3D is a concept that has only emerged in the last two years. If it were a year ago, Aoki Haruhi would have had to explain it for a long time, probably from the perspectives of 3D, 2D, and game implementation.
But now, there is no need for such trouble.
Just last year, a 3D game called "Underworld Genesis" appeared on the PC.
In his previous life, Sony also went through this process. The earliest PlayStation, the PS1, was initially derived from a prototype machine jointly developed with Nintendo. However, later, in November 1993, Sega released a fighting game called "Virtua Fighter."
VR is a concept that has been quite hot lately: virtual worlds, virtual technology, striving to create a world concept in games that can transcend time and space and detach from reality. This is VR.
It's similar to the future "Metaverse." It also started as a concept, but without corresponding technical support, it could only be considered a scam of the century.
Although Sega's Virtua Fighter used the concept of "VR," it was actually quite different from the subconscious idea of VR people hold today. It was purely a fighting game, the only difference being that it was the first of its kind to use 3D character modeling.
It was a very orthodox 3D game.
It featured X, Y, and Z axes. Although the character models were crude, they still allowed people to see the dawn of 3D gaming.
Back then, it was precisely because Kutaragi Ken saw Sega's Virtua Fighter that he decided to make the PS support 3D modeling and rendering... which ultimately made the PS1 a super-powerful console.
The story that followed was simple and brutal—
Relying on a console that was ahead of its time, Sony crushed all its competitors, and in 1997, thanks to Square's 3D RPG masterpiece Final Fantasy VII, it successfully ascended to the throne of gaming.
On one hand, Sony's console was indeed very powerful; on the other, it was because Square had a falling out with Nintendo, which forced them to choose Sony as an exclusive platform.
The massive success of Final Fantasy VII brought achievements to both Sony and Square, and at the same time, it cemented the success of the console.
The future of 3D gaming was an unstoppable trend.
And right now, Pokeni is standing at the crest of this tidal wave of the era.
***
Aoki Haruhi thought that instead of waiting until the end of the year for Sega's Virtua Fighter to motivate Kutaragi Ken, he might as well be the one to push him now.
This could save a few months of development time, potentially allowing the PS to be released earlier, and perhaps even with better performance and support than in his previous life.
So, he briefly explained the concept of 3D to Kutaragi Ken, and how it could be implemented in the gaming realm.
Simply put, 3D means three-dimensional. Previous games only had X and Y axes, forming a plane; 3D simply adds a Z axis.
It might seem simple enough from a mathematical standpoint, nothing to write home about, but implementing the leap from 2D to 3D in programming is no easy task.
Just the two most fundamental elements—game modeling and the "camera" system—would be enough of a struggle.
From a programming implementation perspective, basic game models are realized using three-dimensional solid models, and game character control is achieved through spatial 3D programming algorithms.
Some pseudo-3D games actually achieve their effect by displaying "a certain face," where the viewing angle is fixed, and in reality, they are just applying visual perspective.
True 3D, however, requires the program to support the ability to observe it from any direction, and it will still display the corresponding effect. This requires corresponding algorithms, and the complexity is actually quite high.
"Hmm..."
After hearing Aoki Haruhi's proposal, Kutaragi Ken had a rough idea of what he was looking for.
However, he was still skeptical himself—
Was this actually feasible to build?
Or rather, how much more R&D would this require?
In short, Kutaragi Ken had no idea.
"I have a question," Kutaragi Ken said, raising his right hand. "What are the specific applications for this 3D effect? What I mean is, if the PS can't handle that many polygons and surface structures from the start, it might end up looking very rough.
For example, a cube might be the easiest to make; each face is regular, there are only six of them, it's simple, and it's highly efficient without consuming much performance.
But turning it into a sphere might require significantly more polygons.
And if we make this 3D model irregular, like a human body, then it gets even more complex.
If we can't support such high complexity at the start, the final result might even be worse than current 2D games. At least with 2D, we can push the graphics to the limit, even reaching the level of animated films.
Compared to high-precision 2D games, such a 3D game wouldn't have any advantage at all."
