Corporate Guide and three classics released!, Blood in the Boardroom, Corporate Security, and ShadowTech also out Options

[Demonseed Elite]

Carrefour is /today/ The largest Retail store chain in the world.
They make Walmart look like hackneyed local wannabes.

Mostly incorrect. Carrefour is the second largest retailer in the world, after Wal-Mart. Carrefour has more retail stores, but does less business.

The figures are a bit inexact (2010 versus 2008), but Wal-Mart's sales were more than three times that of Carrefour's and Wal-Mart employs more than four times as many people.

[Pepsi Jedi]

Walmart employees.. Wadge slaves in real life.
Barely enough money to live on. and much of it gets poured back into Walmart as they're usually the cheepest game in town and push out other business. Very SR

[Saint Sithney]

Mostly incorrect. Carrefour is the second largest retailer in the world, after Wal-Mart. Carrefour has more retail stores, but does less business.

And here I thought that Carrefour was the doorway to misfortune and the petro aspect of Papa Legba...

Learning something new every day..

[Catadmin]

EVO

- "minor shareholders" are listed as "major shareholders". A classic (I did it more than once in working drafts).
... lots more stuff I won't quote here ...

Nath, is this a review, a summary of highlights, or are you posting errata?

I'm a little confused given your posting style.

[Nath]

Nath, is this a review, a summary of highlights, or are you posting errata?

I'm a little confused given your posting style.

I'd brand them as "personal comments". I could post errata in the appropriate thread (I mean real errata, not arguments over the interpretation of a one-liner from book ten years ago), but I got lazzy.

[hobgoblin]

And here I thought that Carrefour was the doorway to misfortune and the petro aspect of Papa Legba...

Learning something new every day..

well its french for crossroads...

tho its also the name for a poor commune in haiti, so take your pick...

[TW]

The problem is, this takeover is breaking news, only reported by a jackpointer in the Horizon chapter. When Ares chapter is posted online, Truman Distribution Network is still listed as an Ares subsidiary, ...

As the author of the Ares chapter, I pointed this out several times to the developer(s) and suggested to just hint in Corp Guide at Truman possibly defecting from Ares soon - Truman joining Horizon would have made for a nice JackPoint login news bit in a later book.

[Nath]

HORIZON
- The chapter depicts the Zulu Nation as an isolationist country that need to be "put on the map". Though secretive, Cyberpirates had the Zulu Nation as the XXIst Century's Kenya when it comes to tourism (on the other hand, the same chapter of CP also described Marseille in France as a touristic place).
- The end of the chapter, with the secret surrounding Gary Cline bio, and the Horizon prisons program, try to show Horizon is not a loyal-good corp. I guess it won't enough for some people (it still amazes me that people keep considering Ares as a good corp when it was clearly explained how they kep war going on in Africa to make money).


MITSUHAMA
- The intro fiction is in two columns, and the text reads "Mitsuhama Computer Technology" twice (it should be plural Technologies). And, odd as it may seems for a chapter that had to be fully rewrited at the last moment, it is also the one where I found nothing to correct or argue over. Only did I find it to be among the less interesting chapter, as it doesn't introduce new NPC or standing-out plot.


NEONET
- "other minor shareholders" are listed as major shareholders (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)
- It says MCT appeared before the Corporate Court at the same time than Fuchi and Renraku in 2059. This does not match with Blood in the Boardroom and Technobabel.
- The original AAA corporation is named "JRJ Industries" or "JRJ International". The later is consistent with previous books. Someone have yet to come with an explanation on how Richard Villiers can fully and personnally own JRJ while Fuchi, Novatech or NeoNET can benefit from its founding AAA privileges.
- The Fuchi brand is still in use, twelve years later. Time to move on !
- Cavalier Arms is listed as a subsidiary, then a comment says it was snatched out by Reality Inc. I guess it may have happened between the moment the profile was written and the moment the comment was posted.
- Lynn Osborne name is mispelle Osbourne, page 128
- Trans-Latvia Enterprises is said to be an Estonian company (contradicting SoE). The link to the European Mafia given in Vice are cut. I didn't like the idea of young mobster beating Richard Villiers to his own game anyway.
- The Knights of Rage street gang is officially linked to NeoNET in news report. Kinda lousy PR.


