The current handheld gaming market could only be described as utterly dismal.
Once upon a ti, Gastar Electronic Entertainnt had controlled the largest market share. Their GSL handhelds had sold over 100 million units — a dominant No.1.
But that milestone had already been reached more than two years ago. Since then, handheld sales had plumted — a full-on cliff dive.
Surie Electronics had tried to take advantage of Gastar's strategic pivot toward ho consoles, hoping to seize so of the handheld market while Gastar was focused elsewhere.
Unfortunately, Takayuki hadn't even needed to directly compete with Surie. Out of nowhere, the sudden rise of smartphones had bombarded the entire handheld market into ruins.
Surie eventually had no choice but to retreat back to ho consoles, slowly abandoning handhelds altogether.
As for the other handheld makers? They were even smaller — barely making ripples. If the two industry giants couldn't fight off smartphones, there was no way these minnows could survive either.
...
...
Now, the handheld console market had no future to speak of.
Economists were already predicting that handheld gaming devices would eventually be completely replaced by smartphones — that they'd vanish entirely.
But Takayuki completely ignored such talk. Having lived through this era once before, he trusted his own experience more than any economist's forecast.
That was one of the "cheat codes" he brought with him to this parallel world.
Handhelds would survive. The dominance of smartphones was just another kind of temporary explosion.
Smartphones, too, would eventually hit their ceiling.
In Takayuki's original plan, he was going to lie low — keep strengthening his grip on the ho console market, stabilize Gastar's foundation, and then wait until smartphones plateaued. At that point, he'd unleash his trump card: a flood of top-tier handheld gas that would storm the market.
But now? Takayuki wasn't going to wait anymore.
He'd co to this world. He had grown to this point. What reason did he have to hold back?
None.
There was no reason to retreat. No need to avoid confrontation.
He was going to go head-on.
His staff had been itching for a full-scale battle anyway. Now that the handheld market was in such shambles, it was the perfect ti to show the world what they were capable of — what the ninth art, video gas, were truly made of.
Art wasn't so easily defeated by a passing wave of consur electronics.
Just like film, fine art, or music — true creative diums endured.
With that conviction, Takayuki thought of his first major move: accelerating the industrialization of video ga developnt.
It was finally ti to bring out the gold standard of the next decade in gaming — open-world gas.
This was no longer just about technology. It would be a head-to-head battle between video gas and Myron Case — that man who scoffed at the entire industry.
Takayuki picked up the phone and dialed Bob's number across the Pacific.
Even though it was the middle of the night in Arica, Bob would always answer imdiately and respectfully whenever he saw who was calling.
"Mr. Takayuki, you're a god among n!"
Bob couldn't help but gush the mont he picked up.
Takayuki had advised him well in advance to begin developing a smartphone operating system — and to prepare for the coming smartphone era.
After over a year of developnt behind closed doors, Bob's team — a powerhouse in its own right — had finally created a highly refined, universal OS. It just hadn't been publicly announced yet.
As for the hardware itself, smartphones were actually easier to make than the OS. Initially, Bob hadn't even planned on making their own chipsets — they were using existing processors to save ti and cost. Chip developnt would co later, after scaling up.
His strategy? Practically flawless.
Takayuki, unfazed by Bob's flattery, simply asked, "How's the OS and hardware coming along?"
"Almost done! I'm already planning the launch event. As long as you're still willing to release your gas on our system — just like you promised — I'll imdiately hold a launch that'll make Myron Case's events look tiny in comparison!"
In terms of public influence and network reach, post-bubble Facebook still outclassed McFo in every way.
If they wanted, they could even get the president to help promote it.
McFo might've been a first-tier company, but it wasn't a top-tier enterprise. Not yet.
Bob was confident. His authority inside Facebook had skyrocketed.
Previously, the shareholders were conservative — unwilling to let Bob pour billions into a market they thought wouldn't catch on. They preferred sticking to tried-and-true platforms.
Now? They looked at Bob like he was so kind of prophet.
He'd seen the future. Predicted it. Nailed it. Again.
They weren't going to interfere with him anymore. The man was a business savant.
But Bob knew the real genius behind the curtain: Takayuki, the hidden major shareholder.
All of Bob's "insights" had co from him. Without Takayuki, Facebook wouldn't be where it was today.
Takayuki said, "Get ready for the launch. Myron Case is getting arrogant — ti to give him a splash of cold water."
"Got it! I'll get started right away!"
Even though it was still night, Bob instantly threw on clothes and left the house. It was ti to plan the biggest product reveal of his life.
Back in Japan, Takayuki summoned his ever-reliable assistant.
He asked, "Who's been in charge of the ga developnt lectures lately?"
The assistant checked. "That would be Uchiyama Ei from Dev Group Nine. He's been using the Resident Evil series to teach students how to make a brutal and scary survival horror ga."
Takayuki raised an eyebrow. Was Uchiyama turning into a masochist? Or maybe he'd always been one?
"Pause the current curriculum," Takayuki said. "I'm going to teach personally this ti. One full week. And I want our partner universities to sync up too — I'll deliver the sa course across all of them."
The assistant blinked in surprise. "But sir, you're already so busy..."
"Teaching cos first now," Takayuki replied. "I need more people to understand what ga industrialization really ans — and join us. I can't do this alone. This is going to be a brutal war, and in war, manpower is everything."
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