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Chapter 530: Bill Gates’s Curiosity
🕑 Added 2025-07-21 02:13:24 +0000 UTCZaboru and Bill Gates began talking, and Zaboru asked with a small smile, “You promoted my game for free, Bill? Is that the favor you used to get me into your Windows 94 showcase?” Bill chuckled and replied, “Well, not really — I just casually promoted it, no biggie.” Zaboru laughed softly. “Well, thanks then. I appreciate it.”
Bill Gates smiled and said, “Say, Zaboru, in terms of gaming, where do you think PC gaming stands between game consoles, arcades, and handhelds?” Zaboru paused his work, thoughtfully tapping his pen against the desk. “Like I said back then, Bill — those four things can’t really be ranked, especially handhelds and arcades. They’re two different corners of the gaming world, each with their own charm. Arcades are really fun, often packed with optimized, exciting games, and you can have a blast at an arcade center with your friends. But they come with downsides — you need coins to play, and you have to leave home just to experience them.
“As for handhelds, the main advantage is that they’re portable — you can play anywhere and everywhere, and that alone says a lot. Sure, they’re mediocre in terms of graphics, but they make up for it with convenience and charm.”
Bill Gates nodded. “I see, I understand your point. So, it’s only fair to compare home consoles to PC, right? For you, which has the most potential?” Zaboru smirked, a playful glint in his eyes. “What is this, an interrogation?” Bill Gates just chuckled warmly. “Not really — I just want to learn from the ‘Video Game Savior’ himself.” Zaboru sighed with a half-laugh. “First ‘God of Video Games,’ now ‘Video Game Savior’ — those fancy nicknames don’t really suit me.” He smiled, leaning back slightly, then said, “Okay then, Bill, I’ll give you my opinion.
“First, about console games — consoles are great, very great, maybe even the core of gaming. Why? Well, because they’re machines dedicated solely to video games. And as a gamer, you can play console games from the couch or lying down — that’s a real advantage for a lot of people. It’s also extremely easy to set up: just turn on the console, pop in the game, and play. Simple as can be. And for developers, they can optimize games more effectively because they’re working with a dedicated system, which allows for fine-tuned performance and fewer hardware surprises.”
Bill nodded and let Zaboru continue.
“But console potential is limited. Basically, a game console is just a game console. Sure, many things can be improved over time, but they’re still just gaming machines. And why is that a downside? Because it won’t let you modify the game you own or explore beyond what’s been given.” Bill Gates frowned slightly. “Could you elaborate on that?” Zaboru smiled knowingly. “Let’s say you love Tetris, right?” Bill Gates nodded, a fond smile crossing his face. “Truly one of the best games you’ve made.” Zaboru chuckled softly. “Thank you. But think about it — you play Tetris on a home console, you beat all the levels, and then you start imagining new ones, maybe even improvements. You might have the technical skill to make them, but modifying the console version is tough because consoles are closed systems by design. PCs, on the other hand, don’t have that wall. If you’re skilled, you can tweak, mod, or even rebuild parts of your games. And for me, that freedom — that ability to take a game further — is the biggest advantage of PC gaming.”
Bill Gates thought, "Wait, is it even allowed to change or modify a game? As a developer, you allow that?" Zaboru smiled and answered, "You'll see, Bill — games are art, you know? Like any other art, they need imagination. And people have all kinds of imagination, different types and levels, Bill. For example, someone might think, 'Ooh, what if there were a version of Tetris, but instead of blocks, it used space battleships?' That person, if they have the technical skill, might get excited to shape their own idea, using Tetris as a foundation. And if they persist, who knows — maybe a whole new game, with new mechanics and philosophy, could be born, Bill That's what i thought" Bill Gates’s eyes widened. "I... I never thought of it that way..." He smiled, shaking his head slightly. "You are truly impressive." This was very true; in Zaboru’s previous world, many genres had been born thanks to mods. For example, from Warcraft mods alone, entirely new types of games had emerged, like MOBA, Arena, Tower Defense, and many more, each creating ripple effects across the gaming industry and even games like Dota is started as a mod in Warcraft 3.
