1988 Retro Game Tycoon - Chapter 133
Only Noblemtl
Episode 133 – Killer Instinct
Jamal Patrick plays football in college.
Position: wide receiver.
Because you have to accurately receive the ball thrown by the quarterback and then run as far as possible while breaking through the defense, it requires a lot of things, including a strong body and reflexes, as well as a mastery of tactics and quick judgment.
Patrick had enough qualities to be a good player.
From a young age, he was confident in anything that involved ball or physical activity. He was also smart enough to understand numerous strategies.
Patrick’s talent often shone through in stadiums filled with tens of thousands of people.
It was a great feeling to score a touchdown and have so many people cheering for me.
However, there was another stage where his talents shone, and that was video games.
When Patrick was a child, his parents would often leave him in the video game arcade when they went to the big box store or mall.
“Until Mom gets back, don’t go anywhere and just play here. Okay? If you go anywhere else, you’ll get in trouble.”
With only a few coins in hand, Patrick had to spend a lot of time playing arcade games.
But he soon learned how to survive here.
His eyes and hands worked perfectly together, and his quick mind quickly figured out the game’s patterns.
Patrick’s ability to play video games was a combination of environment and talent. If he had deep pockets like others, it might have been different.
If you played like everyone else, stacking up coins and continuing to put in coins no matter how many times you died.
“Come on~!!!!!!!”
They didn’t even try to properly understand the game patterns, they just played haphazardly and screamed when things didn’t go their way.
On the other hand, Patrick, who had few coins, couldn’t do that.
He had to guard his few quarters like a treasure, otherwise he would have just sat there and watched everyone else do their thing until his parents came home.
In this way, Patrick got to experience everything from traditional pinball to the latest arcade games, and now he would go to the arcade on purpose when he was bored.
He came to CES because he heard that Sega was releasing a football game featuring the legendary football player and coach.
He said that it would be the best football game that could use real-life tactics, not a football game that is just like a kid’s play.
But it was in vain.
As soon as I got there, I stopped by the Sega booth, but the football game I was expecting wasn’t there. I had to turn back after hearing from the staff that it was still under development and that it would take time to make it perfect.
Because my interest had cooled down, I left the Sega booth without even properly looking around.
But since I was already at CES, I couldn’t just leave, so I looked around other booths.
Nintendo’s Mario was a good game, but it was still an 8-bit console. It felt a bit childish to him as a college student. The Game Boy was too small for Patrick to hold in his hands.
NEC’s Turbo Graphics (PC Engine) even had a CD-ROM, allowing for high-capacity games, but it was too expensive.
If Patrick could just become a pro and go to the NFL, this wouldn’t matter, but the future was uncertain and he was still a college student.
The Sega Genesis is fine in many ways, but the football game he wanted hasn’t come out yet.
Patrick was a little disappointed because there weren’t any games he liked as much as he thought.
Just as he was thinking of going to watch TV, Patrick saw an Asian boy holding a strange sign.
At best, he looked like a high school student. To his eyes, he was skinny and seemed to only know how to study.
But then I saw that he said he’d give me a Mega Drive if I beat him in a game, so I snickered.
I had seen so many guys who didn’t even know their own skills and showed off in the arcade.
Suddenly, Patrick felt like flattening that oriental boy’s nose.
It didn’t say what game it was, but it didn’t matter. I was confident I could play any game better than that guy.
When Patrick approached and spoke to him, the oriental man seemed a little embarrassed. Still, he had pride and did not lower his tail. Patrick followed the boy.
“Are you here?”
The space he guided me to was unexpected. It wasn’t very big, but I didn’t know there was such a cool and cozy booth at CES where you could play games.
If he ever became rich, he would definitely want to create a game room in his house with this kind of atmosphere.
When I went in, there were three types of games. On the front was , on the left was , and on the right was .
“It seems pretty plausible?”
It was a game that everyone had never seen before, but at first glance, the graphics looked cool. The image it gave off was not childish, but rather quite serious.
