"Gastar Electronic Entertainnt just announced their newest ga!"
"There are three characters, two of them female—and they look amazing! I'm buying it no matter what! Doesn't even matter what kind of ga it is!"
"Even if it's a match-3 puzzle ga?"
"Heh, I trust Gastar Electronic Entertainnt has never let us down in this area. Gastar is our god!"
In the relevant gaming communities, the characters getting the most buzz were, unsurprisingly, the two female ones.
Among them, the most discussed was Bayonetta from Bayonetta.
Players were already incredibly excited just seeing the blacked-out silhouettes of the three characters—still thinking they were all from a single ga.
They had no idea these were actually characters from three different gas.
...
...
Takayuki figured that if he revealed that detail now, players would probably scream with excitent.
Just like the surprises he had witnessed in his past life.
And those monts of surprise are the most precious part of gaming.
So he was even more determined to keep the details of these three titles tightly under wraps—he didn't want any major leaks before the official announcents.
At the sa ti, the three developnt teams assigned to these new titles were now fully imrsed in their work.
Two of the gas were completely new IPs.
Every ti Gastar Electronic Entertainnt launched a new IP, it was a challenge.
A new IP ant a new audience. Any small misstep in developnt could hit morale hard.
As for Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, the spin-off of Final Fantasy VII, the developnt team responsible was the most excited of the three.
Many of them had gotten into gaming because of Final Fantasy VII.
They had a deep emotional connection to the series.
So had even chosen their career path in ga developnt because of that one ga.
So when Takayuki told them they'd be making a spin-off in the Final Fantasy VII universe, they were thrilled.
Especially when the team leader read the main plot of Crisis Core, they felt the emotional weight of that classic Final Fantasy tragic destiny.
The characters didn't have happy endings—but it was powerful, unforgettable.
So when they took on the task, they swore they wouldn't let Takayuki down. They'd give their absolute all to make it a great ga.
All three teams kicked into overdrive, and the promotional side of things was also ramping up.
Before the three new gas were revealed, more details about Monster Hunter were released.
This would be the most ambitious Monster Hunter yet.
For the first ti, the team could finally build the kind of ecological world they'd always wanted.
A truly imrsive Monster Hunter ecosystem.
Large monsters would have their own distinct habitats, and would compete or interact with one another.
In this vividly alive Monster Hunter world, every player would beco the main character of their own story.
The promotional campaign also placed special focus on the ga's character customization system, encouraging players to create whatever look they wanted.
And just as the promotional machine was firing on all cylinders, so "activists" began making noise online.
"Objectification of won," "unrealistic beauty standards"—they were "deeply disappointed."
They argued that as the industry leader, Gastar should be more responsible. Instead of focusing on beautiful characters, they should embrace more diverse standards of beauty.
Basically, they said whatever would get them more attention.
Their voices were loud, confident, and increasingly bold.
This was one of the reasons so many other ga companies avoided direct confrontation.
After all, no developer wanted to make fans uncomfortable—of course they wanted to create stylish, beautiful gas.
But dealing with that loud minority was hard.
This ti, though, Gastar Electronic Entertainnt was preparing for a head-on clash.
Before, Gastar had only gone up against specific groups.
Now, it was clearly ready to go to war on all fronts.
Other ga companies were watching closely.
They wanted to see how Gastar would handle the situation—and they were hoping it would set an example for them to follow.
Many of them hoped from the bottom of their hearts that Gastar would win this battle.
If Gastar failed, the whole ga industry could fall under the control of those loud voices.
So, unlike in the past, the other ga companies didn't rush to make concessions.
Instead, they collectively chose silence, watching how Gastar's confrontation would unfold before making their own move.
...
In Tokyo, Japan, in a luxurious private mansion, Takayuki held a phone in silence.
"Takayuki, I believe in you. I'm sure Mom will agree to your request too."
Beside him, Tsukino Aya said firmly.
Takayuki looked back at Aya and gave a small smile and nod. "Yeah... after all, she is my mom. It should be okay."
Finally making up his mind, he dialed the number.
It belonged to his mother, Masako Takayuki, who had been living abroad for years.
This ti, Takayuki was preparing to call in serious reinforcents from outside the industry.
His mother in this world was a well-known artist with an international reputation.
And right now, that's exactly the kind of person Takayuki needed.
Originally, he had considered asking local Japanese artists for help.
But unfortunately, most of them were too self-important and didn't take video gas seriously.
Even though the gaming industry had beco a massive global force, these old-fashioned artists still scoffed at it—sothing all too common among their kind.
But Takayuki still needed people from that world to help him now.
If the traditional artists wouldn't help, he had only one choice left—his own mother, the artist.
Reviews
All reviews (0)