RENRAKU COMPUTER SYSTEMS
- The chapter makes no mention at all of Keruba International. My first thought was that the author simply didn't like the idea of a Slovenian major defense company, pioneering some Matrix technology and taken over by Japanese investors to become one of the largest Japanacorps. And when a freelancer dislike some canon elements, the only thing he can do is ommitting it and avoid any mention.
As a reminder, Inazo Aneki created Renraku Holdings for the sole purpose of taking over Keruba International in 2029, hoping to seel it sortly after with a profit. Then the data storage technology patented by Keruba, who weren't compatible with Internet-era computers, were chosen as the new standard for the Matrix to rebuild the world computer networks. Aneki changed his mind and Renraku Computer Systems was born.
I'm under the impression the author did not have the Renraku history from Blood in the Boardroom in mind when he wrote that Renraku took over Blohm & Voss in 2029 and made it the "cornerstone of their European division".
- It worth noting that the Shin Chou Kyogo company, involved "in social research and the creation of a compete (sic) record of human history", also manufactures the SCK Model 100 SMG.
- Shikei Nakatomi's father Kiyoshi founded Fuchi, not his grandfather.


SAEDER-KRUPP
- The Brackhaus appearing in the intro fiction had dark-hair. Note that Lofwyr human form have been so far blonde haired.
- Messerschmidt-Kawasaki have always been first and foremost described as an aerospace company, not automotive.
- "portions of AG Chemie Europa" are listed as subsidiaries. A few page later, it says S-K has liquidated a number of assets that include member companies of the AG Chemie consortium.
- S-K moved its North American HQ from Charlotte in the CAS to Portland in Tir Tairngire.
- Jean-Claude Priault is seating and not seating on the Corporate Court, around the same time. Until someone open the box I guess.

[sirdoom]

-Lufthansa(Maersk) and DeMeko don't belong to S-K...
-The indication of size for Proteus arcologies is wrong. It's not a 500m² area, the lateral length is 500m...

[hermit]

Messerschmidt-Kawasaki have always been first and foremost described as an aerospace company, not automotive.

Admittedly, in German books, they mostly produce motorcycles and helicopters second.

[TW]

NEONET
- Cavalier Arms is listed as a subsidiary, then a comment says it was snatched out by Reality Inc. I guess it may have happened between the moment the profile was written and the moment the comment was posted.

Heh. I think this happened sometime between first and second draft, right Patrick? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

As for TLE, I thought the RCC conspiracy angle was a nice touch in addition to the Mobster youngsters angle presented in Vice.

[Nath]

SHIAWASE
- James Mancuso did not last long. He entered Shiawase board in System Failure and is now dead.
- There are a lot of reflexion and interesting things on corporate culture, and the impact of leonization. On the other hand, I'm not sure how all this material could be used considering the limited interraction the average runners has with security guards, M. Johnson and the occasional exfiltration target. But maybe someone somewhere will manage to play a great campaign that would give the opportunity to discover the ins and outs of Shiwase culture and politics.
- As said above, Shiawase is not a Keiretsu. It is an integral part of the Keiretsu definition that there is no core company, especially one that doesn't produce anything or offer any services.
- Shiawase has its division headquarters really spread all over the globe, unlike most other corps. Shiawase Security Services is headquartered in Talinn, Estonia. This may have to do with "the stealth bombers stationned at the Elva airbase in Estonia" inherited from Fuchi, from Shadows of Europe.


WUXING
- The story on how Japanacorps were forced to defend Wuxing right to extraterritoriality was already known, but it's nonetheless a good proof that AAA megacorps sometimes look further than conquering market shares.
- The PPG timeline says Wu Lung-Wei formed the PPG as early as 2057. However, if you read Blood in the Boardroom, the PPG wasn't more than an informal group. The official founding did not happen before Yamatetsu joined in 2059.
- Wuxing already was already big in the financial sector before taking over the MIB (rating 8, and four major subsidiaries out of fourteen in Corporate Download). So, I'd think there would already have conbflituous relationships with at least HKB and S-K when they were just allied with the MIB.
- According to the Aztechnology chapter, Aztechnology and its AA subsidiary Free Transit Cartage are members of the PPG. There are no more details, thought I can imagine the PPG granting membership to only one subsidiary as a test.
- Wuxing owns AA Entertainment, an Addis Abeba entertainment. Now what is the Ethopian entertainment industtry like ?
- The "other old man of the board", James Harper-Smythe, would be 43 years old in 2072, since he was 32 in Corporate Download.


