Zanki was clearly pissed that Steve Jobs was blaming him so aggressively, but he still forced himself to remain professional. This was the ironic part of the situation. Apple had asked ZUSUGA to move fast, demanded launch titles quickly, and pushed the iPlay release schedule to challenge Microsoft directly, yet now the games were being judged as if they had been given years of calm development time.
Zanki sighed deeply. Honestly, the iPlay games were not bad at all. In a normal console launch, they would have been considered solid enough. The problem was that Microsoft's Xbox launch lineup had raised the standard at the worst possible moment. HORI, Agent Jordan, and Elf Adventure were receiving far more praise than expected, making Apple's games look weaker by comparison. Even worse, ZEMITSU and Compute X were not the kind of review companies that could simply be bribed into giving good scores. No matter how much money Apple had, those reviewers cared more about credibility than corporate pressure.
That made the situation even more humiliating. Apple was rich. ZUSUGA had experience. Philips helped with hardware. Steve Jobs had personally stood on stage and sold iPlay as the stylish future of home entertainment. Yet somehow, after all that polish and confidence, Microsoft's rougher, heavier, less elegant Xbox was the one receiving more respect from gamers.
Zanki sighed deeply before finally speaking. "Our games are solid, Mr. Jobs... the problem is that Microsoft's games unexpectedly elevated player expectations for next-generation console titles."
As Zanki spoke, his tone subtly changed.
Calmer.
Smoother.
More convincing.
It was one of Zanki's usual abilities: Voice Persuasion.
The ability did not brainwash people or force obedience. Instead, it subtly strengthened the emotional weight and believability behind his words, making listeners instinctively feel that what he was saying carried logic, sincerity, and reason.
Even several nervous and worried engineer unconsciously became quieter while listening.
Zanki groaned softly before continuing. "We at ZUSUGA understand what players like. We already operate our own gaming platform after all. Reborn16 became successful because we understand gameplay trends, pacing, and player psychology. We know how players react emotionally to progression systems, combat flow, difficulty spikes, reward loops, and even visual pacing during gameplay. That's exactly why Apple contacted us in the first place, right?"
His voice remained calm and persuasive, but now there was also subtle frustration beneath it.
"We didn't suddenly become incompetent overnight, Mr. Jobs," Zanki continued while maintaining the influence of Voice Persuasion. "The reality is that the market itself shifted unexpectedly. Microsoft didn't just release another console. They released a stronger launch lineup than anyone predicted. Their games created excitement, discussion, and momentum faster than projected."
Zanki leaned back slightly before continuing more seriously. "And honestly? The industry is entering a dangerous transition period right now. Players are no longer impressed by graphics alone anymore. They expect smoother online systems, stronger gameplay identity, better immersion, and larger experiences immediately. Expectations evolved faster than most companies predicted."
Steve Jobs' expression still looked irritated, but unlike before, he no longer interrupted immediately.
Zanki noticed that and continued speaking carefully while maintaining the subtle influence of Voice Persuasion.
"The issue isn't that our games are terrible. Honestly, if Xbox launched weaker titles, our lineup would probably be considered decent or even good for a first console release. But Microsoft unexpectedly raised the ceiling itself. HORI, Agent Jordan, and ELF Adventure shifted player expectations almost instantly."
He rubbed his forehead lightly.
"We anticipated competition... but we didn't expect the entire next-generation standard to jump this high this quickly."
Steve Jobs clearly was not having any of it.
The moment Zanki finished speaking, Steve immediately exploded again.
"Then that means it's your incompetence, bastard!" Steve shouted.
The room instantly froze.
Even Zanki's Voice Persuasion was not especially effective against highly intelligent and mentally stubborn people like Steve Jobs. Steve was the kind of person who processed logic aggressively instead of emotionally. Rather than being soothed by persuasion, he instinctively pushed back harder whenever he felt someone was trying to redirect the conversation.
"You're standing there telling me Microsoft is superior to us right now?" Steve continued furiously. "Then you should do better!"
His voice became sharper and heavier with every sentence.
"No!" Steve suddenly shouted again before anyone could speak. "Don't sit there and explain the market to me like this is some unavoidable natural disaster! Markets change because companies FORCE them to change!"
He pointed violently toward the Apple logo behind him.
"That is what Apple does!"
The room completely froze.
"We are NOT supposed to react to the future!" Steve roared. "We Should CREATE the future! We should define trends! We should force industries to evolve! That's what this company was built on!"
Steve's breathing became heavier as years of frustration, pressure, and humiliation poured into his voice.
"And now what? Five days after launch, people are comparing us to Microsoft like we're some confused newcomer company desperately trying to survive in THEIR market?"
He laughed bitterly.
"Microsoft!" Steve snapped again. "The same company we used to mock for lacking creativity is now being praised for better online systems, stronger momentum, and more exciting games while we're sitting here explaining why our console overheats after changing games!"
Several executives visibly lowered their heads even further.
Because every word hurts.
Steve slammed his hand against the table again.
"This is Apple!" he shouted. "People are supposed to look at us and think of elegance! Innovation! Reliability! Instead they're looking at us and saying 'nice design, shame it barely works properly online!'"
Nobody dared to interrupt him.