Zaboru chuckled and continued, “Another advantage PCs have is superior hardware. A PC can act as a top-tier arcade — like right now, it can run Diablo, which is a 32-bit game, and it’s genuinely comparable to current arcades. But the drawback is, all that good stuff comes at a price PC Prices are way different than Consoles. Another issue is that PCs are harder to set up and can intimidate newcomers. From the developer’s side, making PC games often takes extra care because every player or consumer might have a different PC setup, and you have to account for that.” Bill Gates contemplated this. “It seems like, for those drawbacks, there’s no real solution, right?” Zaboru nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, that’s the real challenge. PC technology will always keep advancing, and so will gaming. Someone might need to upgrade their PC a couple of times if they’re on a budget, or they might not be able to play the latest games at all. For example, someone whose PC doesn’t meet the Windows 94 requirements might never get to play Diablo on their machine. Sure, consoles face this too, but the timing and price points are pretty different compared to PCs.”
Bill Gates then asked, “I see, I completely understand your opinion, but as a gamer, which do you prefer to play — PC or console?” Zaboru sighed, not expecting this kind of question from Bill Gates. “Well, like I said, I love both. I can’t say one is superior to the other because they each have their own advantages and drawbacks.” These kinds of questions were always hard to answer; everyone has very different opinions on this, even back in Zaboru’s previous life, where gaming had already evolved into a modern environment.
Bill Gates then continued to ask, "What about piracy? Our Microsoft team always struggles with piracy, and I think PC games, being software, are especially prone to it. Even consoles are possible targets, right? What's your take on this?" Zaboru smiled and answered, "True, PC games are much easier to pirate compared to consoles. But piracy itself is a criminal act. Here’s what I think might work, at least for games: as developers, we should implement anti-piracy measures, but we can’t let them hinder the game’s performance. From my point of view, a little bit of piracy won’t destroy us. Some people just want to test if the game is worth it, and if they like it, they might end up buying a real copy to support the developers. And I know this sounds naive, but let’s say a broke student pirates a game, loves it, but can’t afford it for four or five years. When they grow up, if they’re still a gamer, they might become a paying customer and think, ‘I earned my money now, I can at least buy one or two games, right?’ Probably something like that so I think of it as exposure investment." Bill Gates’s eyes widened. "You… think like that? That’s an impressive way of thinking, actually." He nodded thoughtfully, clearly impressed by Zaboru's approach to video games in general.
Bill Gates chuckled and nodded. “Sorry to ask you something like this — it’s because we at Microsoft are considering creating our own game console in the future. But right now, Microsoft’s gaming division is still focused on PC games… but honestly, the results are far from satisfactory for me. It’s just… different — the games my team creates and the ones you create, especially on PC. I wonder why that is.” Zaboru shrugged. “Well, I don’t know, Bill, honestly.” After all, how could he explain it? Sure, he could bluntly say the Microsoft team was lacking, but that felt unfair. Zaboru knew he had so many hidden advantages — the memories from his previous life, his reincarnated abilities — and he didn’t want to brag about something that came with such an unfair head start. Without his cheats, he honestly thought he might not be much better than the Microsoft employees — at least, that’s what he believed.
Bill Gates smiled and asked, “How about ZAGE and Microsoft collaborate to create another game, but this time, let my game developers join in the development process?” Zaboru shook his head with a polite smile. “Sorry, Bill, not possible. I only trust my own developers. Besides, there’s a real chance chaos could happen if we collaborate like that.” Inwardly, Zaboru thought that if Microsoft developers came into ZAGE, they might act stubborn or disrupt the smooth flow his team had worked so hard to build.
Bill Gates sighed; rejection after rejection — usually, people found it hard to say no to him, but here this young man had turned him down multiple times. “Well, you’re very blunt, even with me. But I kind of like it, hahaha. You don’t expect anything from me — that’s what I like about you. And you wouldn’t mind considering me your friend, right?” Zaboru chuckled, his eyes glinting with mild amusement. “Well, why not, Bill.”
Bill Gates grinned. “Anyway, our Windows 94 is selling explosively. Part of that, I think, is thanks to your Diablo game. You did me a favor, so whenever you want to release games on Windows, just give me a call — I’ll promote it a bit.” Zaboru smiled. “Well, that’s incredibly tempting, Bill. We’ll see in the future, all right? And as for Diablo, don’t be modest — you paid me a hefty sum of money, after all.”
Bill Gates and Zaboru kept talking for a while, and then they played chess together — which Zaboru won with a quiet grin. In the end, Bill Gates excused himself, leaving with a warm handshake, and Zaboru leaned back on his sofa, stretching his arms with a satisfied sigh. Zaboru smiled to himself. “Can’t believe it… Bill Gates thinks of me as a friend. Maybe he’s just tired of people always wanting something from him… well, can’t say I relate to that, hahaha.”
Zaboru shook his head and began planning for tomorrow, when he would give the ZAGE USA team a small to medium task.
To be continued.
