Chapter 131: CEO Game
The next-gen 16-bit console "Laon" has finally been unveiled. But what's its true identity? The first horror game for the Super Family, "Valentine's Day," to be released soon. Is the next-gen console portable? It has left the gaming giant Mintendo in shock. The news of the new console's release has sent shockwaves through the gaming world. The game magazines released this month were filled with provocative headlines.
"What? Laon is a portable console?"
"Moreover, it's 16-bit, with performance equal to or better than the Super Family?"
"This is incredible. But I wonder if it's going to be expensive?"
"Well, the price is not confirmed yet, so we can't be sure, but it's probably going to be expensive."
As I waited for Yuki at a large bookstore in Shinjuku, I tuned in to the voices of students who were looking at magazines.
"Plus, they're releasing Final Frontier 4 simultaneously with it, and a month later, Dragon Emblem 1 Remake! Wow, I really want to buy this."
"Really? I couldn't afford Dragon Emblem before, but this is great."
I picked up a magazine that matched the ones the students were reading and started flipping through it.
This issue had nothing but information about Laon, and as I flipped through a few pages, it was filled with details about Laon.
Special feature: New console "Laon," Final Frontier 4, and Dragon Emblem Remake all releasing at the same time! -
The author of this article will never forget the day of Pentagon Soft's announcement.
Starting with the spectacular promotional video of Tamago Monster, which is currently causing a sensation in the toy industry, and followed by the CF video of Valentine's Day that terrified the attendees, the video was so shocking that it was reported that all TV stations had to stop broadcasting it.
The reason was that the game's advertising was so chilling that households with children or heart patients made a flood of complaints. But could it be a rebound effect?
Currently, "Valentine's Day" is the number one most anticipated title for the Super Family.
After the shocking announcement of Valentine's Day, the gameplay video of Final Frontier 4 showed graphics that exceeded expectations for the next-gen console, as shown in the screenshots below, with a quality far superior to the previous game released for the Family.
At the time, Final Frontier 4 was marked as "TBD" for the release platform, causing curiosity among industry insiders. Today, the official release date was set in conjunction with the announcement of the portable game "Laon."
Laon's official release date is August 15.
Kang Junhyuk, the head of Pentagon Soft, announced that the new portable console would be released simultaneously in Korea, the United States, and Japan. While the exact price has not been confirmed yet, they are considering a price that consumers can accept.
Furthermore, he, the main director of the horror game "Valentine's Day," which will be released for the Super Family next month, also stated that he wants to maintain a good relationship with Mintendo, the leading company in the console industry. I'm very curious about how Mintendo will respond to his interview. Although they have become competitors in the console industry, the position of Laon as a portable console raises interest in whether Pentagon Soft will continue to develop games for the Super Family.
"Well, it depends on how Director Kamauichi presents himself."
I put down the magazine I was holding and left the magazine corner.
I couldn't stay in that corner any longer because the voices of students interested in the new console were making my ears itch like crazy.
As I passed through the bookstore, I looked out the window and saw snow falling from the sky, which was quite rare in Tokyo. People inside the bookstore were also exclaiming in amazement.
Since I still had time before my appointment with Yuki, I headed to the corner with illustration books.
Lately, I've been enjoying improving my employees' abilities using the CEO game. On the way back from my meeting with Director Kamauichi at Mintendo, I bought an illustration book by Yoshihara Satoshi for Morita. However, to my surprise, he gave me a displeased look.
"Do you think the President would even consider that my illustrations are influenced by Satoshi's style?"
When Morita, who was working at Pentagon, gave me that answer, I was taken aback and asked Morita, who was also a gamer like me, about his master, Amano. He told me that Morita had never looked at Satoshi's illustrations because he didn't want any unnecessary misunderstandings, especially because people said their drawing styles were similar.
However, he couldn't refuse the gift I offered, and from then on, Morita occasionally took out Satoshi's illustration collections to compare them. Then one day, he came to my room.
"Satoshi's illustrations are certainly excellent. But, how should I put it... when I compare them and think about how I would express it, I feel like my head clears up. I might not be able to draw as freely as Satoshi for male and female characters, but at least I'm confident I won't lose when it comes to cute girl characters."
"Oh...? I see."
Morita's sexy character design level increased to 11. Something more than just his ability seemed to have improved.
Since then, I poured my efforts into upgrading my employees' abilities to the best of my ability. I introduced Chandra to improve Hayashi's coding skills, but due to their different personalities, this part was a failure.
In the bookstore, I was looking for the newly released illustration book by Satoshi Yoshihara this time.
He is a character designer for Daisaiya, who recently released "Sword Lancelot" for NEGA Drive, a renowned 18+ illustrator, and an anime original illustrator.
"I need to find it quickly before Yuki arrives..."
All the female characters in Satoshi's illustration book were known for their radiant skin, ample bosoms, seductive curves, and erotic expressions. I might be in trouble if Yuki catches me looking at this.
"Oh, there it is. Love Venus!"
I pulled out the 18+ illustration book, which was placed on the highest shelf to keep it out of children's reach.
