1988 Retro Game Tycoon - Chapter 93



Only Noblemtl

Episode 93 – Arcade Exploration

On Liberation Day, the day was released, our family ate breakfast together again as usual.

The only thing different from usual was that the youngest was eating breakfast in his pajamas.

“So, today is the day that the arcade releases a new game?”

“Yes, so I’m planning to eat breakfast and then go to the arcade. There’s a place called Gangnam Computer Arcade, and that’s the first arcade to contract for our game.”

“Arcade?! That sounds fun. I want to go too. I want to go too!”

The youngest one stepped forward to follow me, but his mother stopped him.

“Jihye. My brother is going to work. And the arcade is···”

My mother was about to say something, but then she swallowed her words and glanced at me.

Oh, right.

I can’t say more since I’m the one making the games, but the perception of arcades these days is a bit strange.

“It’s okay. The atmosphere of the arcade is bright and the owner always keeps it clean. I’ll take Jihye there and play for a bit before sending her back in.”

“Are you sure you’re okay, Namjoon?”

Mother’s question had two meanings.

I wonder if it won’t interfere with my work, and if it’s really okay for me to take Jihye to the arcade.

I nodded.

“Of course. I will take good care of you.”

“Okay, then do that.”

“Ah! I’ll eat quickly, wash up, and come back. Just wait a minute, oppa.”

“You can eat slowly. The arcade probably hasn’t even opened yet.”

The youngest ate his meal in a hurry as if he couldn’t hear me, then got up first and went up to his room.

My father laughed at the sight of his youngest son and then asked me.

“Yeah, this time we’re working with Myeongseong Capital? What do you think? President Shin is no ordinary person, right?”

“Yes, I had a hard time convincing them to create a leasing program.”

“That’s because the company’s fate can change because of a 0.1% difference. People like you who create things live in different worlds, so they see things differently. Still, it’s good to know a lot of people who know how to handle money.”

“Yes, I am learning a lot from working with you this time.”

“How are you preparing for CES? How’s it going?”

“The A1 board is ready for now, and as we develop the game further, we plan to make an improved version of the board if possible.”

“It’s really amazing. A bold design that uses two 16-bit CPUs. And to be able to mass-produce it in just half a year.”

“Why do they say that Cheonggyecheon can be used to build tanks and satellites if you have the materials? That’s because I was lucky enough to meet a very talented engineer.”

“Hehe, it’s amazing how all those people gather around you, Namjoon. I was going to ask the HR team at Myungsung Electronics to look through Seun Shopping Mall, but I stopped myself. I don’t think that kind of luck will happen again.”

“Even if there were someone like that, it would probably be hard for him to adapt to the corporate culture. Ki-cheol hyung isn’t an employee of our company either. That’s a problem that can’t be solved no matter how much we pay him.”

“So, Namjoon is exactly like you? He refuses to join a large company, and refuses to create a subsidiary. Now I get it. Green is the same color, so that’s why everyone gathers around you.”

My father nodded and smiled as if the mystery had been solved.

“That’s ridiculous. Is there anyone else like you in the world?”

“Is that him? The one who packs side dishes every week? Then I’ll have to pay more attention from now on. If he’s someone like Namjoon, he’s like my son to me.”

Now even Subin’s mother joined in and teased me.

You guys are really going too far. No matter what, I’m not like Ki-cheol hyung.

“What’s so funny? Except me? Huh?”

The youngest, with perfect timing, came down dressed and asked me in detail why I was laughing.

After finishing breakfast at the table filled with laughter from people teasing me, I took my youngest to the Gangnam Computer Arcade.

“This is an arcade! This is my first time here. There are so many arcade machines, huh, oppa?”

The youngest, Jihye, looked around the arcade filled with all kinds of games, sticking her face in here and there as if it was a new experience. I first greeted the arcade owner.

“hello.”

“Huh? The young man from Sigu is here?”

“I came with my younger brother today. He’s our youngest.”

“Hello, boss. My name is Seo Ji-hye.”

“Oh my~, you have such a pretty little sister. I feel full even without eating. Huh?”

Jihye, who had been joking around in the car the whole way here, greeted the boss politely.

After politely greeting me, my brother looked at me, made a V sign with his finger, and slightly stuck his tongue out.

What a curious guy. He was hiding himself like this and trying to score points with adults he was meeting for the first time. However, he couldn’t hold back his mischief and couldn’t hide it until the end.

“Play with this. I’ll go talk to you.”

I changed five thousand won into coins and gave Jihye a handful.

“Yay!”

The youngest, whose pockets were bulging with coins, went to play a game.

I checked the cabinet where was installed.

