Chapter 350: Some Kind of War
On the flip side...
Rather, the video game market side...
It would seem that Creed Entertainment was about to be busy as well.
While the situation involving Creed Comics is hidden amongst a booming facade, Creed Games was going to be confronted out in the open by its console-making competitor.
The one and only Nintendo.
At the very least, the dynamics of the comic bubble could still be discernable.
Nintendo's drive and motivation, however, were quite the mystery.
Do they really think that their dwarfed Nintendo Entertainment System has a chance against the Creed Chaos System?
------
Nintendo's answer.
They do...
They really do...
Not.
They really do not think that they have a chance.
But what else can they do?
They had to do it!
"Are you really sure about this, Arakawa?" Howard Lincoln asked in worry. "It's going to be an uphill battle, you know."
"What can we do?" Minoru Arakawa, despite being a Nintendo president, had no choice. "Orders are orders. Especially if it's from my father-in-law."
They were just Nintendo of America. The people behind Nintendo of Japan were the ones calling the shot.
"That's just it. Aren't you his son-in-law?" Lincoln saw a chance. "Can't you or your wife convince him to see how futile this next move is?"
"Then my father-in-law, Hiroshi Yamauchi, wouldn't be THE Hiroshi Yamauchi if he was to back down so easily." Arakawa smiled meekly. "You should all know that he is this way already. He's the one that kept on pushing us not to lose faith in the NES."
Everyone heavily involved in that endeavor could only show a pained grimace.
"And..." Even Howard Lincoln remembered but remembering hurts. "... where did that get us?"
"It got us to New York." Arakawa affirmed... weakly. "Just New York."
"Ah yes... New York." Lincoln reminisced. Reminiscing hurt as well. "Our proudest achievement."
How happy they were that they finally showed that city what they're made of.
How happier they felt when they thought they could move on to the next cities and the rest of these United States.
Then all of that happiness was wiped out.
Something about that month of February, the city of Los Angeles, freaking Creed Games just didn't agree with them.
Bam!
The momentum they had. Swiped up within just a couple of days' notice.
All their hard work. Gone.
Gosh! That still stung!
Even Arakawa was depressed when he thought back on it.
"It hurts but I'll have you know that my father-in-law took the greatest brunt of it." Investing in a $50 million publicity plan that panned out will do that to a person.
"Still, he was dedicated to turning it around. A business-focused person like him even took up programming and computers just to study the enemy." It had to be noted that despite Nintendo being a video game company, its great president has no interest in video games and their development himself.
He just likes 'Go', so it is quite a miracle that he even did what he did.
"He was quite dissatisfied with how his team was getting nowhere with the Creed console that he took it himself to do the job." Arakawa really put his wife's father on a pedestal here.
"And..." Lincoln, the ever-cynical, just had to probe. "... what happened differently?"
"Nothing." Admittedly, Arakawa was just painting the man in a greater light. Coloring over what really happened.
Truth be told, the great Nintendo president suffered the same fate as others.
If his experts can't crack it, how could a novice like him even do it?
Like the employees he's disparaged, Hiroshi Yamauchi could only look blankly at a dark monitor filled with green-red dancing characters.
Not knowing what to do.
"Nothing?" Lincoln had sassy sarcasm. "I heard that the man now hates anything colored red or green. Even grass. That's not nothing."
Arakawa could only look down. To think that the Yamauchi shame reached this far in America.
"Alright, alright. Don't fret too much about that." Don Kingsborough had enough and just had to intervene. "You guys are being too negative here."
"I'll have to remind you that it's not just your company that's taking a stake in this directive. My Worlds of Wonder is the one taking the risk with the whole distribution."
Kingsborough really didn't think that he'd get to work with these Nintendo guys again.
The last meeting didn't turn out well, after all. Having a glaring Creed problem just does that to you.
Maybe it's precisely because of that glaring Creed problem that Kingsborough sought them out.
He was the kind that's petty enough to work with the NES to get back at Atari. Wouldn't working on the NES apply as payback for the annoying Creed as well?
It was one console against two shitbirds and Kingsborough liked those odds.
Anyways, those odds would only be more in favor if he plays along with these Nintendo people, so he really had to stop these guys from ribbing on each other.
"So, before you continue dawdling and squabbling with each other, can't you hear out the strategy that I have in hand?"
"Then you just might get to understand why this supposedly-dreary console of yours has a chance."
Fortunately, he got their attention with that. Or maybe they just didn't want to continue their embarrassing charade any further.
"Erm... we're listening." Arakawa affirmed for his team.
"In all technicalities, you're NES really can't do squat when up against the Creed Chaos System." Kingsborough continued lest they delve back into what they were doing. "Fortunately for you, I'm just the kind that's bold enough to say that you guys have a shot."
"How so?"
-------
In all actuality, Kingsborough's strategy was actually quite simple.
Simple in a way... 'cause he just took pages from Creed's very own handbook.
The Ruxpin-Hobbes phenomenon still remained poignant in his memory.
Just as how the Creed Chaos System's NES swiping was still aching the joints of Nintendo.
Since it's a collaboration between WoW and Nintendo, why not mix up Creed's respective strategy towards them against Creed itself?
Well... it may seem confusing but when implemented, it actually made a whole lot of sense.
So, they simply implemented it after a round of corroboration and talking it out.
They worked out the kinks and fingers crossed, everyone will get what they rightfully deserve.
World of Wonder will get their marketing retribution.
Nintendo and the NES will take back their usurped position.
While Creed Entertainment, Creed Toys, Creed Games, and their Creed Chaos System will get the smackdown and humbling that they should have long been given.
------
Of course, some were still pretty doubtful. Especially Nintendo personnel themselves.
They didn't get stuck for many months without reason, after all.
Then again, the decision was final and they could only stick to it.
As they say... if you can't beat them, join them.
Wait... that's wrong...
If you can't convince them, play along.
Yeah... that seemed about right.
Nintendo of Japan ordered. Nintendo of America acquiesced. Worlds of Wonder was there to help.
It was already too late to back down with all that.
Everyone in that line-up was really prepared to wage some kind of war, after all.
The kind involving game consoles.
Which is kind of weird but it is what it is.