His colleagues were passionately debating the "perfect combination of Materia and All Materia." He stood beside them, feeling like an alien who couldn't understand a word of their language, unable to join the conversation.
He could only silently crush his cigarette butt and slink away.
That sense of isolation—of being ruthlessly abandoned by the times—and the suffocating feeling of not fitting in, left him more distressed and anxious than simply having no game to play.
Moreover, the past few days of unanimous perfect scores from every major gaming outlet, accompanied by an overwhelming deluge of praise, finally shattered the last line of defense in his heart: his stubborn pride.
Suzuki took a deep breath, strode to the counter, pulled a thick stack of Yukichi Fukuzawa bills from his wallet, and slammed them onto the glass tabletop.
"Give me a Jupiter Console. And a copy of Final Fantasy VII."
The manager glanced at the money on the table, then looked up at Suzuki with a strange expression.
"I recall you standing right here last month, declaring you'd rather die than buy a 3D console, calling 3D heresy."
"Cut the crap. Do you have it or not?" Suzuki's face flushed crimson as he forced a composed tone, urging the manager on.
"I do. Consider yourself lucky—a restock just arrived yesterday." The manager grinned, turning to head toward the storage room to fetch a box. As he walked, he continued to tease, "I've seen so many people like you these past few days. They swear they'll never buy one, yet here they are, all lining up to pay up."
Seattle, United States.
Charlie sat cross-legged on a cluttered carpet, gripping a SNES controller.
On the old CRT television, Super Metroid was playing. Samus leaped and fired her way through the 2D labyrinth with practiced ease.
Bang! The apartment door was kicked open.
His roommate, Brian, stormed in, bringing the outside chill with him. He slammed a large kraft paper bag onto the sofa.
"Charlie, turn off that damn antique! It's a new era now!" Brian exclaimed, shedding his jacket as he pulled several fresh gaming magazines from the bag: Game Informer, EGM, and Next Generation.
Without exception, every single cover featured the visually stunning concept art of Final Fantasy VII.
Charlie spared only a cold glance before continuing to mash the jump button.
"The media got paid off. I've seen this kind of commercial hype a million times," Charlie said, his voice dripping with disdain as he stared at the TV screen. "All 3D games are the same. The camera angles make you dizzy, and the controls feel like you're swimming through mud. The graphics might fool you superficial types, but the core gameplay hasn't even broken past the constraints of the 16-bit era."
Brian rolled his eyes, walked over without a word, and yanked the power cord out of the SNES.
The TV screen went black instantly, and Samus vanished into the void.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing? I haven't saved yet!" Charlie shot up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"Shut up and come with me." Brian practically dragged Charlie into his bedroom.
On the bedroom TV, the black Jupiter console was glowing with a faint green light.
Brian forced the controller into Charlie's hands and pointed at the screen.
"Just half an hour. Half an hour, that's all! If you still think this is just a visual gimmick with terrible controls after thirty minutes, I'll buy you a whole month's worth of pepperoni pizza!"
Charlie sneered, reluctantly sinking back into the sofa. "Get your wallet ready, Brian. I'm about to show you what a real hardcore gamer looks like."
Four hours later.
Two in the morning.
The only light in the bedroom was the ghostly glow of the TV screen.
Charlie stared intensely at the monitor, his eyes bloodshot. His thumbs flew across the controller, the veins on the backs of his hands bulging with effort.
On screen, Cloud swung his Buster Sword with fluid grace through the fully 3D environment. The seamless combat transitions and breathtakingly vivid magic effects had long since shattered Charlie's meager prejudices.
"Where is that damn Shinra Security Chief?" Charlie muttered manically, his body swaying in sync with the character's movements. "I'm going to hack him to pieces! How dare he touch my Aerith!"
Brian leaned against the headboard, his eyelids drooping with exhaustion. He let out a series of long yawns.
"Charlie... buddy... what happened to the half hour? I need to sleep. I've got an early class tomorrow."
"Shut up! Don't distract me! Once I beat this boss, I'll get the new summon!" Charlie roared without even turning his head, his hands never pausing for a second.
The next morning, the Best Buy in downtown Seattle had just opened its doors.
Charlie stood at the checkout counter, his eyes framed by two massive dark circles and his hair a complete bird's nest, yet he was buzzing with an abnormal level of excitement.
"One Sega Jupiter and a copy of Final Fantasy VII! Hurry up, man!" Charlie slammed his credit card onto the counter, unable to contain his impatience.
The clerk swiped the card and packed the items with practiced efficiency.
"You're the tenth customer this morning to buy this exact combination," the clerk said with a smile, placing the heavy console into a large shopping bag. "All of you are veteran gamers coming in specifically for Final Fantasy VII. This game must have some real magic."
Charlie grabbed the bag and strode out of the store.
The crisp morning air hit his face, but instead of waking him up, it only fanned the flames of excitement burning within him.
He glanced down at the bulky game box in the bag, a fanatical smile curling his lips.
December 31, the final day of 1996.
Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo was released globally across all major channels as scheduled.
Simultaneously, Battle.net—the platform carrying all of Blizzard's ambitions—went live.
Los Angeles, USA.
A cold winter rain pattered against the glass doors of the CompUSA retail store.
Outside, a massive two-meter-tall cardboard standee stood out starkly in the wind and rain. Against a heavy, dark red background, a ferocious demon's skull, seemingly ready to devour anyone who looked, stared fixedly at passersby. Below it, the word Diablo was printed in bold, blood-dripping letters.
This was the heartland of PC gaming.
Sega of North America had poured an astonishing amount of money into promoting this game. Computer malls, software specialty stores, and even internet cafes and fast-food joints around universities were completely flooded with these dark red posters.
Jack shook the rainwater off his umbrella with a forceful flick and pushed open the door.
The store was packed, unexpectedly bustling. Most of the crowd was gathered around the PC game shelves. Using his youthful vigor, Jack squeezed his way to the front and grabbed a heavy cardboard box.
"This is it!" Jack handed the box to his roommate, Paul, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "I saw Sega's full-page ads for it in several top computer magazines. They say this game will change the PC platform's ecosystem."
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