Friday 31 Jan 2000.
Zaboru was now inside the YaDo Studio, preparing for a special showcase. Tonight he would reveal three new ZAGE-related websites under the "Digital World" project. They were separate from the ZAGE Forum, but connected to it in important ways: one focused on video, one on a web shop, and one on games. It would be a long presentation, which was why Zaboru chose to host it as a live program on YaDo TV. The sites would go live tomorrow, and this broadcast was meant to be the official launch moment.
For the past few days, Zaboru had been building anticipation. YaDo TV ran short ads, and he also posted announcements on the ZAGE Forum using his official account: "Watch YaDo on Friday, 31 Jan 2000. There will be a reveal for the 'Digital World' website." The message spread quickly. By the time the show began, many viewers were already sitting in front of their televisions, waiting to see what he would announce.
Then YaDo TV quickly started the show, and the first thing the cameras caught was Zaboru casually eating fried chicken and gyoza like he owned the place. The moment he noticed the red recording light, he startled and waved a hand at the staff. "Hey! I'm still eating!"
He took a big sip of orange juice, then went right back to the gyoza without shame. The microphone clearly picked up the crisp crunch of the fried chicken and the soft bite of the dumplings. He leaned closer to the camera, still chewing, and said, "Wait a bit, guys. I'm still damn hungry." Then he glanced at the studio clock and raised his eyebrows. "It's not even 19.00!"
The viewers at home burst into laughter. It suited Zaboru perfectly—he loved eating, and he ate a lot. The studio cameras zoomed in a little too much, showing the juicy fried chicken and the steaming gyoza on the plate. The oil glistened under the studio lights, and the dumplings looked perfectly golden.
Some viewers watching the broadcast suddenly realized they were getting hungry. In apartments across Japan, people started opening their refrigerators. In dorm rooms, students paused the TV to check if they had instant dumplings. In a few convenience stores, customers randomly walked in asking, "Do you have gyoza?" even though they came to watch the show.
Meanwhile Zaboru continued eating like nothing was happening. He grabbed another dumpling, dipped it in sauce, and casually took a bite. "Mmm… this one is really good," he muttered while nodding in approval.
Somewhere in Tokyo, a small restaurant owner watching the show suddenly noticed several customers walking in at the same time asking for fried chicken and dumplings. Even the YaDo TV staff behind the camera started whispering about getting food after the broadcast.
After a short while, Zaboru finally wiped his hands, drank the rest of his orange juice, and leaned back in his chair with a satisfied sigh. He relaxed his shoulders and straightened his posture. Right at 19.00, he smiled at the camera like nothing unusual had happened.
"Okay, everyone, heheh. Thank you for waiting. Now it's already 19.00, so let's start the showcase."
He tapped the desk lightly and grinned. "Do you guys remember what I said in the Steam showcase last year in November? I told you 'ZAGE Digital World' would expand in January. Well… this is it, heheh."
Zaboru then walked around the room and said, "Let's say you're really good at playing games. Maybe you get a crazy kill streak in Counter Strike, or you hit Rampage in Dota, and then you tell your friends about it. You're excited, you're proud, and you can still feel that moment in your head.
"But what happens? They just look at you and say, 'Ain't no way you did that, dude.' And you can't prove you're not lying because you don't have any record of it. No replay, no clip, nothing. It's like the best moment of your night just vanished the second you tried to talk about it."
He pointed at the camera and laughed. "And then it gets worse. When you finally play together, suddenly you play like sh*t because of the pressure. Your hands get stiff, your aim goes everywhere, you miss the easy shots, and your timing disappears. You start overthinking every move, and even simple decisions feel slow."
Zaboru shrugged dramatically. "It's like your skill got stolen the moment people watched you. One match ago you were a monster, and now you look like a beginner. And you know what's the most painful part? You can't even explain it, because it sounds like an excuse."
He leaned forward with a grin. "Then they say, 'See? I told you.' or "Don't lying again man" Annoying, right?"
The players watching live groaned in agreement, because somehow that exact thing had happened to way too many of them. Some even laughed out loud, because it was too accurate to deny.
