Chapter 29

Li Xuan paused for a moment and gave Du Wenqiang, who was sitting beside him, a meaningful look. Du Wenqiang took out two floppy disks from his briefcase and handed them to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan took the disks and smiled at the Japanese representative sitting across the negotiation table. He then continued, "Minister Ishijima, last year, your country's Tai Dong Game Company developed an excellent electronic game console called Space Invaders. This game, which requires a 100-yen coin to play, is said to have increased your country's coin production by 10% last year. Tai Dong Company has earned over 100 million dollars in profit from Space Invaders in the global market since last year.

"I have two computer versions of our company's latest games here. I hope to use your company's computers and employees to test the quality of these two games! I believe that our company's two games are not inferior to Tai Dong's Space Invaders. Moreover, I believe that the ratings given by your employees will certainly change your perception of our company!"

With confidence, Li Xuan gently pushed the two floppy disks, which contained the games Hong Kong Blocks and Tank Battle, to Minister Ishijima.

Minister Ishijima, a veteran who had served Seiko Epson for over twenty years, looked at Li Xuan for a few seconds before nodding. "Alright, Mr. Li, I hope your company's games can truly convince me!"

The negotiations were temporarily paused, and everyone left the meeting room. They casually selected two Apple computers in the office area. Du Wenqiang quickly copied Hong Kong Blocks and Tank Battle onto the two computers, made some adjustments, and then nodded at Li Xuan.

Li Xuan then smiled and gestured, indicating that the game testing could begin.

At this moment, Liang Ning, who had come to Japan with Li Xuan, finally had a chance to be useful. Despite his youthful appearance, he was nearly thirty years old and had studied in Japan before forming a band. He could speak fluent Japanese and was brought by Li Xuan as a translator. However, the people they had met earlier could all speak English, so he had been idle until now.

Now, he finally had a chance to shine. He was responsible for explaining the basic operation rules to each Epson employee who was called to test the games. Since these were computer versions, Li Xuan and Du Wenqiang had programmed the E, D, S, and F keys to function as the joystick, controlling the four directions. The spacebar replaced the function key, with pressing the spacebar in Hong Kong Blocks causing the block to rotate, and in Tank Battle, it fired a shell.

The games were very easy to pick up, and beginners could start playing within a minute. The originally quiet and orderly office area became lively due to this unique test.

"Oh no, I pressed it one too many times, and it rotated too far! What should I do!" A short-haired, round-faced female clerk was testing Hong Kong Blocks. She accidentally pressed the spacebar one too many times, causing the block to rotate too far. By the time she tried to correct it, it was too late, and she sighed in frustration.

Li Xuan watched her become completely engrossed in the game, and his smile grew wider. While girls tended to prefer Hong Kong Blocks, boys were more fond of Tank Battle. The background music, with its sounds of whistling shells and explosions, added a sense of tension for the players. These background sounds were the result of Liang Ning's month-long efforts of repeated testing and modification.

As the first batch of Epson employees who had tested the games left, news of Hong Kong Blocks and Tank Battle quickly spread throughout the office area of Epson's headquarters. Due to the company's rules, regular employees did not dare to come to the testing area to watch. However, as soon as the afternoon work hours ended, people from all floors quickly gathered around the two computers in the testing office.

Li Xuan looked at the astonished expression on Minister Ishijima's face and felt a sense of joy. He knew his sales pitch had been successful. The two games had won him the opportunity to negotiate on equal terms.

"Mr. Ishijima, this morning, I visited your company's newly operational wafer factory with Mr. Nakayama. I have a question: with the production capacity of this wafer factory, the number of chips required for your company's printing equipment is far from being fully utilized.

"However, as a newly established factory, it will take time for your products to gain market recognition. So, I would like to ask, what is the utilization rate of your wafer factory?"

Back in the office, Li Xuan asked his long-planned question. The utilization rate of a wafer factory is a critical issue that determines its survival. Insufficient utilization means huge losses, and continuous losses mean a step closer to death.

After all, it's not like Seiko Epson's wafer factory could rely on the support of the Beijing municipal government and the central government, as SMIC did in the future. Epson's position in the wafer industry was similar to Oriental Electronics' position in the gaming industry—both were unknown newcomers.

"Therefore, I believe that the cooperation between Oriental Electronics and your company would be a win-win situation. Our company is still relatively small and can only focus all our efforts on game software development, while the core hardware of the game console can be manufactured by your company.

"If our new games succeed, your company will not only receive a steady stream of orders but also gain recognition for your production of processors, memory chips, and other products, helping your wafer factory to secure more external orders.

"As for whether our new games will succeed, I believe, based on what you have seen and heard today, you should have a basic judgment!"

Back in the meeting room, Li Xuan's mood was completely different; he was now very relaxed.

"Mr. Li Xuan, I also believe that the two games your company presented today are excellent. However, I do not have the authority to make an immediate decision on whether to cooperate with your company. I need to consult with others in the company and reassess your company before giving an answer. I apologize for this!" Minister Ishijima bowed apologetically.

"That's fine, it's understandable! I hope that Epson will ultimately make a choice that benefits both of us!" Li Xuan waved his hand to indicate it was no problem. He believed the Japanese would agree, as the employees of Seiko Epson had demonstrated the immense appeal of the two classic games he brought today.

The negotiations ended there. Although the final result was not yet known, Li Xuan felt a significant weight lifted from his mind.

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