Building a Gaming Empire In 1984

"Sir, our station is currently negotiating a program partnership with GAMENOVA. I believe the ratings…"

"That's exactly why I'm calling you! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

On the other end of the line was an executive from the parent broadcasting company responsible for overseeing Channel 29. His tone was explosive and he showed absolutely no mercy towards the network's worst-performing affiliate.

"I told you to go buy the broadcasting rights for some local boxing matches! Why the hell did you go looking for a video game company? Are you out of your mind?"

"Do you realize magazines have already reported this? My coworkers have been laughing at me all day because of it!"

Sweat poured down McCoy's forehead as he endured the barrage.

"I think GAMENOVA's program proposal is genuinely innovative. And with the audience they can bring in, it's worth trying. Maybe…"

"Maybe? Maybe next month headquarters shuts down Channel 29 altogether, and then we're all screwed! Do you seriously think the people watching TV are a bunch of nerds glued to their NovaPockets?!"

Bang!

The call was abruptly terminated before McCoy could offer another word in defense.

The assistant waiting outside the office only opened the door after confirming the call had truly ended. Once he saw McCoy set down the receiver, he cautiously entered and escorted Sam inside.

McCoy finally let out a long breath. At last, GAMENOVA's contract had arrived.

Looking at the document in his hands he was shocked, it was a contract that could be practically described as highway robbery, but he still signed it without any hesitation. He was hardly in a position to be picky anymore.

After Sam left with the completed paperwork, the assistant finally approached to satisfy his curiosity. Judging from McCoy's expression alone, he could already tell the terms weren't particularly favorable, at least not for Channel 29.

"Sir, how much is GAMENOVA paying? What's the fee per episode?"

Based on his calculations, even with GAMENOVA's name attached, an experimental new program would probably cap out at fifty thousand dollars an episode, it was expensive, but still worth draining Channel 29's budget for a shot at reinvention.

McCoy shook his head.

"It's not a program sale. They're not that generous."

"Huh? Then you sold them our advertising slots? They agreed to that price?"

If it wasn't a direct program purchase, then it could only be an advertising revenue-sharing arrangement. GAMENOVA would provide the program at a heavily discounted rate in exchange for a portion of the commercial airtime.

Whether they sold those ad slots themselves or used them for their own promotions would be entirely their decision.

If that were the case, it would actually be good news for Channel 29. After all, their advertising inventory wasn't worth much to begin with.

"If it were that, we'd actually be making out pretty well."

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McCoy sighed helplessly.

"They demanded a profit-sharing model. All rebroadcast rights belong to GAMENOVA. Every brand and IP featured in the show belongs to GAMENOVA too. Channel 29 serves only as the broadcasting platform."

"The advertising revenue from that time slot gets split thirty-seventy."

"Huh? We only get thirty percent? That's robbery!"

"Seventy percent is their share. Getting thirty at all is only because Ethan happened to like me."

The assistant stared blankly at him. How was this any different from selling the station outright?

"Then aren't we basically begging for scraps?"

"Yes, but it's a gamble worth taking."

McCoy sighed.

"At this rate, if we don't do something, the whole station will be out on the streets anyway."

How could he not want to fight for better terms?

"Enough standing around. Get everyone together and figure out how we're going to promote their program."

Under this arrangement, the show's success would directly determine whether Channel 29 lived or died, they had no choice but to go all in.

This was a do or die gamble.

….

Santa Clara, Hardware Division

Ethan and Vivian sat side by side, each clutching a controller while furiously mashing inputs. On the screen was a test demo still deep in development.

"No, Ethan... it's too fast. I can't take it anymore."

Sweat formed on Vivian's forehead as her thumb struggled to spin circles on the joystick.

Whether intentionally or not, the character Ethan had given her, Mai Shiranui, seemed to require circular motions for nearly every special move.

Even her super move, Waterbird Dance, demanded two full rotations.

"I'm exhausted too. Let's take a break and continue after we recover."

Ethan let out a long breath and tossed the controller aside. They'd been testing primarily on arcade hardware. Only after returning to the NovaBox version did he truly appreciate the enormous difference between a home controller and an arcade stick.

Originally, he'd assumed that adding a graphics enhancement chip to the cartridge would make porting The King of Fighters to consoles relatively easy. Now it seemed the real limitation wasn't graphics at all, it was the input feel.

Even if KOF never received a console version, Street Fighter players still needed a way to replicate the arcade experience at home.

"Gerald, now do you see what I mean?"

Stretching his aching thumb, Ethan walked over to Gerald.

"NovaBox hasn't had any major new peripherals lately. This is the perfect opportunity to develop one."

The gamepad was Gerald's pride and joy. While manufacturing limitations prevented it from using modern analog stick technology, it was still unmatched among contemporary controllers.

As the designer responsible for the device, Gerald understood that Ethan wasn't nitpicking. To improve comfort and reduce size, NovaBox's joystick wasn't designed like an arcade stick. Instead of requiring an entire hand, it could be controlled solely with the player's left thumb.

What Gerald once considered a major advantage had suddenly become a liability in fighting games. The problem wasn't merely thumb fatigue.

While watching Ethan and Vivian play, he'd noticed it himself. The joystick's return to center time and longer travel distance compared to a D-pad made rapid inputs significantly harder.

The difference might only be ten or twenty milliseconds. But in a game where actions were measured frame by frame, ten milliseconds could change everything.

"So you're proposing an arcade style controller for NovaBox?"

Gerald walked over to the testing arcade cabinet. The request itself wasn't complicated. In fact, it wouldn't even require a new production line. They could practically rip the controls out of an arcade cabinet, add a plastic shell, and call it a day.

GAMENOVA's hardware interfaces were already fully compatible. If it plugged in, it would work.

"That's one option. But we can also create something different."

For gamers, peripherals were what sneakers were to professional athletes. Keyboards, controllers, headsets, in the future world of esports, they'd all become major sponsorship categories.

Building a peripheral ecosystem could diversify GAMENOVA's revenue streams even further.

"We could eliminate the joystick entirely, " Ethan smiled, "and replace it with four independent directional buttons."

"I call it the Hitbox."

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