Then Zaboru grinned and looked directly at the TV camera. "And this will solve that problem. This is our new website. It's called 'YouTube'… or you can also call it 'Z‑Tube.'" He paused for a moment to let the name sink in. "This place is where your moments, your matches, and your stories can finally be recorded and shown to everyone."
As he said that, the big screen beside Zaboru lit up, revealing the YouTube / Z‑Tube logo—a simple red and white play button symbol that immediately caught the audience's attention.
Zaboru smiled. "For now let's just call it YouTube. You can access the website either through www.youtube.com or www.z-tube.com. And what does this website do? Simple. You upload and store your videos here. Let's take a look."
Zaboru then opened his laptop and accessed the site. The page was still very clean, almost empty. There were no videos yet except for one, titled "You Are Very Cool."
He clicked the video. It lasted only about fifteen seconds. The clip showed Zaboru wearing his Zabo‑man outfit while holding the helmet under his arm. He stood in front of a park and looked directly at the camera before saying, "You are very cool!" while giving thumbs up Then the video ended.
Zaboru smiled at the audience. "This is the first video ever on this site. And yes, you can upload your own videos just like this."
He then demonstrated another upload. This time it was a Counter‑Strike video about two minutes long. The clip showed Zaboru using the nickname "Casual Shot" while playing a chaotic deathmatch round. In the short clip he moved quickly across the map, eliminating fifteen players within two minutes using various weapons with sharp aim and insane movement. The action was fast, the shots were precise, and it looked almost effortless.
After a short moment, the upload completed and the video appeared on the page beside him. The site processed the clip quickly and the video player opened on the big screen, showing the same intense gameplay that had just been uploaded.
"See?" Zaboru said proudly. "The video is uploaded. That fast. And yes, this is just a casual highlight of me playing Counter‑Strike, hahaha."
He leaned closer to the microphone and grinned. "And don't bother trying to find my nickname in the game. 'Casual Shot' is just one of my many nicknames. I never play with the same nickname, so you can't trace me even if you try."
He shrugged playfully. "Why can I do that? Hehehe… simple. Because I own the game, hahahaha!"
Zaboru laughed loudly. Meanwhile, among the viewers watching the broadcast, a few Counter‑Strike players suddenly recognized the name. Some of them had actually played with someone called "Casual Shot" before. They clearly remembered that player dominating an entire match with something ridiculous like 120 kills and only one death—and that one death was from him "accidentally" killing himself with a grenade.
Many players had once accused that mysterious player of cheating. But those who truly watched the gameplay knew the truth. Casual Shot wasn't cheating at all.
He was simply that good.
Zaboru then continued, "Then you all can upload your videos here. Do you have clips that you want to share? Maybe a highlight from your game, a funny moment with friends, or something cool you captured while playing? You can upload all of that here. And you might have noticed that after we launched STEAM and integrated ZAGE PC games into Steam, there is a record and replay feature, right? For now it can only save one or two matches, so you still have to download the replay and turn it into a video clip yourself—so don't forget to do that, haha.
But that's not the only way. You can also use the normal recording methods on your PC. Many people already use screen recording software, and those clips can be uploaded here too. And what if you want to record ZEPS 3 games or other consoles? That's possible as well. You just need to find a way to capture the video—maybe with an external adapter or capture device—record it on your PC, and then upload it here.
"The important part is that everyone can share their moments. Your best match, your funniest fail, or something you're proud of. And everything here is completely free. You don't have to pay anything to upload your videos."
Zaboru smiled and continued, "And of course, this isn't just about uploading videos. People watching your videos can interact with them. If they like your video, they can press the 'like' button. If they don't like it, they can dislike it. That way creators can see how people react to their content."
He pointed at the screen again. "And not just that. If someone thinks your videos are really good, they can subscribe to your channel. When they subscribe, they will receive updates whenever you upload a new video. So if you make many good videos, people will follow your channel and wait for your next upload."
The people watching were already in awe. For many of them this concept alone—uploading videos for everyone to see—already felt revolutionary. Yet Zaboru raised a finger with a playful grin. "And I'm not done yet. This website can also do this."
