AN : Don't think this chapter super accurate everyone lol
Sayuri adjusted her glasses and then quickly read her document. "Okay everyone, as you can see, I already gave you the detailed report covering how much we spent and how much we earned. It is separated by our different offices—England, Korea, USA, and Japan—and also broken down by sales across each continent. Overall, ZAGE's sales performance in 1999 was very strong, and our financial position is extremely healthy right now. The numbers show steady growth across most regions, and even in markets where expansion slowed slightly, the overall revenue trend remains positive. In simple terms, ZAGE closed the year with a stable foundation and enough financial strength to support our upcoming expansions in China."
Our income consists of console sales, game sales, and revenue from subsidiaries. By 1999, ZEPS 3 had already been on the market for nearly three years, so console sales were naturally no longer at their peak. However, the numbers remained very impressive. Worldwide, ZEPS 3 sold a total of 12 million units during 1999. This is lower than in 1998, when the console sold around 21 million units, but such a decline is expected for hardware that has already matured in the market. What matters more is that the overall player base continues to grow steadily, which means the ecosystem surrounding the console is still expanding and supporting long‑term software sales.
Based on internal calculations, the production cost for one ZEPS 3 unit is around 15,000 yen. ZAGE sells the console to retailers for approximately 25,000 yen, and retailers typically sell it to customers for around 29,000 to 31,000 yen depending on the region and local pricing strategies. From this structure, ZAGE earns roughly 10,000 yen per console unit. Of course, this figure does not include distribution costs, marketing expenses, logistics, or other operational spending, which vary between regions and markets. These numbers represent the raw income generated directly from ZEPS 3 console sales during 1999. Even with the expected decline compared to the previous year, the console still generated a total of around 120 billion yen, or approximately 1.2 billion USD. For hardware that had already been on the market for several years, this remained a very strong and respectable performance.
Everyone began clapping at the number. It was an impressive result, but it still wasn't the full picture of what ZAGE actually earned from the ZEPS 3 ecosystem. Sayuri waited patiently for the room to settle before continuing her explanation.
"Next is about ZAGE games," she said calmly. "Most of the income in this category comes from our own internal studios, since the majority of successful titles on the ZEPS platform are developed directly by ZAGE teams. Our first‑party titles generate the largest portion of revenue for the platform because we control both development and publishing. However, we also receive income from third‑party studios that publish their games on our platform."
She briefly glanced at the report before continuing. "There are actually many third‑party games on ZEPS, but the revenue we receive from them is intentionally smaller. ZAGE's policy is to support the growth of the industry rather than squeeze developers. For the first month of a game's release, we do not take a platform cut at all so developers can recover their initial investment. After that period, ZAGE only takes around four percent of total sales. Compared to most platform holders, that rate is extremely low. It allows developers to keep the vast majority of their earnings while ZAGE focuses mainly on maintaining the platform ecosystem, distribution network, and infrastructure. Because of this policy, third‑party titles are plentiful on ZEPS, but the largest revenue still comes from ZAGE's own games."
Sayuri lightly tapped the stack of documents in front of the executives. "I have included the full breakdown in the reports you received earlier. Each title is listed clearly along with its sales performance, regional distribution, and revenue contribution. It should be easy to review if anyone wants to examine the details for specific games."
She turned a page in her report before continuing. "Overall, during 1999, ZEPS 3 game sales reached a new record. Across all titles available on the platform, including games released in previous years that continued to sell steadily, the total number of units sold reached 303 million copies worldwide. That figure represents only our first‑party titles, which continue to dominate the platform's revenue. Income from third‑party games is tracked separately due to our different revenue structure."
"For the financial structure, the production cost for a typical ZEPS 3 game cartridge is around 1,500 yen per unit. We sell these games to retailers for roughly 4,500 yen, and retailers then sell them to customers for around 6,000 to 7,000 yen depending on the region and local pricing policies. From that structure, ZAGE earns approximately 3,000 yen per game unit before operational costs. Based on the total software units sold, the revenue generated from ZEPS 3 games during 1999 reached approximately 909 billion yen, which is roughly 9.9 billion USD. This result reflects the continued strength of our first‑party development strategy and the growing size of the ZEPS platform's global player base."
Zaboru's eyes widened slightly as he read the number again. 9.9 billion USD from software alone. Even for him, the figure was striking. The room had already reacted, but Zaboru stayed quiet for a moment, letting the scale of the result settle in his mind. It still wasn't the full amount ZAGE would ultimately receive after all costs and operational spending, yet the raw revenue alone was an extremely impressive number.
