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16.63% Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo / Chapter 81: Competition without interference

Chapter 81: Competition without interference

First of all, it's hard to say whether Suirei Electronics' advertising strategy this time will ultimately succeed.

But at least for now, the PN game console, which was not favored by many people before, has once again caught people's attention.

With a full three minutes of advertising, almost all the most exciting content was presented to the audience.

You can sing, you can be entertained, and it seems like there will be many more things to do in the future, showing a high level of expandability.

This product, which was somewhat despised by people before, has regained attention during the two or three days of advertising.

Regardless, the line "possess the same singing voice as a songstress" is quite attractive.

And electronic games also seem to have improved compared to before.

The initial performance of the Red and White Machine was based on an 8-bit system, while the PN game console started with a 16-bit system.

This bit count can be simply understood as a measure of performance, with larger numbers indicating greater strength and the ability to create higher-quality game visuals.

So, the PN game console started off stronger than the Red and White Machine.

However, just like cultural products such as electronic games and movies, the quality of the game console (or camera) itself is not the decisive factor.

What really interests people is the quality of the electronic games (or movies) themselves.

So at the beginning, the PN game console was completely overshadowed by the outstanding games on the Red and White Machine.

Everyone else was producing high-quality products, while you were producing junk. There was no way to compete, even if you had more quantity.

Especially since the PN game console had just been released, and then the Red and White Machine came out with a killer move, making it impossible to start.

It's like starting a game with nothing and facing the final boss. Do you really expect a novice armed with a small shield and a wooden stick to win?

Egawa Ujito, the newly appointed head of the electronic games division, also realized this.

And he earnestly listened to the opinions of engineers and programmers about the Red and White Machine according to his father's instructions.

They didn't know how the Red and White Machine could produce so many high-quality products.

Perhaps it's some kind of magical talent.

Takayuki may not be the original creator of electronic games, but he is definitely a pioneer.

Pioneers usually have talents far beyond ordinary people, and they can even reach the level of being deified.

To create games of the same quality as the Red and White Machine now, it would take at least a dozen people an average of six months to a year to achieve it.

Games like Super Mario 3 would take even longer. The programmers speculated that without a team of over thirty people, plus one to two years, it wouldn't be possible.

Without good games, there would be no one buying game consoles. Without people buying game consoles, there would be even fewer people playing games, which seemed to create a vicious cycle.

So, either make good games, or sell enough game consoles first. With enough consoles sold, selling games would become easier.

Haven't you seen how any random game on the Red and White Machine can sell thirty to fifty thousand copies in the first week?

That's the most direct benefit of selling game consoles.

Since good games couldn't be developed quickly, Egawa Ujito decided to change his strategy.

When he was in the overseas business department, he often did similar things when competing with other overseas giants.

With strong machine quality and performance being welcomed, the first thing to do is to produce a superb advertisement.

In the end, he could always rely on Suirei Electronics' strong technical strength to capture the market, especially in cameras, portable entertainment devices, and other products, where they have a dominant position.

It turned out that this strategy was indeed foolproof.

In just two days, more and more customers went to major stores to inquire about the PN game console.

Many of them had never come into contact with game consoles before, so it was indirectly expanding the audience for game consoles.

The products that were originally rejected and piled up in warehouses by various stores were once again brought out and placed in prominent positions, although still not as good as the Red and White Machine.

The Red and White Machine can sell five to six thousand units per day, while the PN game console can probably start to approach two thousand units. This situation is much better than before.

In addition to the gimmick of being able to sing with the PN game console itself, this time it also comes with several electronic games co-produced by a few well-known manufacturers.

These games have been carefully crafted for about one to two months, obviously much more thoughtful than when three or four games were made in a month before.

Their level and quality are basically in the middle, from playable but no one wants to play, to now being playable and somewhat interesting.

The average price of games is maintained at around three to four thousand yen, generally lower than games on the Red and White Machine, showing that they have a good grasp of reality.

The quality of games on the Red and White Machine is excellent, something we can't compete with. So, we'll sell them at a relatively lower price, and with the decent quality of the games themselves, there will still be people willing to buy them.

Those who originally bought the PN game console had no choice. After seeing that there were new games released for the PN, and they seemed to be much better than before, they were willing to spend money to purchase them.

In this way, it seems that the PN game console is gradually being accepted by people.

