Chapter 95: Pilgrims...
"Then, we'll count on you even when you're back," Rob said, giving me a friendly pat on the back as we said our goodbyes.
"Honestly, I can't guarantee we'll fully embrace the concept you mentioned. After discussing it with Chandra, we've decided to focus on GPU performance," he continued.
"Alright. If you need anything during the development process, just talk to Ellis," I replied.
Right then, Chandra, who had been seeing Rob off with me, chimed in, "Take care. If you ever need anything, feel free to call us anytime. Chandra will always be at Mintendo."
"Okay. Since we're partners now, let's create something amazing together!" Rob declared with enthusiasm.
Initially, they didn't get along, but after spending a month working together at the Lytex factory, it seemed like they had become quite close.
Chandra, who was more familiar with consoles in general, decided to entrust the graphic card part to Rob, as it was an area she was unfamiliar with. She would handle the rest. Despite Chandra having some prior experience replicating the Rico CPU, it seemed that her knowledge of consoles was more extensive.
Even so, both the Indian and American teams agreed to evenly split the profits.
Rob planned to return to the USA to seek technical advice on producing graphic cards that fit the cartridge format, even though it would require a significant amount of money. He seemed prepared for that.
Before they left, I handed Rob a note with a request, "If you happen to know someone who graduated from MIT or have connections at IBM, could you look into it? They might be able to help with our GPU device."
"Freeman Curtis? Jackson Hwang? Who are these people?" Rob inquired.
"To be honest, I've never met them. However, I read in a magazine that they are well-versed in graphic technology, even at IBM. If you show them the GPU device you've created, they might take an interest," I explained.
"I see. Well, I'll look into it once I'm back in the USA."
Freeman Curtis and Jackson Hwang, whom I informed Rob about, would later become the founders of Emvidea, a graphics card company. If we could establish some connection with them, it might prove to be quite helpful.
Shortly after, as the flight time approached, Ellis and Rob's team bid farewell and returned to the USA. Each of us went our separate ways, spending the following year preparing for the future.
During that year, I worked tirelessly to ensure the successful completion of Mintendo's Super Family. I was pushing the performance of a family that had endured for six years to its limits, marking the end of the generation and preparing to pass the throne to the Super Family.
In Korea, Mantra Soft published the country's first game-specific magazine in January 1989. Considering my visit to Korea was in early 1988, it had taken nearly eleven months for the inaugural issue to come out.
Despite wanting to move forward faster, the fact that the magazine was about "games" itself was stigmatized as an incomplete book, and it took too long to negotiate this. In the end, some under-the-table money was involved in the process, and only then could Korea's first game-specific magazine, 'Game World,' be published.
However, Mantra Soft had already built a reputation as the only publisher in Korea with the successful Korean releases of 'Final Frontier 1' and 'Ys 1' from Falcom. The 'Game World' they created sold out all 100,000 copies in just two weeks, igniting a sensation.
Of course, the lottery for 'Dragon Emblem Korean Version' participation vouchers also played a part in this success, but...
Kim Han-seok, the CEO of Mantra Computer, was skilled in business. Rather than simply distributing the cartridge nationwide, he established a dedicated store to manage distribution directly, achieving significant results.
Korean gamers also reacted positively to the package design of the cartridge, which they had never seen before. (Even so, it sold just slightly over 20,000 copies...)
CEO Kim Han-seok apologized to me for not making much profit, but I didn't care much since I had expected it. I was already content with the fact that we had introduced 'Final Frontier' and 'Ys' Korean versions to Korea.
Meanwhile, at Pentagon Soft, 'Final Frontier 3,' the last work in the Family series, was in production concurrently with the 'The Empty Streets' project.
Morita and Hayashi, with a completed scenario in hand, helped turn it into a game. Yuki also poured her affection into the scenario for 'Nanase.'
Initially similar, but from the middle onwards, the three distinct heroines' stories were highly anticipated within Pentagon Soft.
Since three cartridges were used separately, each heroine had three different endings and events prepared.
However, despite that...
"Chief, there seems to be some remaining space on this cartridge," someone inquired.
"Though it's not very big, maybe around 30KB? Shall we ask Morita to create an illustration?"
"We've already added the ending illustrations, so adding more might be a bit much. And there isn't enough space for additional events."
"How about releasing it with the space empty? There doesn't seem to be anything specific to add."
"Oh, wait a moment. Leave that part empty for now. I have something separate I want to add later."
"You'll personally take care of it, Chief?"
"Yes, for now, leave it empty."
Hayashi hesitated for a moment at my request, then smiled at me.
"It seems you have something interesting in mind."
...
Then, in November 1989, the launch day for Mintendo's Super Family was approaching.
The Super Family, which included two 6-button gamepads and was priced at 25,000 yen, attracted a massive crowd on the day of its release.
It was a scene unparalleled even by NEGA Drive's launch event. Mintendo's marketing department was working at full capacity, but it was still not enough to handle the overwhelming crowds.
Rival company NEGA attempted to compete by discounting the NEGA Drive in line with the Super Family's release, but all the public's attention was focused on Mintendo's Super Family.
"As expected, the Super Family is leading from the start!"
Observing the event together was Kentaro Kurakagi, an employee from Sony who had contributed to the sound chip development at Super Family.
He was passionate about Mintendo's game business, to the extent that he even specially created a high-cost PCM sound chip exclusively for Super Family.
After tirelessly convincing President Kamauichi and demonstrating the advantages of his sound chip, Kurakagi was eventually granted permission to supply the sound chips.
"It's ironic to see Kurakagi and President Kamauichi smiling together, considering they'll be at odds in the future."
I looked towards the event venue of Pentagon Soft while taking a sip of canned coffee.
Opposite the Mintendo event venue, a huge banner for "The Empty Streets" was displayed alongside the launch of Super Family.
I still miss you so much. -
With just one line of promotional text and a beautiful illustration of a woman's back, Pentagon Soft captured the attention in an instant. They were scheduled to start their event in the afternoon, in collaboration with Mintendo.
Users who purchased the Super Family due to the captivating character's back in the illustration were already running towards Pentagon Soft's event venue, causing a significant commotion.
"Please form a single line here for the queue. Stand in a single file to avoid obstructing pedestrians!"
I glanced at Pentagon Soft after briefly leaving the Mintendo event venue. Alongside Kawaguchi, all the Pentagon Soft staff were acting as event assistants.
Within that, I easily spotted Morita...
While others from Pentagon Soft were working diligently, Morita alone sat in front of a small table, exposed to the cool autumn breeze.
In front of her, there was another long line, with each person holding titles and illustrations from Psych Battle.
That's right.
Today was the launch of "The Empty Streets" and also a fan signing event for the illustrator, Morita Shinnosuke.
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This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