"It's the same here at Konami. It's absolutely bizarre." Kazumasa Kozuki turned the page of a report, his voice laced with confusion. "But the strange thing is, those low-budget casual games of ours—the ones we barely even marketed—are selling like wildfire. This proves that players aren't short on cash; they're just refusing to buy the big titles!"
"I'm just as baffled by this freakish trend," Kenzo Tsujimoto said, exhaling a thick cloud of smoke. "How about a drink tonight? Let's invite Kudo from Hudson and Nakamura from Namco. We can all get together and compare notes. This market is acting way too strange."
"Fine. The usual spot."
Eight o'clock in the evening, at a secluded, high-end ryotei in Ginza.
The private room was stiflingly quiet, broken only by the gentle gurgle of sake being poured into ceramic cups by a kimono-clad server.
Kazumasa Kozuki, Kenzo Tsujimoto, Hudson President Hiroshi Kudo, and Namco President Masaya Nakamura—four titans whose slightest movements could send tremors through the Japanese gaming industry—sat around a low table, their faces etched with a mixture of emotions.
Hiroshi Kudo drained his sake cup in one gulp and tugged irritably at his tie.
"Hudson's situation is exactly the same as yours," Kudo said, taking a bite of expensive bluefin tuna sashimi that tasted like wax. "We can't get any of our major productions off the ground, not even by bundling them with discounted older titles. That strategy used to work like a charm a few years ago. Meanwhile, mindless multiplayer party games like Jupiter Bomberman are selling like crazy. Have these players all collectively lost their minds?"
Kenzo Tsujimoto tapped his cigarette ash and smiled bitterly. "The New Year's holiday used to be when players had the most cash—our golden window to harvest sales with major releases. This year, though, we've just thrown tens of millions in promotional spending straight into Tokyo Bay."
Masaya Nakamura had remained silent.
The old fox, known for his sharp insight and cautious strategy, simply sipped his tea, his keen gaze sweeping over the other three men.
"Haven't you noticed what Nintendo is up to?" Nakamura finally asked, setting down his teacup with a slow, deliberate motion.
Kazumasa Kozuki curled his lip and glanced over. "Nintendo? Their N64 is getting crushed by Sega's Jupiter right now. What's there to see?"
"Mario Kart 64," Masaya Nakamura said, his voice gaining a hint of emphasis. "This week alone, they quietly sold nearly 200,000 copies. They've managed to ride a second wave of sales."
Silence fell over the private room for a few seconds, broken only by the faint hum of the air conditioner.
Hiroshi Kudo froze, his chopsticks suspended mid-air. "Two hundred thousand? In just a few days during the New Year's break? You've got to be kidding!"
"I'm not," Nakamura nodded, his gaze growing intense. "Our promotional campaign is about to end. Our internal industry network, combined with investigations and analyses from the gaming media, has finally unearthed the root cause of this bizarre phenomenon."
"What is it?" Kenzo Tsujimoto asked, bolting upright.
"A blockbuster hit," Nakamura said, each word deliberate. "Final Fantasy VII."
Kazumasa Kozuki frowned, his face a mask of confusion. "It's been half a month since Final Fantasy VII launched! The core gamers all lined up overnight to buy it. Casual gamers aren't interested in a four-disc RPG anyway. What does any of this have to do with our blockbusters not selling?"
Masaya Nakamura sneered, his fingers tapping a rhythmic beat on the solid wood table.
"The problem is precisely because it's been out for half a month," Nakamura explained, his voice low. "The first two weeks were a landslide of perfect scores from the global media, pushing the hype to its absolute peak. The first wave of core gamers played day and night, grinding relentlessly. Now, they've basically all finished the game. Even if we see another sales spike in the next few days, it'll just be the bandwagon effect within the gaming community. Casual gamers still won't bite."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the three industry peers before him. His voice dropped an octave. "But have you considered this? Half a month of high-intensity play, dozens of hours of completely immersive experience without a single dull moment, that Hollywood-level cinematic storytelling and graphics that push the hardware to its absolute limit—"
A flash of insight struck Kenzo Tsujimoto. The hand holding his cigarette froze mid-air, and he didn't even notice the ash falling onto the tatami mat.
"Burnout—" Kenzo Tsujimoto blurted out, his voice trembling.
"Exactly! Burnout!" Masaya Nakamura nodded vigorously. "The players' energy has been completely drained by this monster Square unleashed! Now, any game with a deep plot, a complex system, or a massive map triggers a visceral reaction of disgust and rejection. They've lost all interest in major titles. At least for this New Year's holiday, their brains have simply refused to think!"
Hiroshi Kudo struck his thigh in a sudden epiphany. "I get it now! That's why they're turning to smaller, bite-sized games—like Mario Kart 64!"
"Precisely." Masaya Nakamura lifted his teacup and took a bitter sip. "It's the New Year, and friends are gathering. They don't want to memorize complex move lists or endure long-winded, tragic dialogue. They just want to toss a Red Shell on the track, watch their friends get wrecked, and have a good laugh. That's the psychological relief they need right now."
Kazumasa Kozuki sank back into his chair, letting out a long, weary sigh that seemed to age him years in an instant.
"Those madmen at Square... what kind of monster have they unleashed?" Kazumasa Kozuki shook his head repeatedly, his eyes filled with apprehension. "They've not only drained the market of all its money but also sucked the players dry of their energy. And in the process, they've completely ruined the release windows we so carefully planned. Sega must be ecstatic—the Jupiter Console's sales are seeing a massive surge as a result. This generation's console war... is officially decided. Nintendo and Sony can't make a comeback from this."
"This is the destructive power of a phenomenal masterpiece," Masaya Nakamura said, his tone calm yet tinged with profound helplessness. "It doesn't just disrupt the market's consumption cycle; it drastically reshapes the entire console sales landscape. For the next month or two, no major title will have a good run. We'll have to wait for the players to catch their breath. Once the spring break hits and the students are out of school, we can launch another promotional campaign to recover at least some of our losses."
A deathly silence once again fell over the private room.
The four presidents, titans who commanded the gaming industry, now felt the terrifying aftershocks of Final Fantasy VII.
This wasn't a mere battle of sales figures.
This was absolute dominance over the players' time, energy, and wallets! It was a dimensional strike!
Please Support me by becoming my Patreon member and get 30+ chapters.
[email protected]/Ajal69
change @ with a
Thank You to Those who joined my Patreon