Sayuri calmly continued the report without letting the atmosphere distract her. She moved to the next sections of the document and began outlining the remaining sources of income. Revenue from subsidiaries came next, followed by ZAGE merchandise sales, and merchandise produced by subsidiaries that used ZAGE intellectual properties or other licensed products created under ZAGE brands. After that, she explained the numbers coming from PC game sales, along with the remaining income generated by older hardware platforms such as ZEPS 2 and the ZGB console, including their game libraries, which were still selling in several markets as of 1999.
However, when it came to the ZGBA handheld system, Sayuri noted that the data was still incomplete. The handheld had only recently launched after all and the ZAGE analytics teams were still gathering accurate sales numbers from distributors and retailers. Because of that, the ZGBA results were still under tracking and would be included in the next financial report once the numbers stabilized.
Sayuri then shifted the presentation toward the expense side of the company. She detailed the operational costs required to maintain ZAGE's global offices, ZAGE Foundations, employee salaries across all divisions, research and development investments, infrastructure spending, distribution costs, and many other financial obligations necessary to keep such a large company running smoothly.
Even after accounting for those expenses, the final conclusion of the report remained the same: ZAGE's overall cash flow was extremely healthy. The company was expanding while still maintaining strong reserves, and most importantly, it achieved this without depending on outside investors. Much of that stability came from Zaboru's strict policy of financial transparency. Nothing was hidden inside the company's accounting system, and Sayuri had been given full authority to manage the financial structure because Zaboru trusted her completely. In return, Sayuri treated that trust as a responsibility she never intended to break.
Unlike many CEOs, Zaboru was never greedy or interested in taking large portions of the company's profits for himself. Most of ZAGE's revenue was reinvested back into the company and its subsidiaries to strengthen development, infrastructure, and future expansion. Because of that approach, the company's financial outlook continued to remain positive year after year.
With that, the finance section of the meeting finally came to an end. The room responded with a round of applause before Zaboru turned his attention to the licensing team.
"Thanks a lot, Sayuri-san, for the report. Amazing work as always. Now then, Shikki-san, how is the licensing team doing?" Zaboru asked as he looked toward the other side of the table.
Shiki Spencer nodded and opened his folder before answering. "So far the licensing team has made solid progress this year. First, we have successfully acquired licenses for multiple racing tracks that will appear in our upcoming racing titles. This includes several well‑known circuits that players definitely heard or know off, which should help improve realism and attract fans of motorsport. The negotiations took some time, but the agreements are now finalized."
He continued flipping through the pages. "We also acquired additional rights for many football clubs around the world for our next football game, just like you suggested earlier, boss. These agreements include several teams from Europe and South America, which should help expand the global appeal of the game. With these licenses secured, we can use official team names, logos, and player likenesses, which significantly increases the value of the title."
Shiki then moved to the next point. "In addition to game licenses, we also generated strong revenue through IP partnerships. Just as Sayuri‑san mentioned earlier, many companies—especially food and restaurant chains—are interested in using our intellectual properties for promotional campaigns. Pokémon in particular remains extremely popular among children, and brands are eager to associate with it through toys, packaging, and limited promotional events."
He smiled slightly before delivering the final update. "And one more important deal—we have begun a sponsorship agreement with the Chicago Bulls. Starting this year, the ZAGE logo should appear on the Chicago Bulls' NBA jerseys. This partnership should increase our visibility in the United States and strengthen our brand presence in sports marketing."
Zaboru grinned with clear delight. Now ZAGE officially sponsored two major teams—Inter Milan and the Chicago Bulls—both of which he had been a fan of since his previous life. "Thank you, Shikki. You really exceeded my expectations."
Shikki grinned back at him. "Heheh, thanks boss."
Then the meeting continued for a while longer, but the atmosphere gradually became more relaxed. Unlike many other companies, the higher‑ups at ZAGE did not behave like distant executives sitting behind rigid titles. Most of them had worked together for years, building the company step by step, and because of that they felt more like close colleagues than corporate superiors. It was common for them to call each other by their first names, something that would be unusual in many large companies, but within ZAGE it reflected the trust and familiarity they had developed over time.
Even so, the discussion never lost its professionalism. They still spoke clearly about strategy, operations, and future plans, occasionally exchanging brief jokes or casual remarks that eased the tension of such long meetings. The relaxed tone simply made the conversation flow more naturally rather than turning it into a stiff corporate presentation.
Eventually the remaining topics were covered and the meeting began to wind down. However, Zaboru's schedule for the day was far from finished. After leaving the meeting room, he still had another task waiting for him. He planned to visit the Sonaya offices to personally test their newest game development engine, a system they had been refining for months. He had promised to review it for them in exchange for allowing Z‑POD to use several songs from Sonaya. Only after checking the progress there would he prepare for his next trip, as he was scheduled to leave for the United States soon.
To be continue
AN : Sorry if it's not detailed for the revenue lol it's because it's really a hassle to count everything so i just make it like this.
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