1988 Retro Game Tycoon - Chapter 74



Only Noblemtl

Episode 74 – The Only Friend

Myungsung Electronics has started mass production of game pockets.

I toured the production plant and did a final check on the release schedule.

[Game Pocket: Golden Sun] is the first hardware game console released by our company, so we put a lot of effort into distribution.

It includes nationwide famous electronics dealerships, department stores, Seun Shopping Mall, the rapidly growing Yongsan Electronics Market, game shops spread across the country, and even neighborhood stationery stores.

Modu Electronics has signed a new deal with a toy logistics company for the distribution of this game pocket.

It was a two-tier distribution network, with Myungsung Electronics covering large regional bases such as dealerships and department stores, and Modu Electronics creating a livelihood distribution network such as game shops and stationery stores.

The price was set at 30 thousand won.

They tried to lower the price somehow, but it ended up being more expensive than initially expected. Since it uses an 8-bit CPU and Myungsung Electronics makes TVs but does not have LCD technology, it has to import everything, so the price went up.

We also worked hard to promote it ahead of its official release. Computer magazines such as and had already published articles from the development stage, and the Myungsung Electronics PR team continued to publish articles in daily newspapers and economic newspapers.

– Myeongseong Electronics joins hands with Starbeat to enter video game market

– Starbeat’s first portable game console, “Game Pocket” development completed

– “Memories of the Return of the Stars, Now Enjoy It Anywhere” Portable Game Console Released

– “I learned a lot from working with large companies” Seo Nam-jun, a young entrepreneur who launched the game Pocket

The most important of these is the TV commercial starring Im Ji-young.

Before our company’s first TV commercial was released, I gathered with my colleagues in the conference room and looked at the final edited version that Myeongseong Planning had brought.

In the dark conference room with the lights off, 30 seconds passed in an instant, and no one said a word.

A few seconds of silence.

I could hear Manager Park swallowing anxiously.

At that moment, Kim Han-sol’s voice broke through the silence.

“pretty···.”

Only then did people nod their heads and react.

Ha Ji-seok raised his hand and asked.

“Excuse me, can I see it again? I couldn’t read the content properly because I was only looking at Im Ji-young’s face.”

“Hey, Ji-seok, you too?”

Laughter filled the conference room. We replayed the video more than a dozen times in the conference room.

“Wow, this is our company’s advertisement.”

People couldn’t take their eyes off the advertisement, looking in disbelief.

AD Choi Han-il also nodded, seeming satisfied with the result.

After the screening at my company, I took the tape home and showed the Game Pocket commercial to my family.

– Wherever you go, game pockets

When the video ended, the youngest clapped and cheered.

“Wow~, Im Ji-young is so pretty. This is my brother’s advertisement. Is this really done by my father’s advertising company? It’s so different from the other advertisements I’ve seen?”

“That’s right. So Myeongseong Planning can do this kind of advertising, honey?”

“I’m the one who’s most surprised here. Why didn’t people who can do this with such a young sensibility do it before? Was this something you planned, Namjoon?”

“Yes, the first one I received wasn’t bad, but it was too ordinary. I also had a separate image that I wanted to express in the advertisement. I plan to make Game Pocket a game console that students, college students, and even office workers in their 20s can enjoy.”

“But, oppa. The screen is pretty, and Im Ji-young is pretty, and everything is good, but haven’t we talked too much about the game console? Do you think people will know what it is just by looking at it?”

“Yeah, I had that same concern while watching it. The advertisement was really pretty and well-made, but I’m not sure if it will actually lead to sales.”

“That’s right. That’s a valid point. It would be nice to have everything, but the ad time is too short to do that. And if we want to focus on the feeling we want to convey, we have to give up everything else. If we chase two rabbits, we’ll fail.”

“I think I know what you want to do, oppa… but will it really work? Isn’t it too risky?”

“It’s an adventure. But this time, I decided to take on an adventure. I wanted to position the Game Pocket in a completely different way from the game consoles from Jeunah and Hyunmyeong.”

“Positioning?”

“Well, to put it simply, it’s about how to leave a mark on the product in people’s minds. I intend to make the Game Pocket more than just a game console that you carry around. I want it to be a culture that leads the trends of our youth.”

“Is that possible with a game console···?”

“That’s why it’s an adventure. That’s why we shot an advertisement with a youth star named Im Ji-young. That’s not the only advertisement that will be released. From now on, the advertisement will continue to be released in newspapers and general magazines. And it will also be released in High Teen, a magazine that our Ji-hye likes.”

“Huh? Really? A game pocket ad is on High Teen?”

