"Oh? So have you decided to stay at Nintendo or accept Galaxy Games' invitation?"
Although Yokoi had already guessed the answer, he still asked the question out loud.
"Senior, I've decided to leave Nintendo and join Galaxy Games,"Miyamoto said seriously."It may be a risky decision, but I believe in myself. With my help, Galaxy Games won't go bankrupt — it will grow, step by step."
"Good! Having that kind of confidence is a good thing."
Yokoi smiled and patted Miyamoto heavily on the shoulder before joking,
"But if Galaxy Games really does go bankrupt one day and you end up accomplishing nothing there, don't blame me for giving you bad advice."
"Senior, if it ever comes to that, it'll be because I lacked ability. That would be my fault — how could I ever blame you?"
"Relax, I was just joking."
Yokoi chuckled and added,
"I'm actually quite curious about this Lin Baicheng you mentioned. Do me a favor — ask him if I can meet him sometime."
"Of course, Senior."
Miyamoto agreed readily. It was a simple enough request.
After that, the two men dropped the topic and moved on to lighter conversation.
Having made his decision, Miyamoto didn't hesitate any longer.The next day, he contacted Yamada Hideyoshi, told him he had made up his mind, and said he wanted to meet Lin Baicheng in person — also mentioning that his mentor wished to come along.
Lin Baicheng immediately agreed, instructing Yamada to arrange a dinner that evening. He also expressed his willingness to meet Miyamoto's senior.
That night, they met again at the same kaiseki restaurant, only this time, Gunpei Yokoi was there too.
At first, Lin Baicheng didn't recognize him. After all, Yokoi had passed away in the 1990s, long before Lin was even born. Lin only knew that Gunpei Yokoi and Shigeru Miyamoto were key figures in Nintendo's rise during the 1980s and 1990s, but he had never seen their photos before his rebirth — so not recognizing him was understandable.
When Miyamoto introduced his mentor, Lin was stunned.So this was that Gunpei Yokoi — the man who, together with Miyamoto, would shape Nintendo's golden era.
If he could recruit Yokoi too, then Nintendo's future dominance in the gaming world might never come to pass.
"Mr. Yokoi, I truly didn't expect to meet you under such circumstances. This is a real surprise for me."
Lin spoke sincerely, a bit emotional.
"I've heard of your achievements, Yokoi-san. You're well known for your brilliance in hardware design. I had actually thought of inviting you to Galaxy Games one day — but since our company is still small and can't afford large-scale hardware development yet, I decided to wait."
"Ah, I'm hardly worthy of such praise," Yokoi waved his hand modestly.He wasn't just being polite — at this point in his career, he had only a few minor patents and wasn't well-known even within the industry, much less outside it.
"You're too humble, Yokoi-san," Lin smiled."In fact, I was planning to wait until our company had around 200 million Hong Kong dollars, roughly 10 billion yen, before formally inviting you to join us as head of hardware development. I didn't expect to meet you this soon. Fate, perhaps. I hope, when that day comes, you'll at least consider my offer?"
Yokoi smiled faintly, saying nothing.Although he was somewhat unhappy at Nintendo lately, he had no plans to leave — and even if he did, he'd likely go to a big, well-funded company, not a small startup just finding its footing.
Lin continued,
"You might already know about Galaxy Games' situation — we've only just entered the video game industry. So far, we've only developed Hong Kong Blocks. Still, I have complete confidence in myself and in the company. In two years, we'll definitely have 10 billion yen in assets. When that happens, I hope you'll give us serious consideration."
"You certainly sound confident, Lin-san."
Yokoi looked at him with genuine surprise.For a company to grow to that scale within two years — if it actually happened — would be extraordinary.
This young man intrigued him. Thinking of his own frustrations at Nintendo, Yokoi decided to test Lin a bit.
"Lin-san, suppose I did join your company. I'd require an annual R&D budget of at least 1 billion yen, written into the contract. Would you still want me then?"
"Absolutely. I'd even sign a binding contract guaranteeing it — and if I fail to provide that budget, I'll compensate you with 1 billion yen out of my own pocket. How about that?"
Lin answered without hesitation.To him, 1 billion yen — roughly 20 million Hong Kong dollars — would be a small price to pay once Galaxy Games reached that 10-billion-yen level.
"You certainly aim big, Lin-san. In that case, I'll look forward to seeing you achieve it in two years."
Yokoi smiled, genuinely impressed now.If Galaxy Games could really pull it off, he would gladly join. With ample research funding, he could finally bring many of his ideas to life — designs that Nintendo's conservative board had always stifled.
"Please do, Yokoi-san," Lin said confidently, then turned to Miyamoto."Now, Miyamoto-san — will you be joining Galaxy Games? I'd be honored to have you."
"President Lin — yes, I've decided to accept your offer and join the Galaxy Games family!"
Even his form of address had changed. Seeing Lin and Yokoi's discussion had strengthened his conviction — he wanted to help Lin build the company's future, and one day, work alongside his mentor again.
"Welcome aboard, Miyamoto. With your talent, our company's future will only shine brighter."
Though Lin had already expected this outcome, he was still overjoyed.
"As for your compensation," Lin continued, "your base salary will be twice what you currently earn at Nintendo. And once you lead a project of your own, you'll receive 1%–5% of that game's profits — as long as the game keeps earning or until you leave the company."
After all, if you want a horse to run fast, you have to feed it well. Lin didn't mind paying generously — it was the best way to keep talented people loyal and motivated.
Yokoi raised an eyebrow at that.
"Lin-san is certainly generous," he thought to himself.
A generous boss — now that was something worth remembering.