1988 Retro Game Tycoon - Chapter 59



Only Noblemtl

Episode 59 – After the game

– Hello, citizens. This is Dongdaemun Baseball Stadium.

The Return of the Stars event game has begun.

I returned to the stands with a radio earphone plugged into one ear to listen to the broadcast.

My family was sitting in the VIP seats set up in the infield. They were all wearing the baseball jackets that I had prepared for them in advance, so they caught my eye right away.

“Oppa! Over here, over here!”

The youngest also noticed me and waved happily.

“Thanks to Namjoon, we can go on family outings to the baseball stadium.”

“Oppa, the baseball stadium is so exciting! The weather is really nice today.”

“I’m a bit like that. There are too many people and it’s too noisy.”

“If you look at it for a while, you’ll get used to it.”

“Of course I have to get used to it. This thing costs hundreds of millions of won.”

He laughed heartily, boasting about his father’s sponsorship of the game. It was an outing, but he seemed satisfied that the event went smoothly without a hitch.

I was worried too, but my father, who sponsored the game and connected me with the KBO Commissioner, seemed to be secretly worried too.

In the match between the Legends Team, a gathering of old legends from Dongdaemun Baseball Stadium, and the current baseball team, the Heroes Team of Gongju Commercial High School, the Heroes Team took the lead in the early stages.

After all, the Legends team had a lot of players who had been away from baseball for a long time, and because of the tight schedule, there wasn’t much time to get together.

However, as if to show that legends are not legends for nothing, they narrowly avoided crisis at every turn, and Gongju Commercial High School also made mistakes, perhaps because there were so many spectators and it was broadcast on TV.

The Heroes had a 2-point lead through the 3rd inning. Chan-Oh Park was batting 8th and playing right field, and had one hit.

Then, starting from the 4th inning, the game began to change.

Exactly!

The start was a home run by the captain of the legendary team. The moment it was hit, everyone seemed to sense it was a home run and the spectators in both the infield and outfield stood up from their seats.

Waaa …

A home run was hit and people cheered a beat later. The ball flew high enough to hit the scoreboard at Dongdaemun Stadium before falling sharply.

“wow···!”

My second son, who had been watching the game expressionlessly from the side, let out a gasp.

“Is this your first time seeing a home run? Doesn’t it feel refreshing?”

When I asked, the second child only nodded instead of answering. The second child’s expression looked a little dazed, as if dreaming.

Dongdaemun Stadium heated up as the legendary team succeeded in hitting a solo home run, hitting a hit, and stealing a base.

In the 4th inning, the Legend Team turned the game around by scoring 4 points, and Gongju Commercial High School changed pitchers. Park Chan-oh still remained in the outfield.

The game continued to be a close one, with the scores piling up as offense and defense were traded in the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th innings.

And the last 9th inning.

The score is 6 points for the Legend Team and 7 points for the Hero Team.

As the Legend Team went on their last attack, the Hero Team changed pitchers again after the first batter hit a single. Park Chan-oh finally went up to the Hero Team mound, which had already used several pitchers.

“Ah···, I’m shaking! What should I do, Oppa!!!”

Every time Park Chan-oh threw a ball, the youngest member’s body shook.

Chan-Oh Park got two outs with a strikeout and a foul fly.

“There’s only one left!”

While everyone was holding their breath, Chan-Oh Park threw the ball.

cheek.

strike.

Foul.

Foul.

cheek.

and.

Exactly!

The ball hit by the batter flew high with a refreshing sound.

The world was filled with the thunderous cheers that seemed to shake the Dongdaemun Stadium.

homer.

A two-run walk-off home run came from the legendary team.

The legend team of Dongdaemun Baseball Stadium won with a final score of 8:7.

Chan-Oh Park lowered his head on the mound.

People probably wouldn’t have imagined that the sight of him lowering his head would be the beginning of a new legend.

I applauded all the players who gave it their all today, as well as Park Chan-oh.

“I’m about to conduct the awards ceremony, Mr. Chairman.”

Our family was guided down to the ground by the event staff.

People gave a warm round of applause and cheers to the Legend Team and the Hero Team who showed a great game, and the two teams stood side by side on the ground and greeted each other.

The father presented the captain of the victorious legendary team with a glittering ‘Golden Sun Flag’.

The face of the legendary team captain was tanned, wrinkled, and glistening with sweat. He held the championship flag with a proud expression and waved it vigorously.

It was a day as dazzling as the sun.

After a heated match, a deadly cleanup awaited.

The team moved to the after-party venue prepared by my father, and our company, Myeongseong Planning, and volunteers were busy cleaning up.

I also went around the outfield with tongs and trash bags to pick up trash. There were so many bottles of alcohol that I thought someone had set up a bar in the outfield. It was also a mystery why there was a single shoe that had fallen off.

