บท 48: Competition

Two months had passed since the acquisition of the animation company, and KiShin Electronics' revenue had soared to 6.5 billion yen. This impressive growth was bolstered by the release of new video games like Donkey Kong and Excitebike.

The KiShin FamiCom had become a sensation, with approximately 300,000 units sold across Japan. This achievement was nothing short of breathtaking.

One young adult named Fuji, who had programming skills, had the chance to play one of KiShin's games and was utterly exhilarated. After receiving his salary, he wasted no time getting his hands on a FamiCom. He immersed himself in games like Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong, experiencing the thrill of gaming.

However, when he switched off the FamiCom and turned on the TV, he was met with an unexpected surprise – the advertisement for a new rival game console, the Tora 16-bit Video Game Entertainment System.

[Meet the most powerful video game console available today! The Tora 16-bit! Video Game Entertainment System!]

[Experience superior gameplay and performance with Tora Games! All for just 14,000 Yen!!!]

Fuji couldn't help but curse, "Why now? I just bought the FamiCom!"

Many others across Japan shared Fuji's frustration, especially in Tokyo, where most FamiCom units had been sold.

---

Shin examined the sleek, black 16-bit video game console from Tora with a serious expression. Lee Han and Mira watched him with a sense of concern.

"What do we do now? They've released a new and better product than ours!" Mira voiced her worries.

Lee Han inspected the Tora video game console with a somber demeanor, thinking, 'Why did this happen now, just when the Legend of Zelda anime was about to conclude?'

Shin picked up one of the game cartridges for Tora Games. The title featured a smiling flame with oversized boots, displaying sharp teeth.

"Let's see what kind of game they have in store for us," Shin said, calmly inserting the game cartridge into the 16-bit console. As the console booted up, the television displayed the title "Happy."

A quality theme filled the air, and a smiling flame character appeared on the screen against a cheerful background. The concept reminded Shin of Mario, he thought.

He pressed the start button, and the game began. In this game, the flame character was small, and water ball mobs attempted to extinguish the character's fire by throwing water. Shin took control of the character, which could not only defend but also attack. The character released a small fireball from its mouth, turning the waterball mobs into a plume of smoke as they disappeared.

"This is intriguing!" Shin thought with excitement. He continued to control the character as it advanced, much like Super Mario Bros., progressing to the right side of the screen.

As he advanced, the character encountered trees and grass. Shin initially thought they would harm him, but to his surprise, they burned and turned to dust as he approached. However, as his character interacted with them, its flames slowly dwindled. So, Shin decided to avoid the trees and grass. Soon, when he believed his character wouldn't level up further, treasure chests appeared on the screen. Shin attacked each one. While some contained gold, one of the treasure chests turned out to be a running fireball. Shin guided his character to catch it, causing the character to grow larger and its flames to become even redder and more intense.

At the end of the stage, Shin's character reached an erupting volcano. He positioned his character on top of the volcano's mouth, which then burst open. Shin's character soared into the sky, and a text appeared on the screen: <Stage 1 complete>, along with the displayed scores.

"This game... It's reminiscent of Mario but unique at the same time!" Lee Han exclaimed as he observed the gameplay.

Other employees watched with concern, feeling a sense of competition.

"The graphics are impressive as well," Shin admitted, continuing to play.

"What should we do now, Sir?" one of the employees anxiously inquired.

Shin didn't provide an immediate response. Instead, he changed the game cartridge to explore other titles.

Shin had expected the other games to match the quality of Happy, but to his disappointment, they were subpar compared to 8-bit games.

Upon realizing this, the employees breathed a sigh of relief.

"It appears they put a lot of effort into this one..." Shin said with a smile, "But they haven't fully realized the potential of this 16-bit console..." He grinned.

"What do you mean, sir?" one of the employees asked, puzzled.

"Mira, please have your team reverse engineer this console," Shin requested with a smile, not directly addressing the employee's question.

Mira continued to look at Shin with concern but ultimately nodded.

Shin smiled confidently. He hadn't agreed to a deeper partnership with Tora Electronics because he hoped they would release their own game console, which he could then have his company reverse engineer. This would allow his company to develop its games for the 16-bit console.

Shin understood that with his company's financial resources, they could only establish a small research team, whereas larger corporations had more extensive research teams. With this, Shin's plan to develop game consoles from 8-bit to 16-bit became more concrete with the early appearance of the 16-bit system.