1988 Retro Game Tycoon - Chapter 122



Only Noblemtl

Episode 122 – Electronic Perverts

“Sumimasen. Sumimasen.”

Lee Ki-cheol, dressed neatly, clasped his hands together and bowed his head while apologizing to reporter Misato.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.”

Fortunately, reporter Misato did not get angry and accepted Lee Ki-cheol’s apology.

It was the first time a reporter had visited the Iron Age, and it was so embarrassing to have caused such an incident. And it happened in front of a Japanese reporter, of all people.

Anyway, this guy can’t relax for even a moment.

After drinking a cup of cool barley tea, reporter Misato calmed down a bit and looked around our research center, the Iron Age.

“Really here? And alone? You developed the board? It’s even more unbelievable when you see it with your own eyes.”

“I’m not alone. I received a lot of help from my big brother in Myeongseong Electronics for the post-production work, and our gamer, or rather our CEO, took care of everything from CPU control to BIOS.”

“But aren’t you saying that you did the core design of the board by yourself?”

“Originally, I had a hobby of taking apart things like game consoles, examining them, and then reassembling them with the parts I had lying around. But arcade boards were so expensive that I couldn’t even think about it. Then, our great representative gave me a huge sum of money and told me to do whatever I wanted. How could I not be happy?”

“Speak normally, hyung. Speak normally.”

I warned Lee Ki-chul, who was interviewed in a strange tone in front of a reporter, with a smile. Of course, when I translated, I changed everything into refined language and conveyed it to the reporter.

“So, are you saying that there is no special technology on the A1 board?”

“Shall I show you in person?”

Lee Ki-cheol placed an A1 board on the living room floor and placed the main components that go into the board next to it.

“Look at the chips that go in here. They’re all off-the-shelf products from Motorola, Yamaha, Texas Instruments, Fujitsu, Sharp, etc. Ohsung Electronics DRAM is also included. There’s no special custom chip or new technology that we’ve made ourselves. They’re all already there.”

“Is it similar to Nintendo Yokoi’s development philosophy that only proven technologies are sufficient?”

Gunpei Yokoi is a legendary Nintendo game developer responsible for development of everything from the mega-hit toy Ultra Hand to the Game & Watch, Famicom, and the handheld Game Boy.

He had a philosophy of incorporating already proven technologies into games in slightly different ways, as rapidly developing cutting-edge technologies do not necessarily guarantee fun games, and their high cost can even be a barrier.

“Yokoi Gunpei? I don’t know much about that kind of person. I don’t have any great philosophies. New technology? I would if I could, but I don’t have the talent for it. I’m just, what should I say? A pimp in the electronics industry?”

“‘Ttukjangi’? A ttukjangi?”

“Oh, that’s like a matchmaker who matches men and women who are likely to get along.”

I sighed in the middle and did not package the interview any further, but relayed it as it was. Reporter Misato did not understand what the word “too-jjangi” meant, so I explained it to her.

This guy was a person who couldn’t be packaged in the first place. It’s not like I can just change the words to make it sound plausible.

“Yes, it’s a trick. It’s about finding chips that already exist, but the power of the combination is not yet well known. It’s about finding new combinations, fresh matches! Why haven’t we met this CPU and that chip yet? Are they bad matches? You wonder, right? Then you try it right away.”

“But, there are a lot of electronics companies in the world, not just one or two. Also, as the number of components increases, the number of combinations also increases. Do you intuitively understand that? Like a genius sense that can grasp it at a glance?”

“A genius? No way. I’m just a day laborer. If this doesn’t work? Then I try that. If this doesn’t work, I try something similar. I just keep doing this and that until it works. Sometimes, I just glance at the specs and get a rough idea of ​​what it’ll be like. If I actually try it and get the exact same result, wow! That feeling is really great. But most of the time, I just keep going until it works.”

“Doing all that by yourself? Isn’t it boring or something?”

“Boring? What else is more fun than a love story? While making the A1 board, I got to know the compatibility of many chips. Some are from the same company, but they are like mortal enemies and don’t work efficiently, and there are also things that seem like they wouldn’t work at all, but they surprisingly work very well. I don’t have the talent to make things that don’t work together. However, I can quickly tell who is friendly and who is not. And that’s so much fun.”

Lee Ki-cheol smiled brightly, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

Reporter Misato nodded with an expression on her face as if something had been sucked into her.

This guy also passed. To Ki-cheol hyung.

