1988 Retro Game Tycoon - Chapter 77



Only Noblemtl

Episode 77 – Pocketing

– “Do you know about pocketing?”, the new college romance trend created by the game pocketing

– Pocketing, meeting strangers through games, became popular through dramas

– There is also criticism that it encourages casual encounters among students.

If you went to college in the 70s, you might remember ‘strawberry dating.’ In May, when strawberries were ripe, college students would pay money to gather in a small hut, eat sweet strawberries, and find new love.

But now, strawberry dating is completely a thing of the past. As the economy develops and times change, college students’ dating culture has also changed rapidly. These days, college students don’t go to strawberry fields to meet up. They play video games together.

There is no way that there would be an arcade on a university campus, the ivory tower of academia. What college students enjoy is a portable game console called the ‘Game Pocket’. Star Beat, a Korean game company that gained popularity with , joined hands with Myungsung Electronics to develop a portable game console called the Game Pocket.

Game Pocket is portable, so it can be used anywhere, including on campus, on the street, in parks, in music cafes, and at bars. Here’s how it works. When you’re playing a game with Game Pocket, anyone with a Game Pocket will be invited to play a game with you. Men and women who have never met before play a game together without knowing each other’s names or ages. If they like each other, they exchange contact information. Otherwise, they just say goodbye and leave.

Among college students, this is called a game pocket meeting. It is abbreviated as ‘pocketing’. Pocketing became a hot topic when the youth star Lee Mi-young appeared as a CF model, and then it started to become popular in earnest when she appeared in a dating scene with her boyfriend in the drama ‘Season of Love’.

The advantages of pocketing that college students talk about are many. Even if you are meeting for the first time, it is not awkward because there is a common theme of games, and if you don’t like it, you can just play one game and leave, so it is convenient. It is explained that you can meet a wide range of people regardless of time and place.

As pocketing has become popular, quick-moving college cafes are creating pocketing-only seats. As pocketing has become popular as a way to meet new lovers and date, the trend has spread to not only 20-something office workers but also high school students.

Thanks to this, the game pocket is selling like hotcakes, to the point that it cannot be sold out even at the expensive price of 30,000 won. However, there is also a question of whether it is really desirable to have a simple portable game replace deep conversation. There is a concern that love is becoming too light.

As times change, does love change too? In the future, there may come a time when you have to learn how to play games just to meet a date you like.

***

Game pockets are starting to emerge as a new dating item for couples.

The cultural industry is inextricably linked to dating between men and women.

One of the reasons why Korea continues to produce tens of millions of movies is because movies are an important dating course.

The reason so many movies deal with love stories is because love is an eternal theme for humanity, but also because people in love often watch movies together.

The wind was now blowing towards the game pocket.

“I knew this would happen. You are truly a marketing genius. Who would have thought that you would create a game date craze all over the country with Game Pocket?”

The dinner prepared by my father and the president of Myeongseong Electronics. The president of Myeongseong Electronics smiled broadly and praised me.

“Hehehe, that’s right. Honestly, I also thought that Namjoon was being a bit too much this time, since he hired Im Jiyoung, and paid her twice as much as other models. Who would have thought that it would turn out like this? Is Namjoon dating you without me knowing?”

“No. If that were the case, I would be eating with my girlfriend instead of eating with you two.”

“Ahahahahaha! That’s right.”

“Your mother told me to ask you a question, so I asked her once. I haven’t gotten my money’s worth. If you have a lover, you should meet her. No matter how delicious the food is, it won’t taste good with these old people. Come on, boss. Let’s enjoy it among ourselves.”

“That’s right. It’s sad to be old, Chairman.”

My father and the president of Myeongseong Electronics were joking around. As expected, things are going well, so the atmosphere is good.

No matter what, a company must first make good sales.

Game Pocket rode the pocketing trend and quickly surpassed 150,000 units sold.

One of the couple stories from Starry Night became a trend as it rode the wave of , and beyond the word of mouth, various media outlets were now publishing articles about it without us having to promote it separately.

It would be amazing if men and women met through games and went on dates together. In an era where even video games are still considered a minority genre,

Actually, I find it strange too.

I had the idea of ​​making the game pocket a dating item. But I didn’t know that it would develop into an item for instant encounters in the form of pocketing.

I thought that playing games while dating would become fully possible only in the 90s.

But the world didn’t work the way I thought, and young people took the game pockets very differently.