He walked to another desk where a second laptop was prepared. A small webcam was mounted above the screen, and several cables ran to a capture setup beside it. The studio camera zoomed slightly so the viewers at home could see what he was doing.
Zaboru clicked a few buttons and adjusted the webcam. On the big screen, a new window appeared. It showed Zaboru sitting there in real time, the webcam feed appearing in a small box at the corner while the rest of the screen displayed his computer.
At the same time, the same broadcast appeared on the second laptop beside him.
"This," Zaboru said while pointing at the screen, "is called Live Streaming."
He waved casually to the webcam and the tiny video window showed the same movement instantly. "You can stream yourself while playing games. Or maybe you don't want your face there—you can stream only your gameplay. Maybe you want to talk with your viewers while playing, maybe you want to teach people how to play better, or maybe you just want to entertain people while you play."
He leaned back slightly and continued explaining. "Of course, this requires a bit more power from your computer because it has to encode video while you're playing. So you'll need a reasonably good PC. And a stable internet connection too."
Then he shrugged confidently. "But don't worry. The standard Sendou FTTH internet we have now is completely fine for this. If you have that connection, you can already stream without problems."
Zaboru smiled as he looked around the studio monitors showing the audience reactions. Many viewers looked completely flabbergasted by what they had just seen. He chuckled lightly before speaking again. "This will be a community video platform. Not just video games—you can upload all kinds of videos here. Maybe your gameplay highlights, maybe funny moments with friends, maybe tutorials, maybe music, maybe creative things you make."
Zaboru smiled and gestured toward the plate that was still sitting on the table. "Like I did earlier when I was eating in front of you guys—those fried chicken and dumplings looked delicious, right? Hahaha. See, even something simple like that can become a video people enjoy watching. Maybe tomorrow someone uploads cooking videos, maybe someone records their travels, maybe someone teaches others how to do something cool. The videos you make are only limited by your creativity."
He raised a finger while still smiling. "Of course there are limits. Pornography, extreme violence, or any disgusting stuff cannot be uploaded here. We have our own policies and moderation system, okay? This place is meant to be a positive community."
Zaboru then gestured toward the large screen behind him where the Z‑Tube logo still glowed brightly. "Imagine this. One day players will become creators. People will share strategies, funny moments, speedruns, tournaments, or even stories from their favorite games. Some of you might even become famous just by making great videos."
He leaned slightly closer to the camera, voice becoming more excited. "And when millions of players start uploading, watching, and sharing… this place will become a huge library of memories for the entire gaming world."
Zaboru spread his hands confidently. "This is the future. A world where players don't just play games—they share them with everyone. And this… is one of the main projects of the 'ZAGE Digital World.'"
Zaboru smiled quietly in the studio, already imagining how different this YouTube would be compared to the one from his previous life. In that world, the platform eventually became flooded with advertisements—sometimes it felt like eighty percent of the experience was just ads. Viewers were constantly interrupted unless they paid to remove them.
It's almost like a scam for the companies paying to air advertisements. A company might say, "We want to put ads on YouTube," and the platform replies, "Okay, you must pay millions." Yet the people who actually see those ads can simply avoid them by becoming premium members. Ironically, those premium members might be the very audience the advertisers wanted to reach. In the end, companies spend enormous amounts of money while a large portion of the potential viewers never even see the advertisement, which makes the entire system feel extremely unfair and inefficient.
Here, he wanted something better. Zaboru planned to keep advertisements in moderation so they would never overwhelm the content itself. There would be no "pay to remove ads" system. Instead, the ads would be designed to be short, creative, and sometimes even entertaining. Some would promote upcoming ZAGE games, events, and products.
In Zaboru's vision, ads would support the platform without ruining the experience. Viewers would still enjoy the videos, creators could grow their audiences, and the platform would remain fun instead of becoming a wall of advertisements.
Zaboru smiled as the first section of the "Digital World" presentation finished. "Alright, let's continue. The next website, aside from YouTube/Z‑Tube, is…"
To be continue
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