Using Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children as the final reveal was a brilliant strategy.
It re-energized the players and left no room for regret. The carnival ended on a perfect note.
In the days following, teasers and previews of the Advent Children story would continue to roll out, keeping players intrigued and hungry for more.
anwhile, the developnt of Monster Hunter had crossed the halfway mark. However, the final product would still need another six months or so before release—this ti, the balancing and stat systems were far stricter than usual.
On the other hand, the production cycle for Final Fantasy VII's animated film would be much faster.
That, too, was part of Takayuki's plan.
...
...
He intended to first promote the film in theaters and then distribute it using his company's proprietary cartridge format for handhelds.
Takayuki recalled that in his previous life, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children had been released on PSP's UMD (Universal dia Disc) format, which sold very well. At the ti, its visuals were top-tier, offering players a truly cinematic experience.
Traditional gas usually only had a few minutes of CG—but this ti, it was an entire movie. What could be more satisfying?
If this could help win more acceptance for cartridges as a dia format, it would be a huge success.
That said, Takayuki wasn't planning to abandon optical discs either. After all, they were the traditional dium for movies.
But he had no intention of using Sury Electronics' Blu-ray format. Instead, he'd opt for the disc standard supported by the GS1 console—not only to promote his own format but also to chip away at Sury's market dominance.
Even if discs remained mainstream in the future, he wouldn't allow Sury Electronics to hold a monopoly.
Once the carnival had fully wrapped up, the three-day event recorded an average of 71,000 visitors per day, with the adjacent esports arena drawing over 40,000 spectators daily.
For such a young industry, this was nothing short of a miracle.
Still, Takayuki didn't think it was enough.
In the future, with the rise of internet streaming, viewerships could easily reach hundreds of millions—a level far beyond traditional TV ratings, where a 20–30% share was considered a massive win.
Japan had, what, 50 or 60 million televisions?
Even if everyone tuned in to a ga-related broadcast at the sa ti, it would only reach tens of millions.
But with the internet, the numbers could be in the hundreds of millions—that was the true future.
Hayakawa Ueto, watching the final broadcast, was full of emotions. Saying he wasn't envious would've been a lie.
He hadn't expected Gastar Electronic Entertainnt to reach this level.
It was still a company barely a decade old—young by any corporate standard.
Beep-beep.
Just then, his phone rang. It was Nagao A from the YOO Portal.
"Hello, Hayakawa-san. Now that Gastar's carnival is over, we can ramp up our own product promotions," Nagao said casually.
Hayakawa nodded. "Yeah, I was thinking the sa. But I'm a bit puzzled—why would Takayuki drop an animated film at the very end? It seems like a major promotional focus for Gastar."
"That's not hard to guess," Nagao replied with a laugh. "It's obvious Gastar's growth is slowing. He's trying to attract new users through other channels. But honestly, when it cos to user base, we're not losing to him at all. My YOO Portal has over 70 million registered users globally."
Nagao's tone was full of pride.
There were very few portals in the world with such a massive user base. Maybe not quite countable on one hand, but definitely among the top twenty websites globally.
It was precisely because of this scale that he could draw in so much investnt.
Hayakawa listened and didn't find anything wrong with his reasoning, but deep down, he still felt sothing wasn't quite right. It all seed too simple.
He couldn't imagine how one animated movie—even if it was from the legendary Final Fantasy franchise—could have that big of an impact.
Sensing Hayakawa's hesitation, Nagao quickly added, "Actually, if you're worried that Takayuki's movie might stir things up, I've got a suggestion."
"A suggestion? What kind?"
"Use your company's strengths."
"Our strengths..."
Hayakawa paused, then his eyes lit up as he seed to realize sothing.
"You an that? Huh... yeah, that might actually work. It could throw a wrench into Gastar's plans—maybe even sabotage the movie's success outright."
