Chapter 67: And So, the Legend Begins...
After our meal, we returned to Akihabara, and it was filled with screams of disappointment from various game shops.
"Why isn't there any Psych Battle left when I was fourth in line!?"
"We only received three copies of Psych Battle, but we do have plenty of Dragon Warrior 3 in stock."
"Alright, give me one copy of Dragon Warrior 3, then."
Shige and I walked through the shop, observing the situation.
Due to the small-scale of these shops, they only received 2-3 copies of Psych Battle, which sold out almost immediately upon release.
Gamers who couldn't find Psych Battle nearby started running toward shops further away. Shige and I hurriedly followed suit.
"Are there any Psych Battle copies left here!?"
"No, they just sold out."
But the situation was the same everywhere we went. Since large retail stores dedicated to gaming hadn't yet arrived, Akihabara's streets echoed with voices searching for Psych Battle. Either people were lucky and managed to buy a copy, or they went home empty-handed.
"Is there any Psych Battle left!?"
"Sorry, but the one you purchased was the last one."
"Ughhh!"
Just then, from the shop we were about to enter, a burst of excitement reached our ears. Wondering what was going on, I peeked inside and saw a student in a school uniform holding a golden ticket in his hand. What's going on? Someone managed to get one already?
"A golden ticket?"
"What's that?"
Another customer who appeared to have just bought Psych Battle from the shop opened the package and shook it upside down, but there was nothing inside except the cartridge and manual. He looked disappointed and soon asked a question.
"I don't have anything like this."
On the other hand, the student with the golden ticket carefully read the text on it.
"Congratulations. You've won a special invitation to the Psych Battle event taking place in the summer. This ticket can be used as an entry pass to the event venue, where you can participate in a gaming tournament alongside users from all over the country. Various prizes are prepared for you, so enjoy the game and see you at the event. Psych Battle Main Director, Kang Junhyuk."
"An event invitation!? Wow..."
The male student was thrilled with the unexpected gift and cheered loudly. Everyone inside the shop looked at him enviously.
Then, a man took out his wallet and said to the student, "Hey, kid, would you consider selling that ticket to me? I'll give you 10,000 yen. What do you say?"
"No, thanks."
Of course, he immediately declined.
After all, in a month, the ticket's price would likely skyrocket. It was a wise decision, even though he was young.
About an hour passed, and signs were put up at the entrance of each store, indicating that Psych Battle had sold out and they were now accepting pre-orders. It seemed the constant inquiries were causing disruptions to their regular business. Soon, something extraordinary happened.
Buying Psych Battle at a high price. -
A picket sign appeared in front of Akihabara Station, offering to purchase Psych Battle.
We expected some demand, but we never thought this would happen on the very first day. The man holding the picket had thoroughly searched all the shops but couldn't find the game. In the end, he resorted to the most extreme method.
However, what was even more surprising was that as time passed, similar signs with the same message started to appear more and more.
"I can't believe this. I've never seen anything like this before in my life. Trying to buy a game at an inflated price..."
Shige, smoking a cigarette at the smoking area in front of the station, murmured in disbelief.
"If you've been waiting for the release for a month, it's frustrating not to get it even if you have the money. When you go home, it'll bother you even more. They really want to play the game, even if they have to pay extra."
"Hmph. If they had that kind of consideration, they could've sold the items for a bit more."
"Psych Battle sales will be handled through pre-orders."
"Pre-orders? What's that?"
"It's a system where we take a partial deposit from those who are sure to buy it and then produce the game upon their orders. Psych Battle is in short supply because of the special chips. But if this situation continues, there will be complaints from everywhere. So we've decided to take reservations at retail stores. Probably in about a month, almost anyone who reserved it will be able to purchase it."
"Ugh... they make us wait for a whole month in this state? That's a really... marketing strategy. Those people there will turn into Mii characters after a month, right?"
Out of the blue, she mentioned "Mii characters." What an unexpected pun.
I nodded and then took Shige with me to the event area for Dragon Warrior 3.
That's when it happened. As Shige walked alongside me, she suddenly said with a trembling voice, "Hey, Junhyuk..."
"What's wrong again?"
"Look over there, in front of the station..."
"Yes?"
Following her uncertain gaze, I noticed a massive picket sign, different from the others.
And when I read the message on it, I couldn't believe my eyes.
"Psych Battle for 50,000 yen. Golden Ticket for 200,000 yen."
