"Everyone, look! This is the legendary God of Gas! I finally got a selfie with the Ga God himself!"
Amid the crowd, an excited individual was livestreaming on his phone.
With his back to the stage, he made sure to leave just enough space in the fra to capture Takayuki standing on stage, with himself positioned beside him.
At that mont, his livestream was skyrocketing in viewership.
Unlike traditional dia broadcasts, this kind of personal, on-the-ground streaming had a vivid, authentic quality that audiences found especially engaging.
Under the gaze of countless adoring fans, Takayuki remained composed.
After all, he was a man with decades of experience—long past the days of being overwheld by emotion.
Still, seeing so many players cheering for him made it impossible not to smile.
To a ga developer, this was one of life's happiest monts: seeing so many people genuinely love your creations.
...
...
"Today is a special day—the world's first amusent park built just for gars has been born! So I won't go on too long. All I want to say is: please enjoy this gaming paradise to the fullest. I hope each of you finds joy and happiness here!"
Takayuki, as always, wasn't much of a public speaker—especially at events like this.
It was just his personality.
He figured that if it were him down there in the heat, he wouldn't want to stand around listening to a long speech either.
Better to let the players go off and enjoy everything the park had to offer.
After all, it's called an amusent park—fun is the whole point.
Because of that, the Pri Minister of Japan found himself in a bit of an awkward spot.
He had originally planned to take the stage too.
It would have been a great opportunity to present a friendly, polished image.
But Takayuki didn't give him the chance.
Takayuki knew that having the Pri Minister step on stage would make things too political. The players wanted to see him, the God of Gas—not the Pri Minister.
Sorry, Mr. Pri Minister... but the crowd doesn't know you like that.
If the Pri Minister had co up to speak, the mood might've taken a noticeable dip.
So Takayuki made the decision not to give him a speaking slot at all.
Still, the Pri Minister wasn't upset. The global rise in love for Japan's gaming and pop culture was already enough to make his administration shine.
Tourism projections estimated record growth year after year following this event.
And one should never underestimate the spending power of gars.
The recent surge in microtransaction-heavy gas—though Takayuki himself refused to make such titles—had proven just how deep gars' wallets could go.
It turned out that many gars were quietly sitting on surprising financial power.
And when they ca across rch related to a ga they loved? They didn't hesitate to spend.
After Takayuki's short speech, the park's programming resud.
First up was a Super Mario dley concert, perford by a world-renowned orchestra.
By reputation, these perforrs weren't typically enthusiastic about video gas—and the idea of performing outdoors during the hot sumr only made things worse.
But... the pay Takayuki offered was simply too generous to refuse.
That said, the conductor himself had co to deeply respect video ga music.
Many of today's most popular tunes originated from gas, and even as soone who considered himself a classical musician, he recognized how ga music had begun to perate modern culture.
Failing to evolve with the tis would only lead to irrelevance.
So people loved classical music, others loved so-called "high art." But achieving harmony between high and low culture—that was the conductor's true artistic dream.
The dley lasted twenty full minutes and covered the main thes from nearly every Super Mario title and its spin-offs.
Because they were all top-tier musicians, the transitions between pieces were seamless, creating an unforgettable audiovisual experience for the audience.
The performance also incorporated traditional classical elents, giving Mario's familiar tunes a new sense of grandeur and weight.
"I can't believe it... Video ga music can be this elegant?"
"Of course! This is a world-class orchestra. I never thought Gastar Electronic Entertainnt could afford to hire them—this must've cost a fortune."
"It really shows how much they care about us players. I swear, I'll buy every ga they release from now on!"
"Forget the gas—today, we're buying as much rch as we can!"
"Right! You reminded —let's stock up on everything!"
"Co one, co all! Bowser's handcrafted Fire Ice Cream! Only 1,000 yen for a blast of cool and hot flavors in one bite!"
On the sidewalk, soone in a Bowser costu was working hard, preparing ice cream and handing it to each custor.
Occasionally, he would pause to take photos with guests.
Seeing Bowser dressed as a service worker scooping ice cream had a bizarre kind of charm.
"Bowser, can you do the fireball move? You know, the big breath?"
"Sorry, I can't."
"Then you're not the real Bowser! You're fake!"
"Boo hoo..."
Bowser squatted down in a corner, pretending to sulk. The exaggerated reaction made everyone around burst into laughter.
No one expected to see this side of him.
The kids were the happiest of all. Everything in the park was designed in a cartoonish style—perfect for their tastes.
To them, this was heaven on earth.
And kids' spending power? Terrifying.
"Dad, I want that Bowser shell backpack!"
"Hello, sir. That'll be 30,000 yen."
"Mom, I want a Piranha Plant donut!"
"Hello, ma'am. Just 5,000 yen for three!"
Outside the park, these items—without any Mario branding—would probably cost a fraction of the price.
But here, they were so of the hottest, fastest-selling items in the park.
Even a tiny keychain could sell for a hefty price if it had that Mario charm.
Reviews
All reviews (0)