1988 Retro Game Tycoon - Chapter 128



Only Noblemtl

Episode 128 – Bell Street

Thomas Bronsky.

He is usually just called Tom Bronsky.

He became the general manager of Sega of America just before Sega sold the Genesis, or Mega Drive, in North America.

The man who had the enormous responsibility of selling the 16-bit console that Sega had created with a fire in its eyes to beat Nintendo in the world’s largest market.

Many of the strategies he established worked well in North America, and Sega broke through Nintendo’s iron fortress and opened the golden age of Sega Genesis in North America.

It didn’t last very long though.

Surprisingly, Bronsky didn’t even come from the gaming industry.

He was the CEO of a famous toy company, then became the president of Sega of America and turned the North American market upside down, contrary to expectations.

I never thought I’d get to meet these people before going to CES. I’ve gained a lot from this trip to Japan.

“Nice to meet you too, Mr. Bronsky.”

When I answered in English without an interpreter, Vronsky smiled brightly and said:

“No no, just call me Tom.”

“Would you like that, Tom?”

“Hey! How nice! It’s so frustrating that people here call me Mr. Bronsky or President even when I ask them to call me by my name.”

Tom Bronsky, a large man with a bulging belly and a bushy beard, looked like a cartoon character, and he laughed cheerfully.

On the other hand, the Sega people were all laughing awkwardly.

It seems that Americans’ unique friendliness and gestures are a bit difficult for Japanese people.

Well, I’m not that extroverted or popular, but I can still accept it to some extent.

“But why are you in Japan? Isn’t it a very important season in the US too?”

“Oh! Of course. It’s such an important season. But I came because there’s a season that’s even more important than the end of the year.”

“What season is more important than the end of the year? What is it?”

“It’s next season! The year 1990, the beginning of the 90s! Isn’t it exciting? Now, the real 16-bit era is about to begin. The New Era, the New Genesis. This is our stage.”

“Mr. Bronsky just came out of his management meeting for next year and decided to sell in the United States as well.”

Director Nishikawa interpreted Bronsky’s words plainly.

“Yes! We’ve played the game you made too. Amazing! This is exactly what we’ve been waiting for. Wild action! Fantastic movements, serious atmosphere. This is a man’s game, an adult game. We’re targeting teenagers and older who are old enough to play with Nintendo. This Bell Fight game is perfect for that.”

“Is this a ‘Bell Fight’ game?”

“Oh, sorry. It’s called ‘Jeonno’s Fist’, right? It’s a bit hard for us to pronounce. When I asked him, he said that ‘Jeon’ means ‘bell’? So we started calling it the Bell Fight Game among ourselves, and before I knew it, I was like, ‘Bell Fight Game.’”

“We may need to consider changing the game’s title when selling it in the US.”

“It really needs to be changed. If the original title is left as is, it will be a huge loss in the United States. Korea is a very unfamiliar country to Americans.”

I nodded.

There’s no way around it. We still have to wait 30 years for K-pop to climb the Billboard charts, for a Korean film to win an Academy Award, and for an OTT K-drama to take the world by storm.

In the future, Seoul will be one of the hottest cities in the world, but for now, its cultural presence is close to zero.

In that situation, what can we say about the game?

At least Japanese people are surprised and say, “They made this game in Korea?” Most Americans, if you tell them this is a Korean game, will ask, “Where is Korea?”

“It’s perfect. I just had a management meeting where I was given the go-ahead for next year’s business. To be honest, the mood was really bad during the meeting. Every time I brought up a plan, the mood got more and more depressed, and I was like, ‘Oh, I guess I should look for another company.’”

“But it looks like President Tanaka has given his approval?”

“Yes! I was thinking I was finished, but he said he didn’t like my plan, but he trusted me and said we have to do business the American way in America. Thanks to him, my balls are still attached.”

“Then is it entirely up to Tom how he markets ?”

“Of course. Because I’m the boss. For now, that is. Hahahahahaha!”

Vronsky laughed like a villain from a Disney cartoon.

Sir, you wouldn’t act like this in a management meeting, would you?