I also really liked the game cabinet. It had a large screen and a wide width, so even Patrick, who is big, could play games without any problems.
“This is the game.”
Patrick sat down in front of a game called Modern Fighters. There were various arrows and buttons displayed at the bottom of the screen.
“This is a fighting game. It’s a game where you and I fight one-on-one to see who will win. If you input that command, each character will use a special technique.”
“It’s not like you’re betting on points or something? It’s a fighting game? Is there such a thing?”
Patrick was surprised.
Of course, I thought they’d compete in the same game to see who can get a higher score, or who can survive longer without dying, or who can see the ending faster.
No, you’re saying you’re competing directly with people?
I don’t know about sports games, but I’ve never heard of a fighting action game like that.
“Ahem, are there no black people?”
Patrick chose the strongest-looking American gangster, Dallinger. The Asian boy chose a guy named Kim… or something.
It didn’t matter anyway. I was going to win anyway.
[ ROUND 1 ]
[ Fight! ]
The game has begun.
“Oh~!”
As soon as he saw the screen, Patrick immediately got a feel for what kind of game this was.
He first carefully moved the character to check the control feel. He liked the smooth movement and the rhythm of the punches and kicks that came out when pressing the buttons.
“Ready? Let’s go in then?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Kim jumped up and kicked. Patrick’s Dallinger was knocked out with one blow.
“What the!”
“When you get hit, pull the stick back. Then you can block it.”
“what?”
“Then, let’s go again.”
“Wait a minute! Hey!”
The Asian boy cornered Patrick in one breath.
He didn’t use any fancy techniques. It was just basic punches and kicks, but the timing of his strikes and retreats was exquisite.
When Patrick tried to counterattack, he immediately distanced himself and evaded before striking again.
In the first round, Patrick was knocked out without even landing a few hits.
“Noooooo~!!!! This can’t be happening. This is invalid! How can you attack someone who is doing it for the first time so mercilessly? This is foul play!”
“Really? Then you attack first next time. This is a 3-game, 2-win system, so you still have a chance.”
“Okay. Wait. Next time I’ll destroy you!”
Patrick quickly memorized the notes and practiced the commands.
He was the type of person who could easily understand complex American football tactics. This was nothing.
Round 2 began, and Dallinger pulled out a jackknife from his pocket and quickly cut the air with some fancy moves.
“Aha! So there was something like this. Now that you know, you’re finished.”
Patrick, who was feeling proud, rushed at the oriental boy. However, Patrick’s attacks were blocked by the guard every time.
“Hey! Wait! What is this? Why isn’t it working? Is this a scam?”
“I told you. If you watch the distance and timing carefully and guard appropriately, you won’t take much damage. Then, when you see an opening…!”
“What the!!!!”
Kim ducked and dodged the punch, and as she landed a low blow, Dallinger rolled over again. Patrick got excited and used the technique he had learned earlier to swing his jackknife, cornering his opponent.
“Yes! You’re finished now!”
But the moment Kim, who had been avoiding the situation, reached a dead end, the oriental boy smiled brightly.
An ominous feeling ran through the back of her neck, and at the same time, Kim jumped high, leaping over Dallinger.
“Jesus!!!”
In an instant, the two’s positions are switched and the situation is reversed.
Now, backed into a corner, Dallinger was hit twice in a row by Kim’s body blows and fell to the ground.
Dalinger’s screams echoed through the booth.
It was a miserable defeat without even being able to exert any real effort.
Patrick just stared at the screen with a blank, dumbfounded expression.
I thought I was good at any video game, but I was instantly pushed aside by Asian Boy.
But behind that embarrassment, another fundamental emotion emerged.
Even though I couldn’t do anything and was thrown out in an instant, I found the game to be so much fun.
“Uhhh… this was practice. Practice! Right? This is my first time doing this. Of course I need to practice. It seems like you’re already familiar with this game, so this isn’t fair. Don’t you think?”
“Okay, good. Let’s try again.”