I took advantage of the opportunity that I happened to get and created a trend by putting out a drama PPL. It is true that the drama PPL really started the trend, but if there had been no Starry Night Couple, if they hadn’t sent their story to the radio, I might still be suffering.

“I’d like to say that I had it all planned from the beginning, but honestly, I was really lucky this time. The Starry Night couple saved my life.”

“No. If it were a normal person, they would have said, “Oh, that’s what happened. How strange.” Then, how quickly the game pocket appeared in the drama is not something that just anyone can do, sir.”

“That’s right, sir. In my opinion, the reason it became such a huge hit is because the people already had a good image of the game pocket through the Yimiyoung CF. If it weren’t for that, it wouldn’t have become this popular. Of course, it was luck, but Namjoon, you were able to seize it because you had already prepared well.”

“That was all thanks to the great help from Myeongseong Electronics. They made the hardware well, and the PR team also helped us very actively.”

“Those guys must have learned a lot this time. I also learned a lot while watching. I thought, “Ah! This is the true spirit of youth!”

“Now that the 90s are here, the era of individualism and individuality will begin, and consumption will explode. Advertising will become more important. Please pay more attention to reputation planning in the future. You will be able to attract many good people.”

“Yes, that’s right. The president of Myeongseong Planning is already in a difficult position these days. All the affiliates are asking us to make it like a game pocket advertisement.”

“No. If you just copy what’s pretty, you’ll fail. It’s an advertisement that requires a detailed strategy in advance to work.”

“That’s right. You shouldn’t blindly follow anything. I have to warn the executives at the executive meeting too. So, Namjoon, you explain this game pocket advertising strategy to the executives.”

“Me in front of the presidents of Myeongseong Group?”

“Yes, our executive team has a regular lunch meeting. Come there once. It’s not a formal event like a executive team meeting. Since you’ve been using your father’s power so well, I should use my son’s power too. That way, the math will be right. Don’t you think so?”

“Okay, I guess I’ll have to organize the data a bit.”

Explaining pocketing strategies to older bosses early in the morning isn’t much fun, but considering what I learned from my father, it’s not that hard.

Even though I have no intention of inheriting the Myungsung Group, I am the eldest son of the group and I need to know the important people in each affiliate.

Like Myeongseong Electronics and Myeongseong Planning, there is no way to know how we can help each other again in the future.

As Game Pocket is on the rise, I decided to change my TV commercial to fit the trend.

In the first CF, Im Ji-young hinted at a breakup by writing and erasing a heart on the car window, but the second CF was about meeting a new person through the game Pocket.

“Was there a reason you drew hearts on the window back then? I didn’t know this was a continuation of the commercial.”

“Of course. It was all planned from the beginning.”

When Im Ji-young was impressed by the advertisement storyboard, I just pretended to be like that from the beginning. In fact, the heart was just there to show the worries of youth.

Fortunately, as things progressed in a way that allowed me to piece together the events, it looked to others as if it had all been planned from the beginning.

“I’m also happy that Game Pocket is doing so well these days. I’ve spread it to drama filming locations, so now there are more people who can play with it.”

“Really? That’s good. Game friends usually last a long time. That’s because you have something in common.”

“Even when you’re walking down the street and you see someone playing a game on their pocket, you feel like they’re your friend and you get really happy. Do you know that feeling?”

“I know. I know it too well. These days, I also purposely take the bus or subway to go anywhere. If someone is playing Game Pocket, I play with them.”

“Are you pocketing too, sir? Do you just give out your phone number and stuff?”

“No. I just play games. These days, when I break up with someone, there are women who look at me with anticipation, so I feel a little awkward. I just wanted to play games with them because I was happy to see them.”

“Well~. It would be easy to misunderstand. If such a handsome oppa asked me to play pocket games with him, I would naturally think it was pocketing and get excited. No way. The CEO forbids pocketing for women. Bang! Bang! Bang!”

“Huh? Does that mean I can’t pocket things anymore? I made the game pockets.”

“No. It’s illegal to flirt with a woman for no reason. Anyway, that’s it.”

While preparing for the commercial shoot, I exchanged silly jokes with Im Ji-young. Game pockets and pocketing were definitely trendy now, to the point where we could exchange jokes like this.

“I hope this CF will do well so that this trend doesn’t end as a fleeting flash.”

“Of course. Don’t worry.”