Outside the stadium, they were busy dismantling booths and cleaning up the area around the stadium. The broadcasting station staff also moved broadcasting equipment in large trailers until late at night.

“You all worked really hard today! We should also have an after-party, but I’m too tired today to do it. Next time, let’s meet up again with Myeongseong Planning. And tomorrow, we’ll close the office and rest. Everyone, thank you for your hard work getting here!”

“Thank you for your effort!”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Brother, let’s have a drink and then go in.”

“I’m too tired to do this. I’ll go in first~!”

Those who wanted to play went to play, and those who wanted to go home went home. As soon as I got home, I washed up and collapsed on the bed.

So many emotions were racing through me.

The Return of the Stars in turned out to be a much larger event than I had expected. I didn’t realize it when I was doing it, but it turned out to be a really stressful event after it ended.

“We should never do this kind of large-scale marketing again···.”

It was so enjoyable and meaningful, but also so difficult that I fell asleep, muttering to myself.

It seemed like the people’s shouts were still ringing in my ears.

***

– The return of the legends to Dongdaemun Stadium, welcomed by cheers from 26,000 spectators

– A unique event from a gaming company, bringing back memories for baseball fans!

– What is the , the new baseball craze?

– The whole nation returns to the TV to watch high school baseball, and 70s baseball stars respond with home runs

– The viewers’ eyes were dazzled by the screen utilizing computer game graphics, “It felt like I was in the future.”

The impact of the Dongdaemun Baseball Stadium event was beyond my imagination.

Not only was it introduced on the MBS 9 o’clock news after the TV broadcast that day, it was also covered as the first story on the sports news.

The next morning, the front pages of all the sports newspapers were filled with the star return event matches.

It’s not an international game or a regular professional sports game, but an event game planned by a private company that has attracted this much attention. It must mean that there was a deep love and fond memories for high school baseball, and that our event planning was successful.

The promotional impact of the event match was immediate.

As the name ‘Golden Sun’ covered newspapers and news, sales of the game also skyrocketed. In fact, they sold out as soon as they were made, so the factory had to operate without rest.

Sales of had already surpassed 100,000 copies, and were breaking records every day.

The power of mass media in this era was truly enormous.

Along with game sales, the fan letters were what allowed us to immediately feel the effect of the event.

The number of fan letters coming to the company increased more than tenfold, so the postman now had to bring them in in bags on a handcart.

– Hello. I really enjoyed watching Return of the Stars. I was so happy to see the players’ faces on TV again. Although I don’t have G-Mix, I bought as a souvenir. I’ll try it when I buy G-Mix someday.

– I was having so much fun watching , and I was surprised to see a real baseball game on TV. When we came back with a home run in the 9th inning, I was so excited that I jumped up and down.

– When the captain of the legendary team received the Golden Sun Flag, I was momentarily confused as to whether I was watching a game or if that was the real thing.

– I played baseball for Yeongcheon High School from 1974 to 1976. Although I didn’t achieve outstanding results in the competition, I still have memories of devoting my whole body to baseball back then. I cried a lot when I saw the return of the stars and thought about that time. I called my friends, seniors and juniors, who I played with back then, and heard their voices and saw their faces. We laughed and said let’s play baseball again, but we all had grapes in our throats, so I don’t know if that’s really possible. Still, it was great to be able to recall those days when I had so many dreams. I’m sorry for my poor writing skills and poor handwriting. I just wanted to say thank you.

I created a game to fulfill my dream and held an event match to promote the game, but for a moment, my heart ached at the thought that it might awaken someone else’s memories and dreams.

Hard work doesn’t always lead to success. But not succeeding doesn’t mean your efforts were in vain.

Because the sweat, effort, and emotions I shed back then are what give me the strength to live in this world. Just like if I hadn’t had the time when I dreamed while playing games as a child, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

However, among the increasing number of fan letters, some fan letters that were a little different began to appear.

– Brother Seo Nam-joon, my name is Han A-ram, a second-year student at Muhan High School. I saw you throw the first pitch at a baseball game a while ago, and although I’m embarrassed, I fell in love at first sight. My dad recorded the entire game, but I keep watching the first pitch. When will you throw the first pitch again?

– Hello, Seo Nam-joon oppa. My uncle is a baseball coach at my middle school, and he said that you would be good at baseball after seeing you throw the first pitch. I became your fan after seeing you throw the first pitch. Do you have any plans to play baseball now? If you become a baseball player, I will go to the stadium every day to cheer you on.

– To Seo Namjoon oppa. There is probably only one person in the world who can throw a ball this cool. Please appear on TV often in the future. I want to see your cool appearance every day.

“To Seo Namjoon oppa.”

“Ugh, please stop!”