So Patrick sat down and lost five straight fights, a total of 10 knockouts.
Only then did Patrick admit that he couldn’t beat the boy ‘right now’.
“You’re really cruel. There’s no other killer like you. But, what is this game? Where can I play it?”
“It’s still an unfinished game. We’re preparing to release it in the US during the first half of this year.”
“This is unfinished? How do you know that? How did you do this in advance?”
“Well, I made this game.”
“What????”
Patrick was startled by those words.
This was the most surprising moment at CES today.
***
Patrick left the booth after I had done not only Modern Fighters but also Fist of Jongno and Dark Moon.
“Wait. I’ll be back. Next time I’ll bring my friends.”
“Okay. I’ll be waiting, so spread the word.”
I was honestly a little nervous that he might throw a chair after losing the game, but Patrick just greeted me coolly and left.
I got off to a better start than I expected, so I gained confidence and soon went back to holding up signs and leading people. The staff who spoke some English also gathered customers by handing out leaflets instead of just waiting at the booth.
Then, the booth that had been empty all morning began to fill up with customers in the afternoon, to the point where they had to wait a short while to play the game.
There were also frequent visitors who came to see and hear at Sega.
The most popular title at our booth was .
Most people who liked were immediately interested in .
“You idiot, is that all you can do? You’re no match for me!”
“What! I fight with a sword and you’re a cannon. How can we win this?”
When friends came to our booth, we played Modern Fighters and used all kinds of foul language.
I would watch from behind and teach them how to dodge or block ranged attacks.
People who feel that person-to-person fights are a bit burdensome enjoyed and .
“This game is fun. When will it come out?”
“This shooting game has a cool style.”
“You see the energy gauge here? When it reaches a certain level, if you hold down the button…!”
“Cool~!!!!”
In , people were always happy whenever a powerful laser flash cannon swept away enemies blocking their sight.
I think is right in that it uses strong firepower to attract people in the beginning.
As we started to serve the visitors who gradually started to gather, the booth became quite crowded, and before we knew it, the first day’s operating hours were over.
“Ugh···, I don’t know how the day went by.”
“But it’s fortunate that some customers come in the afternoon. I used to get really scared when there was no one there.”
We were all completely exhausted because we were so nervous.
We quickly cleaned up the messy booth, returned to the hotel, had dinner, and passed out.
Lee Ki-cheol got a Nintendo Power Glove from somewhere and started playing with it by himself. He took it apart and started playing with it right away at the hotel.
The second day of CES had several magazine interviews scheduled before it opened.
According to the promotional schedule provided by Sega, I explained the game at the Sega booth. I also took a promotional photo with Bronsky holding the ROM pack.
“Smile, Namjoon! Brightly! Brighter!”
Bronsky’s already high tension was further heightened when CES began.
After the interview, I told the reporters to stop by the Starbeat booth because they also had some fun games.
“I’ll make the most of my time. There are still many places to see.”
Most reporters nodded but did not give a definitive answer.
“What booth is it? Oh, if it’s over there···?”
Among them, there was a reporter who, after checking the size of our booth, blatantly said there was nothing to see.
We had expected it to some extent since we were not well known in the US, but it still didn’t feel good after it happened.
Still, you can’t show off your bad side at CES.
I safely completed my promotional schedule with Sega and returned to our booth.
“Are you giving me Genesis today too?”
It must have been worth it to go around holding up signs yesterday, because on the second day, someone came to the booth first to ask questions.
“Okay, then. Come in.”
“$%!#&!!!!”
Of course, I would have sent whoever it was back to its knees in a cool-headed manner.
I can’t just deal with people who come to my booth to have a showdown with me. This is the best fan service I can give.
I was very thorough and cool-headed in my confrontation with Patrick yesterday. I approached the game fairly so that Patrick would not feel wronged.
“NO~!!!”
A large number of people who had come in with great enthusiasm screamed and left.
“Is this where that Asian boy is? The killer is there?”