“Oh, and by the way. I heard that Ms. Miyoung is going to start filming a movie this summer. Is that right?”

“Have you heard? Yes, it’s called and the content is a bit sad. It’s about a high school student who suffers because of the college entrance exams.”

“Is the scenario finished?”

“I don’t know for sure, but it’s almost finished. But I haven’t received the script yet. Why? Are you planning on including a game pocket in this movie?”

“You noticed. The drama got such a good response. But I think the movie could be approached from a different angle than the drama.”

“How?”

“If the drama was about youthful love, this movie is about high school students who are suffocating because of college entrance exams. Then, wouldn’t it be possible to include a scene where the main character gets caught by his parents while playing Pocket Game with his friends? For example, the parents smashing the Pocket Game with a baseball bat.”

“Hmm~! I think it’s definitely possible?”

“Then, I think we can more clearly show the protagonist being abused in the name of education through the game pocket. Can’t we portray the student’s human rights being destroyed and their isolation from their peer culture in a more three-dimensional way through the game?”

At my words, Im Ji-young opened her eyes wide in surprise.

“Wow…! Sir, are you a writer? That scene just now seems to fit the movie perfectly. I have to tell you to include that scene.”

“I’m not a professional writer, but storytelling skills are also necessary to create games. Although this baseball game doesn’t have a story, has its own story. As games develop in the future, stories will become more important.”

“I see. I didn’t know. I’ve only played this one game, Game Pocket.”

“Osung Electronics will soon release a game console, and our company’s games will be included with it. I’ll give you one as a gift when it comes out, so try it out at home.”

The Oseong Gyeomboyong transplant work has been completed by Oseong Electronics and is now in the process of producing the ROM pack. Oseong Electronics was planning to release the Gyeomboy this summer.

“Then please give me the director’s contact information. I have a feeling this movie will do very well.”

is a hit movie that criticizes the hell of college entrance exams in Korea. The subject matter is a bit heavy, so it may not be a box office hit, but it leaves a deep impression on people.

Following the drama , I decided to include Game Pocket PPL in the movie .

This time, it takes a completely different direction from youthful love. In a movie that criticizes the world that steals the dreams of youth in the name of college entrance exams, the idea is to naturally reveal games as a communication tool among youth.

Game Pocket is currently very popular among people in their 20s with its sweet image of ‘love’ and ‘dating’. This is a topic that is also popular among teenagers.

However, even among the same youth, teenagers have their own stories. With the same game pocket, you can create content that represents and comforts the pain of teenagers.

Since Yim Ji-young is an actress who appeals to both teenagers and people in their 20s, we will be able to convey our message sufficiently.

Love burns easily, but it also fades just as easily. You never know when a trend will suddenly disappear, pushed aside by something else.

We need to do our best to maintain the current trend of attention being given to pocketing, but on the other hand, we need to manage the game pockets so that they are not consumed by just one image.

The pocketing phenomenon that started in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province is now gradually spreading to the provinces.

We have revised our sales target for this year upward from 400,000 units to 600,000 units and have also revised our production plan.

“Sir, since the Game Pocket is getting such a good response internally, we are looking into ways to expand sales. For now, we are thinking about exporting it to South America.”

“Is there an export route?”

“Because Myeongseong Corporation has already entered the market. It seems like it would be difficult for us to penetrate advanced countries like the US, Japan, and Europe, so we plan to try exporting TVs to South America first.”

“Okay, I don’t know what the outcome will be, but I think it’s worth a try.”

“Yes, we will continue to look into expanding overseas.”

Myungsung Electronics, excited by the domestic response, planned to increase production and directly export the product. The plan was to make the most of the TV export route.

“Ah, TV is doing well these days, and Game Pocket is doing well. I can go to the Myeongseong company outing this year with a very carefree mind. Will the CEO come to the outing? Oh, is it because he is not a member of the Myeongseong Group? But it is also strange that he is not qualified to come even though he is a member of the chairman’s family…”

“A celebrity party?”

“Yes, every year on the anniversary of the founding of the Myungsung Group, the group rents out an entire amusement park. On that day, at least several thousand Myungsung Group family members from all over the country gather.”

Thousands of people per family unit?

A good idea came to me and I said to the president of Myeongseong Electronics with shining eyes.

“Of course I will attend. Then, boss, how about having a family sale event with us during the company outing?”

A good opportunity has come to properly promote our company to the executives and employees of Myeongseong Group.