being.

  This was a decision she made after lying in Inoue's arms for a long time and getting his consent.

  It is impossible to stop the Chinese from making a Three Kingdoms game. If she doesn't help, Inoue Takehiro will at most waste another year and a half of time, but he can still bring people to make the Three Kingdoms game happen.

  So she'd better sell this to Inoue Osamu, sell it to Ryūteng Company, and if Namco really can't hold on in the future, she'll still have a way out, and come back to China to reunite with her loved one.

  Although it wasn't the best result, Yang Yun was already very satisfied. He used his third move, "Handsome Guy Plan", and even sent away Inoue Takeo, that old handsome guy! What a huge sacrifice he made!

  If nothing was exchanged back, but instead this little girl took Inoue Takeru to Namco, that would be a huge loss!

  Things have been settled, and Yang Yun immediately convened a meeting.

  The two leaders of the Three Kingdoms SLG project team, Inoue Yū and Fang Jindong, veteran screenwriters Miao Jianhua and Huang Qingbo, Zhao Yongping, Yi Zhongtian who rushed from Jiangcheng, Jiang Shaoyun, Fang Huimin, this is Longteng Company's entire resource for domesticating the Three Kingdoms game.

  Yang Yun solemnly declared: "Next, I declare that the Three Kingdoms project of Longteng Entertainment Game Company is officially launched. This is 1989, our company's most important and urgent project, only success is allowed, failure is not allowed, now I will assign tasks!"

  "Inoue Yasuo deeply analyzed the game architecture data of Namco's Sangokushi, disassembled the entire upper layer of the game into individual independent modules, and finally submitted it to me for review. I then did a second round of processing."

  "Near East, don't stop those team members under your hand, especially the art designers, world maps and divided city maps, martial arts patterns and combat weapon designs, all static images should be made in advance, and technical reserves for dynamic and real-time screen design should be done well."

  "Jianhua and Qingbo, you two carefully study the Three Kingdoms games of Japan's Koei and Namco, and communicate with Teacher Yi in a timely manner. Write out a set of game scripts as quickly as possible. To rush the progress, it can be divided into multiple time modules, such as the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the conquest of Dong Zhuo, the Battle of Red Cliffs, etc., prioritizing them in chronological order!"

  "Director Zhao, we should speed up the transfer of Teacher Yi. Now that the project has started, it's not convenient to let Teacher Yi run around without a clear position."

  "Mr. Yi, I will let Inoue Takehiko separate the main story of Namco's Three Kingdoms, after Jianhua and Qingbo finish their script, I will arrange for someone to deliver it to you as soon as possible, please take care of the rest, also, when you have time, please organize the text materials for San Guo, thank you!"

  "Shao Yun, help me get in touch with a powerful publishing house. During the production of the Three Kingdoms project, you must keep in close contact with Yi teacher. After Yi teacher is transferred to Renmin University, I will arrange tasks for you again. Hui Min, you are still our great steward, after the next software payment from Chi Yang Electronics Factory arrives, give each company's high-level executive a pager."

  "I'm saying it one last time! Our company, Longteng Entertainment, is making a game based on the Three Kingdoms. There are countless eyes watching us from outside - officials from the National Press and Publication Administration, CCTV, Ministry of Culture, Foreign Trade Bureau, Light Industry Bureau, and Red Sun Electronics Factory, as well as our allies and competitors like Sega, Nintendo, Namco, and Koei. They're either doubting our abilities or waiting for us to make a fool of ourselves so they can mock us. But I, Yang Yun, will absolutely not let them get their way! I'm going to use the most perfect, the most fun, and the best-selling Three Kingdoms game to slap them in the face!"

  "Dragon and Tiger Three Kingdoms game, I am determined to get it! The whole company must be of one mind, and make this game with the fastest speed! Namco has done it for two years, Glorious has done it for one year, we Longteng must take it down in half a year! I believe in your abilities! Let's create a miracle in Chinese gaming history together!"

  Yang Yun stood up, looking at the group of employees with high morale under him, and smiled with satisfaction: "Longteng's products must be fine! Come on!"

  "Go for it!"

  "We will win!"

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