I threw a first pitch and letters poured in saying that they had become my fans after seeing that. When Mr. Oh Sang-hyeok read the letters, imitating a woman’s voice with a nasal sound, I cringed as I listened.

“Wow, I’m jealous. I wish I could receive just one fan letter from a fan girl like this…”

“Wake up. If we had done that, we would have received a threatening letter telling us not to appear on TV again.”

“But I feel reassured when I see Daeryong hyung. When I first saw you, I was a bit frustrated because I thought that coding also requires a good-looking face, but when I saw you, I realized that wasn’t the case.”

“Hey, what are you talking about? What do you mean by that?”

Programmers also read my fan letters and laughed and envied me.

This strange phenomenon did not end at the company.

When I got home, my second son came home with a bunch of music scores, notebooks, and sketchbooks and left them on my desk.

“What is this, Soobin?”

“Oppa, this is your homework.”

“My homework?”

“Yeah, my friends and juniors are asking me to get your autograph. What on earth are they thinking? It’s like the group is losing their minds.”

Subin stared at my face and shook her head.

“And this is what Art and Hye-min gave me.”

“What is it?”

I opened my sketchbook and was shocked. It was a pencil drawing of myself wearing a Golden Sun Flag baseball jacket and winding up to throw the first pitch.

“Wow~, you drew it well. I have to live long to see this kind of thing.”

“How many years have you lived? Of course you should live a long life!”

The second one suddenly became serious and looked at me and spoke. I also felt a little embarrassed and stuttered.

“Oh, oh, oh. Right. You have to live long. You will live long.”

“Anyway, please sign everything by today. I have to take it to school tomorrow.”

After the second one left, I picked up the pen and tried signing the exercise book. Something didn’t seem right to me.

“Is it better to write it like this? Or is this cooler?”

I worked hard to create and refine my signature to give a cool signature.

This is by no means me being boastful because I have fans.

If the signature is old-fashioned, my second child, Soobin, will be disappointed. I work so hard for my younger sibling.

I’m just trying to sign it as coolly and sincerely as possible so that my sensitive younger brother doesn’t get hurt. Of course.

While doing the homework that Soobin gave me, I also replied to a few of the fan letters.

And I also wrote a letter to Chan-Oh Park.

– Anything can happen in baseball, and home runs are part of the game. Don’t worry too much, and keep working hard like you have been doing. If you need any help while playing baseball, please contact me anytime. I look forward to your future success and wish you the best of luck.

If it were Park Chan-oh’s mentality, he wouldn’t have been frustrated to this extent, but he’s still young.

Thanks to Park Chan-oh hitting a home run, the return of the stars was a climax. However, I hoped he would shake it off quickly and not be too heartbroken by the fact that he had hit a walk-off home run in front of the entire nation.

We also sponsored new baseball equipment under the company name to the Gongju Commercial High School baseball team, which played hard in the game.

I hope that in the future, we can grow bigger and support more players with dreams. Even if they are not famous players like the Yeongcheon High School player who wrote to me, I hope that more people can enjoy baseball and dream through baseball.

Then, the baseball games we make in the future will be loved more.

***

Osung Electronics and the people in charge of the G-Boy game console were gathered in the conference room.

“Sigh… Seriously, if you open up a baseball game like that, how are we supposed to market it?”

“That’s why. This is an atmosphere where we have to invite Blue Lion and some Japanese baseball team and have a Korea-Japan match.”

“The Korea-Japan match is good. Should I upload a plan for it?”

“Will that work? The season is starting, and we are all on our own, but how are we going to coordinate with the Japanese pro teams’ schedules? And who will pay the invitation fees?”

“I’m saying this because I feel suffocated. I feel suffocated too.”

“But this is really a big deal. The chairman said he would turn a blind eye to the delayed release, but he told me to prepare properly and release it. How can I prepare anything in this atmosphere?”

“That’s why. Even if Hyunmyeong brought out Super Mario now, he would be pushed back by Gemix because of Starbeat. We don’t even have Mario.”

“So what are we going to do? Are we just going to keep complaining? Shouldn’t we come up with some kind of solution?”

The manager, who had been listening silently, asked while blowing smoke from his cigarette. Then, one of the managers cautiously opened his mouth.

“That manager.”

“Why? What is it?”

“Well… in my opinion, no matter how I look at it, there is no Sega game as powerful as right now.”

“Who doesn’t know that? That’s why we’re having this meeting.”

“Yes, that’s what I’m saying. If we don’t have it, why don’t we just borrow it?”

“Borrow? What do you mean? Tell me more.”

“I’m requesting Starbeat to transplant and to Gyeomboyong.”

For a moment, the conference room became quiet. Anyone who heard it would agree that it was a much more plausible and effective method than a Korea-Japan professional baseball match.