When Takayuki appeared at Facebook's launch event, word of it quickly spread.
Many dia editors imdiately began writing frantically, speculating in all directions—including about a potential partnership between Facebook and Gastar Electronic Entertainnt.
Soon, so dia outlets uncovered the relationship between the two companies.
Previously, few paid attention to this connection. And even if they did, they would simply marvel at Gastar's incredible foresight. After all, just from their Facebook shares alone, Gastar's cash flow was more than secure.
Turns out, Gastar Electronic Entertainnt was secretly a financial powerhouse.
In Japan, once the public learned that Gastar owned a 30% stake in Facebook, it sparked a huge boost in goodwill toward Facebook—and national pride.
"Look at that! The world's biggest social network is 30% Japanese-owned. That ans we have 30% of the world's say!"
...
...
Of course, that was just a little emotional self-flattery. It made people feel proud, even if the reality was more complicated.
The main focus of the event was still the phone itself, but the surprise twist was the partnership between Facebook and Gastar.
Gastar announced plans to establish a new ga developnt division dedicated to mobile platforms. So of their first-party titles would be adapted specifically for Facebook's smartphones.
As for older handheld and console titles, only select legacy gas would be ported. Gas released within the past five years would not be available on mobile.
This was ant to create a clear distinction for players. The mobile market was different, and not every console ga translated well to smartphones.
The lineup revealed so far included titles from the FC, SFC, parts of the GSL catalog, and so older GBA gas. These would gradually roll out through Facebook's built-in ga platform.
Veteran players could repurchase these gas at a lower price using their existing accounts.
Gars were thrilled.
Now, not only could they make calls, they could also play nostalgic classics anyti. Many who were watching the livestream said they'd definitely buy a Facebook phone—just to relive those old gas again.
Of course, so people questioned why previously purchased gas couldn't simply be transferred to mobile.
But business isn't charity—especially not in collaborations. Consideration must be given to partners as well.
In truth, the prices were very reasonable—most gas were bundled at $5–10. For example, the Dragon Quest 1–7 collection was just $10 for all seven gas.
At that price, most players were happy to pay again.
The partnership between Gastar and Facebook also caused Facebook's stock price to jump 12% in a single day. For a company worth hundreds of billions, that kind of increase was huge.
Had Gastar been publicly traded, its stock likely would've surged even more.
Myron Case was never the kind of person to sit and wait for trouble.
On the very day Facebook's launch event ended, he called an ergency eting with his entire team to brainstorm a response.
This ti, Myron was acting completely out of character. Normally, he dismissed competing smartphones without a second thought. But the mont Takayuki's na entered the picture, he could no longer stay calm.
And everyone in the room understood why.
Many of them were veterans from Redfruit, having followed Myron for years. They knew what had happened in the past.
They understood how serious a threat Gastar Electronic Entertainnt could be.
Every ti Gastar entered a market, chaos followed.
And they didn't just disrupt the ga industry. They shook up every market they entered—and always ca out on top.
So when Myron called them in, no one dared take it lightly. Everyone was on high alert.
"Alright," Myron said, resting his chin on his hands, "what do you think we can do about Gastar?"
He already had so ideas—but wanted to hear others first.
"I say we take them head-on," soone replied. "Smartphones are still our strength. We hold the biggest share of the market—there's no reason to be afraid."
"Exactly. And we've got an ace up our sleeve—our in-house chip."
"Right, our proprietary chip is a ga-changer. It could definitely give Gastar trouble."
Myron asked, "What's the current status of our chip developnt?"
The chip division manager replied, "We're about 80% done. It's basically ready for comrcial use, though there are still so issues that need final testing."
Another team mber imdiately jumped in, "That's not good enough. It has to be 100% stable. We cannot release an unstable product."
This older employee had been with Myron since the Redfruit days. He deeply valued quality. Redfruit had earned its reputation through reliable products, and he'd never seen an unstable one succeed in the market.
The marketing manager countered, "Is that really a problem? Worst case, we can issue recalls and fix the problems later. As long as we grab market share first, the stunt might still work."
"I don't think that's wise..."
...
The discussion quickly turned into an argunt.
Myron stayed silent, listening.
His mind was battling itself.
Gastar was a real threat. They were seriously entering the smartphone market now.
If it were just Gastar working on a dedicated ga-focused smartphone, he might not be this anxious. But this ti, they chose to collaborate—and not with just anyone, but with Facebook, the world's top social dia platform.
That ant there'd be no funding bottlenecks for R&D or marketing.
And it was a combination of two very powerful forces.
An absolute headache.
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