"The industry is shifting!? Then WE should be the ones steering it!" Steve snapped again while pointing at the Apple logo behind him. "We are Apple! We are supposed to define the future, not chase behind Microsoft like some desperate second-rate company!"
His eyes looked almost furious enough to burn through the room itself.
"Do you understand what humiliates me the most?" Steve asked bitterly. "It's not even that the Xbox is good. Competition is normal. But they beat us in the exact areas we were supposed to dominate: user experience, momentum, excitement, and public confidence."
Several executives visibly lowered their heads.
Because honestly?
Steve's rage was not entirely irrational.
Apple had entered the console market believing their design philosophy, branding power, and technological confidence would naturally place them above competitors. Yet now, only days after launch, they were reacting to Microsoft instead of leading the conversation.
That reality humiliated Steve deeply.
Zanki sighed tiredly and slowly raised one hand. He already realized continuing to argue directly would only make the situation worse.
"Ugh... okay then," Zanki muttered. "Let's focus on the next games instead. We promise the upcoming releases will have much better quality."
Even while speaking calmly, his frustration was obvious now.
Because deep inside, Zanki also hated this situation.
ZUSUGA's reputation was taking damage together with Apple.
He sighed once more.
"That's all I can promise right now..."
Zanki sighed heavily while quietly lowering his gaze. 'Damn... I decided to work with Apple because I thought we could achieve something great together... not end up like this.' For the first time since the collaboration started, genuine regret began creeping into his chest.
At first, partnering with Apple had sounded exciting. Apple had money, global branding power, technological ambition, and Steve Jobs himself pushing the vision aggressively. Zanki had genuinely believed that ZUSUGA and Apple together could create something capable of standing beside Xbox and even challenging ZAGE properly.
But now, everything feels wrong. The launch had been rushed, the hardware still had unresolved issues, the online systems were unstable, and the development schedules had been chaotic from the beginning. Instead of calmly solving problems together, the entire room now felt like a battlefield filled with stress, blame, and panic.
Worse than that, Steve Jobs himself was exhausting to work with. Zanki respected Steve's intelligence and ambition, but dealing with him directly under pressure was mentally draining. Steve demanded perfection while simultaneously forcing impossible speed. He wanted revolutionary results immediately, yet every delay only made him more aggressive. That contradiction was slowly becoming unbearable.
Zanki clenched his jaw slightly, but it could not be helped. At this stage, backing away from Apple would be disastrous for ZUSUGA's reputation too. The company had already stood beside iPlay publicly. If the project collapsed completely, ZUSUGA would sink together with Apple in the eyes of the gaming industry.
So no matter how frustrating this situation became, he had to see it through. Making an enemy out of Apple was also extremely dangerous, and Zanki understood that very clearly.
Then another thought crossed his mind. 'Next time... ZUSUGA should work alone instead.' Honestly, this entire collaboration made him realize something important. When too many massive companies tried forcing their visions together under impossible deadlines, creativity itself started suffocating.
Steve Jobs pointed toward everyone in the room again, his face looking increasingly exhausted now. "You better be," he said sharply. "Because if you mess this up again, we're ending this entire arrangement. I don't care how many sleepless nights it takes anymore. All of you are going to work until this disaster is fixed, and maybe—just maybe—we can still scrape by before the market completely tears us apart."
His voice was still loud, but now there was something uglier hidden beneath the anger.
Fatigue.
Steve suddenly pressed his fingers against his forehead again as another wave of headache hit him. For the past several days, he had barely rested properly. Investors were calling nonstop. Apple executives kept demanding explanations, forecasts, recovery plans, and guarantees. The board wanted reassurance. Shareholders wanted confidence. Media outlets wanted statements.
And none of them cared how exhausted the development teams actually were.
All they cared about was success, Numbers, Momentum and Public image.
Steve honestly hated that part of corporate reality.
Even as Apple's CEO, he himself was still trapped under endless pressure from people above, beside, and behind him. If iPlay failed publicly, they would not remember how difficult the project was or how fast the industry shifted.
They would only remember failure.
That reality made his headache even worse.
Steve slowly sat down for a moment, rubbing his eyes aggressively before speaking again.
"You know what pisses me off the most?" he muttered bitterly. "We actually had a chance."
The room became quiet again.
"We had the design. We had the branding. We had the technology. We had enough money to build something revolutionary." Steve exhaled heavily. "And somehow we still managed to walk into launch week looking unprepared while Microsoft walked in looking hungry."
That sentence hit the room harder than another shout.
Because deep inside...
Everyone knew he was right.
Steve leaned back while holding his forehead again. "Jesus Christ..." he muttered quietly. "I can literally feel this stupid project damaging my brain."
Nobody laughed.
Because the dark circles under Steve's eyes already said enough.
Then the meeting slowly continued under an atmosphere so heavy that even breathing inside the room felt exhausting.
Meanwhile, on the same day, Zaboru was casually reviewing Apple's iPlay games from his home.
To be continue
Please give me your power stone and if you want to support me and get minimum 50+ advance chapter and additional 1 chapter a week for 4$ considering subscribe to my patreon patreon.com/Zaborn_1997
Or buymecoffee https://buymeacoffee.com/Zaborn_1997 which same with patreon
current Patreon/buymecoffe chap 1216
Also Join my discord if you want https://discord.gg/jB8x6TUByc