Once upon a ti, it was Tanaka who had proposed the idea of industrialized ga developnt to Ueto Hayakawa.
He had learned the concept from Takayuki's course and had co to deeply believe in the value of industrialized ga production.
He had to admit—he wasn't particularly good at the kind of work that required bursts of creativity.
And yet, he still really wanted to make gas. Whether or not he had a natural talent for ga developnt, he hoped he could find so level of achievent in the field.
Sotis, people are just like that—no matter their aptitude, they still chase after their dreams.
For soone like Tanaka, this dream might have always seed distant, maybe even unattainable. But still, he wanted to give it a shot.
Industrialized ga developnt was one way he could compensate for his lack of innate ga design talent.
And recently, the developnt work he had been leading under this model had started showing real results.
...
...
The latest ga announced by Surei Electronics was one that he was in charge of.
Originally, it was an unremarkable traditional adventure ga that the company had already decided to abandon. The original producer had even resigned and left the project. But Tanaka stepped up and took over the ss, confidently promising Hayakawa that he could breathe new life into it using the industrial developnt approach.
So, the once-generic adventure ga transford into sothing new—now featuring RPG elents, equipnt customization, and even a touch of randomized dungeon exploration. In terms of genre, it had beco quite similar to Diablo.
All the gaplay chanics were based on thods that Takayuki had taught. Tanaka didn't add anything particularly innovative—he simply combined those systems into one package. And surprisingly, it worked really well.
Eventually, an additional $10 million investnt was secured, and the ga even managed to break even. This success shot Tanaka's reputation up within Surei's ga division.
Now, he had begun to make a na for himself in the industry.
He used to be just an ordinary gar—back in 1993. His father had also made a bold decision after video gas beca a thing: he switched careers to beco a full-ti ga journalist and eventually beca a freelance writer.
Maybe Tanaka inherited sothing from his father. As soon as he saw the world of video gas, it was like sothing inside him had been awakened—he dove in headfirst.
Now, he was halfway to success.
All he needed was to produce a true top-tier industrialized sandbox ga—if he could do that, it would prove that his approach worked. And then, all of his efforts would finally be rewarded.
Who would've thought that soone who started out just as a passionate fan would grow into a respected ga developer?
And so, there was no reason to decline the chance to reconnect with old childhood friends.
Aiko and the others happily agreed, deciding to attend one of the salon gatherings in a few days.
Elsewhere in the line, small groups were forming—clusters of hardcore fans or people in the industry. So sat on the ground together, playing gas. Usually, they only interacted online, so now that they had the chance to et in person, they cherished it. All of them were patiently waiting for the official release of the new Switch, eager to be among the first to get their hands on the latest gas.
"IT'S TI! LET'S GO!"
At exactly 8:00 AM, when the store's doors opened on schedule, soone in the crowd let out a shout. The people who had been deep in conversation or distracted by their gas suddenly snapped to attention, quickly jumping up from the ground, eyes wide and necks craned toward the storefront.
The crowd was dense, but even in the packed space, everything remained orderly and safe.
Even without security staff on duty like in the old days, people had grown used to queuing patiently. It was no longer the chaotic scene from the early years of gaming.
Of course, the mad dash into the store the mont the doors opened? That part hadn't changed at all.
The doors slowly opened, ready to welco their eager custors.
Yuka Adachi was a newly hired staff mber at the official Gastar Electronic Entertainnt store.
But she hadn't taken the job because of a love for gas—her reason was simple: the store was close to ho, which made it easier to care for her children.
As tis changed, Japan's traditionally rigid society had slowly started to open up.
In the past, most wives beca full-ti homakers after marriage. If they did work, it was usually for modest wages at neighborhood shops—just enough to help with household expenses.
But this shift wasn't necessarily due to social progress—it was more out of necessity.
Now, Japan had entered its second lost decade.
The once-optimistic claims from business leaders about Japan's economy "returning to glory" had long since lost their credibility.
To help keep their families afloat, housewives had no choice but to join the workforce. Childcare was often entrusted to community facilities.
Yuka was the type of traditional Japanese woman who, even when working, preferred a more modest job like being a store clerk.
She had so basic understanding of video gas but had never realized just how deeply people loved them.
Today marked one month since she started.
She'd thought the job would involve pushing products and persuading people to buy consoles. But to her surprise, she didn't need to do any of that. Her job was just like working at a regular supermarket—pack up purchases, issue receipts, and take paynts.
And today, she finally witnessed the madness of gars firsthand.
A flood of custors poured into the store.
It was a little overwhelming, honestly.
In their eyes, she saw sothing close to religious fervor.
Among the crowd, she even spotted people she used to think of as part of the upper crust—white-collar professionals, dressed neatly in suits, briefcases in hand, all here to grab a ga console at launch.
Even people like that had no resistance to video gas?
Then what about... her husband?
Wait—huh?!
Yuka Adachi's eyes widened.
She saw her husband in the crowd.
He wasn't particularly noticeable, but she recognized him right away.
But... was that really her husband?
Was that look in his eyes... serious?
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