Well then, I can understand why Sega executives don’t like it.

“Seeing as I met you here, this must be some kind of revelation or destiny. I have a lot of questions about this game. Can you spare some time for me?”

“Of course. I am also very interested in the US market.”

Tom Bransky, I, and Managing Director Nishikawa left the company for a casual chat at a nearby cafe to discuss expansion into the U.S.

“Currently, Genesis sales in the US are just over 500,000 units. When I came to Japan, I heard that the end-of-year marketing campaign was getting an explosive response. But next year, we will surpass that. We have several cards that we are preparing separately.”

Genesis in North America planned to create and market games that leverage celebrity status, such as sports games linked to sports stars and games featuring pop stars.

In fact, those games were doing well, but then Sonic exploded and Genesis grew rapidly.

But it’s all still in the preparation stage.

Even the Genesis, which is said to have sold 500,000 units, is only 2.5% of the Nintendo Famicom, which sold over 20 million units in North America alone.

This is literally a drop in the bucket.

The reason why Bronsky is interested in while having a clear strategy is because there is still a long time left until the games in preparation are released.

“As soon as I got to the office, I saw a new character that was being developed, but I’m not sure yet. I’m guessing one of the three: rabbit, hedgehog, or armadillo. Hmm. The game is said to be incredibly fast, unlike Mario, but the problem is that the game is developed at a turtle-like speed.”

“Can’t we help it? I also get frustrated when I see the development team, but there’s something about the process of making a game that we can’t understand. It’s not something that can be solved by complaining. That’s why Starbeat is even more amazing.”

“That’s right. Starbeat completed this Bell Fight in just a few months? What’s your secret?”

Vronsky opened his eyes wide and turned his face towards me burdensomely.

I feel sorry for those who are talking about Sonic, but we still have to wait a long time for Sonic to come out. Sonic, who had a hard time deciding on a character, will be released in 1991, the year after next, not next year.

What this means is that until Sega’s mascot comes out, Sega will continue to thirst for new games.

“I know relatively well what kind of game I want to make. That’s why I spend less time planning than others. Before programming, I first create a detailed structure and focus on making it. Since I know what I want to make, it naturally leads to how to make it. I think that’s why I make far less trial and error than others.”

“So, in a word, genius?”

Vronsky wiggled his eyebrows like two crawling caterpillars.

“Sir, isn’t Namjun the genius that Genesis needs? How did you find someone like him? Does he have some kind of radar that I don’t know about?”

As an American, Bronsky, accustomed to compliments, praised me and Managing Director Nishikawa at the same time.

Thanks to the huge success of in Japan, we were able to talk about the next steps in a friendly atmosphere.

The success of Sega of America was also important to Mr. Nishikawa.

Because the title of ‘console that succeeded in the American market’ is a free pass ticket anywhere in the world.

Fun games are essential for a console to be successful, and that’s exactly what the Mega Drive was lacking right now.

I was so buoyed by the success of my year-end marketing campaign that I threw out a new bait for the two wolves who were equally hungry for success.

“Starbeat is also planning to go to the US. We will be attending CES early next year. We will be bringing as well as new games.”

“Are there any new games?”

As I expected, the two people looked at me with eyes full of curiosity.

I explained Dark Moon and Modern Fighters. I showed them to the Gamest reporters, but the magazine didn’t include the new games.

“So when are those two games scheduled to be released?”

“I think it might be possible in the first half of next year.”

“Super fast! So we’ll be able to see some new games at CES. I’m already looking forward to this CES. Are you signing a contract with Sega for your next game?”

“Well, if Sega doesn’t reject it.”

“What are you doing, sir? Hurry up and bring me the contract. Before this genius boy has a change of heart and runs off to Nintendo. Oh~~, but. Nintendo still doesn’t have a 16-bit console. You have no choice but to join us.”

Vronsky laughed and acted foolishly, as if he was performing a one-man show.

Certainly, at this point, there is no alternative to the Mega Drive to port Dark Moon or Modern Fighters to consoles.