Beneath the massive picket, a young boy, who looked no older than a high school student, had offered a substantial amount of money for Psych Battle.
He was wearing sunglasses and a mask, covering his entire face, but based on his physique, he appeared to be just a high school student. He stood there holding the picket while trying to avoid the gazes of passersby.
"Seems young, but the world is truly on the decline," Shige muttered, tsk-tsking as she looked at the boy holding the picket. But I immediately knew who he was.
"Alright, give me a moment. Shige, I need to go to the restroom."
Leaving Shige behind, I quickly rushed to a nearby restroom, took out my Game & Watch from my bag, and performed a quick search.
'Sakai Masahiro.'
At the same time, my Game & Watch rapidly began pulling up information about the Japanese celebrity agency Johnny's. While searching for their schedule, I stumbled upon an event that occurred on February 10, 1988.
"As I thought... it's him."
...
This title was one of the family's mega titles that sold 3.8 million copies in Japan alone over a year.
I, too, had purchased and enjoyed it at Cheonggyecheon Electronics Market when I was young. However, while enjoying the story, players would often scratch their heads at the reactions of NPCs who seemed unaware of the hero's legend, despite the fact that the game's world was exactly the same as the previous one. But when they cleared the game, everyone would cheer.
Dragon Warrior 3 adopted an omnibus format, dealing with the story of a hundred years prior to the previous titles. When Shigechi and I entered the event venue, it was bustling with many people, as if to prove its popularity.
Blue slimes, the mascot of Dragon Warrior, were placed throughout the event venue. A model of the "Prince's Sword" and armor were placed in the center.
"Wow, it's so magnificent."
"Well, it's an RPG enjoyed by the entire nation. It's only natural to have this much spectacle."
After all, this kind of display would add imagination to the simple graphics.
As in previous events, I purchased Dragon Warrior 3 at the cash register and, while leaving, I locked eyes with a woman on the other side of the event venue.
"Ah! You're the one from this morning!"
As soon as she spotted me, she walked towards me with a microphone in her hand. Shigechi, who was next to me, raised an eyebrow and asked me.
"Isn't that the reporter from this morning?"
"Yeah, it's Katagiri Misato."
"Oh, so you even remembered her name?"
Well, I couldn't forget that name, to be honest. While looking at her with an awkward feeling, I smiled and said.
"You seemed quite upset after our interview this morning."
"Wh-who told you I was upset?"
"Didn't you get angry at all? I thought I'd give you a little exclusive to lighten the mood..."
"Exclusive? What are you talking about!? What are you talking about!!"
As expected, people in this industry respond immediately when they hear the word 'exclusive.'
If she's here to cover Akihabara for a mere game release, she's probably a rookie, like Yuki. She looks a bit older than Yuki, but at most, we're about the same age.
"Why are you staring at me like that? Tell me the exclusive quickly."
"I'm talking about the exclusive. If, by any chance, a secret gets out, it shouldn't."
"Seriously, just hurry up and tell me if you have something strange to say."
Misato wore an impatient expression and extended one of her ears. As I leaned closer, she tickled my ear, making me chuckle.
"Sakai Masahiro is in Akihabara right now."
"Huh...?"
"Sakai Masahiro from SMEP is in Akihabara right now."
"What are you talking about? Why is Sakai-kun here?"
"It's true. I saw him."
"Is that... true? Sakai from SMEP in Akihabara?"
"Yes. If you're not too late, he'll be standing in front of the station with a picket."
As soon as I finished speaking, Misato grabbed the neck of a cameraman covering the interior of the event and disappeared like the wind.
This is great... What an action-packed reporter!
Sakai Masahiro is the leader of SMEP, an idol group.
Sakai-kun belongs to SMEP, a talent agency that specializes in training idol singers. They mainly scout and train middle and high school students, making them into stars. And now, Sakai Masahiro, the leader of SMEP, was in Akihabara with a picket, disrupting a broadcast just for the sake of buying Psych Battle.
Sakai, a high school student who loves games, was originally a big fan of Dragon Warrior. So today, he sneaked out of the broadcasting station to Akihabara, planning to buy only Dragon Warrior 3. But due to the sudden release of Psych Battle, he couldn't purchase it. What a surprise...
He had originally planned to buy Dragon Warrior and return home, but because of the sudden release of Psych Battle, it seemed like he was waiting there with a picket.
A famous Japanese idol group leader was so eager to buy Psych Battle. If I play my cards right, I might get free promotion on the 9 o'clock news tonight.
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