"AYA NEO" is the ultimate form of portable game console aimed at by nerdy CEOs. Visit Uncle Tail

Super Hardcore Gamer CEO

－－: AYA NEO is a very young company. For readers who do not know yet, please tell us about the background of the establishment and the business content.

Uncle Tail: AYA NEO is a company founded for gamers who want to play AAA game titles in a portable way. Founder Uncle A initially used Lego blocks and engineering boards to create the first product. After that, it received a lot of attention and attention on the Chinese video site Bilibili, and after a year of research and development, the first AYA NEO was completed. It uses the AMD architecture to achieve the perfect balance of performance and portability.

Since its announcement, AYA NEO has been crowdfunding all over the world, following China, and has solicited investment of tens of millions of yuan. So far, we have shipped nearly 3,000 units. In addition, we have received reservations from all over the world-including Japan-and we are making further preparations and efforts for this shipment.

There are currently 30 people in the company, many of whom are gamers, and both are working hard every day to realize the ideal portable device.

－－: You took over the position from Mr. Uncle A in May. Could you introduce yourself?

Uncle Tail: After graduating from university, I have founded two companies for 10 years. I run a company for digital consumers and a company related to electric vehicles in China.

Like many readers, I'm an enthusiastic gamer and a user of portable devices. When I was in high school, I was already writing a column about handheld game consoles in China's largest esports magazine. In college, he opened a site dealing with game information and also worked on the Chineseization team for games.

I like handheld game consoles anyway. I own most of the handheld game consoles I can buy on the market, as well as all of the Nintendo and Sony handheld game consoles. I also have a collection of very rare models in China, such as WonderSwan, WonderSwan Color, Neo Geo Pocket, and Neo Geo Pocket Color (Editor's note: they were neatly stored in large quantities in his office with cardboard).

Currently, I have two professions, "Gamer" and "CEO of AYA NEO". We believe that this “concurrent post” will allow us to incorporate an understanding of portable game consoles into the management of the brand AYA NEO. As a gamer, we can assure our users that it is a product designed for game enthusiasts, and as an entrepreneur, we have leveraged our many years of corporate management experience to make AYA NEO the best Windows handheld game console brand. I think that it can be raised as a brand.

-: Since you are a hardcore gamer, this is a personal question, but what kind of game do you play?

Uncle Tail: Probably like many gamers in China, we started with the NES. It was still in elementary school. At that time, I was absorbed in "Super Mario". Of course, I'm still absorbed in Super Mario on the Nintendo Switch (laughs). I like to discover the depth and charm of games with these simple rules.

From an artistic point of view, I like the arcade version of "Metal Slug". It's been decades since it was released, but I'm still fascinated by its beauty as a pixel art.

I also like strategy games like "Fire Emblem," "Ogre Battle Saga," and "Final Fantasy Tactics," which you can easily improve if you understand how they work. In addition, "OUTRUN", "Power Smash", "Street Fighter", "King of Fighters", etc. were also addicted to.

I've only talked about retro games, but the games I play at AYA NEO are "DIRT 5", which has a high artistic sense, "Broforce", which has a pixel art expression, and a bicycle with a unique world view. I like the race "Lonely Mountains Downhill".

-: Why did you decide to take over AYA NEO?

Uncle Tail: As I mentioned earlier, I'm a heavy user of handheld game consoles, but it's been the various portable devices that have been with me for the longest time in my life.

Handheld computers such as Windows CE, Palm and BlackBerry have evolved as smartphones today. On the other hand, for portable game consoles, I've been playing from the original Game Boy to the Nintendo Switch. I am so enthusiastic about portable game consoles that I was impressed by the opportunity to design a portable game console for myself and put in my knowledge so far, so I decided to inherit it. ..

In other words, one of the reasons for the acquisition of AYA NEO is the love for portable game consoles.

Second, it's been a few years since the introduction of Windows portables, but I still haven't found a device that meets my needs. The advent of AYA NEO embodies what I once wanted and made me realize that it has features not found in other brands. I decided to take up the post of CEO and gradually improve my brand and products.

Of course, from a business perspective, I'm looking forward to the development of Windows portable devices, and with a lot of resources and excellent results, I decided to devote myself to this industry.

－－: It's a big decision, and it's a turning point in your life.

Uncle Tail: A handheld game console enthusiast becomes the CEO of a company that makes handheld game consoles. It's just a hobby, isn't it?

I was originally a user of "AYA NEO Founders Edition". It all started when I told the CEO at the time about the shortcomings I found while using it and asked for improvements. After interacting several times, the CEO at the time was convinced that I was the one who would bring the future to this project, and suggested a business acquisition.

After taking over the company, I realized that maybe my past efforts were for this (acquisition) moment.

In other words, my experience in founding, knowledge of portable game consoles, know-how and understanding of brand management, accumulated resources, etc. were all to improve AYA NEO.

It's "general hearts, bare shoes, raw reverse trip, one reed sail" (translation: wherever you want to go, even if you wear straw horses. Life is a reverse trip, even if the ship is a reed. Even if it is a single leaf, it must sail).

Hello, the situation at AYA NEO is not bad. Rather, it has many advantages. From now on, I would like to devote all my energy to meet the growing needs for portable devices.