how huge is Arasaka's army? [poll]

[atomowyturysta]

I don't think the assumption of mostly light infantry is accurate necessarily, or at least not much more than 50% - Arasaka might well have higher armour/anti armour ratios than whatever nation-states look like in 2077. They are truly multi-role and ACPA and Punknaughts are things. Plus Arasaka is presumably less traditional and last-war-fighting than national armies. They win on the cutting edge.

The idea the nation state is the superior force to a Megacorp in 2077 also relies on our current understanding of nation states and corps. It turned out that way in 2020 mostly, I believe, because R.Tal had a ra-ra-USA moment, honestly. I think the Corps would have long since predicted and handled the US and Japanese government responses. The story of the end was simplistic in the extreme. "You're now called-up". Sound of Lundee being replaced by his own Board. If that Board still wanted the War, which they presumably did, since they kept signing off on it. Lundee holds 13.9% of the shares, not 51.

The end of the 4th war should have come about from Corporate, not national power. Squashed by other Corps or taken apart by their own Boards. Having it be a case of 20th-Century style Big Daddy USA saying "No." was a letdown and not at all Cyberpunk. Turns out the Megacorps don't run the world! Who knew? Bah.

I sure do agree that Arasaka would have their forces committed all over. I think more like 90% commitment, actually. A unit not working is a unit not paying for itself or providing profit.

"Corporations run the world" in this cyberpunk iteration is common man perception. They run a lot of things, they even control governments. But the cyberpunk clearly states that there's somewhat of a balance of power. Also, corporations live in a dog eat dog environment they created, that is corp eat corp. They not only have to worry about government reaction, which they can usually handle, one way or another, but also about other corps. For example Arasaka knows that US economy needs Arasaka. US goverment knows that Arasaka knows and acts accordingly. Other corps don't care. If they see an opening, they strike. So Arasaka (and most of the corps) has a blindspot here. It is more focused on the corporate arena. It seems that Kress exploited that blindspots in both Arasaka and Militech, especially that Kress was a vet and the US Military was quite highly anti corporate, as they probably saw them as a new gang of Four, and was all eager to kick ass and take names. They even codenamed the entire operation "Pest Control". The same with other powers, especialy superpowers as Eurotheatre and Soviets. Even in alternative universe of Cybergeneration, the military was the only aspect that kept ISA from being just another megacorp but with actual land and citizens.
Also. Even if the relative ease the governments stomped over the corps may seem not so cyberpunk, even in cyberpunk corporations are not in the slightest interested in replacing the governments. It's too much fuss. And it would make them, well, nations. It would be endless cycle. Instead corps exercise their power, but when they go too far, the powers that be are ready to strike. And if the corp that went too far drops the guard, they strike with the blessing of the competition. It's as if the rest of the corporate world LET the nations take the matters into their hands. The war was hurting everyone, not just Militech and Arasaka. I see CP2020 as a sandbox. GM can take things they like, drop some add something from themselves. Firestorm was just one of the possible roads the world has taken. In Cybergeneration it was different, in Deep Space another.
Also, there are not many cyberpunks with all the corporate world, without nations. It's probably because noone knows how would such world work. It simply wouldn't. So Mikes ideas are just a fragments of reality check in the entire system that requires some degree of suspension of disbelief.

 

[Suhiira]

So Mikes ideas are just a fragments of reality check in the entire system that requires some degree of suspension of disbelief.

That's true of any RPG.

You're in a world (or space) that's different, subtlety or radically, from our own. Your character has abilities that if not superhuman at least rank them among the "elite" in the setting. Characters ALWAYS manage to find themselves in situations that can lead to massive wealth/power or total disaster.