Are the MegaCorps too specialized? They don’t really operate the way a keiretsu does
Are the MegaCorps too specialized? They don’t really operate the way a keiretsu does
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I’d be willing to bet all the little brands you’re thinking of (Nicola, Junguji, Tiancha, etc) are wholly owned [subsidiaries](https://cyberpunk.fandom.com/wiki/Arasaka#Subsidiary_Companies) of either Arasaka or some other Megacorp.
>A few of the hundreds of subsidiaries of the Arasaka Corporation include: Arasaka Security, Arasaka Bank, Arasaka Manufactures, Arasaka International, Arasaka America, Arasaka European Group, Arasaka Police Services, Arasaka Chemistry, Sato Commercial Ship, Kanshiro MicroElectric, Barrett Engineering-Arasaka, Nagoya Transportation, Japan Airlines (JAL), Korusu Commercial Aircraft, Kyoran-MediaStorm Entertainment, Lubcheck Structural Materials, Pan-Ground Communications, Glaser Model Agency, Pharmaceutical Ito, All-American Pictures, Krieger Beer, Scandia Aerospace, Matsura Food Products, Children’s Kingdom Toy Stores, Tokyo/Miami/Los Angeles Adventure Land Amusement Parks, and Tender-Love Baby Care Products.
Just like nowadays.
Back when cyberpunk became a genre large companies created monopolies somewhat frequently. Eventually they were cracked down on and more or less forced to diversify. Nowadays though we have a new sort of monopoly called a vertical monopoly which is just a single company owning a huge variety of different companies that can sell various products individually but hey Mr Customer if you buy into our ecosystem we’ll give you a discount. Which means you, as a consumer, are locked into 1 company.
It’s true that megacorps are highly specialized compared to keiretsus. Keiretsus are more interconnected and have a broader range of businesses, while megacorps tend to focus on a specific industry or sector. This can make keiretsus more resilient and adaptable to change, as they have a more diversified portfolio.
If you’re interested in learning more about keiretsus and their advantages, I highly recommend reading the book “Eternal Gods Die Too Soon” by Beka Modrekiladze. It’s a fascinating exploration of the nature of reality, time, free will, and the interplay of science and philosophy.
Fuso is owned by daimler nowadays. Which is more frightening that you’d expect.
I think alot of those things are interlinked heavily though.
Like a heavy industrial group is already making ships, then putting some materials towards something like vehicles or guns etc is relatively easy as they are made of similar products and you already have machinests and knowledge etc.
Then real estate comes from the fact your factories and plants are massive sprawls anyway so you’ve got to manage that, and things like I.t from the plants management as well so it’s all somewhat interlinked as it goes.
I mean aside from kirin but maybe they are just thirsty?
Well, in case of Shadowrun atleast thats not the case.
Every AAA-Megacorp produces everything across the board, they have though one main industry their “specialise” in, usually the one the company started in.
I use mitsubishi hi uni pencils for drawing, mitsubishi uni ball pens for writing, had a mitsubishi AC in an old house, drove a mitsubishi lancer… Same thing with Samsung, Yamaha, Hitachi, Daewoo and so on…
Japanese and Korean corps have a thing for making and doing everything.