“Yeah, there’s even going to be a special feature article in the advertisement.”

“Oh yeah~! Then I should buy a bunch of the next issue of High Teen and give them to my friends as gifts. I can brag to them about my brother’s new game console.”

“Okay. I’ll give you a few game pockets, so you can play with your friends. Let your friends borrow them too. Just don’t let the teacher catch you.”

“Yeah! Okay! Okay!”

“I am?”

“Huh? Of course I should give it to Soobin too.”

“Then me?”

“Then, we can’t leave this person out. At heart, he’s still the most girlish person.”

“Ahahahahahaha···!”

When my parents suddenly bragged about their marriage, the three of us laughed awkwardly.

For a moment, this situation felt like a scene from a sitcom, as if they had made a promise to each other.

That sight was so funny that we burst out laughing again.

After the family screening, I returned to my room and asked myself again about what Subin and my father had pointed out.

The Game Pocket ad was definitely an adventure.

Video games have not yet been properly established in Korea. Isn’t it too early to reposition Game Pocket at this time?

Am I getting ahead of myself by thinking about gaming culture?

Wouldn’t it be better to wait a little longer until the market matures a bit more and people can accept games naturally?

I asked myself this question countless times, but there was no right answer.

I decided to just follow my intuition.

On the other hand, since it was a time when nothing had been properly formed yet, it could have actually been a better condition for creating the game’s image.

I may fail, but there is no such thing as a magic strategy that guarantees success in this world.

Even the greatest gaming company like Nintendo has had its ups and downs over the past 40 years. Not all of their attempts have been successful, and they haven’t always been ahead of the curve. Many failures have been hidden behind huge successes.

I decided to follow my intuition and go in the direction I wanted to go, even if it was a little risky, rather than the safe direction.

I’ve already died once.

I still remember the last day of my past life vividly. When I failed to attract investment and was faced with an oncoming truck, there was only one thing on my mind.

regret.

My regret was why I didn’t start the company sooner.

There will be a better opportunity next time. If this becomes a bigger hit, I can make the game I want next time.

I kept fooling myself with these words and continued to make the games the company asked for.

Luckily, I made several hits, but the more successful I became, the further I got from the games I wanted to make.

I got promoted, bought a house, and drove a nice car, but my heart was never filled.

I hesitated to start a business for a long time. I made excuses that I wanted to prepare more thoroughly, but looking back now, it was ultimately because I was afraid of failure.

There are no right answers in life.

If I had started a business earlier in my past life, I might have failed miserably and become a bad credit risk.

If that were the case, would I have regretted starting a business in front of an oncoming truck?

Challenges and adventures are risky. The chances of failure are always much higher than success.

But now at least I have a different standard than in my previous life.

When I stand before the truck of death again, what will I regret?

I ask myself this question earnestly every moment.

So I decided to take a chance. Even though I was scared, I decided to resist the temptation to make the safe choice.

Now that I had made my choice, it was time to take responsibility.

This is not a matter of life and death for me alone. My decision affects not only the Starbeat staff, but also Myeongseong Electronics, which participated in the development and production of the game pocket, and Modu Electronics, which is in charge of logistics.

Look up at the beautiful star called dream, but your two feet that are grounded in reality must always be running hard.

The TV commercial featuring Im Ji-young is a signal flare.

It’s not enough to put everything in a short video. I first stimulated people’s curiosity with TV commercials, and then planned a detailed secondary promotional channel to provide more information.

What happens after watching TV? In an age without the Internet, it’s print media, of course.

I commissioned them to create fashion pictorial-like advertising images to go into newspapers and magazines.

“A pretty feeling is basic, but please emphasize a bright, positive, and sporty feeling. Lively and positive energy is important.”

“Bright, positive, sporty and energetic?”

“Yes, then please take a picture with eyes filled with excellence. Something like the wandering and worries of youth.”

“Excellent, wandering, troubled.”

“Then, when taking photos of a two-player game, please capture the friendship between friends, and love, not just ordinary love, but a romantic, romantic feeling like love between old childhood friends.”

“Love with a childhood friend···?”

“Yes, and also the intense love at first sight···.”

The photographer looked embarrassed at my endless demands.

But he picked up the camera without saying a word, because I paid him twice the usual fee.

Sometimes money can buy not only the skills of a professional, but also passion. I wanted to pull out the best images I could.

Im Ji-young, with her fresh look, wore a Golden Sun Flag baseball jumper and took countless pictures in various poses, holding a baseball bat in one hand and a game pocket in the other.

