Half a world away, Nintendo's president Hiroshi Yamauchi sat in the company's Kyoto headquarters, reading and re-reading his company's contract with Sony. While the men, especially Arakawa, had their trepidations, both of them prefering a partnership with Sony over the unfamiliar company Philips, it was a deal that had to be made if the SNES-CD was going to happen the way that Nintendo wanted it. It was far too risky to allow a company like Sony that much control over an icon like Mario. Philips, they were told, would give much better terms and would allow Nintendo more control over its properties, especially the highly lucrative Mario franchise, which had become one of the most recognizable in the world. Still, the stakes were too high and Sony's demands were too much. They knew the company was reneging on a deal it had already made to produce a CD add-on with Sony. The new CD add-on would help to futureproof the console against efforts by competitors, especially their growing rival Sega, to outmuscle their SNES with new technology. The console had yet to debut in North America or Europe, but the future already looked bright for the system, which had been selling well in Japan. The meeting would solidify Nintendo's new business partnership with one of the top electronics companies in the world, a partnership to design a new add-on for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Howard Lincoln and Minoru Arakawa, two high-ranking Nintendo representatives, were eating a quick breakfast in Amsterdam before their meeting with representatives from Philips later that day. But it was always going to be an uphill battle."- Bill Gates, in a 200 5 F orbes interview But I was never one to back down from a challenge. "You know, I almost thought of suing to break them up, like what happened to us in 1999. So I still have kind of a soft spot for them."- Jennifer Stigile, season 1 American Idol winner, in the Jissue of People magazine ![]() I can't call myself a gamer, but video games definitely opened the door for me. ![]() "Working with Victor and working with everyone in that industry for six great years absolutely prepared me for everything that's happened to me down the road. ![]() Certainly not a world where I'd still be playing video games."- Dan "Shoe" Hsu, managing editor of Electronic Gaming Monthly, June 2011 The Nintendo/Sony deal, the deal that shaped.practically the last 20 years of video gaming, I can't even envision a world where that deal didn't go down. "I honestly don't know where I'd be right now if Yamauchi hadn't made that phone call. Welcome to Player Two Start! This is a timeline created jointly by Nivek and myself, with contributions from many other users.
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