Chapter 70: A Chance Encounter with the Future

The future richest man in Japan was selling software packages, and even actively approaching people to make a sale.

To Seiko, the scene had the same peculiar charm as seeing a future tech mogul selling wares from a stall in a marketplace.

However, unlike someone just hawking discs, Son Masayoshi’s software business was doing quite well.

In the coming years, Software Bank would at one point occupy seventy percent of the Japanese software distribution market—just as its name, SoftBank, implied, the company truly started out by selling software.

Of course, this achievement was certainly not bad, but it wouldn’t be enough to make Son Masayoshi the richest man, especially since there were so few computers in all of Japan at this time.

For Son Masayoshi to truly become a giant in the investment industry, he would have to wait until 1995, when he invested two million US dollars in a small company called “Yahoo.”

Seiko accepted the business card from salesman Son Masayoshi and bought a game from him called Xanadu.

Xanadu may not be well-known overseas, but in Japan at this time, it was incredibly famous.

It and its predecessor, Dragon Slayer, were considered the progenitors of Japanese action RPGs.

Its developer, Falcom, was like a legendary training ground for the Japanese gaming industry, producing a huge wave of talent and game design concepts—though this exodus of talent was not exactly voluntary on Falcom’s part.

Some of the more famous alumni include: Tetsuya Takahashi, the creator of Xenoblade; the composer Hiroyuki Sawano; and the animation director Makoto Shinkai.

Just opposite the NEC computer shop was a store called Koei—yes, that Koei, the game company. The store was filled with various samples of automated vending machines.

After buying the computer, Seiko wanted to go take a look at the vending machines.

Salesman Old Son—oh no, at this point, he was still Little Son—had a strong sense of customer service.

Even though Seiko had only bought one game from him, he still proactively offered her additional service.

Little Son asked what kind of vending machine Seiko was planning to buy.

Seiko thought for a moment, then used the Xanadu game box to gesture. “I need a vending machine that can sell boxed toys about this length and width, but slightly thicker.”

“A vending machine for toys?” Little Son was a bit surprised. It was the first time he’d ever heard of using a vending machine to sell toys. “Usually, that’s for capsule toy machines or crane games, right?”

But he quickly gave his advice. “Koei mainly makes vending machines for drinks, cigarettes, and chewing gum. Their machines have rather fixed functions, so it might be hard to find a model that suits your needs.”

“Then which shop should I go to to buy a vending machine?”

The shops in Den Den Town were numerous and varied, and it wouldn’t be easy for Seiko to find her target on her own.

Seeing that Son Masayoshi seemed very familiar with the area, Seiko asked for his guidance.

Little Son thought for a moment and asked, “How many vending machines do you need to buy?”

“Does that make a difference?” Seiko asked in return.

Little Son smiled. “Your needs are quite specific. I estimate that there isn’t a single vending machine in this entire electronics street that’s specifically designed for this type of toy. If you only need one or two, I’d suggest you buy a similar one, like a vending machine for instant noodles, and modify it slightly. It should work, and you’d save some money.”

“If you need a larger quantity, I’d recommend you go to Toyo Vending Machine Company. They offer customization services and can design a vending machine specifically to your requirements, but the initial design fee will be higher.”

“Initially, we might need to order about five hundred units,” Seiko gave a rough estimate.

“That’s quite a lot,” Little Son said. “I know where Toyo Company is. Let me show you the way.”

“That would be a great help, thank you,” Seiko said with a slight bow.

“You’re welcome,” Little Son smiled. “Toyo Company just bought a batch of Cisco software from me this year. Bringing them some business is my way of returning the favor.”

As they chatted on the way, Little Son casually asked what kind of toys Seiko and her friend were selling.

Seiko also answered casually, “Electric toys.”

“Electric toys?”

Little Son naturally thought of Tamiya’s Mini 4WD cars and Hasbro’s electric Transformers. He didn’t think much of it and continued to talk about a field he was familiar with. “I’m quite interested in toys myself. When I was a kid, I often pestered my parents to buy me toys. However, I believe that as times change, video games will take up a large portion of young people’s playtime in the future. Although video games and toys are not the same thing, they are in competition with each other. It’s very likely that video games will encroach upon the toy market…”

As Little Son was speaking, he noticed that the expressions on Seiko and Saori’s faces were a bit odd.

He guessed that his words might have displeased them, since they were in the business of selling toys.

So, he quickly put on the brakes and changed his tune to smooth things over, smiling as he said:

“Of course, I’m not saying that toys will have no room to survive. There will always be people who love toys, like me, for example. Even at my age, I still quite enjoy playing with toys. If I happen to come across your toy vending machines on the street in the future, I probably won’t be able to resist buying one or two to play with.”

Saori suppressed a laugh and said with a straight face, “There’s no need, Mr. Son. You’ve helped us out, so we can send you a toy for free in the future. Right, Seiko?”

“Yes, that’s right.” Seiko also nodded.

“Well, thank you then,” Little Son accepted with a smile.

The employees at Toyo Company were indeed quite familiar with Little Son. As soon as he walked in, several people greeted him proactively.

Just as he had said, Toyo Company’s custom vending machine business was also very well-established.

An employee from Toyo first showed Seiko and Saori several designs they had previously created for clients, letting them choose a style that best suited their preferences.

He meticulously recorded Seiko’s requirements and even created models of toy boxes of similar size and weight on the spot based on her description, to use as a reference.

“We can have a design and a prototype ready in about three weeks.”

After she paid half of the design fee and a deposit, the Toyo Company employee gave his assurance.

“There’s no need to rush that much…”

Seiko’s “toys” themselves hadn’t even gone into production yet, mainly because she had yet to find a suitable procurement channel for miniature DC vibrating motors.

In a later era, these micro-motors would be so cheap they’d cost just a few dollars each, but in this era, they were surprisingly hard to buy. They were either too big, too expensive, or not durable enough…

Currently, Seiko could only consider choosing the most balanced option among a host of shortcomings.

“Thank you for your help.”

After leaving Toyo Company, Seiko once again expressed her gratitude to Son Masayoshi.

“It was nothing,” Son Masayoshi bowed slightly to the two of them and joked, “Just as long as you two don’t forget about my toy in the future.”

“Don’t you worry,” Seiko smiled. “We absolutely won’t forget.”