"Three dollars! Did I hear that right?"
"He's insane! Is he trying to take on the entire world, or does he think he's the world's savior?"
"Just three dollars in royalties per game? How does their company even make money? Do they run on air?"
The reporters swarmed like sharks smelling blood, their eyes gleaming green as their pens furiously scribbled across their notebooks, desperate to capture every pore on Hawkins' face.
Meanwhile, the industry analysts quickly regained their composure, their minds racing.
This model—it was ruthless.
It wasn't just challenging Sega and Nintendo; it was undermining the very foundations of these giants!
The "razor and blade" model in the gaming industry relied on extracting profits through exorbitant software royalties. 3DO's move was a direct strike at the industry's jugular vein.
For game developers, this was an irresistible temptation.
After pouring their heart and soul into developing a game, why should platform owners take a 30% cut of the profits? Now someone was saying, "Just give me three dollars." Even a fool would know which choice to make.
For hardware manufacturers, the prospects were equally enticing.
No more kowtowing to Nintendo and Sega, no more being mere assemblers. They could produce next-generation consoles under their own brands and establish their own distribution channels. What immense autonomy!
"Madman, he's a complete madman!" an analyst muttered, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "But damn it—this is too tempting!"
The *Wall Street Journal* reporter who had just scribbled "Apple's Big Nothingburger" in his notebook swiftly flipped to a new page, his eyes shining as he began scribbling furiously.
A new headline formed in his mind: *CES Erupts: 3DO Declares War on the Global Console Industry!*
"Mr. Hawkins!" a reporter shouted, nearly leaping from his seat, his hand raised high. "Your vision is incredibly ambitious, but a standard requires hardware to support it! Can you tell us which hardware partners have already been secured? When can we expect to see the first 3DO Console?"
The question struck at the heart of everyone's concerns.
No matter how grand the vision, it still needed a pan to cook it.
Hawkins seemed to have anticipated this question, his confident smile almost dazzling.
"I understand your skepticism," he said, wagging a finger gently. "But trust me, no one can resist the future. We are currently engaged in very deep and very productive discussions with several of the world's top consumer electronics giants. All I can tell you is that in the near future, you will see a 3DO Console on store shelves, bearing the brand of a company you know well and trust implicitly."
His words were airtight, tantalizingly vague yet revealing nothing concrete.
In the crowd, a middle-aged man in a dark suit sat rigidly upright, looking utterly unremarkable.
This was Kenji Aso, Vice President of Matsushita Electric.
At that moment, he was struggling to control his facial muscles, trying to appear just like the other shocked industry peers around him—merely an ordinary attendee captivated by the grand unveiling.
Beneath the table, his hand was clenched into a tight fist.
*It's done!*
That American, Hawkins, really knows his stuff!
This speech, this hype—it's absolutely perfect!
He could feel the probing gazes around him. Analysts and reporters were frantically speculating about which "top consumer electronics giant" Hawkins was referring to. Sony? Philips? Or—Matsushita?
Kenji Aso's lips twitched slightly as he forcibly suppressed the urge to stand up and declare, "It is I!"
*No, it's not time yet.*
Jumping in now would steal the spotlight, but it would also immediately make Matsushita the target of Sega and Nintendo's combined assault.
The optimal moment for Matsushita's grand entrance would be when market enthusiasm and anticipation had reached their peak.
He even pretended to lean over and whisper to his subordinate beside him, his face carefully displaying a mix of astonishment and cautious consideration—the very image of a shrewd businessman evaluating a promising new opportunity.
As the press conference concluded, Hawkins stepped down from the stage amidst thunderous applause.
The reporters scattered like a flock of startled birds, rushing madly toward the public phone booths outside the venue. They were desperate to break this earth-shattering news to their newsrooms before any of their rivals could.
That evening, the air in Chicago carried not only the scent of money and perfume but also a faint whiff of electronic gunpowder.
In the hotel's executive lounge, reporters gathered in small groups. The local evening news was playing on the television, featuring a special report on the day's CES highlights.
"Apple CEO John Sculley unveiled his grand vision for the Personal Digital Assistant this afternoon. This device, named Newton, is expected to redefine personal computing..."
On the screen, Sculley was gesturing animatedly, his face radiating confidence.
A suppressed chuckle rippled through the lounge.
"A grand vision? I like that phrase. It sounds much more sophisticated than 'pie in the sky,'" one reporter said, raising his glass in a mock toast to the television screen.
His companion, a reporter from the *Wall Street Journal*, took a sip of his whiskey, the ice clinking crisply in his glass. "I sent my draft back to the newsroom, and the editor replied with just four words: 'Investigate further and report again.' They're not interested in something that doesn't even have a shadow."
The news anchor's tone suddenly shifted.
"However, the real storm today comes from an obscure new company—3D0! Its founder, Electronic Arts legend Trip Hawkins, has dropped a bombshell on the entire gaming industry!"
The screen switched to show Hawkins' confident, even arrogant face, with the bold text "Only $3 Royalty Per Game" displayed behind him.
The anchor's voice rose an octave: "This is an unprecedented, disruptive business model! Will it completely rewrite the rules of the gaming industry? When will we see the first 3DO Console? And who exactly is the 'global top-tier consumer electronics giant' Mr. Hawkins is referring to? Sony? Philips? Tonight, the entire tech world is speculating on this mystery—"
The atmosphere in the lounge instantly ignited.
"This guy is a genius at stirring up trouble!"
"My editor just called and told me to cancel all my appointments tomorrow and focus on digging up dirt on 3D0, especially that mysterious hardware partner!"
"Poor Sega," someone suddenly sighed. "I almost got crushed at their booth this morning. I was halfway through my article, and now it's all wasted."
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