But it's still limited to the Tokyo metropolitan area.

On the other hand, the Red and White Machine remains as stable as ever.

Now the daily sales of the Red and White Machine have exceeded six thousand units.

Moreover, the sales in the Kanto region are no longer the highest, accounting for only about thirty percent, and the potential outside of the Tokyo region is beginning to emerge, with seventy percent of the daily sales coming from other areas of Japan.

The Red and White Machine is getting closer and closer to the milestone of one million units sold.

It seems that the popularity of the PN game console this time has not affected the Red and White Machine at all, as if the two have become completely unrelated products.

Takayuki finally brought out the Legend of Zelda, which he had quietly prepared, first showing it to everyone in the company and then letting the representatives of the seventeen third-party companies try it out.

The first generation of The Legend of Zelda is very famous, but it is far from being as earth-shattering as later installments of The Legend of Zelda. Now it's just a brand new IP, and its level of attention may not even be comparable to that of Dragon Quest, which has been selling well for over half a year.

However, internally, The Legend of Zelda has received unanimous praise. Whether it's better than Dragon Quest is hard to say, but this more free feeling is quite nice.

Free exploration, free combat with monsters.

Now that players have the patience and foundation to play role-playing games, Takayuki feels that there shouldn't be much of a problem.

Moreover, players have begun to gradually notice the differences between game development teams.

When the credits roll at the end of each game, the name of the development team is always the first to appear.

Initially, games made by Takayuki himself would usually be labeled as Gamestar Electronic Entertainment, with Takayuki as the producer.

Such games are among the best of the best on the Red and White Machine and are also the best-selling ones.

Then, slightly below are several studios of Gamestar Electronic Entertainment.

The Second Game Development Team, the Third Game Development Team, and the Fourth Game Development Team have all appeared. The First Studio is still a mystery, patiently working on Dragon Quest 2.

Games produced by the Second, Third, and Fourth Game Development Teams are also high-quality, with decent quality, but they are subconsciously defined as slightly lower-level game quality, perhaps due to some stereotypes.

Then, a level below that are the seventeen third-party game development teams, among which the difference in quality has not yet been distinguished, and it's just that different players have different preferences.

And the producer of this Legend of Zelda is Takayuki himself, so with this name, it should also be able to attract some attention.


Chapter 82: Million!

The period when the Famicom officially reached one million in sales was roughly in line with what Takayuki and his employees had predicted.

When the latest news of reaching one million in sales came out, Gamestar Electronic Entertainment's brand-new promotional work officially began.

First, there were special activities to celebrate reaching one million in sales.

During this period, players who had purchased the Famicom could receive an additional special reward.

These special rewards were like non-saleable small peripheral products, not too expensive, but they also had some commemorative significance. This was one of the means to continue promoting game console sales, although it wasn't the main one.

Later on, a twenty-minute trial of The Legend of Zelda officially appeared in several authorized stores.

On the internet, The Legend of Zelda's related pages were also launched simultaneously, along with a website dedicated to providing game recommendations, strategy content, game interviews, behind-the-scenes stories, and all other information.

This website also launched a game ranking list, ranking games based on player preferences.

Takayuki had begun planning the establishment of game evaluation media and review institutions.

As the number of Famicom games gradually increased and sales data began to grow, Takayuki also began to consider the introduction of age ratings and other review systems.

Rather than waiting until the end and causing something undesirable to happen, forcing the authorities to intervene, it would be better to start regulating the industry early to have more say.

Accompanying this release was the latest magazine from Kasuga Society.

A dedicated electronic game magazine exclusive to the Famicom.

This was also the world's first game magazine.

To build momentum, Kasuga Society had extensively promoted all the pages of their current magazines in advance.

Anyone who purchased a year's subscription to the game magazine would receive the right to purchase any first-release game from Gamestar Electronic Entertainment's authorized stores without queuing. The magazine had already been officially released and could be purchased or ordered at major bookstores.

Last time, Gamestar Electronic Entertainment quietly released a blockbuster game, which completely outshined Surui Electronics.

This time, Surui Electronics seemed to think that Gamestar Electronic Entertainment would do the same.

However, it seemed they were thinking too simply.

This time, Gamestar Electronic Entertainment's response was much quicker than last time, and it wasn't silent anymore. They directly confronted Surui Electronics in a different way.