Even though it was early, all four cabinets had people playing games.

I watched people playing the game from behind for a while.

Dudadadadak!

“yes!”

“Ahh···!”

Some people just played the game by pressing buttons haphazardly, while others played carefully, throwing only the punches necessary.

There were different fights going on on the four monitors, and there was a mixture of excitement and disappointment. You could tell how enthusiastic people were just by looking at the backs of their heads.

“I thought there wouldn’t be many people because it was morning, but luckily there are some people. The game seems to be running smoothly.”

“Yeah, honestly, I also regretted it last night when I was installing it, thinking, ‘Oh, I should’ve just done two. Why did I hastily do four?’ But now that I see the kids coming in the morning to do this, I feel a little bit more relieved.”

The owner also smiled, clearing his throat.

“We advertised in the newspaper that we would open on Liberation Day, and we also advertised on the radio a few days ago. But there are still many people who don’t know about it, so we’ll see more people coming in the future.”

“How about other arcades? Do they have a lot of games?”

“There are the most in Gangnam, but there are also quite a few in Sinchon and Jongno. It’s almost like Seoul, but there are still over 800 arcades.”

“Really? Hmm, I’m not sure if that’ll be enough. It shouldn’t be crowded.”

“Isn’t it a good thing when a lot of people gather?”

“I don’t know. A little more than what you have now is just right. You can do it after waiting three or four times at most? If it takes longer than that, you’ll hesitate and either just leave, or just watch. That’s definitely not good.”

“why?”

“Why, why? Because the people who were watching eventually went somewhere else. There is , but they go to arcades that are less well-known than ours. Our arcade is the most famous in Gangnam, so people come from far away.”

“This is an arcade where people come from other regions to visit.”

“Of course. But if there are a lot of people waiting, you get tired of it and just leave. Games are similar to relationships between men and women. You really want to play a certain game, right? Then you can’t help but get tired and chase after them. But even if you chase after them, you can’t play properly. And after a few days, your interest just cools off. That’s the really scary thing. You like them for a while and then they cool off, right? Then you just don’t want to do it anymore.”

“Hmm… that could really be true.”

“It’s not that it can happen, but nine out of ten times it does. So advertising is good and everything is good. Of course, you have to make them want to do it. But then you have to make it possible for them to do it. If they all flock to our store, we can’t handle it.”

“Then why don’t you buy more A1? I can give you a discount too.”

“Hey~, that won’t do. If you increase it hastily and the bubble bursts and customers leave? How much will you lose then? Do you know how many times I increased it because it was popular in the beginning and lost money? Even bringing in 4 now is a huge risk on my part. It’s because this is also an installment plan.”

Having been through all sorts of things while running an arcade for 10 years, the owner was happy to see that was attracting people, but he drew a line that he needed to wait and see if it would become a truly popular game.

It was so true that I couldn’t refute it.

There are many games that shine briefly when they are first released and then disappear.

I was confident that would be a long-running game, but there was no guarantee that my thoughts were 100% correct.

All we could do was wait and see if it would become a trend in arcades.

“Anyway, it’s a good start. Hurry up and increase it. Don’t be half-assed here.”

“Even without that, the salespeople are still out on the road today. Seoul has gotten a little better, but the metropolitan area and the provinces are still lacking, so that’s a bit disappointing.”

“If you don’t have enough, you should go out and sell it yourself. Don’t just sit here and talk to me. It must have cost a lot of money to make that. You should think about selling it quickly. What are you doing?”

The arcade owner asked me as if he was urging me.

“If it’s really urgent, I’ll go out and run too. Don’t worry. But since I’m out with my little brother today, I’ll play a game with him. So please give him some time.”

“Then I can’t help it. I’m letting my sister off because she’s pretty. Next time you see me, show up in Seoul and all over the country. Got it?”

I was given a firm warning by the owner and went to the youngest. The youngest was watching someone else play a game.

“Why are you just watching?”

“I spent all my money! That game is so hard. It swallowed all my coins!”

The youngest had already spent all 5,000 won on the 500 won and was already penniless.

I smiled and exchanged the ten thousand won into coins again.

“Was it that difficult? Then should I show you a more difficult game than that one?”

“Is there such a game?”

“I think it’s probably here. Oh, it’s over there.”

I discovered and sat my younger brother down.

, released by Capcom in 1988, is a sequel to and depicts the adventures of Arthur, a knight who enters the demon world to defeat the demon lord Lucifer in order to retrieve the princess’s soul.

was a game with a reputation for being difficult, and also clearly inherited the reputation of its predecessor.

“How difficult is it···.”

