Game Market 1983

Chapter 174: Gift of the Gods

Summer of 1994.

Walking together on the streets where Yuki and cherry blossoms fluttered in the air felt like just yesterday, but already, it's summer...

Certainly, when you dive into full-fledged game development, time seems to fly by incredibly fast.

The Tamago Shop located in front of Akihabara Station changed its name to Pentagon Premium Shop last week. Also, the dedicated Tamago Monster space inside the store was simplified, and the service of renting portable Game Boys for users, other than the space for simple battles among users, disappeared.

Some users were worried that Tamago Monsters might disappear, but, in fact, this was due to a small conflict between Mintendo and Pentagon.

Last month, unexpectedly, Mintendo proposed significantly higher royalties for the reproduction of cartridges to Pentagon, which had maintained a somewhat friendly relationship thanks to Tamago Monsters.

The reason given was that the contract period they had proposed had expired, but that alone did not easily convince anyone.

President Kawaguchi was enraged at Mintendo's unfair treatment, calling it the tyranny of the first party, but I calmly accepted it.

The reason Mintendo acted this way was probably that they had prepared their own excellent countermeasures.

"Are Pocket Monster Balls already about to be released? Faster than I thought..."

Among the game titles supporting the Mintendo brand, there were quality softs like the Super Marigi series, The Legend of Karin, and the Donkey Kong series.

These softs were not only available on the stationary Super Family but also released on portable Game Boys, gaining significant popularity.

However, after clearing each of the three titles, there was a lack of content for prolonged enjoyment.

In that sense, Tamago Monsters created by Pentagon Soft set a precedent by showing what true source multi-using is.

Pentagon produced a convenient terminal for accessories, which could be linked to the portable Game Boys made by Mintendo. Tamago Monsters allowed users to enjoy a genuine game only when linked to this terminal. At first glance, it seemed like a win-win situation between Mintendo and Pentagon, but in reality, it was not.

Of course, in the early days of release, it was in a situation where Mintendo's Game Boy or Tamago Monster's game cartridges couldn't be sold. However, as time passed and the distribution of Game Boys increased, Pentagon's revenue, focused on selling smaller terminals rather than Mintendo, started to skyrocket.

Only then did Mintendo realize and tried to readjust the profit distribution, but the contract had already been signed.

President Kamauichi had no choice but to instruct making a game where friends could enjoy data communication using only the portable Game Boy. However, since Shigeru was already busy with the production of Karin's Legend and the Donkey Kong series, Mintendo had to entrust the production of the new game to a second party.

That's when the IT company 'Freek Soft' appeared.

Some people commonly think that Pocket Monster Balls are games created by Mintendo, but strictly speaking, Pocket Monster Balls were games created by Freek.

Well, thanks to the success of Pocket Monster Balls, Mintendo became the main contributor to Mintendo and eventually rose to a position almost equivalent to the first party...

At that time, before the opening of the Pentagon Shop, Morita and other headquarters employees entered through the staff entrance.

"Chief, the heroine posters and display POPs are out."

"Oh~!!"

Upon Morita's words, the staff who were cleaning the Pentagon Shop gathered around the counter.

Since the employees working at Pentagon Shop had been proud fans of Pentagon Soft even before working here, every time a new game was released, they would cheer as pure gamers who loved Pentagon.

There was even a person who said they applied for the job to buy games released by Pentagon first during the interview, so Pentagon Soft's popularity among gamers in Japan was quite good.

However, after the release of Dragon Emblem 2 Episode 1, there had been no noteworthy game releases, and at the moment when everyone was feeling a bit disappointed, the news of the release of the sequel to the game from the distant street was like refreshing rain in a drought.

In front of those who looked at the promotional brochures with expectant eyes, when I put down the box containing POPs, someone immediately took out a cutter from their pocket.

"Step aside. I need to open this first."

"Get in line!!"

"The sequel to the game from the distant street without me, released at the same time as Super Family Launch, has already been five years since then. Ugh..."

The employees eagerly pulled out the display POPs while pouring out emotional sighs.

"Let's see~ How will the heroines look this time~ Huh?"

The employee holding a POP about the size of themselves with both hands looked around with a smirk. But other employees were just looking at other brochures with a strange look while holding promotional brochures in their hands.

"Chief... Could this be?"

"Huh? Oh, the faces of the heroines are still confidential..."

That's right. All the POPs that arrived today only depicted the backs of the heroines.

The first one had a lady with blond hair in a ponytail, the second one was a woman with slightly reddish waves that somehow exuded maturity, and the third was a petite girl with cute features and short brown hair. The last one was a woman with black hair, giving off a fresh and innocent feeling.