He is depicted wearing a baseball cap, a batting helmet, a baseball glove instead of a bat, and playing a two-player game with another model.

I wore pants, a tennis skirt, a denim jacket, and, inspired by Ko Sung-beom, a flight jacket and sunglasses.

Since Im Ji-young is not someone who can be called in and filmed at any time, we had to capture as many different images as possible during one shoot.

I also fulfilled my other role as an advertiser, which means I provided enough food on set. I even bought a lot of expensive desserts from the department store.

Filming a commercial was harder than I thought.

The photographers and staff were constantly on edge because any problems with the camera, lighting, costumes, or makeup setup would delay the filming.

In that situation, Im Ji-young had to change her outfits countless times and change the emotions she expressed to match them.

Looking at Im Ji-young’s poses and expressions that change slightly every time she presses the shutter, she seems to be a complete professional, even though she is still a student.

“You’ve set up an interview with High Teen, right? Tell us a little bit about the behind-the-scenes story of this commercial shoot, and also talk a lot about Game Pocket. For example, you could say that you weren’t bored during your break time because you played games on Game Pocket.”

“Yes, I’ve been having a lot of fun with this lately.”

During our short break, I delivered desserts to Yim Yeong and asked her for several things.

“Could you spice it up a little more? For example, if you have a boyfriend, you definitely want to do it together. You’re still a student, so would that be a bit sensitive and difficult?”

“My mom might hate it, but it’s okay. There are a lot of kids these days who have boyfriends, but. Well, I don’t have one yet. But if I really do have a boyfriend, and he doesn’t know how to play Game Pocket, I think I’ll teach him how to play it together.”

Fortunately, Im Ji-young did not dislike my request and accepted it well.

“I’m a senior in high school and I have to study for the college entrance exams, but I miss a lot of school days because of drama filming and other things, so I don’t get to see my friends often. I want to play, but I don’t have much time to play, and it’s not easy to meet friends. These days, Game Pocket is like my friend.”

“Well, that’s good. It was worth the effort.”

“You know what’s really cool? My mom doesn’t really like it when I play games with this. But she doesn’t nag me about it because I’m a model.”

“I guess even if you’re a young star, you can’t avoid your mother’s nagging.”

“Really. If boys ever try to talk to me, my mom will chase them away. If you weren’t an advertiser, I probably wouldn’t let you talk to me either.”

Still, Im Ji-young kept complaining, wondering if I felt a little more comfortable because I saw her before.

When we were filming earlier, she was really a professional actress, but looking at her like this, she looks just like a high school girl with many worries.

“Have your gaming skills improved in the meantime? Let’s take a look at your skills.”

“Huh? That’s right! Do it with me. I didn’t have anyone to do it with anyway, so this is great.”

Although Im Ji-young is a young star who is very popular at a young age, she is still a student. No matter how much she wants to work, she must also want to play.

Although she is a star that everyone knows, I felt a little sorry for her when I saw her smiling brightly at the suggestion of playing a game together.

Although it was only for a short while, I became Im Ji-young’s gaming buddy while playing with her on the game pocket at the filming location.

Hoping that this brief moment of respite would be a breath of fresh air for her.

Although she said she had improved a lot, Im Ji-young’s gaming skills were still lacking. However, it was easy for me to adjust to her.

“It’s fun. I wish other commercial shoots were this fun.”

“When you have time next time, come visit our company. If you come to our company, you can have more fun because we have game consoles from all over the world. There are also a lot of people to play games with.”

“Really? I’m not good at telling jokes like this, so I’m going for real.”

“Please come. If you come, everyone in our company will probably be so happy that they’ll drop dead.”

Fortunately, the chemistry between the game pocket and its advertising model, Im Ye-young, was a great fit.

Rather than feeling forced, the image that comes from the heart and calls the game pocket a friend will naturally be revealed in the advertisement.

“The CF will be released soon. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Me too.”

Im Ji-young said with an expression that said she was just as excited as I was.

The release date was approaching by the minute.

After safely completing the commercial shoot, AD Choi Han-il and I fell into the photography hell of having to find the most appropriate image for the advertisement.

The company conference room’s glass and partitions are already painted with photos of Im Yeong-i.

Meanwhile, the game pockets produced at the Myeongseong Electronics factory were delivered to every corner of the country.

Now everything is ready.

“Are you sure it’s okay?”

“The rest we must leave to heaven.”

I asked myself countless times whether this was the best course of action, but I couldn’t know the answer in advance.

All I can do is just give it a try.

In the summer of 1989, Game Pocket was released simultaneously nationwide.