"So, have you decided which departnt you want to join?"
"Yes, I want to join the next-gen console developnt departnt."
At that mont, CEO Kamauichi asked with a puzzled expression, "Do we even have such a departnt in our company?"
"Well, I'm currently in charge of the portable Ga Boy project, but I want to lead the next-gen console developnt departnt."
Kamauichi raised an eyebrow at my response. "Huh!? A successor to the Family? I haven't even thought about that. The Family is doing great in the gaming market, and it's too early to talk about a successor."
"Of course, I don't an we should start working on it imdiately. But a competitor called NEGA has erged, and if they release the NEGA Disk, they will promote it with powerful hardware. So, it might be a good idea to start thinking about it. As technology advances, the speed of computer developnt accelerates, and that ans the Family's glory in Min10 won't last forever."
"Hmm... a successor, you say. Well, Kang, you have a point. We need to develop powerful hardware in line with the tis to improve the quality of our gas."
"That's right, sir. That's why I'm requesting a transfer to a new departnt. I'll work on creating the next-gen console and ga developnt together there."
"What do you think, Gunpei?"
"I agree with Kang. Right now, we're the undisputed leader in the industry, but companies are popping up left and right, realizing that the gaming industry is profitable. To differentiate ourselves from them, I believe it's a good idea to start thinking about the next-gen console now."
"Very well. Then proceed with it."
"Thank you."
Huh? That was easier than I expected. Did this sly fox Kamauichi just agree without hesitation? It seems my success in conquering the Arican market has significantly bolstered my standing within the company.
Thanks to that, I embarked on a new journey as the head of the developnt departnt in Japan. It was the year 1985, and I was 23 years old.
"Mr. Shige, have you tried Dragon Warrior?"
Mr. Shige was a nickna for Kumatomo Shige. He was currently deeply engrossed in the developnt of a ga.
"I don't know, Inma."
His curt response signaled that he was preoccupied, making the employee who asked the question retreat with a puzzled expression. I sipped my coffee, hands in my pockets, observing him. It may seem impolite to so, but having established a presence in the Arican market, and now holding the position of head of the next-gen console developnt departnt, no one dared to criticize .
"What's this? You can't even take your hands out of your pockets? Eating and drinking lavishly in the USA seems to have changed your manners, Mr. Kang."
"Oh, hello, Mr. Kamauichi."
"Hello is not the right way to greet soone, you rascal."
"Haha, what brings you to the developnt room?"
"I ca to check on this brat, Shige."
However, Mr. Shige remained fixated on the monitor, unaware of Mr. Kamauichi's presence. Mr. Kamauichi, wearing a relaxed expression, turned to him and asked with a cheerful tone, "Hey, Shige, have you played Dragon Warrior or whatever that ga is?"
In response, Mr. Shige's eyebrows twitched, and he slamd the desk as he stood up, shouting, "I don't know, damn it! Why do you keep asking about Dragon Warrior or whatever the hell it is?"
"..."
CEO Kamauichi's lips curved in a wry smile, resembling a grumbling goldfish.
"Well... By putting these young folks in high-ranking positions, it seems like the company has gone mad."
"Oh, sir!?"
"No matter how open-minded I am, I've been too lenient lately, haven't I?"
"Oh, I was just considering a few things..."
Shige-san wore a bewildered expression as he repeatedly apologized to the CEO. Jealousy is said to drive people crazy, and it appeared that a ga called Dragon Warrior was driving Shige-san insane. I sipped my coffee and gazed out the window.
Lately, I had noticed an intriguing fact. It seed that the course of the gaming industry's history had subtly shifted. According to the original tiline I was familiar with, Shige-san's The Legend of Karin should have been released about three months before Dragon Warrior. Yet, Dragon Warrior had surprisingly beaten it to the punch.
The Super Mario ga's side-scrolling system had been introduced a year earlier, resulting in a significant expansion of the gaming genre. As a consequence, Dragon Warrior was completed in just five months, releasing the first installnt of the series.
On the day Dragon Warrior was released, I took a day off to visit Akihabara in Tokyo. Thanks to the success of the Family and the NEGA Disk, Akihabara had beco a fusion of electronic products and gaming consoles.
Dragon Warrior, released by a Japanese ga company called Phoenix for the Min10 Family, had garnered imnse interest even before its release, becoming incredibly popular from the first day.
The reason was that Dragon Warrior was the first RPG ga in Japan, grabbing the title even before Shige-san's ga, which was thed around a fairy with an inverted green hat. The problem was that Shige-san's ambition had triggered a series of unfortunate events.
Due to his eagerness to include various elents in the story, the production ti had stretched. Initially, the ga featured a simple storyline of a fairy boy rescuing a princess, but he started creating a peculiar emblem ford by three triangles and began constructing a detailed universe around it.
As a result, the production ti gradually extended from three to six months, then from six to nine months. During this ti, Phoenix swiftly produced a simple and fairytale-like ga called "The Hero Rescuing the Princess." That ga was none other than Dragon Warrior.
"Ugh... Ah, it's so annoying..."
I handed Shige-san a canned coffee in the break room and asked, "Are you okay, Shige-san? Why are you so stressed out? Just keep creating gas as comfortably as you always have."
"Ah, thanks. You're right. I'd love to do that, but as Dragon Warrior gets more attention, it's making subconsciously nervous. The first RPG genre in Japan~!! I had been aiming for that title too..."
"Your ambition is going too far. Thanks to Dragon Warrior, other ga companies are going crazy these days. Nowadays, many companies focus solely on making gas for the Family or the NEGA Disk, rather than arcades."
"As Dragon Warrior becos a big hit, a bunch of similar RPG works will erge, right? Ah~ Does that an my ga, The Legend of Karin, will be buried within them?!"
"Then try to create sothing groundbreaking within that context."
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