Nagao chuckled coldly. "Heh, judging by the visual quality shown in the stream, that film probably cost upwards of a hundred million yen. Takayuki sure is throwing money around. If it flops, I bet it'll hurt him."
Hayakawa nodded eagerly. "I'll get in touch with our U.S. contacts imdiately and push this through. By the way, how's progress with your ga studios?"
Nagao sounded delighted. "Several studios are nearing completion. Everything's on schedule. Don't worry—I'll make sure your console gets a steady stream of new titles. No droughts, I promise!"
At this point, Sury Electronics and YOO Portal were official partners.
YOO had acquired more than a dozen ga developnt studios, many of which had once been reputable third-party developers for Gastar.
Bringing these studios under one roof greatly strengthened their position—and boosted Hayakawa's confidence.
"Excellent. Then let's just follow our own schedule. In the end, it all cos down to ga quality."
"Leave it to ," Nagao assured him before hanging up.
Back at Gastar Electronic Entertainnt, although the carnival had ended, work was as intense as ever.
After all, they had promised a lot during the event.
Most of it ca from Takayuki's past-life mories of familiar titles. Unless unexpected bugs disrupted developnt, nothing would delay their progress.
No sooner had the carnival ended than Sury Electronics launched a massive wave of advertising.
Stylish ga trailers began spreading across the internet and on billboards everywhere, covering nearly every genre. It was clearly ant to rival Takayuki's offerings.
Had Sury tried this large-scale approach in the past, Takayuki wouldn't have stood a chance. Back then, Gastar lacked the clout. The only way would've been to rush out tons of NES or SNES-era style gas, which were relatively easy to produce compared to modern 3D titles.
But now, Gastar had montum. In addition to its first-party gas, it had a reliable group of talented partners. Even if so were poached, their overall strength remained solid.
They could hold the line.
Every month, both sides released high-quality titles—developed by local studios in this world—competing head-to-head in the market.
Sury's gas had better visuals, thanks to more powerful chipsets. Their handhelds and ho consoles both had an edge in rendering.
And the visual spectacle definitely appealed to a certain group of players.
But Gastar's third-party titles had the upper hand in gaplay creativity.
Years of experience allowed them to consistently release solid three-star-or-better gas.
They might not be masterpieces, but they were undeniably fun and engaging.
In terms of sales, third-party titles for both companies perford similarly.
But since Sury's developnt costs were significantly higher, Gastar's partners earned more profit at equivalent sales.
At the mont, Takayuki was fully focused on Monster Hunter. He only occasionally checked in on Final Fantasy VIII, ensuring the overall direction was on track.
Then there was the premiere plan for Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
When Tukarev, Gastar's longti overseas partner, learned about the animated film, he imdiately volunteered to handle distribution in North Arica and Europe.
He had far more experience in the film industry, and the two of them had worked together for years. There was trust.
Takayuki was more than happy to let him handle marketing and release plans. His job was just to ensure production stayed on schedule.
However, Takayuki wasn't the film's director. The role went to a veteran story designer who had worked at Gastar for years and had a background in film.
He had directed a few mid-level movies in the past but joined Gastar out of a passion for gas.
Never did he imagine he'd return to directing under these circumstances.
Takayuki, while skilled in ga developnt, had little experience in filmmaking.
Even though gas and movies shared so similarities, he didn't want to risk ruining a good project due to his lack of expertise.
So he brought in a seasoned director to take the helm, while Takayuki supplied the vision and creative ideas.
It was an unusual arrangent: the director wasn't the sole authority—there was soone "above" him acting more like a commander-in-chief.
Still, the director didn't mind. He was thrilled to be part of such a high-quality animated project.
If things stayed on track, Monster Hunter and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children would likely launch around the sa ti. A blockbuster film alongside a dedicated handheld ga release? That would definitely move the needle.
However, just as things were coming together, Tukarev sent word from the U.S.:
Several major theater chains had refused to screen Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
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