Another world Game Developers in Japan`s 1991

After hiring two new employees on Thursday, August 20, 1991, Zaboru found himself immersed in setting up ZAGE's financial tracking system alongside Sayuri. Meanwhile, Yugo and Yuna continued their work assembling ZEPS units, improving their skills with each passing day. As for Shinsuke, he spent the day scouting strategic store locations throughout the city to sell the first batch of ZEPS consoles and game cartridges.

With that, Thursday passed, and a new day began.

Friday, August 21, 1991

Early in the morning, Zaboru received a call from Tetsuo, who informed him that his order would be ready on Sunday, August 23, and delivered to the ZAGE office early Monday morning. A smile crept onto Zaboru's face—everything was coming together. With the products secured, it was time to hold ZAGE's first official meeting.

Later that afternoon, Shinsuke returned to the office, reporting partial progress on his citywide store survey. Though he hadn't completed his scouting, he had already identified promising locations. With everyone present, Zaboru gathered his four employees—the Yamaguchi couple and the twins, Yuna and Yugo—seating them around the table.

"So, let's begin ZAGE's first official meeting," Zaboru announced.

Excited chuckles filled the room, everyone eager to discuss the company's next steps.

"As you all know," he continued, "the ZEPS consoles and 800 game cartridges—including Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Mario Bros., Excitebike, and Punch-Out!!—will be ready in two days. The delivery will arrive early Monday morning, meaning we can start preparing immediately. I've chosen these six games as the launch titles for the ZEPS. The rest of my developed games—Mega Man, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fight, and Hang-On—will be released in a second wave once we've established a foothold in the market."

He took a breath before moving on. "Now, once the products arrive, our priority will be assembling and inspecting them. Since we only have 300 consoles and 800 cartridges, this will be the responsibility of myself, Yugo, and Yuna. We need to ensure everything is properly set up and in working order before we distribute the consoles."

Zaboru looked around. "Any questions so far?"

Shinsuke raised his hand. After a nod from Zaboru, he spoke up. "Have we already decided on the exact release date? How long will assembling and testing take?"

Zaboru thought for a moment before replying. "I estimate assembly and testing will take about three weeks. Depending on our speed, it could be faster or slower. That puts us at a tentative release date of September 14."

Shinsuke shook his head. "September 14 isn't ideal. We need a brief marketing period to build hype before launch. I propose we officially release the ZEPS on September 19, giving us five days to promote it."

Zaboru rubbed his chin before nodding. "That makes sense. Alright, let's finalize September 19 as our official launch date. Now, let's discuss pricing. Sayuri-san, Shin-san, what do you think we should charge for the console and game cartridges? Given that our first production order from Saiko Machine was at a reduced cost, should we price it lower at launch?"

Shinsuke immediately shook his head. "That's not a good approach, boss. If we introduce an unknown product at a cheaper-than-expected price, customers will assume it's worth less. Once we eventually raise the price, they'll hesitate to buy, thinking another discount is around the corner. We should sell it at its normal price from the start."

Sayuri nodded in agreement. Zaboru considered the point and agreed. "Fair point. Okay, let's set it at a standard price from launch. Now, does anyone have suggestions for specific pricing?"

Yuna raised her hand. After a nod from Zaboru, she grinned and chimed in, "I think we should sell the console at a lower price while making a higher profit on the cartridges. That way, we encourage people to buy the system, knowing they'll need to purchase multiple games over time. Unlike consoles, which are a one-time purchase, game cartridges will always have demand."

Shinsuke thought for a moment, then nodded. "That's actually a smart idea."

Zaboru smiled, impressed. "That's what I was thinking as well. Well done, Yuna—I didn't expect such insight from you."

Yugo, mouth agape, turned to his sister. "Yuna, why do you have such good ideas?!"

She grinned mischievously. "Because I actually think about business, unlike you."

Yugo pouted while the others chuckled.

Shinsuke then added, "We should also offer bundle packages—deals where buying a console with multiple games results in an overall lower price. It'll encourage larger purchases upfront."

Zaboru nodded again. "Good suggestion. I also plan to introduce a special edition ZEPS in the next batch—something with a unique design and slightly higher price for collectors. Thoughts?"

Shinsuke grinned. "Collector's editions always sell. There are plenty of people who love spending extra for rare items."

Zaboru smirked. "Exactly. Now, Sayuri, based on our financials, what do you think the console and game cartridges should be priced at for a healthy profit margin?"

Sayuri flipped through her documents. "After the first discount order, our costs are:

300 ZEPS units = 1.3 million yen

100 game cartridges = 200,000 yen

That puts the production cost per ZEPS at about 4,300 yen. We should sell it to stores for 9,000 yen, with a recommended retail price of 12,000 yen. That keeps it affordable while maintaining good profits.

As for the cartridges, each costs 2,000 yen to produce. We should sell them to retailers for 6,000 yen, with a max retail price of 8,000 yen. This will give us triple the revenue per cartridge while ensuring steady profits."

Zaboru and the others took a moment to process the numbers. Then, he nodded. "That's a solid pricing strategy, Sayuri-san. Well done."

Shinsuke, proud of his wife, grinned. "I completely agree. We also need to control retail prices to avoid overpricing while ensuring both ZAGE and the retailers make fair profits."

Sayuri then added, "We should also include an insurance policy for our products. If a console malfunctions or is accidentally damaged, customers should have the option to claim repairs or replacements. I suggest allocating 5% of monthly revenue toward this insurance fund."

Zaboru nodded but raised a concern. "If the insurance budget runs out before the month ends, we can't make customers wait until the next month. Imagine buying a console, having it break by accident, and being told you have to wait weeks for a replacement. That's unacceptable and could ruin our reputation."

Sayuri smiled. "That's fair, boss. In that case, we should have an emergency reserve fund for high-priority cases. However, we also need a strict policy to prevent people from abusing the system by intentionally damaging consoles just to get replacements."

Zaboru nodded in agreement. "Good thinking. We'll draft official terms for this."

With that, the meeting wrapped up. Yugo had remained silent the entire time, but he didn't seem to care much. Everything was now set in motion.

To be continued...