"Hmm... this isn't sealed. Did someone open it? I hope no one noticed."
While looking around, I opened the book to take a peek.
Ugh... even though it was shocking when I saw it as a kid, this person's drawing skills are truly remarkable.
Among the approximately 100 pages of the illustrated book, there wasn't a single woman wearing clothes...
What's interesting is that in his drawings, which seem to have been greased, only the female breasts were meticulously detailed, especially the slightly crumpled nipples...
"Junhyuk, what are you doing over there?"
Kang Junhyuk!! As Yuki's voice echoed from behind, I quickly folded the magazine I had spread out as if in prayer. I stood there momentarily, lost in thought, with a million things racing through my mind.
"Hmm? What's up? Why'd you cover it as soon as I came in?"
"Oh? Yeah, it's nothing. You're earlier than I expected."
Perhaps due to the heavy snowfall outside, her shoulders and hair were dusted with fresh white snowflakes.
"What's going on? Is something suspicious? Show me that book you were holding."
"This? Ah, this is nothing. Just some reference material."
I grinned as I placed the book out of Yuki's reach, and she peered at the bookshelves, muttering.
"Love Venus? The title's suspicious. You should ask the shopkeeper to take it out."
"What? What book are you talking about?"
"Junhyuk's holding in his hand."
"This? Oh, I don't know anything about this. Just some reference material."
I chuckled softly as I placed the book high on a shelf, out of Yuki's reach. She gazed at the bookshelf and mumbled.
"Seems odd. Can you get it for me?"
"Are you hungry? Should we go out and grab something to eat?"
I pushed Yuki's petite back, hurrying to leave the bookstore. When we entered the store, a completely different world of pure white awaited us.
"Wow... It's snowing so heavily. I feel like I've never seen so much snow while living in Japan."
"Right? They say it's a record-breaking snowfall in 10 years."
Every person on the streets was looking up at the falling snow from the sky, wearing a happy smile.
"With snowfall like this, it reminds me of Seoul in 1988."
Recalling the day when I had looked at her with a worried expression, afraid she might reject me, the Yuki from that day couldn't help but smile.
"Oh, get a grip, me. Junhyuk, let's go have dinner quickly. I've already pre-booked movie tickets on my way here!"
"Movie?"
"Yes. A friend of mine recommended it, saying it's really fun, and we should definitely see it in theaters."
"Really? What's the title?"
"Home Alone."
... Never thought I'd see that Kevin, who we used to watch every Christmas before returning...
&
That night, as Kevin outsmarted two burglars on Christmas Eve, Yuki sat in the car on the way home, wiping away a few tears while laughing.
"Ah... Aren't the burglars so funny?"
"Huh? Yeah, it was fun..."
"Junhyuk, didn't you enjoy it? I laughed a lot and thought it was great."
"That's... You'll understand when you watch it twenty times or so."
I smirked with a different meaning and, a while later, parked the car in front of her house.
"Be careful going in."
"Are you busy these days? But make sure to eat properly."
"Sure. Good night."
"Yes. Junhyuk, take care too."
I waved to Yuki until my car disappeared and then turned into an alley and onto the road.
I held my car phone, installed not long ago, and dialed Chandra's number with skill.
Since the signal quality wasn't great while driving, I decided to pull over before making the call. Fortunately, Chandra answered the phone right away.
"Chandra. Are you ready with the low-power display for Laon?"
"The prototype is complete. We just need to fix some minor issues and it's ready for mass production."
"Great. I'm heading over right now."
After finishing the call with Chandra, I put my car phone down and accelerated vigorously.
When it comes to portable gaming devices, the most crucial parts are the display and battery, and now, one of them had been solved.
But how did I complete the low-power display in the early 1990s? Well, that's a story...
&
Let's rewind time for a moment to a summer day in 1990.
I sat alone at the table in the living room, lost in thought.
In my right hand, a small and thin screwdriver. In my left hand, which was gripping my fist tightly, sweat had started to seep through.
Was it because of the heat? Not really. I was just a bit nervous about what I was about to do.
"Phew... All right, let's take it apart."
Assembly is the reverse of disassembly. That's all I need to remember.
What I was about to do might seem pretty foolish in some people's eyes. No, it was definitely foolish.
But, for the sake of creating a new "portable" gaming device, I had to make this choice.
To dismantle and inspect the games and watches I brought from the future...
Of course, I didn't intend to disassemble them to the point of being unusable. I just wanted to understand the structure and layout of the chips, to know how they functioned and were applied.
I wasn't a professional engineer, so even if I looked at the structure, I wouldn't understand how it worked. However, at least I could take photos and show them to Chandra or Rob, which would be of great help.
Great engineers find beauty in the structure and layout of the chips implemented inside a device. I've heard that the design and structure of MP devices and mobile phones made by Apple in the 2000s were used as valuable reference materials by engineers.
And now, in the present, there was nothing as innovative as the Game & Watch that I had in my hands, so I took a gamble, setting the crosshead screwdriver in the screw hole.
"But is this really okay?"
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