"No, no. That's not the right way to look at it." Aoki smiled. "Anything, including the birth of new technology, might be simple and crude at the beginning. When Franklin discovered electricity, he never imagined its future applications would be so widespread.
Wasn't the very first light bulb also quite crude?
But now, look at all the things that emit light; think of the extent to which humanity has applied electricity and light."
"It doesn't matter if 3D is a bit crude at first; it will only get better. The key is—
Adding support for 3D will make Sony unique."
Aoki said, "With this extra dimension, the amount of game content that can be developed is immense. To put it simply, have you ever imagined what 'The Witcher' would be like in 3D?"
Kutaragi Ken was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head vigorously.
He really couldn't imagine it.
"Just think about the real world and you'll understand. Imagine if The Witcher and the Blood Tribe actually existed in the world we live in."
Aoki gave him a meaningful smile.
Kutaragi Ken was silent for a long time, then suddenly realized.
"Hmm... So that's it... That really is... extraordinary."
He finally realized what the benefits of 3D, as Aoki described, were.
It was the stunning sensation of simulating reality, and even transcending it!
***
But just how advanced would technology need to be to realize this grand vision?
However, that is not a problem for Kutaragi to consider right now.
He only knows that by moving forward along the path guided by Aoki Haruhi, this road will one day lead there.
"Okay, 3D."
Kutaragi Ken carefully recorded the advice Aoki Haruhi had just given in his notebook, and also noted down the [implementation plan] he had envisioned.
Pokeni's president is truly a genius.
This was not Kutaragi Ken's first interaction with Aoki Haruhi, but he had never felt such a terrifying sense of awe before—
President Aoki's mind is truly sharp; he is simply the Einstein of the gaming world.
He is always able to come up with all sorts of ideas that sound bizarre at first glance, but upon closer inspection, turn out to be highly feasible, even visionary concepts ahead of their time.
Take the Sega GP, for example; although Sony had already developed lithium batteries, they had never considered applying them to handheld devices.
Combining the two not only solved the battery life issue but also significantly reduced the device's size and weight, making the console an instant hit in '92.
And now, Aoki Haruhi has once again introduced the concept of 3D.
It is not just a concept; he even detailed how to implement it in programming.
Terrifying.
Absolutely terrifying.
If Aoki Haruhi weren't the president of Pokeni, Kutaragi Ken would definitely have suggested to Ohga Norio that they poach him.
Sony needs talent like this.
***
But in this way, the best approach would actually be to have Pokeni get involved, to participate in the development of the game console.
This would be the most efficient method, and whatever requirements Aoki Haruhi might have could be brought up at any time.
After all, Pokeni is the end user, and they know best what content is needed. Moreover, based on the conversation Kutaragi Ken just had with Aoki Haruhi, he discovered that this young president actually has quite a bit of research into game consoles, at least when it comes to the program logic and underlying structure.
It's possible he could make the PlayStation a truly remarkable product.
However...
Letting Pokeni participate in development means they would gain access to some of the console's data and technology. Might Sony be nurturing a tiger to its own detriment, cultivating a powerful competitor?
Judging by the current situation, Pokeni doesn't seem to have the foundation for hardware, nor does it have any intention of investing money in that direction.
But who can guarantee it will stay that way in the future?
Aoki Haruhi appears to have only thrown out a "simple" requirement, but behind this requirement lie numerous possibilities, which might instead make Sony even more reliant on Pokeni, and even more reliant on Aoki Haruhi.
This would, in turn, bind Sony and Pokeni even more closely together.
Whether Aoki Haruhi did this intentionally, or if he just proposed this 3D concept purely from the perspective of game design... that remains to be seen.
"Hmm... we need to go back and discuss this," Kutaragi Ken said.
***
Ken Kutaragi wanted to poach Aoki Haruhi.
Aoki Haruhi, in turn, was thinking about how he could poach him.
After Ken Kutaragi left, Aoki said with a look of envy, "Sony is truly a company with both strength and luck; they have all kinds of R&D talent there."
He glanced back at the HR person at the door.
"Do you think it's possible for us to poach Kutaragi?"
Aoki was genuinely appreciative of talent.
"Huh?" Ayase Akane widened her eyes in shock, pointing at herself. "President, are you serious?"