Lee Ki-cheol usually seems like just another neighborhood idiot with a few screws missing, but when he shines like this, he’s a monster that can take people’s souls away.

I think it’s a good idea to stop talking like that. If I were to make up words like that, the meaning wouldn’t be conveyed properly.

Honestly, I don’t have any talent for packaging that.

Our Starbeat’s proud hardware lab director, Lee Ki-cheol, proudly declared in an official interview that he is a pimp, a day laborer, and an electronic pervert who delves into the behind-the-scenes love story of electrically conducting semiconductor chips.

How could anyone not call this a digital hooligan?

But, this seems to work for reporters.

“Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview.”

“No. I’m sorry for startling you earlier. But I’m glad you came out wearing panties. Right?”

After the interview, I quickly ran away from the Iron Age, not knowing when Lee Ki-cheol would start talking nonsense again.

Reporter Misato’s schedule was a bit tight as she was scheduled to return immediately on an evening flight.

We stopped by the arcade, had lunch, and then headed back to the office to talk more about the game project.

The story of how came to be developed, how Sega came to publish the game, how the return of the stars and pocketing created a new gaming culture in Korea, and even and , which are currently in development for CES.

While showing various materials and interviewing , I realized anew how much work we have done in the past year.

No matter how much I talked, there was no end to it.

“It’s really amazing. Personally, I’m a bit surprised that a game company can be this attractive. It may be a bit strange to say this, but Japanese game companies often have fun games, but the actual companies themselves are often boring and dull.”

“But we still have a long way to go to catch up with Japanese game companies. Our first goal is to succeed in Japan.”

“Even though the game came out from Sega, isn’t it still considered a success?”

“It’s only been released, so it’s only half a success. A Korean game has entered the global market. This alone is certainly significant, but the game still needs to gain popularity and become a hit. There’s still a long way to go.”

“What are the current sales figures in Japan?”

“I just spoke to you yesterday, and it looks like we’ve sold about 50,000 copies since it was released.”

“It hasn’t even been a month since it was released, right? 50,000 copies is a lot of sales, excluding Nintendo. The Mega Drive itself hasn’t been widely distributed yet. What’s your target?”

“Including Japan and the US, at least 1 million copies. If we sell that many copies, I think we can call it a success.”

“A million copies? That’s about the same as Donkey Kong, right?”

Reporter Misato asked in surprise.

“I don’t know what you’ll think if I say this, but I think Japan is also a process for me. Starting in Korea, going through Japan and the US, I think Starbeat’s mission is to spread fun games to people all over the world and develop games. Actually, the numbers aren’t important. To do that, I think we need to achieve around 1 million copies, whether it’s or not.”

Reporter Misato looked at me for a while with a surprised expression.

It could be my imagination, but his face looked slightly moved.

“Today’s interview was really informative. If only covering a game company could be this fun.”

“Thank you for coming all this way. Next time, please come with a more leisurely schedule.”

After finishing the interview, reporter Misato returned to Japan on an evening flight.

Actually, I was surprised that a reporter came to cover the story in person, but since the magazine specializes in arcades, I don’t know how much of an impact it will have on game sales.

I did my best in the interview, but I think I appeared too unadorned.

Just like when the scholarship officers visit the school, we clean up like a bluff, everyone pretends to study hard, and Lee Ki-cheol… should’ve just hidden it as much as possible?

But I didn’t want to show off only the good side of Japan, which is a country that is far ahead of us in video games.

Of course, there are people in our company that we are embarrassed to mention, but thanks to them, we are where we are today.

Packaging is important to some extent, but in the end, the true nature will be revealed somehow.

It can’t be helped that our passion and ambition for the game may seem like empty boasts to them.

That’s something we’ll have to prove in the future through games.

***

“Yes, Editor-in-Chief. I arrived safely. See you at the office tomorrow.”

Misato, who had returned to Japan, arrived home safely and threw her tired body onto the blanket.

It was her first overseas business trip since joining the company, so she was very nervous and had some mishaps along the way, but fortunately, the interview was much more fun and informative than she had expected.

My body was tired, but countless thoughts kept popping into my head, making it difficult to sleep.

When I closed my eyes, pieces of the interview kept coming back to me, and my thoughts became tangled.

‘Did Starbeat just get lucky and make a fun game? Absolutely not. is just the beginning.’

The company introduction material that Misato found questionable actually felt reduced upon investigation.

Moreover, the atmosphere, liveliness, and energy unique to Starbeat made her heart race as she reported. This feeling was not captured in the data.

