In the United States, across the ocean from Japan, there was roughly a 14-hour ti difference.
So while the Sumr Sale had already gone live in Japan and Korea, people in the U.S. were still completely unaware.
But the internet spreads fast—alarmingly fast.
It all began with a few Japanese strears broadcasting on Facebook Live.
At first, they mocked the sale.
They felt it lacked sincerity—even when it ca from Gastar Electronic Entertainnt.
But that skepticism was quickly and brutally disproven.
It was morning in Japan when they said that. By evening, while they were deep into their usual streams, viewers began flooding the chat, urging them to check the BattleNet store imdiately.
...
...
At first, the strear was puzzled by the urgency and figured the viewers were overreacting.
Then he looked at the BattleNet store and saw the massive sale banner.
All of Gastar's titles—except those released within the last year—were marked down to half price or even lower.
Any major, na-brand ga you could think of was included in this massive discount wave.
His eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Without needing any further prompting, he imdiately began shopping like a madman.
"Hey, hey, strear, you're seriously shaless! Weren't you just saying this morning that the sale was totally la?"
Unbothered, the strear responded, "That's because previous sales were la. But this ti? This sale is legit. If I don't buy gas now, I'd be disrespecting Gastar's effort!"
As a gaming strear, he already owned most of the popular titles—and had stread nearly all of them.
But many were console versions.
He'd never seen the point in rebuying them on PC, even though the graphics were better.
But now things had changed.
The amount of money that used to buy one top-tier ga could now buy three.
And if you got strategic—mixing big titles with excellent indie gas—you could buy even more.
His tone flipped instantly as he began showering praise on Gastar's sale event.
And of course, his stream had viewers from all over the world.
Even in the middle of the night in the United States, so were watching.
Once Arican viewers saw what was happening in Japan, word spread rapidly across U.S. gaming communities.
By the ti morning ca, people were starting their day—so going out for walks or jogs to get their minds and bodies going.
Dude (yes, his actual na was "Dude") did the sa. He'd tid his bread maker the night before, stretched a bit, then headed out for his morning run.
In the past, his neighbors and others in the community would also be out jogging.
That gave him a chance to chat with other locals.
He really liked the vibe in his neighborhood—it was full of people who loved video gas.
Proof, again, that gaming's influence was growing.
"Morning, Dude!"
He heard a voice not far off—a young man slightly younger than him was waving his way.
Dude nodded politely as the guy jogged over. "Dude, did you finally beat that high-rank monster in Monster Hunter last night?"
"Easy," Dude replied while jogging. "Already took it down."
"Damn, that's impressive. I got stuck on my fight for ages—I guess I'm just not that great at the ga."
Dude smiled. "It's not really that hard. As long as you're patient, you'll get through it. Tell you what—tonight I'll run with you, since I'm free."
The guy lit up. "Really? I'd appreciate that. But I might not be available these next couple of days."
"Oh? Got sothing going on?"
"Not exactly. You haven't checked gaming news on social dia this morning?"
Dude raised an eyebrow. "Why would I? I don't really care about that kind of stuff."
"Heh, then you're totally in the dark right now. Let tell you—gaming communities are exploding. Everyone's talking about it. I think it started around 4 or 5 a.m."
Dude turned to glance at him mid-jog. "Did sothing big happen? Did Gastar drop a new ga?"
If that was the case, he might consider picking up whatever fit him best and enjoy it for a while.
But if it was another mass release dump like before, he'd have to pass—he couldn't afford to blow that much at once.
One new ga was $50 to $60. If three to five ca out all at once, that would wipe out his whole monthly entertainnt budget—and he had other things to spend that on.
"No, no, no—it's not about a new release. It's that big sale Gastar's been teasing. The one they kept hyping."
"Oh, that thing? I vaguely rember. But it's just a sale. People are going that crazy over it?"
"Normally no—but wait till you hear how deep the discounts are."
"Then tell already."
Dude was growing irritated—this guy always talked in chunks, never just said it.
"Almost everything is over 50% off. Only gas released within the past year aren't seeing huge discounts. According to the coverage I saw, if I want to buy a top-tier ga from a few years ago, 50 bucks could get three or four. Maybe even a dozen, if I go for indie stuff. Crazy, right? ...Dude?"
The young man kept talking excitedly—unaware that halfway through his explanation, Dude had stopped jogging.
When he turned around, he saw that Dude was now seven or eight ters behind—standing still.
Then ca a crack sound.
Dude twisted his body into a full 180° turn and sprinted back toward his house at top speed, practically flying.
"Hey! Dude! The sale hasn't even started for us yet!"
But Dude didn't hear him anymore.
And as the young man watched him run, he realized—Dude looked exactly like his own mom when she used to charge into the supermarket for big discounts.
Tsk, tsk.
He rembered laughing at his mom for going wild over sales.
She had told him, "That's only because you've never experienced the joy of getting sothing you love at a huge discount."
Now?
He understood.
Reviews
All reviews (0)