CHALMERS & COLE
- Founded in 2065, A in 2067, AA by 2072, with core business being high-risk investment and emerging markets finance. And I thought stability was the main condition to obtain extraterritoriality... I don't think C&C had to be a AA to make the idea interesting anyway.


FRANKFURTER BANKVEREIN
- Spain economy took a hit with the Second Crash, and Meridional and Sol Media are said to be multinationals. "Multinationals" usually means "not AA", a rating they had in Shadows of Europe.
- It is explained the Corporate Court abolished regulations preventing banks from owning non-financial companies ("owning" in this case, meaning more than half the shares).
- Hey, Brokerage X got out of business.


LONE STAR
- Reality Inc owns Cavalier Arms and some shares in Lone Star. A new mystery corp with a focus on the CAS ?
- If Carl Walsh if the head of Lone Star police in Denver's CAS sector, it probably means Knight Errant lost the contract at some point (see Shadows of North America, page 79). Maybe Ghostwalker no longer trusted Ares after Nadja Daviar disappeared.
- The security service providers top ten includes none of the three corps said to make the second tier of the industry, right behind LSSS and KE, in Vice (Wolverine, Centurion and Eagle Security).
- Najima Securities is listed as one of Renraku security service provider. That subsidiary was first named in Corporate Download with no indication regarding it business. The plural "securities" in a company name refers a lot more often to the "fungible, negotiable instrument representing financial value" (as in SEC, Securities & Exchange Commission) than to protection service. Not a strict rule though. And I hve to admit I myself listed Najima as a security business in the corporate index.
- Tyr and Sternchutz are not listed under parent company Maersk and FBA, while all the other corps are (Ares for KE, and so on). Depending on your opinion on that topic, Esprit should also be listed as an Aztechnology subsidiary (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)
- According to the French background, the national police is still a public service, not an Esprit contracted force as the list would suggest.
- The HKB ownership of small fishes ScotSecure, Midland Guards, as well as London Security, Risk Minimizers was less public by the time of London Sourcebook. Risk Protection Factors Inc. was HKB most prominent subsidiary in the security business, and the name was much cooler (and I really liked the idea of the British Establishment bodyguards outfit owned by a London City insurance company).


MAERSK
- As someone pointed above, Maersk owns "Deusche Lufthansa", Saeder-Krupp owns the "Lufthansa Group"
- The "war-ruined" Baltic ?
- This part has an odd feeling, with a lot of past plots, rather than plot seeds for the future.


MANADYNE
- It is nowhere explained that Mangadyne was headquartered in Hong Kong and was part of the PPG, according to Corporate Download. So Cale Winters probably knew personnally Wu Lung-Wei before Wuxing decided to take over Manadyne.
- Since Manadyne use Greek creature nomenclature, I gues it should read "Cereberus" instead of "Cerebrus"


MONOBE
- Herstal is listed as a major divisions, but the text refer to Fabrique Nationale. For those who wouldn't known, this is the same corp, the "Fabrique Nationale de Herstal" or FN Herstal.
- Weapons World was a Monobe subsidiary in Corporate Shadowfiles. In Corporate Download, it was a subsidiary of Ares Arms. Monobe got them back.
- I invented Cryptec, the Société Suisse Technique and Mapen Technologies when working on Shadows of Asia. There was no room for more than throwing names out. I intended the Société Suisse Technique to be an engineering and construction company specialized in security issue (building bunkers and manufacturing safebox) and the parent company of Cryptec (cryptology software) and FN Herstal. Mapen Technologies was to be a MapQuest or Google Earth/Google Maps type business. The "change" on the Société Suisse Technique is the kind of things that happen all the time in SR development, though we're rarely told when it happens.


PROTEUS
- For those who do not know, the 2063 events are part of the German campaign Shockwellen. A summary in english is available for free under the title Shockwaves. In the end, the Corporate Court gave the Prometheus Foundation control of Proteus, but several AAA and AA received seats on the foundation own board.
- The arkobloks themselves are rated as at least A companies due to their size, while A rating never had anything to do with size, only with the fact of having significant business in at least two countries. Which is a difficult achievement when your purpose is to keep you activities contained into a single building. But I think each arkoblok must have logistical branches in nearby countries. However, I really don't think a single building should obtain AA rating (well, if Chalmers & Cole got it, on the other hand...).