Gamestar Electronic Entertainment was almost blacklisted by most TV stations, and many newspapers no longer published their advertisements.

However, they seemed to quickly find new channels and wouldn't rely solely on grassroots promotion of games.

This was something the people at Surui Electronics hadn't expected.

In a traditional Japanese-style mansion, Hayakawa Ujito sat in his own tea room wearing a kimono, leisurely sipping tea.

Today was supposed to be his day off.

However, work always came unexpectedly.

Not long after, an assistant hurriedly entered the tea room and placed a magazine in front of Hayakawa Ujito.

Famicom and Electronic Games, Volume One.

That was the name of this magazine.

On the cover were various well-known manga characters hand-drawn by multiple manga artists from Kasuga Society, celebrating the release of a new magazine.

In addition to these manga artists, of course, the most important thing was the large '1000000' number in the center of the first issue.

Famicom officially sold one million!

This was also the first time Gamestar Electronic Entertainment publicly disclosed its game console sales data.

The companies that were now closely watching the electronic game industry were all surprised.

For an electronic product to reach a million in sales was already quite substantial.

And looking at the trend, it would continue to grow rapidly.

At this point, besides Surui Electronics, some weaker electronic companies also began to stir, wanting to join this new electronic game field.

Even if there were no significant results in the end, they could still get some benefits.

Hayakawa Ujito looked at the cover of the magazine, remaining silent for a moment, leaving others wondering what he was thinking.

"Minister, a magazine dedicated to the Famicom, this collaboration between Gamestar Electronic Entertainment and Kasuga Society is really close. But would anyone actually buy this magazine, which is almost like an advertisement?"

The assistant, with doubt in his eyes, regarded the magazine as a pure advertising tool, something that hadn't happened in the past.

Hayakawa Ujito smiled, "Look, you just bought one. Isn't that considered a successful boost in sales and popularity for them?"

"Well... I bought it to track the movements of Gamestar Electronic Entertainment. It's not like I wanted to buy it."

Hayakawa Ujito set down his teacup and picked up the still-new magazine, starting to flip through it.

He read it carefully, with only the sound of flipping pages and occasionally the sound of bamboo hitting outside in the courtyard.

He roughly went through the magazine, then slowly put it down.

"Gamestar Electronic Entertainment is indeed remarkable, and this magazine is no ordinary advertisement. Have you looked at the content inside?"

"Well, I haven't had a chance to look yet. I just bought it and immediately came here to report to you, Minister."

"This book is more like an exclusive book for gamers, like manga lovers. Be patient and take a look. It seems we've underestimated this newly emerging company, even I did."

Surui Electronics was a giant. Even if Gamestar Electronic Entertainment was pressuring them in the electronic game field, Surui Electronics was still that giant.

They could still look down on Gamestar Electronic Entertainment.

Hearing the minister's words, the assistant nodded slightly, indicating that he would carefully read the magazine next.

This was also part of his job.

This assistant had previously worked with Hayakawa Ujito in the overseas business department.

Because he was particularly adept at it, Hayakawa Ujito brought him along to continue working with him.

His greatest advantage was being obedient, without complaints. Even if he worked seven days and nights, he would never say a word of complaint.

"Wait until I finish my tea, then we'll return to the office. It seems I won't have a chance for vacation during this time."

Hayakawa Ujito glanced somewhat regretfully at the tea.

He realized that with Surui Electronics' current promotional methods, it might not be certain that they could compete with Gamestar Electronic Entertainment. They were really strong in the electronic game field.

And, the Famicom had already reached one million in sales, which was incredible. It also meant that the market had reached the million mark, which was already considered the threshold for a popular market. No wonder his father had attached so much importance to it and had arranged for him to come back and manage this department early on.

Even if it wasn't yet a first-level business department, it would probably be upgraded to one soon.

And if he had been directly transferred from another department to a first-level business department, it would definitely have been difficult to gain acceptance at the beginning. Deep-rooted leaders wouldn't easily give up their power and hand it over to someone like him, who suddenly parachuted in.

On the other hand, this electronic game business department was just getting started, but its potential was unlimited. He would have an easier time establishing himself in this department, and his father's consideration was quite correct. Indeed, the wisdom of elders should not be underestimated.

He needed to pay more attention to the development of this department; this might be the place where he could accumulate experience and connections for the future.


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