The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 236

236. Currency War (3)

“No overtime starting today.”

Jung Hyun-woo sighed deeply at Sera’s words.

“I have a lot of pending work.”

“The doctor said Charlie’s illness was caused by overwork.”

“Doctors aren’t always right…”

“They’re not always right, but I think they are this time.”

Sera, who had returned from New York, had turned into a strict older sister.

“Okay.”

“Remember, if Charlie collapses, the company collapses too.”

“So, the fate of 10,000 Victoria Corporation employees rests on me?”

There might have been some exaggeration, but it was true that much of Victoria Corporation depended on him.

Knock. Knock.

The one knocking on the president’s office door was probably Luna.

“What’s the matter?”

Luna answered Jung Hyun-woo’s question.

“It’s Mr. Bolton.”

“Tell him to come in.”

Click.

The door opened, and Young Bolton stepped inside.

“This is the report on the launch of West Services.”

West Services referred to the integrated services of Western banks.

“Is this the initial operation report?”

“It contains the results of two weeks of operation.”

Victoria Corporation maximized sales and profits by operating West Services.

Seeing the increased workload, Sera turned her gaze to Young Bolton.

“Can’t Robert handle this?”

Since Robert was the CTO [Chief Technology Officer], there would be no problem if he handled it. However, Robert had a lot of work on his own.

“Mr. Bernard is busy with collaboration with Microsoft, so…”

Jung Hyun-woo grabbed Sera’s wrist and said.

“Robert even gave up his vacation because of me.”

Because he fell ill and collapsed, many people’s schedules were disrupted.

“Still, Robert is taking extra vacation this Thanksgiving.”

Robert’s Thanksgiving vacation was not a reward but simply a postponed vacation due to Jung Hyun-woo’s absence.

“Anyway, this is my job.”

“Okay. But no overtime.”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded again.

“I said I understand.”

As Sera left the president’s office, Young Bolton cautiously asked.

“Does this mean there’s no more overtime?”

Jung Hyun-woo sighed deeply and replied.

“Sera is adamant, so there’s nothing I can do.”

Young Bolton wore a dark expression, but inwardly he was breathing a sigh of relief.

‘Phew… If Charlie doesn’t work overtime, our side will probably have much less overtime this quarter.’

Of course, as there was no overtime, various projects were bound to be delayed.

“Charlie, I’ll contact the partners since the schedule may be delayed.”

“Young, don’t contact them yet.”

“Yes?”

As Young Bolton raised his voice, Jung Hyun-woo said.

“If we do our best, can’t we solve it without overtime?”

Afterward, he went on to talk about reducing idle time during work hours to increase work intensity.

The content Jung Hyun-woo argued for was part of a management control program that had been consistently discussed in business schools in the 1990s.

“It would be good to reduce employees’ overtime as well. I’ll try my best.”

Young Bolton left the president’s office and sighed briefly.

“Hoo…”

“Young, did something not go well?”

The one who asked Young Bolton the question was John River, the head of the game development division.

“John?”

“I came to discuss something with Charlie.”

The game development division had recently moved to a building not far from the headquarters.

Young Bolton listened to John River’s words and answered the previous question.

“It’s not that something didn’t go well, but he’s telling me to eliminate idle time during work hours since we have to reduce overtime.”

“Eliminate idle time means…”

“It probably means reducing cigarette breaks or coffee breaks.”

John River narrowed his brow slightly.

“That’s not good news.”

He was someone who believed that work efficiency increased with rest periods.

“There will definitely be employees who follow if we can reduce overtime.”

John River tilted his head to the side and said.

“If you work overtime, you get paid, but if you increase the intensity of work during work hours, you only get more work without getting paid, right?”

He argued that it was a loss from an economic point of view.

“Still, wouldn’t there be more employees who prefer to leave on time than those who aim for overtime pay?”

Young Bolton gave an awkward smile and said goodbye to John River.

John River tilted his head and knocked on the door.

“It’s John.”

“Come in.”

John River opened the door and stepped inside without hesitation.

“Charlie, you look good.”

Was it because he had rested for more than a week?

Jung Hyun-woo’s expression actually looked good.

“So, what brings you here today?”

“I have a few things to report to Charlie.”

Since the game development division wasn’t in the same building, simple reports were done by phone.

In other words, the fact that he came in person meant it wasn’t a simple matter.

Jung Hyun-woo put his hands together and asked.

“Has the release date of the new game been changed?”

He tended to think of problems before positive aspects.

John River shook his head and replied.

“That’s not it.”

“Then why did you come?”

