This wasn't Takayuki's first direct challenge to these individuals.
Each ti, he simply ignored their protests, even though these people were already standing in front of the U.S. company's branch at that mont, it still didn't shake Gastar Electronic Entertainnt's commitnt to ga developnt.
Gastar Electronic Entertainnt's promotional campaigns continued as usual.
From Final Fantasy VII Remake, to Ghost of Tsushima, Sekiro, and others, followed by Dead or Alive: Xtre Beach Volleyball.
Among these gas, the most viewed promotional video by far was always Dead or Alive: Xtre Beach Volleyball.
A lot of these viewers weren't even gars; instead, many were drawn in by the female characters in the ga, curious outsiders in the gaming community.
They ca with the mindset of just watching the spectacle.
But soon enough, they realized that the ga didn't look half-bad.
...
...
At a ti when more and more ugly characters were being introduced, having a unique ga like this felt like a breath of fresh air.
Myron Case certainly hadn't expected Gastar Electronic Entertainnt to gain extra attention in such an unexpected way.
People who didn't usually play gas had suddenly started taking an interest in it.
Myron Case was now considering learning from Gastar Electronic Entertainnt's approach and releasing a similar ga.
However, as soon as he brought up the idea, it was imdiately shut down by the shareholders and so of the company's employees.
To put it simply, the shareholders also cared about their reputation. They weren't like Gastar Electronic Entertainnt, which wasn't really invested in the U.S. market.
They had other investnts aside from Micfo, and Micfo was not particularly skilled in the video ga industry. Their interest in entering the industry was more about securing their current base rather than succeeding in the field.
But maintaining that base didn't require such an extre approach. The shareholders believed there were other, more suitable ways to solve the current sales problems with Micfo's products.
Trying to develop such a politically incorrect ga would only result in public backlash from the Arican people, wouldn't it?
Gastar Electronic Entertainnt could afford to be lambasted; after all, their roots were in Japan, and if it ca down to it, they could just stop selling in the U.S.
Wait... stop selling in the U.S.?
Suddenly, Myron Case seed to grasp the key point.
Gastar Electronic Entertainnt was currently at the eye of the storm of public opinion.
So many people were eager to see Gastar Electronic Entertainnt fall from grace.
Wasn't this the perfect opportunity?
Couldn't he also stir the pot?
"President, the U.S. Congress has already decided to temporarily list our ga on the banned list! It looks like we might have really gone too far this ti," said the head of marketing, Yamaguchi Yasunori, personally bringing a U.S. economic newspaper to Takayuki's office to deliver the news from the U.S.
About a month after the release of Dead or Alive: Xtre Beach Volleyball, the public outcry in the U.S. market seed to be escalating.
The ga seed to be trending towards becoming a major issue.
And the U.S. Congress couldn't ignore the voices of enough of the public; after all, no one could predict when they might need the votes of the public. Offending the loudest voices ant throwing away the vote.
Moreover, there was a rule in the U.S. that once a petition from a certain number of people had been submitted, they had to respond.
This ti, the petition to boycott Dead or Alive: Xtre Beach Volleyball had reached 150,000 signatures, and even if not considered through connections, Congress could no longer afford to ignore this action.
Coincidentally, the U.S. was also very eager to see Gastar Electronic Entertainnt stumble.
Japanese video gas had been dominating the U.S. market, making a lot of money, which wasn't a good sign.
So, for whatever reason, they decided it was ti to intervene.
Yamaguchi Yasunori placed the latest U.S. economic newspaper on Takayuki's desk. Takayuki picked it up and glanced at it. The front page was fully dedicated to the U.S. Congress's decision.
This was the first ti the U.S. Congress had formally banned a ga from abroad.
Takayuki was sowhat taken aback.
In the original world, Dead or Alive had never received this level of treatnt.
No matter how bad the U.S. was, there weren't many restrictions on cultural products; any type of cultural product could be released in the U.S., and very few had been banned.
This ti, however, this ga—one that hadn't caused much of a stir in the original world—had caused quite a shock in this one.
"Takayuki, we have to find a way to fight back. We absolutely cannot let those people control the high ground of public opinion, or else our future gas might be t with the sa backlash," Yamaguchi Yasunori said with a serious expression.
"Mm," Takayuki continued reading the newspaper while nodding.
"Director Matsuhashi has contacted people in the U.S. to help us with lobbying," Yamaguchi continued.
"What did they say?" Takayuki asked.
"They said it's not looking good. The timing of this ga's release is very unfortunate—it's right when human rights movents are most active. Launching such a ga now is like riding on their faces," Yamaguchi replied with a somber tone. "But there is so good news: Congress has only decided to ban Dead or Alive from being sold, and no other gas have been affected."
In the U.S., Gastar Electronic Entertainnt wasn't just so random company. Whether through taxes brought in by its subsidiaries or the jobs it provided locally, or even the long-standing business partnerships, Congress had to consider their position.
They couldn't just push them too hard.
So, since the public's biggest complaint was just one ga, Dead or Alive, they'd only ban that ga.
The rest of their gas would still be sold without issue.
Unless Gastar Electronic Entertainnt was willing to modify Dead or Alive by changing its gaplay or adjusting its "objectification of won" content, it seed unlikely that the ga would be able to launch in the U.S. market.
Takayuki smiled. "It's not that bad. We can handle this."
"Takayuki, this has already hurt our reputation significantly. Compared to just one ga being banned, our reputation is obviously far more important. If we have one ga banned, it's certain that others will follow, and our second and third gas might also face bans."
"It's possible," Takayuki said, "but I think you may have overlooked sothing."
"Sothing? What is it?"
"You seem to be underestimating the power of the internet."
"aning?"
"Do you really think that banning a cultural product on the surface will actually stop people from buying it?"
Yamaguchi paused, slightly stunned.
Having gone through two major developnts of the internet, Takayuki had a deeper understanding of its power.
In the internet age, there are so things that can't simply be stopped by a ban.
Whether it's the U.S. Congress or those pushing for political correctness, they've greatly underestimated the internet.
Let the internet teach them a lesson.
Reviews
All reviews (0)