The PC Engine was quite popular in Japan, but it didn’t do well in the international market, and its performance was inferior to that of the Mega Drive, so there was no reason to move platforms since Sega had already established a solid partnership with it.

But by the end of next year, Nintendo will release the Super Famicom, and SNK will also release the Neo Geo.

And we’re also working on a 16-bit console, although it’s still in development.

As Bronsky mentioned earlier, 1990 was a pivotal year as it marked the beginning of the golden age of 16-bit consoles.

I will greet 1990 by challenging the American dream.

“It’s great that you’re coming to CES. We need to introduce the game to several gaming magazines, and most of the major magazines will be coming to cover it, so we can schedule a promotional event for them all at once.”

“I would really appreciate it if you would do that. Since Starbeat is completely unknown in the US, we will have to start with a game magazine, and this time we will ask for Sega’s help.”

“Of course. Of course. But you have to make sure that Genesis also sells over a million units.”

I spoke with Blonsky about marketing and localizing .

In Japan, a Japanese character named Isamu was added to reduce people’s antipathy, but in the US, there is a cool guy with an American sensibility called ‘New York’, so there didn’t seem to be much to change in the content.

“The time period and spatial background are important in this game. It might be unfamiliar to Americans, but I think that might actually make it feel fresh. Just changing various texts to English would be enough. I’ll just change a few signs because if I change them too much, it won’t feel like the original.”

“Okay, but what should we do about the title? The characters and the setting are both very unfamiliar to us, so I’d really like the title to be simple.”

“Shall we brainstorm together here and decide?”

I took out several napkins and a ballpoint pen. Vronsky looked excited.

“First of all, the most important thing is that you can’t use the word ‘Jongno.’ Right?”

“Yes. It’s too hard to pronounce, and I have no idea what it means.”

“I would like to keep the meaning of Jongno. You said Bell Fight earlier, right? Since Jongno means a street with paper, how about calling it ‘Bell Street’?”

“Oh, Bell Street is good. It’s hard to say, but if you say Bell Street, I can understand it right away. Bell Street, it’s very good.”

I put the napkin that said “Bell Street” on one side and wrote several words on the other napkin.

If you translate , it becomes ‘The Fist of Bell Street’. But for some reason, I didn’t like the sound of it.

We each threw together a bunch of words that came to mind to find the easiest and most suitable name.

The Power of Bell Street

The Fighting Spirit of Bell Street

Champion of Bell Street

Heroes of Bell Street

Revenge of Bell Street etc etc

We came up with dozens of names and chose the one we liked best.

“I think this is the best. . The motif is a legendary fighter from Jongno, and the story itself of successfully taking revenge against a great power is a ‘legend’ of this street.”

“Me too ! It’s a good name. It’s natural and captures the game’s content well.”

Bronsky gave a thumbs up and liked it. Director Nishikawa also nodded.

“Then, we will export it in the East as , and in the West, including North America and Europe, as .”

“Yes, sir. I think we need to slightly edit the background to emphasize the image of the Boshin-gak a bit more so that people can see why it’s called ‘Bell Street.’”

We decided on the name of the game on the spot and also discussed promotional methods to fit the CES schedule.

Having the game developer representatives, Sega North America representatives, and Sega sales executives all in one place allowed for important decisions to be made quickly.

“Then, our next meeting will be at CES. I’ll be waiting like a turtle with my neck stretched out.”

After talking about various things regarding the export of to the United States, I parted ways with Bronsky and headed back to Korea.

I had already missed my flight, so I had to buy a new ticket and barely managed to catch a flight late at night.

As the plane took off, the night view of Tokyo, with its lights as beautiful as the stars in the night sky, began to fade away.

My face was reflected in the airplane window, looking out.

Things I had only dreamed of were becoming reality one by one, but I still didn’t really feel it was real.

To think I’d meet Bronsky here.

And the English title of became

.

It’s the legend of Jongro.

Somehow, the name seemed to refer to our company.

If we become a hit in the US market following Japan, we will not only be able to compete with large corporations, but we will also be able to surpass them.

When that day comes, the name Starbeat will become the ‘Legend of Jongro’ and shine forever in the history of video games.