“I want to expand the PC game business.”

After the Atari shock [the video game crash of 1983] ruined the North American console market, what supported Victoria Corporation’s game development division was the PC game market.

‘Not consoles, but expanding the PC game side. Well, he must be confident to push this forward.’

He nodded and approved John River’s proposal.

“Go ahead and do it.”

John River bowed his head at Jung Hyun-woo’s positive answer.

“Thank you.”

Of course, the conversation didn’t end there. Jung Hyun-woo immediately moved on to practical matters.

“So, how are you planning to structure the titles?”

At his sharp question, John River cleared his throat and answered.

“We plan to release titles in two directions next year.”

“Hmm, you’re dividing it into two?”

“The first is a completely new title. This will probably be a simulation game tailored to PC games.”

Around this time, console game consoles had a strong action orientation. On the other hand, various genres of games were being released for PC games.

‘His first work wasn’t action either.’

The first game John River produced was a simulation game about the Civil War. He had considerable strengths in this area.

“So, how many new games are you planning to release next year?”

Currently, Victoria Corporation was only releasing two or three PC games a year.

“I’m thinking of releasing one game per quarter.”

One game per quarter meant releasing 1.5 to 2 times more new games than this year.

‘We have to release new games for consoles too, so the game development division will be under considerable pressure.’

He knew the situation of the game development division well.

“John, that’s not enough to call it market expansion, is it?”

John River answered his question in a dry voice.

“The second is to create a compilation of hit games from arcades and consoles and release them as classics.”

This meant utilizing the game IPs [Intellectual Properties] that Victoria Corporation had bought in large quantities.

‘Well, this doesn’t require a lot of development costs, so it’s not a bad idea.’

To reiterate, John River was a competent employee within the game development division.

“Not bad.”

John River was confident even before he opened the door and came inside.

“Starting early next year, we will increase the number of labels and aim to sell over 1 million copies in one year.”

Victoria Corporation had hit games close to million-sellers in the console market. Selling 1 million copies in one year was by no means a lot.

“Isn’t 1 million copies a year too conservative?”

John River argued that it wasn’t conservative.

“Compared to the dramatic revival of the console market, the growth rate of the PC game market is not that great. And to achieve 1 million copies sold, each title must sell at least 150,000 copies.”

150,000 copies sold.

Compared to hit games called million-sellers, it was shabby, but if it wasn’t a blockbuster work with huge production costs, it could easily exceed the break-even point even if it sold this much.

In other words, John River’s goal was to exceed the break-even point for each work.

Jung Hyun-woo was well aware of this situation. However, the reason he raised his voice was because he knew that the goal and reality were different.

‘If you set the goal at the break-even point, the actual result is likely to be below that.’

He put his hands together and said.

“Let’s raise it to 1.5 million copies.”

“Charlie…”

“I’m not saying you have to achieve the goal. If you aim for 1 million copies, won’t you become lax in the middle?”

For example, if you sell 800,000 copies in the first half of the year, you won’t be able to run as hard in the second half of the year as you did in the first half.

“Charlie, we’re doing our best!”

John River thought that excessively high goals could demoralize employees.

‘If the road is too long, you’ll just sit down.’

Employees could run if they were presented with achievable goals.

Jung Hyun-woo didn’t back down easily.

“John, I know the game development division is working hard. But I think it’s good to set high goals.”

When he came out strongly, John River suggested a compromise.

“Then let’s make it 1.2 million copies.”

Jung Hyun-woo put his hands together at the compromise of 1.2 million copies.

‘1.2 million copies, huh? That’s an ambiguous number.’

After hesitating, he decided to side with John River for the first time in a while.

“Okay. Let’s make it 1.2 million copies.”

Only when Jung Hyun-woo accepted his revised proposal could John River finally relax.

“Thank you.”

Jung Hyun-woo thought the conversation was over here. But John River’s agenda didn’t end here.

“Charlie, there’s a game that’s been gaining explosive popularity recently.”

A game that’s gaining explosive popularity.

It was a slightly cliché expression, but it was the best compliment for John River.

“Are you talking about Mario Brothers?”

“Not on consoles, but on PC.”

Jung Hyun-woo narrowed his brow.

‘Hmm, I don’t know what he wants to talk about.’

Even while he was sick, he made sure to check all the articles about newly released PC games.

However, there was no PC game that John River would praise so highly.

“What game is it?”

John River raised his voice as he took a floppy disk out of his pocket.

“Can I show you directly?”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded, and John River began installing the game on the computer on the conference table.

