ca-book Chapter 37 Notebook Host
Chapter 37 Notebook Host
The order was placed in the afternoon, and the goods arrived early the next morning.
Henry rolled up his sleeves and personally helped the delivery workers unload the four new Metal Gear Solid machines from the train.
"call"
He breathed a sigh of relief, finally managing to position all the machines against the wall.
But when he plugged it in, the arcade machine didn't respond at all.
"Mr. Henry, here is the baseboard for Metal Gear Solid. Please confirm receipt."
The deliveryman handed over a well-packaged cardboard box with the words "METAL GEAR" printed on it.
"Huh? So after all that, I have to assemble it myself?"
Henry took the cardboard box, opened it, and inside were four neatly stacked arcade boards.
In addition, there is a product list.
[List]
[Universal Arcade Cabinets (Small) x4]: □ All Included
[Metal Gear x4]: □ All items have been acquired
【price】
[Arcade machine $4800]
Shipping fee: $100
Additional service fee: $100
[Special Offer Discount - $500]
Total: $4500 (paid)
His gaze lingered on the arcade cabinets and baseboards shown on the list, especially the word "universal".
Normally, he would pay for the entire arcade machine when ordering it.
"Sir, what does 'universal chassis' mean here? Didn't I buy four pre-built PCs?"
Henry stopped the deliveryman who was about to leave and pointed to the contents of the manifest, asking him a question.
"GAMENOVA has improved its manufacturing process, so there will be no more complete systems; everything will be plug-and-play."
The delivery workers, eager to move on to the next batch of goods, gave impatient and perfunctory replies.
Without offering any further explanation, he simply closed the compartment and climbed into the driver's seat.
Henry stood there stunned for a long time, watching the Silicon Oasis delivery truck speed away.
He turned and went back inside, trying to remove the arcade machine's cover.
The original location where the substrate should have been installed has been replaced with a fixing slot. Judging from the distribution of the clips, it should support several different sizes of boards.
The power connector extends from the ground, while the video cable hangs down from above.
It's simple and clear, and you can understand it at a glance.
Henry had a slight thought, tried to install the circuit board, and then powered it on again.
'buzz……'
As the noise from powering on flickered, the screen indeed lit up.
The title METAL GEAR appears above, and the entire image consists of the protagonist Snake's face, holding a pistol with a silencer.
Good morning, Henry.
"Bought a new phone?"
Henry heard the voices of two young men behind him, their tone filled with surprise.
They didn't choose the store on 14th Street simply because they preferred Henry, the more humane store manager.
"Yes, METAL GEAR, would you like to try it out? It's only 50 cents a game."
Henry smiled politely, quickly went around to the storeroom, took out a few new stools, and carefully wiped them clean.
"Of course, Mr. Henry, of course."
Upon hearing that it was a new game, the two were eager to try it out and went to the new machines.
Insert a coin, enter, and Snake lands in the forest by parachute.
Henry brought over some snacks and drinks, and then moved a stool over to sit down and watch.
……
"Use grenades, Henry! Use grenades!"
The streetlights were already on, and the sun had already set sometime earlier.
ArcadeArea was packed with people, all gathered around the four new machines, shouting in waves.
Henry rolled up his sleeves and focused intently on his machine.
The screen displays a futuristic-looking mecha, known as 'METAL GEAR'.
He controlled Snake, weaving and dodging across the map, constantly shifting between various cover positions.
"boom!"
He pulled out another rocket, circled around from behind the container, and accurately hit the huge alloy equipment.
"Waaah!"
When Henry actually defeated Metal Gear, the entire arcade erupted in cheers.
Henry, beaming, stood up and turned to the equally excited crowd.
I never expected to be the first person to clear all 13 main story levels.
"Everyone! ArcadeArea is open 24 hours today! Drinks and snacks are all free!"
"Long live!"
Henry laughed heartily and gave up his seat to the next player who had been waiting.
He went to the phone and dialed the number for Silicon Oasis without hesitation.
"Hello, this is ArcadeArea. Do you still have Metal Gear in stock? Yes?! I'll order four more!"
……
"Lin, do you really think investing heavily in home console R&D right now is a good idea?"
Gerald put down the N language specification document in his hand, a hint of worry in his eyes.
While the huge success of Metal Gear brought GAMENOVA a lot of revenue, this money can only cover the earlier research and development costs so far.
If they want to continue investing in the research and development of a complete home game console, their recently recovered cash flow will likely be strained again.
He glanced at the end of the N language documentation.
With his keen eye, he could clearly see that this language was prepared for their future self-developed mainframe.
"That's natural."
Lin Lixin nodded.
A home console was inevitable, and now, with the help of Gerald, Vivian, and Ho Kwok-yuen, the project can finally begin.
"Gerald, you've played some of the games we've made, and I'm sure you understand how much more fun it would be to play them at home!"
While the first few installments weren't quite clear, after witnessing Lin Lixin's complete and well-preserved 200-level run in Metal Gear Solid, Gerald fully realized what kind of monster Lin Lixin truly was.
At the same time, he also realized that Lin Lixin's ambitions were not in the arcade game sector at all.
No matter how you look at it, Metal Gear Solid is a game more suited to home consoles.
Whether it's saving saves or gameplay designs that require you to calm down and think carefully, they are more suitable for this medium that has been rejected by the times.
"Lin, of course I understand. What I'm worried about is the economic benefits, Mr. He, what do you think?"
Gerrard looked at Ho Kwok-yuen, hoping he would stand on his side.
In his view, arcade games are the current king of games.
He was so badly burned by Atari that he hated the Atari 2600, the machine that ended the history of video games in North America, to the core.
He Guoyuan pondered for a moment, then his eyes met Lin Lixin's.
Unlike Gerrard, he was not only an engineer but also a businessman with a keen business sense.
"Are you trying to compete with Nintendo's Famicom?"
Lin Lixin smiled and nodded.
In 1985, the American version of the FC, also known as the NES, was launched in the North American market, achieving a staggering sales record of over 3300 million units across North America.
Whoever can dominate the players' living rooms and bedrooms will win the future.
After the development of several hit arcade games, Lin Lixin was convinced that they were ready.
Opportunities have been created in terms of both technology and funding.
He took out a document that he had prepared beforehand.
【NovaBox】