In this parallel world, 2007 would later be hailed as the launch year of the smartphone industry.
And 2008? That was dubbed the year of the "Smartphone Warring States Era."
Smartphone models burst forth like bamboo shoots after the rain—unstoppable.It felt like every small company under the sun was ambitiously developing smartphones, each hoping to carve out a piece of the chaotic new market.
It mirrored the explosive growth of the video ga industry in the mid-1990s.
In contrast, the video ga industry—specifically handheld and ho consoles—began showing signs of decline.
At the very start of 2008, video gas hit a slump.
"The hottest thing right now is smartphones! What we should be doing is investing more in mobile, not in video gas!"
Just a year ago, video gas were the darlings of investors. Because, well... they raked in cash.
But this year was different. Venture capital flooded into the smartphone sector instead, leaving video gas with a shrinking share of the pot.
Ga studios, once flexing their budget with teams of hundreds, $10 million, even $100 million developnt costs, now found themselves reined in.
Just last year, Surei Electronics had invested over $100 million into two ga titles.
To date, only one had barely broken even. The other—"Solar Knight", which won Ga of the Year—had earned a small profit.
But to investors, even "small profit" = loss. What they wanted was massive ROI.
And clearly, video gas were no longer delivering that.
anwhile, the smartphone boom looked unstoppable—only a fool wouldn't know where to place their bets now.
Surei's ga division had clearly lost its footing in this new competition.
Internally, its priority rating was downgraded, and soon after, employee salaries were cut across the board.
The mood was grim.
Even Gastar Electronic Entertainnt, the absolute pinnacle of the video ga world, wasn't having the smoothest start to the year.
Their recently announced gas—Bayonetta, NieR: Automata, and Crisis Core—generated buzz at first, but... it didn't last.
Ga developnt takes ti, after all. With nothing released yet, that hype was easily stolen by flashier, faster-moving tech products.
The hottest company now? Micksoft.
Once dismissed as a washed-up tech firm, its CEO Myron Case was back in the spotlight, hailed as the first truly successful entrepreneur of the 21st century.
Everyone wanted to be like him.
The MK2 smartphone sold like wildfire. It wasn't just popular—it beca a fashion icon, driving trends in both tech and lifestyle.
And Myron Case?
He was thrilled. Everything was unfolding just as he had predicted.
He'd always said video gas were just a fad.And now—look. Even his most troubleso competitor, Takayuki, was struggling.
"See? Gas were never ant to blow up like that," he mused with a smug grin."People don't want that. People want cutting-edge, stylish tech. That's where the future lies."
"Gas? They're headed for the graveyard."
He even had a soft spot for one title: Tetris.
But in his mind, Tetris didn't count as a video ga. He saw it as a "standalone creation," separate from gaming entirely.
He liked Tetris. He just didn't like gas.
The only problem? He couldn't get Tetris on his MK2.
...Or could he?
A thought started to form in his head. Slowly, he picked up the phone.
anwhile, at Gastar's Tokyo HQ, Takayuki was doing what he always did: staying deep in the trenches of ga developnt.
This ti, he was hands-on with three flagship projects:
Bayonetta
NieR: Automata
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Each one demanded serious attention.Other teams were hard at work on side titles—WarioWare, Luigi's Mansion, and so on.
Those, Takayuki was fine with leaving to his subordinates.
In fact, he actively encouraged them to be as creative as possible. Even if a project lost money, he didn't care—as long as it unleashed their potential.
Monster Hunter: World was also nearly complete. No more micromanaging—just prepping for launch, scheduled after the upcoming Gastar Carnival.
"Zack has to die. It's unavoidable. That's the fixed ending."
"Mika, can we make Bayonetta even more seductive? I want her movents to be more graceful—more elegant."
"And 2B? You can lean into the sensuality. This isn't just fanservice—it's design excellence.This is why I always say: only won truly know how to create beautiful won."
Takayuki zipped around between departnts like lightning. Despite being in his 30s, he was a machine—seemingly tireless.
So staff swore he could go days without sleep. They were used to it, but that didn't an they weren't concerned.
From ti to ti, soone would bring him tonics, energy drinks, or hearty homade food—not out of brown-nosing, but genuine care.
To his team, Takayuki wasn't just a CEO. He was an inspirational leader.
Soone they hoped would stay strong and lead them forever.
"If anything ever happened to him," they whispered, "Gastar would collapse overnight."
And so, Takayuki received a kind of affectionate loyalty most CEOs could only dream of.
Just as he was knee-deep in his usual chaos, his assistant approached—sothing rare during dev hours.
That ant it had to be important.
"President, soone's offered to buy the rights to one of our ga IPs."
"Buy an IP?" Takayuki raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
"They didn't say. But... they're offering $100 million."
"Which ga?"
"...Tetris."
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