When I went to Korea, I was worried that this company would be a mess, but now I’m worried about whether I can properly promote this company’s true colors.

After tossing and turning for a while, she finally made up her mind and fell asleep.

The next morning, as soon as she got to work, she strode over to Editor-in-Chief Ryo Ishima.

“Hey, Misato. So the business trip…, no, why again? I sent you on a business trip, right? What else?”

“I haven’t said anything yet?”

“But why are you making that face again? What else?”

“Please increase the page.”

“what?”

“I can’t properly describe Starbeat in one page. I’m just going to end up writing a prologue. Please make it longer.”

“Before you went on a business trip, you said the company introduction was a joke or something. Did you change your mind right away? How much should I make it longer? Will two pages be enough?”

Misato held up four fingers.

“What? Four pages? You have so much to say?”

“I have a lot to say and I took a lot of pictures, so there isn’t enough space. Please give me four pages.”

“I’m not kidding. Then the paper will increase more than planned, and editing will also be delayed. Why on earth is that?”

“It’s worth it. Starbeat games will be a regular feature in our magazine going forward.”

“Hey, Misato. That seems a bit over the top. I don’t know what you saw there, but how did you become a regular? The owner there is quite handsome. Are you obsessed with him?”

Another reporter who was listening to the conversation from the side blurted out a comment, but then quickly looked away after being met with Misato’s arrow-like gaze.

Misato looked at the editor again and spoke seriously.

“When I saw it, was definitely not a coincidence. I also heard about the arcade game that is currently being developed, and it seemed very unique and fun. In fact, there is something that surpasses Japanese game companies. I can laugh about it now, but I think everyone will be nervous next year.”

“Another arcade game coming out? Tell me more.”

Ryo listened to Misato’s story quietly. Although she was still getting her bearings and was rambling a bit, the game’s concept certainly sounded interesting.

“CEO Seo Nam-joon believes that fighting games will completely change the game center trend. It’s much more fun to fight people, so who would want to play against a weak CPU? Also, from the game center’s perspective, since they get two coins per game, their income will double in an instant, so they’ll be happy. , Editor-in-Chief, is just one step. Star Beat is drawing a much bigger picture.”

“You’re looking that far ahead? Starbeat?”

Ryo frowned deeply.

It was just a game that I hastily found and threw in to put together a special edition of Belt Scroll.

The more I listened to Misato’s story after she went all the way to Korea to report, the more I felt that she was extraordinary.

Capcom and Sega, who made other games like Final Fight and Golden Axe, were already famous companies, so there wasn’t much new to talk about.

But it was a different story if it was a divine being that flew in from Korea.

“Hey! Okay, I’ll fool you this time. I’ll give you four pages, but you have to come up with a cool article. Got it?”

“Yes, Editor-in-Chief!”

“And, look here, everyone! In this New Year’s special issue, the #1 game review was , #2 was , and #3 was , right?”

All the reporters looked at the editor.

A look of uncertainty appeared on their faces.

“I’m changing it from now on. The first place will stay the same. The second place will be , and the third place will be . and feel more similar, so let’s have a thorough fight between the two. Just think of as being about 1.5th place and work on it. Got it?”

“yes.”

The reporters laughed bitterly, saying that their uneasy premonitions were right.

“And, Misato. You call Starbeat again and ask if the arcade for has an exclusive contract with Sega. When the magazine comes out, local readers will be in an uproar asking what to do about it, so check what the distribution plan is.”

“All right.”

“If you don’t have any special plans yet and don’t have a separate distributor contract, please let us know so we can connect you. Got it?”

“Arcade distribution?”

“Yeah, we’re . We’re an arcade magazine. Even if we have Mega Drive games, our customers are arcade fans. Are we going to tell them to buy all of the Mega Drives?”

“No, that can’t be.”

“And Misato said that you’ll probably be a regular customer in the future. Then don’t wait and help us grow quickly. Honestly, I don’t care how many Mega Drives are sold. It’s much more important to install in more arcades.”

Editor-in-Chief Ryo Ishima said with emphasis.

“We need to make people compare and and brag about their high scores. Our goal is to make the two games into arcade rivals. It’s not like Sega. You know what I mean?”

“Yes, Editor-in-Chief!”

Misato answered forcefully.

is a magazine specializing in arcade games.

Arcade games were their pride and joy, and their revival was soon to be the key to the magazine’s success or failure.

Misato took that fact to heart again.