Chapter 103: Kagemusha
As I expected, Mintendo's Super Family gained immense popularity upon its release. However, ironically, it wasn't the performance of the Super Family that was driving its sales. Instead, it was being sold as the "only console" capable of playing "The Empty Streets," a game that had become a social phenomenon.
"What on earth did Pentagon do? How could they accurately reverse-engineer the specs of the Super Family and produce it that way?"
Thanks to this, Shige's Super Marigi World, which was launched on the same day, went unnoticed. This was quite a blow to Mintendo's pride.
The console was selling well, but the reason behind it was rather impure.
Is this the kind of reaction we're getting?
When Shige learned that his Super Marigi World was being overshadowed by "The Empty Streets," he went to Pentagon Soft to purchase a cartridge for the game himself.
"I have to see what kind of game this is for myself!"
And two days later...
"Nanase-san... Ouch... Aghhh..."
He rushed in without thinking and returned with serious injuries.
Oh, Nanase, really? Was that your taste?
As the situation took an unexpected turn, Mintendo had no choice but to acknowledge Pentagon Soft's actions. What did they acknowledge? Well, it was the cartridge royalty negotiation.
After distributing the stock up to the third batch, I decided not to release the fourth batch. This marked the beginning of a showdown between Mintendo and Pentagon.
Currently, Pentagon Soft was paying Mintendo a royalty fee of around 3,000 yen per cartridge. Holding the sword of hard negotiation, Pentagon proposed a negotiation for 1,500 yen, which was half of the fee they initially offered.
However, President Kamauichi did not accept the offer. They had already released the game with Super Family's model, and if it didn't sell well, it would only be their loss – a typical bargaining tactic.
So, a few days later, we sent the NEGA Drive coding file of "The Empty Streets" to Mintendo.
With some adjustments to the graphics, using three cartridges, we could port it to a similar level. The game had already received excellent reviews in terms of "scenario" alongside Morita's artwork, so the requests from NEGA Drive users to port it to Pentagon Soft were pouring in.
Pentagon Soft was a third-party game development company. In other words, they weren't part of Mintendo's "first party," so it didn't matter which console they released the game on. Besides, from Mintendo's perspective, there was a shortage of titles to support the new console properly.
Shigeru's "Super Marigi World" was undoubtedly a masterpiece, but due to the overwhelming presence of the three heroines in "The Empty Streets," it only ranked fourth in sales for the month.
First, second, and third places were occupied by the three heroines of "The Empty Streets," Miyuki, Nanase, and Setsuna, respectively.
Interestingly, it seemed that the preferences of men in this era had changed, with Miyuki, the girl of the same age, being the most popular by far.
Next in line for good sales was probably the younger girl, Nanase. There was nothing wrong with Setsuna's appeal, but maybe the era had something to do with it, and older women had some reservations about dating younger girls.
Nonetheless, Setsuna's sales were still exceptional, surpassing those of "Super Marigi World." Why weren't any more stocks of "The Empty Streets" coming in? Game stores were flooded with inquiries.
Finally, President Kamauichi gave in, "It's the initial launch of the new console, so we'll have to overlook it this time."
With President Kamauichi's decision, the fourth batch of "The Empty Streets" was unleashed across the country. Users who had only heard about the scenario for a while rushed to buy it like rain in a drought.
"Now that I think about it, from Dragon Emblem to Psych Battle, and The Empty Streets, there's never been a proper stock release in the early stages for the games I created."
I chuckled at this sudden thought.
At the time, Mr. Kamauichi asked me, "Kang, is this your last week at work?"
"Yes, sir."
"Think about it again. Are you going to leave just when the Super Family, created by you, is about to take its first steps? Do you want to leave after your parents are gone?"
"It's not like I did it all by myself. I got help from Sony's Kurakagi-san for the sound chip, and I used the custom CPU that Latex made as it is. The product design was a collaboration with Gunpei, and we've already completed the handover last week."
"You've organized it quite well."
President Kamauichi seemed somewhat disappointed, but the final decision had been made.
And that's how I left Mintendo after seven years.
President Kamauichi insisted that I could come back anytime, which sounded like a joke. Even Gunpei and Shige, who were in the meeting room, seemed to regret my departure. Not only them but employees from various departments, such as marketing and overseas sales, expressed their regret at my departure.
I spent the last week saying goodbye to the employees who had supported me.
President Kamauichi had prepared a farewell party, but I had firmly declined his offer. People who leave should just leave.
I preferred a simple handshake over a grand farewell with applause.
So, about four months after the release of the Super Family and in late March 1990...
I left Mintendo, where I had spent about seven years.
President Kamauichi insisted that I could come back anytime, which sounded like a joke. Even Gunpei and Shige, who were in the meeting room, seemed to regret my departure. Not only them but employees from various departments, such as marketing and overseas sales, expressed their regret at my departure.
I spent the last week saying goodbye to the employees who had supported me.
President Kamauichi had prepared a farewell party, but I had firmly declined his offer. People who leave should just leave.
I preferred a simple handshake over a grand farewell with applause.
So, about four months after the release of the Super Family and in late March 1990...
I left Mintendo, where I had spent about seven years.
"Kang, what are you going to do now?"
"Well, I'm thinking of moving to Tokyo first and then taking it slow. After all, since I've learned the art of theft, I might run into the gaming industry again."
"You crazy guy. If you don't have anything to do, come back to work tomorrow."
"Hehe. I'll move to Tokyo first and take my time to think. Anyway, if I stay in the gaming industry, we might meet again, right?"
"That's true. It was great working with you all this time. It would have been even better if you had stayed with Mintendo until the end."
"Even empty words, I appreciate them."
"Not just empty words!"
"Anyway, Shige and I can't work for the same company."
"Why?"
"Do you remember when we had a bet during the Psych Battle presentation? You challenged me to bet on the sales numbers."
Upon hearing this, Shige suddenly blushed as he recalled that day.
"Mintendo has its unique game philosophy, so I think it would be difficult to create games there with me."
"Are you really leaving because of that?"
"Well, you know..."
I smiled in response to Shige's question and then spoke.
"I'll be back soon. See you then."
"Farewell, Kang Junhyuk."
A few days later, I visited a law firm that I had been patronizing for a long time.
"You've come. Mr. Junhyuk..."
"Hello, Mr. Hase. How have you been?"
The man in his mid-50s with graying hair greeted me warmly with a smile.
He had been helping us with the acquisition of several factories alongside Latex since he took over Triangle Soft in 1986. He had also provided legal advice on various issues over the years.
"It's been five years since I met you, Mr. Junhyuk..."
"Yeah, time really flies, doesn't it? But is Mr. Kawaguchi not here yet?"
"I'm not sure. It's about time for him..."
At that moment, someone knocked on the door of the law firm.
Knock, knock... Creak.
Mr. Kawaguchi, who appeared slightly tense, opened the door and was taken aback when he saw me.
"Mr. Junhyuk? Why are you here?"
"Hello, Mr. Kawaguchi."
Then Mr. Hase, who had been sitting in front of me, also stood up and greeted Mr. Kawaguchi with a smile.
"I called you earlier. I'm Mr. Hase Tatsumi."
Mr. Kawaguchi looked a bit bewildered and asked, "Is Mr. Kudo here, as you mentioned?"
Mr. Hase then explained the truth to Mr. Kawaguchi with a chuckle.
"I'm sure he's right in front of you, isn't he?"
"Huh...?"
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