The youngest started playing with eyes full of curiosity. An eerie yet somewhat comical background music flowed and Arthur, a knight in armor, started playing the game at the graveyard.

From here and there in the tombs, messengers of death appeared, holding sickles.

“Eeeeek! You’re ugly!”

My brother threw his spear at the reaper. But after only a few steps, he collided with the reaper who suddenly emerged from the ground, sending his armor flying away.

“Ouch! What is this? Why am I naked?”

“Be careful. If we hit each other again, you’ll die.”

“Huh? Eww!”

As soon as I finished speaking, the respawning grim reaper and the youngest met again. It must have been a minute since the game started. The game ended like that.

“What is this? Is this the end?”

Jihye’s face was shocked.

“Don’t be ridiculous! I’m really coming to my senses this time.”

Jihye quickly learned the arcade culture and put a bunch of coins on the cabinet before starting the game again.

Again, ominous yet comical music flowed out, and Arthur, clad in armor, was summoned.

“Ahh!”

“Here again!”

“That’s ridiculous!”

“Don’t do that!”

“Die! Die!”

The youngest tried hard to clear , but ended up spending 1,300 won without even seeing the face of the Stage 1 boss.

“Oppa, what is this game? What kind of game is this?”

Jihye almost cried. I patted Jihye’s head and sat down instead.

“You still have a lot to learn. Watch what you do, oppa.”

I put in 100 won and started . And soon I got my hands on the golden armor, avoided the guillotine, and quickly reached the stage 1 boss.

“Wow! That’s ridiculous. Why does it look so easy when you do it?”

“This isn’t the end. Now, look. Here we go~!”

“Wow! How did you do that?”

I pressed the button all the way down as Arthur in Golden Armor, summoned lightning magic, and cleared the Stage 1 boss in one go. Jihye rolled her feet beside me in disbelief.

I continued playing the game. However, since it was a game with extremely high difficulty, I couldn’t finish it with 100 won, and I ended up spending 300 won to clear it.

It was a really damn difficult game to play again.

“I can see you again now.”

The youngest looked up at me as if I was the god of games.

“Don’t ever make a game like that, oppa. It’s not made for people.”

When I stood up and asked if she wanted to do it again, Jihye flatly refused. She looked like she would never do again in her life.

“Are arcade games always this difficult?”

“No. There are easy things too.”

I looked around the game with my youngest.

However, since the owner is a game enthusiast and the collection mainly consists of the latest games, games from the early to mid 80s were not visible. Games that women easily enjoy, such as or , were also not visible.

When I came to the arcade, I noticed that all the people there were men. I didn’t notice it when I first came, but when I came with my youngest, I could clearly feel that it was difficult for girls to approach the arcade games.

Still, we had a great time playing games like the puzzle game classic Tetris and the exciting platform game Wonder Boy and Battle of Midway 1943.

“Huh? Oppa. Look at all those people over there. When did they all gather like that?”

After playing a game with the youngest for a while, I looked back at and saw that there were a lot of people gathered there just like Jihye said.

In each of the four cabinets, coins were stacked like a tower.

As people gathered, people playing other games also looked around, wondering what was going on. I quietly watched the people gathered.

“Ohhh~!”

The people gathered in front of applauded softly and let out exclamations as if they had made a promise whenever someone made a great play or advanced to a new stage.

Looking at the characters chosen, Kim Do-kwon and Suzy were the most popular. Next was New York. The last was Hong Gong-woo.

I watched the game from the crowd and held back several times from almost telling them not to do it that way.

Because I can’t ruin the fun of playing and discovering an unknown game on your own.

Anyway, detailed strategies for each stage were scheduled to be published in a magazine like .

Jihye, who had been watching me and the people, tapped my arm. Jihye suddenly gave me a thumbs up and said.

“Your game is the best. Let’s get one of those for our house. I want to play it at home too. If you weren’t here, Mom wouldn’t let me go to the arcade alone.”

“Is that so? Then I guess I’ll have to put down two. This can seat up to four people.”

“Oh, really? But there are five people in my family. My older sister is in her third year of high school, so she won’t be able to play, so it’ll be okay. But my mom is really bad at games. Even if I prepare a hundred coins, it might not be enough.”

I laughed at the youngest’s naivety, thinking that he was worried about coins while installing a game board worth millions of dollars.

“Wow, what are all these people doing? Did they all come here to do that?”

Even at that moment, new people continued to come in. Each new person was surprised to see the people gathered in front of .

It was just as the owner said. As the number of people increased, the new arrivals kept fiddling with coins and were worried.

We need to put more effort into arcade business.

1988 Retro Game Tycoon Episode 94