As word of my story spread, more and more people started coming to see me and saying strange things. Now, I didn’t even need to go out and hold up a sign.
I don’t know how, but at some point I became a ‘cold-blooded Asian killer who showed no mercy’.
“But what country are you from? Japanese? Chinese?”
“No. I’m Korean.”
“Korea? Korea? Oh, I know. Kim Il-sung!”
“No, that’s North Korea. I’m South Korean. Republic of Korea. Seoul Olympics!”
“Ah, the Seoul Olympics!”
While playing the game, I kindly corrected each and every misunderstanding about myself, and I always gave my opponent a KO defeat.
As the afternoon wore on, more and more challengers started to show up, and now we had to wait in line.
“What line is this?”
“If I stay here, I can fight the ruthless Asian killer.”
“Cool~!”
But as I was waiting in line, I got curious about what the people were doing, so I started waiting in line again.
As the number of people increased, I couldn’t deal with them all, so I changed the players in the middle. When I took a short break, other employees fought the people instead of me.
Our staff, trained through tens of thousands of tests while developing the game, entered the game with the solemn determination to continue the legacy of Asian Killer.
“I think there’s some weird rumor going around, but this isn’t so bad.”
I played a bit ruthlessly on purpose just in case I lost, and thanks to that, people started coming to me.
People who didn’t even know what a fighting game was were lining up to play the game, deliberately hoping to suffer a miserable defeat.
Even though I’ve been in the gaming industry for a long time, sometimes I still can’t understand people’s minds.
“Gyaaaaaaah~!!!!”
As the second day of CES was coming to an end, a loud cheer was suddenly heard.
This one was different from the decibel level of cheering.
I knew immediately what was going on. It was definitely Mike Jackson, the pop star Bronsky had mentioned, visiting the Sega booth.
“Captain, please take care of this for a moment!”
I left the game stick with Captain Go and immediately ran to the Sega booth.
At the entrance to the booth, they were controlling the entry of people, but Jessica, the Sega marketing manager, let me in.
As expected, Mike Jackson, the greatest pop star of our time, was at the Sega booth. It seemed he arrived just before closing time to reduce crowding.
When the world-famous pop star showed up, it seemed like every single reporter at CES, not to mention the TV cameras, swarmed him.
I was among the Sega people and watched the promotional scene that Bronsky had put a lot of effort into.
Mike Jackson poses for a photo in front of the game he stars in, Moon Dance.
He was happily laughing while playing the game right on the spot, and cameras kept flashing everywhere as if they weren’t going to miss a single moment of his every move.
Next to Mike Jackson was Sega of America President Bronsky.
Needless to say, the promotion was a huge success.
All it takes is a single photo of Mike Jackson smiling and playing Moon Dance with his Genesis pad, and countless Jackson fans around the world will be willing to open their wallets to buy the game he appears in.
Even though just one person visited the booth and played the game, that alone was enough to create global publicity.
I’m engraving this scene one by one in my mind right now. I’ll have to hear the behind-the-scenes story from Vronsky later.
I have also shot advertisements in Korea using the youth star Lee Mi-young as a model, but creating and promoting a game using a celebrity is something else entirely.
It’s not my usual style, but we needed to consider this approach if we wanted to establish ourselves quickly in North America.
There’s no need to go back when the textbook is right in front of you.
As we were thinking about what games we could make with celebrities in a StarBeat-style, Mike Jackson, who was taking pictures under the Sega logo, suddenly turned around.
“mike?”
“Wait a minute. What game is this?”
“Isn’t this some sort of premeditated action?” asked Vronsky, his voice slightly puzzled.
Mike Jackson looked around at one of the games on the screen.
He moved towards another game with light, rhythmic steps, as if he was walking on water.
“
To everyone’s surprise, Mike Jackson walked up to the Fist of Jongno, picked up the package, and asked Bronsky in a voice that seemed genuinely curious.
Camera flashes went off everywhere.
At that moment, it felt like a huge firework went off in my head too.
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