As soon as Kobayashi Tetsu stepped out of the car, he saw the man before him approach at lightning speed. The two shook hands, looking every bit the cordial host and guest.
At a single glance, Kobayashi realized that the woman beside Yoichi Koei must be Keiko Koei, the "Empress of Koei."
Rumor had it in the industry that Yoichi had married into the family, though it was unclear whether that was true or not.
Yoichi Koei stepped forward, firmly grasping Kobayashi Tetsu's hand, his enthusiasm apparent.
"President Kobayashi, I've heard so much about you!"
"Not at all, not at all. It is I who have truly heard so much about you. Koei Corporation is making quite a name for itself these days—the 'Three Pillars of Koei' are renowned!"
It was just standard business flattery, which Kobayashi Tetsu delivered effortlessly.
""Genghis Khan", "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", and "Nobunaga's Ambition"—these three works are absolutely the finest examples of strategy games in Japan right now. Even Atlas couldn't produce works of this scale. Especially "Genghis Khan"; to be able to research the historical records under such conditions and create a work like this is truly craftsmanship. You could be called the sage of strategy games."
Yoichi Koei lifted his chin slightly, looking visibly pleased.
The "Three Pillars of Koei" referred to these three early Koei titles, which had bolstered the company's sales, transforming it from a small business—which had started as a dye works and producer of adult games—into a large corporation that had relocated to Yokohama.
Koei, in later generations, would have thousands of employees and could be called a top-tier gaming company in Japan. Among their works, the most unique one is, of course, Genghis Khan. Because this title is actually about the Mongols. In today's era of the internet, it's impressive that Yoichi Koei was able to research historical documents to create such an obscure historical work as Genghis Khan.
Calling it a work of craftsmanship is truly no exaggeration. Yoichi Koei's lips curled up slightly, a look of pride on his face: "Actually, Nobunaga's Ambition and Romance of the Three Kingdoms are the titles most welcomed by players, but for me, Genghis Khan is Koei's best work!" Tetsu Kobayashi stared at Yoichi Koei. Then why the hell hasn't there been a sequel to Genghis Khan! It's not like it doesn't make money.
So, it is true that passion can indeed be defeated by money. Yoichi Koei pointed behind him and said, "Please?" Tetsu Kobayashi nodded: "Please!" The group entered the office building. Renting office space in Yokohama is much cheaper than in Tokyo, so Koei's office space looked even larger than Atlas's.
Keiko Koei had not said a word, just following closely behind step by step. She seemed like nothing more than Yoichi Koei's follower, but Tetsu Kobayashi knew that this unassuming woman was the core of Koei.
—This was the woman who, during the peak of Nintendo's era, dared to slam her hand on the table in front of Hiroshi Yamauchi, and even forced him to make concessions.
The three of them entered Koei's reception room and sat down. Kobayashi Tetsu got straight to the point: "I'll skip the pleasantries. Actually, I'm here to discuss a partnership."
Yoichi Koei looked up instantly.
It's here, it's here! He's here!
He's come with the intention of acquiring Koei!
Yoichi Koei naturally wanted to refuse; he valued the company he founded very much.
Even Keiko Koei turned to look at Kobayashi Tetsu, her eyes not daring to waver for a single moment.
"Koei has a group of excellent artists; in my opinion, the art in Nobunaga's Ambition is top-tier in the industry. Therefore, I would like to borrow a group of artists from Koei."
After Kobayashi Tetsu finished speaking, Yoichi Koei was somewhat incredulous: "That's all?"
Kobayashi Tetsu nodded: "That's all."
Yoichi Koei gasped.
He was scared to death! He thought he had come to acquire Koei.
However, Keiko Koei raised her hand and placed it on her husband's palm.
"President Kobayashi, if I may be blunt: what if Koei chooses to refuse?"
Kobayashi Tetsu smiled: "This must be the famous Ms. Keiko Koei. I've heard your story: Mr. Yoichi Koei is responsible for making the games, and Ms. Keiko Koei is responsible for selling them. Being able to support Koei's marketing and make the company's key decisions, you have a very keen eye. If you want to ask about this kind of thing, my answer is also very simple: then I'll just have to buy Koei."
Keiko Koei's lips trembled. Her first instinct was to say—I won't sell!