Soon, as the game’s BGM flowed out, Jung Hyun-woo couldn’t help but be shocked.

‘This is!’

He knew this game so well that he could recognize it just by listening to the BGM without looking at the screen.

“It’s a game that’s been popular recently.”

Instead of responding to John River’s words, Jung Hyun-woo sighed deeply inwardly.

‘Haa… I was missing this.’

John River became slightly anxious when Jung Hyun-woo didn’t react.

“It looks like a simple game, but it actually requires considerable brainpower.”

He tapped on the keyboard and started playing.

However, Jung Hyun-woo couldn’t see his play. His mind was filled with regret over why he hadn’t thought of it sooner.

“Charlie?”

When John River stopped playing and asked, Jung Hyun-woo sighed deeply.

“Hoo… It’s Tetris.”

That’s right.

The game John River brought was an early version of Tetris made as an IBM PC compatible program.

“Did you know?”

John River couldn’t help but be impressed by Jung Hyun-woo’s answer.

‘As expected of Charlie. He knew about Tetris.’

It was when his eyebrows were lowered.

Jung Hyun-woo sighed again and asked.

“Hoo… So, which company released this?”

John River’s eyes widened at his question.

“Which company released it? This is a Soviet game.”

The creator of Tetris was Alexey Pajitnov, and his nationality was Soviet.

“A Soviet game?”

If a game made in the Soviet Union was being distributed in the United States, there was only one thing to think about.

‘That means illegally produced software is being distributed.’

Jung Hyun-woo swallowed hard.

‘If we do well, we might be able to own Tetris.’

The reason he swallowed hard at Tetris was because Tetris had recorded the world’s number one sales volume as of the 1990s.

Of course, when looking at the series as a whole rather than a single game, the Mario series had sold 800 million copies by the 2020s, pushing the Tetris series to second place.

However, a cumulative sales volume of 500 million copies was a number that no one could ignore.

In a word, Tetris was a crazy game.

“I don’t know exactly who made it. But I was able to find out that the game made in the Soviet Union was flowing in through Eastern Europe.”

Jung Hyun-woo pulled up a chair and asked.

“Can we secure the rights to this game?”

“The rights?”

“I mean the IP or copyright.”

John River couldn’t give an exact answer to his question. Rather, he asked Jung Hyun-woo in return.

“Is it possible since it’s a Soviet game?”

At his question, Jung Hyun-woo narrowed his brow.

“Aren’t you supposed to think about that before coming to me?”

John River waved his hands.

“N, no, that’s not it. I just thought it would be a good idea to introduce it to you because I thought it would be good to make a puzzle game that references this game.”

In short, John River wanted to make a pirated version of Tetris.

The reason he thought this way was because the Cold War was in full swing.

In a situation where the fear that the world might be destroyed by nuclear war still existed, importing a Soviet game was not easy even for him, who was crazy about games.

Jung Hyun-woo knew that the Cold War was coming to an end, so he had no intention of giving up on Tetris.

“John, contact the legal team and find out if we can secure the rights. And if you can secure the rights, contact me again.”

John River paused and asked.

“Is this a priority?”

Jung Hyun-woo answered with force in his voice.

“It’s the highest priority. Prioritize securing the rights to that Tetris over any other task. And don’t calculate the amount of money related to this matter.”

It was a story of securing the rights to Tetris, no matter how much money it cost.

John River swallowed hard and stood up from his seat.

“Okay. Then I’ll start with Tetris.”

As he was about to go outside, Jung Hyun-woo said.

“John, take the game with you.”

Instead of reaching for the PC, John River replied briefly.

“I have many copies in my office.”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded at his answer.

“I guess so.”

Since Tetris, which flowed in from Eastern Europe, had no copyright, anyone could copy it and play it as they pleased.

After John River went outside.

Jung Hyun-woo put his hands together.

‘Tetris here, I feel like I’ve been caught off guard.’

You could earn astronomical amounts of money with Tetris alone.

‘Because it’s a game that has sold 500 million copies, no matter what anyone says.’

This incident forced him to look back on his memories.

‘Were there any other big events that happened around the Olympics?’

Jung Hyun-woo picked up a pen. Then, he began to write down on a note one by one the historical facts he remembered.

After a while.

He put down the pen with a thud.

“I can’t remember anything properly.”

Was it because he was too focused on Japan’s economic bubble?

Except for the Gulf War, he couldn’t think of anything else.

“I can’t help it. I’ll just have to make the best decisions at the time.”

Jung Hyun-woo sighed, but thanks to his memory, Victoria Corporation might be able to own Tetris.