UNIVERSAL OMNITECH
- The Shiawase takeover attempt against UO was a one-liner in Corporate Download that IMO could or should have been one of the major corporate plot of the early 2060ies (especially in Seattle area), and was overlooked by nearly everyone.


ZETA-IMPCHEM
- In London Sourcebook, Zeta-ImpChem owned Hoechst AG, who also became a member company of the AG Chemie consortium in Germany Sourcebook. German-only books retconned the name into Hoechst-Aventis after Rhône-Poulenc and Hoechst merged as Aventis in 1999, a name that was also used in Shadows of Europe. And now Corporate Guide retconned for the third time as Sanofi-Aventis, since Sanofi-Synthelabo took Aventis over in 2004.

[Rotbart van Dain...]

Hey, Brokerage X got out of business.

Where do you get that from?

CG just says that the FBA doesn't like the competition BX poses.

[Nath]

Yes, my mistake. I read it too quickly and thought it was past and not present.

[hermit]

- There are a lot of reflexion and interesting things on corporate culture, and the impact of leonization. On the other hand, I'm not sure how all this material could be used considering the limited interraction the average runners has with security guards, M. Johnson and the occasional exfiltration target. But maybe someone somewhere will manage to play a great campaign that would give the opportunity to discover the ins and outs of Shiwase culture and politics.

I guess that bis where the corp bodyguard people Ancient found unfitting come in?

[Mäx]

MONOBE
- Weapons World was a Monobe subsidiary in Corporate Shadowfiles. In Corporate Download, it was a subsidiary of Ares Arms. Monobe got them back.

Intresting, was just gonna ask when the hell did Monobe natch Weapons World from Ares and only shecked pack to Corp Download to make sure they used to belong to Ares

[Nath]

I guess that bis where the corp bodyguard people Ancient found unfitting come in?

It's only in the Game Information that's the Japanese word tatenokai is introduced as the standard corporate slang for the bodyguards assigned to company executives. It doesn't say if the term is more widely used within Shiawase, MCT, Renraku, Evo or Monobe. Shiawase seems a good guess though.

[hermit]

My idea was this information would have been intended for use with a Tatenokai campaign.

[Ancient History]

That really was the stupidest frickin' bit in the entire book. A word that is used nowhere else in all of Shadowrun, ever with no corp-specific examples given, and crammed in the game info for no reason. Gah.

[hermit]

I don't disagree it was stupid (though for me, there's worse - for instance, why didn't Horizon riginate in the californian company Horizon? Why in some sort of dorky NGO?), I just wanted to point out maybe this level of detail was given to help facilitate such campaigns. It's not like the term Tatenokai is essential for playing them anyway?

[LabRat]

FRANKFURTER BANKVEREIN
- Spain economy took a hit with the Second Crash, and Meridional and Sol Media are said to be multinationals. "Multinationals" usually means "not AA", a rating they had in Shadows of Europe.

That was not meant. They are still AA corps.

Don't read too much in the wording. Same with the Proteus arkos being A level corps. This is just meant to describe/indicate their relative "size" of operations, rather than a true definition.

[martindv]

SHIAWASE

- Shiawase has its division headquarters really spread all over the globe, unlike most other corps. Shiawase Security Services is headquartered in Talinn, Estonia. This may have to do with "the stealth bombers stationned at the Elva airbase in Estonia" inherited from Fuchi, from Shadows of Europe.

I still think one of the best corporate "Screw You" moves in SR is that Shiawase Atomics' headquarters is in Washington, DC.

MANADYNE
- It is nowhere explained that Mangadyne was headquartered in Hong Kong and was part of the PPG, according to Corporate Download. So Cale Winters probably knew personnally Wu Lung-Wei before Wuxing decided to take over Manadyne.

I read AH's draft, but I'm wondering, wasn't there some storyline in Emergence or Street Magic (or both) about Dr. Winters disappearing for some period of time and still being AWOL as of then?

[Ancient History]

Yeah, she disappeared in 2069. I had a plan for that, I did.

[Grinder]

You still can use spoiler tags. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Abstruse]

Yeah, she disappeared in 2069. I had a plan for that, I did.

Just read that last night as a matter of fact. She disappeared in 2069 and many people are still very curious what the hell she actually was.