I just won't sell, what can you do about Koei?
However, she could never bring herself to say those words. Keiko Koei pondered for a moment, quickly thinking through the various possibilities.
Kobayashi Tetsu was in no rush; he took a slow, deliberate sip of tea.
"Hmm, good tea."
Hearing Kobayashi Tetsu's comment, Yoichi Koei said: "President Kobayashi knows about the tea ceremony?"
"No, I don't. I was just thinking that since you make historical games, you should be well-versed in such elegant things. It's a pity, I don't understand them."
Kobayashi Tetsu tapped his forehead: "The court nobles of Kyoto know what elegance is, but unfortunately, I am just a Southern Barbarian living in Edo."
Yoichi Koei didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
It was clearly just a casual remark, yet he felt a strong sense of aggression in it.
Think about it.
Besides the Sengoku period, how did the Southern Barbarians enter Edo?
The Black Ship Incident, they blasted their way in with cannon fire! Back in the day, the Americans fired directly into Edo, blasting open Japan's gates! Isolationism was not a policy unique to the Qing Dynasty. And Keiko Koei finally responded. "We can lend you our artists, but Koei will have to delay our own development work for a period of time. The losses this will bring are immeasurable. Shouldn't Atlas show some goodwill?"
Yoichi Koei hurriedly raised his hand, trying to get his wife to say less, but Keiko Koei instead held him back. Tetsu Kobayashi held up a finger. "Atlas can assist in publishing Koei's games. Don't be in such a rush to refuse; Atlas has a special partnership with Sega, and if you want to publish for Nintendo, I also have some connections with them. As a company capable of manufacturing its own cartridges, Atlas's profit margins are higher than other companies. Therefore, if Koei's games are handed over to Atlas for publishing, the actual profit might be higher than going directly to Sega."
After finishing his sentence, he leaned back slightly, his posture relaxed, and said calmly, "Koei has always been limited to developing games for PC, and the PC market is notoriously small. Don't tell me you haven't considered developing games for console platforms, which have a much larger market? I don't think that's the case. Ultimately, it's just because you lack a good publishing agreement, and when you weigh the pros and cons, it just doesn't seem worth it."
Keiko Koei suddenly brought her legs together, her muscles tensing slightly.
She looked at Yoichi Koei, and the Koei president looked back at her.
This was indeed exactly what Koei needed most!
To develop games for console platforms, one had to purchase development kits and pay a series of royalties to the console platform holder. All in all, for a company of Koei's size, it was impossible to play in that arena without assets worth hundreds of millions.
And even if they did, there was no guarantee they would make money by porting directly to consoles.
They were, of course, envious of the profits from console platforms, but burdened by various concerns, they ultimately chose to continue developing titles for the user-scarce PC platform.
Now, Tetsu Kobayashi had just offered such a critical condition.
Publishing games on console platforms.
Sensing that this condition might not be enough, Tetsu Kobayashi suddenly added more.
"As everyone knows, my father is a high-level executive and hardware engineer at Sega. If Koei has any plans for the Sega platform..."
Sensing perhaps that this condition wasn't quite generous enough, Tetsu Kobayashi suddenly added to his offer.
"As everyone knows, my father is a senior executive at Sega and a hardware engineer. If Koei has plans to develop games for the Sega platform, I can contact Sega to sell development kits at a lower price, and we could even reduce the royalties. As for Nintendo, although I cannot make the same guarantee, I do have some connections with Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto and Mr. Gunpei Yokoi—one could even call us good friends."
Yoichi Koei looked at Keiko Koei, his gaze urging her on.
What are you waiting for!
With such a good offer, never mind just lending a few artists, even selling to Atlas wouldn't be out of the question.
Keiko Koei finally sighed. In truth, she was still worried there might be some trickery in Tetsu Kobayashi's claims, but the offer was just too good to refuse. What Koei lacked most right now wasn't games, but distribution channels!
Computers were fine, but machines like the MSX, Commodore, and Fujitsu were rarely purchased by households in Japan for anything other than productivity; they were seldom used for gaming. Furthermore, they lacked the distribution channels that Sega and Nintendo offered.
Selling games on computers just couldn't compare to selling them on consoles!
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