Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo-Chapter 785: Sympathy

"President, I really think we should just kick those people out. They're way too annoying," said Hayakawa's assistant, unable to hold back her frustration. She, too, disliked those arrogant MK Tech reps.

To them, Surei Electronics was the loser.

MK Tech had leveraged its superior hardware to take over Surei's handheld console market, leaving not even crumbs behind. The blow had been so severe that Surei's handheld division was halved in a single year. It was only through Hayakawa's maneuvering that the gaming division was preserved at all—but even then, the handheld product line was ultimately scrapped.

MK Tech was the true culprit.

Even more detestable than Gamestar Electronic Entertainment.

At least Gamestar competed with strong game quality.

MK Tech, on the other hand, had dominated the market through a completely different industry, forcefully muscling into gaming—something that was much harder to accept.

...

...

Even Hayakawa himself had no fondness for MK Tech, let alone any interest in cooperating with them.

He shook his head. "That would make us look too petty. We're still an international corporation, after all. No need to sweat the small stuff. But... I'll admit, they really are persistent, pushing for a partnership like this."

The assistant gave a cold laugh. "Those guys are dreaming. After what they've done to us, they still think we'd want to work with them? I honestly don't get what's going through their heads."

Hayakawa replied, "What else could it be? Profit. Only the promise of profit could keep them coming back like this."

The assistant asked curiously, "President, if you put aside the history between us and MK Tech, would you consider working with them?"

Hayakawa shook his head. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because we don't need to. Now, tell me—what kind of company are we?"

The assistant thought for a moment. "A comprehensive leader in the electronics industry."

Hayakawa smiled. "Exactly. So, if we're a comprehensive electronics giant, why should we partner with anyone?"

"Then... you're saying..."

Hayakawa looked out the window. "If those MK Tech people hadn't come here, I probably wouldn't have realized there was such a huge market out there waiting to be tapped. In a way, I should be thanking them."

Then he turned around and said, "If smartphones and handheld games are starting to merge, why don't we combine them from the start? With our capabilities, we can develop our own phones, create our own games, and even publish them ourselves. We might be one of the few companies in the world with a full end-to-end production pipeline. Why not use that to our advantage?"

The assistant's eyes widened.

Hayakawa's smile grew even brighter.

In truth, the visit from MK Tech's reps had merely served as a wake-up call—reminding him of the deepening connection between smartphones and gaming.

And from observing the partnership between Gamestar Electronic Entertainment and Facebook, he got his inspiration.

Why couldn't we make smartphones and games too?

Especially when it came to games like Candy Fun Match—as someone with experience in game development, Hayakawa could easily tell the game wasn't technically complex at all.

He could absolutely develop similar products in-house and keep all the profits—far better than splitting them with MK Tech.

Of course, there was an even deeper reason: MK Tech had nearly wiped out Surei's gaming business.

Surei Electronics still held a grudge.

From any angle, Hayakawa would never consider partnering with MK Tech.

Even working with Gamestar Electronic Entertainment was preferable—but never MK Tech.

Actually... working with Gamestar might not be a bad idea either.

Sure, doing everything solo was bold, but not necessarily guaranteed to succeed.

But he'd noticed—everyone who had partnered with Gamestar had succeeded.

The relationship between Surei and Gamestar was complex: part rivalry, part alliance.

To this day, Surei remained a long-term customer of the Unreal Engine, still its biggest client.

So their relationship was already far better than whatever MK Tech had.

If he really needed a partner, Gamestar would be a great option.

The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a solid plan.

Yes, perhaps in the near future, it was worth reaching out to Gamestar Electronic Entertainment.

"President, since you've decided to do this yourself, can we just flat-out reject MK Tech now?"

"Of course not. That would make them suspicious. Let them think we're still weighing the offer. Right now, MK Tech is still focused on Gamestar. Let them keep focusing there. We'll stay in the shadows for now."

Hayakawa had a plan.

Surei's smartphone division was only halfway through development—not yet strong enough to compete with MK Tech. It was best not to reveal their intentions too early.

So the MK Tech negotiators would continue to be left hanging.

Sure, MK Tech might grow suspicious of Surei's motives, but at first they would likely assume it was just due to the long-standing grudge—not that Surei was secretly building a vertically integrated empire.

By the time they figured it out, Surei would be ready—and could strike without warning.

Gamestar and Facebook formed one power bloc. MK Tech was another.

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Adding Surei to the mix?

Three titans battling it out would be far more exciting than just two.

Hayakawa instructed his assistant, "Have all staff strictly protect company confidentiality. No leaks. Anyone caught leaking even a little bit will face multimillion-dollar penalties. Keep our plans under absolute secrecy. As for those MK Tech guys, just keep them waiting. If they get impatient, send a mid-level manager with no authority to talk circles around them—anything to keep them off track and distracted."

Once the assistant left, Hayakawa returned to his desk and pulled out a smartphone.

It was, unmistakably, a Facebook phone.

He looked at it with open admiration.

"This Takayuki is truly a genius... Myron Case must be having a hell of a time trying to compete with him," Hayakawa muttered.

He couldn't help but recall the most intense days of competition with Gamestar.

No matter how much he leveraged Surei's might as an electronics titan, he'd never been able to take a piece of Gamestar's gaming market share.

And now, Takayuki had a new opponent: Myron Case.

Hayakawa found himself almost sympathizing with Myron.