All of them held their respective instruments while showing only their backs. The blond ponytail was holding a violin, the small girl with brown short hair was holding a cello around her neck...

The other two characters, who majored in piano, had pianos placed on both sides.

"Oh, just seeing their backs makes me fall for them."

"Darn it!! I've been waiting for this day since rumors started circulating at the headquarters. To see only their backs!! The backs of cute girls!!!"

"A gift from the gods... From the title itself, I feel my heart chilling."

"Surely, when they reveal their faces later, they won't be crying, right?"

Seeing the innocent smiles of the employees, Morita, who knew the whole story of the scenario, showed a bitter expression.

In case Morita's expression was seen by the employees, afraid they might find out, I clapped my hands to liven up the atmosphere and shouted loudly.

"All right~ The store's opening time is not far away. Please hurry with the cleaning and display the promotional materials in the store windows."

"Yes. Got it~!!"

Since there were quite a few promotional materials to set up before the opening, I took out the posters from the box and personally turned the windows. Morita also rolled up his sleeves to help the employees and started moving brochures.

Having completed all the preparations almost before the opening, I took a step back involuntarily as I looked at the display poster I had installed in the main window and saw the customers gathering in front of the store.

'It's like a scene from a zombie movie...'

&

August 12, 1994.

Last month, after a surprise announcement through a magazine, the whole of Japan began to buzz.

I didn't expect such a response for just a game, but it seems the story of 'The Empty Streets' was remarkable. It was to the extent that even reporters from broadcasting stations came to the Pentagon headquarters for coverage. I secretly hoped that Misato might show up, but such an amazing coincidence didn't happen.

Sometimes I catch glimpses of it on TV news, but still, isn't it a bit regrettable?

The release date of 'Gift of the Gods' is December 24, 1994.

Even though there are still four months left, the reason for such excitement in the scorching heat of August is one thing...

It's because today is when the download codes for the pre-release trial, distributed in October, are being given out.

And soon after, as soon as the door opened, people waiting outside the store surged in like a wave.

However, the seasoned staff at the Pentagon shop, who had experienced such situations countless times, quickly started managing the customers.

"We have sufficient quantities of the trial distribution codes. Please line up in an orderly manner."

"Please keep your order. Please follow the staff's instructions~"

Users who had been searching for distribution code flyers due to the scarcity finally began to listen to the staff upon hearing that there was enough quantity.

Some gamers in the waiting line showed disappointed expressions at the promotional method that only showcased the backs of heroines filling the store.

"I thought I'd at least see the faces of the heroines once I got inside the store..."

"Yeah, seriously. I had high expectations. Disappointing."

"I'm fine with it? I don't know, but does it raise more anticipation? That unique blonde ponytail is totally my style..."

"Ponytail is the truth... Surely, she must have a very kind and active personality."

"Yeah, just looking at the back, I feel like I can tell what kind of personality this character has."

"As far as female characters go, other than Morita-san, the only one who can compete with Yoshihara Satoshi from 'Languidza' would be?"

"Well... I think Morita-san is much better?"

"I agree. Yoshihara-san's illustrations are undoubtedly cool, but they lack a certain realism, don't they? On the other hand, Morita-san's characters have something poetic and a unique charm. And this person draws guys pretty well now..."

"Yeah, that's right. That's exactly what I mean~!!"

Just as Morita, who happened to overhear the conversation beside me, looked perplexed, I lightly tapped Morita's shoulder and chuckled.

"What do you think about surpassing your rival?"

"R-Rival, you say."

"Didn't you come to my office before, whining about users comparing you to Yoshihara Satoshi?"

Upon hearing that, Morita looked around in bewilderment and said to me, "Sir, did I do that?"

"Well... Then who did I have a conversation with at that time?"

"Well, I mean..."

With Morita's evasive response, I chuckled and turned my head toward the event venue.

&

As I finished my work for the day and headed home, I parked my car in front of a convenience store near my house.

*Ding-a-ling~*

"Ah, are you on your way home now?"

"."

The part-time worker, who looked about 19 now, instead of welcoming me with 'Welcome,' asked, "Are you leaving now?"

It means I often stop by this convenience store on my way back from work...

"Yes. Are you still working today?"

As I replied and walked towards the refrigerator with ice cream, a student called out to me.

"I've already prepared it on the counter. A box of green tea-flavored ice cream, right?"

Surely, as I visit one or two times, it's quite easy to remember. I redirected my steps towards her instead of heading to the refrigerator.

"Do you still only eat this these days?"

With a smile, I nodded in response to the part-timer's question.

"My family member has a sweet tooth. Haha..."

>

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