Kensai Holographiks

Kensai Holographiks
Corporation Profile
AffiliationFree Worlds League
HeadquartersPortent (Gibson)[1]
LeadershipCEO
Product(s)Recreational Hologram Environments

Kensai Holographiks is the Free Worlds League's premier manufacturer of holographic simulations known as Recreational Hologram Environments.[1][2]

Overview[edit]

Consisting of interactive holovids and props that allow the viewer to be an active participant in the recording, Recreational Hologram Environments provide the viewer the sensation of really being there. While the technology exists throughout the Inner Sphere, RHEs are especially popular within the Free Worlds League largely due to the efforts of Kensai Holographiks. The largest of numerous RHE producers in League space, KH produces both RHE recordings and the viewers to play them, effectively giving it control over the RHE equipment standard in League space. Kensai frequently develops new hardware and attractive new recordings that can only be played on the new systems forcing both viewers and its competitors to play catch-up.[1][2][3]

Kensai Holographiks' wildlife and landscape RHEs are popular, as those of both normal and extreme sporting events. The most popular ever RHE in history is Gaiatherine, an artistic masterpiece that further cemented Kensai Holographiks dominance of the market and spawning an endless number of copycats that all fell short of the original's political/satyrical nuances and its sheer unadulterated joy-of-play. Unlike some of its competitors, Kensai officially does not release any "blue" titles, though some observes suggest KH maintains a one or more unlisted subsidiaries that do.[1][2][3][4]

In around 2975, Kensai Holographiks started to offer lucrative contracts to secure the Free Worlds League Military latest heroes to appear in its military Recreational Hologram Environments, among the company's most popular. This meant that Kensai had a greater than usual level of access to both front-line locations and military hardware than a civilian concern would normally receive. This level of civilian access meant many district commanders were increasingly nervous about security leaks, but with then-Captain-General Janos Marik authorizing many of these contracts they could do little to resist. Following conclusion of the Fourth Succession War and Andurien Secession, the greatly reduced level of combat by the FWLM forced Kensai to look elsewhere for combat footage for its military simulations, turning to the Clan front and the Chaos March and paying mercenaries for access to their BattleROM recordings. In one landmark case thrown out of the courts, Kensai Holographiks was accused of allegedly instigating a raid against a Chaos March world solely to obtain the requisite footage for their on Knight of the Inner Sphere Miguel Lobos Plumados.[1][2][3][5][6]

Despite its dominance in the marketplace, the publicly held corporation's stock price has fluctuated wildly over the years until Tatiana Vanderbilt became its executive director in 3020. Formerly a starlet in one of Kensai's adventure RHEs, Vanderbilt later married the corporation's then-CEO Milton Horowitz and succeeded her husband after his death and a bloody no-holds-barred boardroom struggle. Vanderbilt would prove to be an able hand at management with a cutthroat's zeal at wheeling and dealing, scouting talent, testing new equipment and brokering distribution deals. Her ability to spot trends and outguess the corporation's rivals allowed her to remain in charge of Kensai at least as far as 3067 despite ongoing clashes with the company's board of directors, the almost-ninety-year-old showing little sign of slowing down.[1][2]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Handbook: House Marik, p. 140: "Kensai Holographiks (KnHolo)"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 House Marik (The Free Worlds League), p. 130: "Other Major Industries - [Kensai Holographiks]"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Handbook: House Marik, p. 117: "Society and Culture - Media and the Arts - Media"
  4. Handbook: House Marik, p. 191: "Gaiatherine"
  5. MechWarrior Card
  6. The Ballad of Sir Lobos Plumados

Bibliography[edit]