"Never mind, it's not the right time yet." Aoki shook his head.
He did want to get into hardware, but he just couldn't afford to burn that kind of money.
At least, Pokeni couldn't afford it yet.
***
After going back and holding several meetings to discuss the content over and over again, Ohga Norio visited Pokeni once more, bringing Ken Kutaragi along.
"President Aoki, we have seriously considered the suggestion you made last time. It is an excellent proposal, and we will find a way to implement it. Now, please take a look at the rest of the terms."
Ohga Norio placed the newly drafted agreement on the table and pushed it toward Aoki Haruhi.
Aoki Haruhi picked it up and read it carefully.
The content was largely the same as before, but with one additional requirement added:
"As a collaborator, our idea is to satisfy and support your company's every need regarding game performance and development as much as possible. Feel free to put forward any requirements you may have. Sony will do its best to implement them within our capabilities."
Ohga Norio explained.
Heh.
Aoki Haruhi inwardly sneered twice.
This rhetoric of "putting forward requirements" and "respecting the other party" was truly grand and pleasant to hear.
However, wasn't this too cunning?
"That sounds very nice, but in this way, although we are technically the ones making requests, aren't we actually participating in the design?"
Aoki Haruhi sneered and said, "I demand that Sony be fair and respect Pokeni. Since we are one of the R&D partners, we demand to share the intellectual property rights of the PS1."
Aoki Haruhi sneered, "I ask that Sony be a bit fairer and show some respect for Pokeni. Since we are one of the R&D partners, we demand to share the intellectual property rights for the PS1. This request shouldn't be considered excessive, should it? That's how Sony and Nintendo worked together, right?"
Ohga Norio's cheek twitched. "Please, President Aoki, do not misinterpret Sony's good intentions. We proposed this solely to develop games that support your company's needs. We are not asking your company to be the designers. I hope you can understand the difference."
"No, I cannot accept that. The key to this definition lies in whether our designs can be implemented into the games, doesn't it? Otherwise, wouldn't our company's planners just be a bunch of people collecting a paycheck for nothing?"
Scabbing someone else's creative work is a shameful act. All this talk about respecting the other party's needs—it's all nonsense if there's no profit involved.
Aoki Haruhi argued his case firmly, "We did the same when we co-developed the new handheld with Sega. There's no reason we can't share the intellectual property rights when we participated in the R&D."
Seeing Aoki Haruhi being so uncompromising, Kutaragi Ken and Ohga Norio exchanged glances.
"This will also require some discussion," Ohga Norio said, not giving an easy answer.
As someone who had been through it all, Aoki Haruhi knew full well that business negotiations were never easy, especially with the Japanese, who could be incredibly pedantic.
Therefore, after about two months of back-and-forth, the two sides finally reached a final agreement.
Sony would allow Pokeni to participate in the R&D and share the intellectual property, but explicitly stated in the clauses that Pokeni was not allowed to use this data to develop consoles related to the PlayStation, nor could it develop products compatible with PlayStation discs.
In other words, Sony would share the content creation with them, but wouldn't let them become future competitors.
Sony was particularly sly in this regard, quite on par with "Old Nintendo."
However, just being able to understand the underlying mechanisms of the PlayStation was enough for Aoki Haruhi.
The other terms were mostly about the distribution of profits.
For example, regarding royalties, Pokeni wouldn't have to pay royalties for games developed on the PlayStation, but they had to be PlayStation exclusives...
And so on...
But both sides got what they wanted.
After all, the ultimate goal for both Sony and Pokeni was to make money, not to trip each other up.
Sony needed Pokeni's games, and Pokeni needed their console.
Win-win cooperation was the way to go.
***
After signing the agreement, both sides let out a sigh of relief.
After seeing off the two Sony executives, Aoki Haruhi started to chuckle.
Ayase Akane looked at him in confusion, "President, why are you so happy? Is collaborating with Sony really that good?"
"No."
Aoki shook his head, "That's not what I'm laughing about."
"I just suddenly thought—Dong Zhuo hasn't even been defeated yet, and the eighteen lords are about to disband."
"Huh?"
Ayase had no idea what kind of nonsense he was talking about.
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