1988 Retro Game Tycoon - Chapter 96



Only Noblemtl

Episode 96 – National Game

After the publication of , letters and postcards began to pour into our company mailbox again.

I guess I’ve adapted to this era, so now these letters and postcards don’t feel strange at all. Each letter and postcard seemed like a separate post taken from an internet bulletin board.

This time, there are a lot of fan letters coming from local areas.

It is certainly a welcome development. However, looking at the content, it is not necessarily so.

– I’ve been waiting for Liberation Day since I heard that was coming out. August is almost over, but I still can’t find in my neighborhood. I can get there by bus downtown, but there are too many people waiting. I went today and came back empty-handed. Please put it in my neighborhood arcade too. Please.

– I was really curious about the game, but I couldn’t find an arcade that had , so I ended up going up to Seoul with my friends on the weekend by taking an express bus. I somehow managed to find the arcade, but maybe because it was Seoul, there were so many people. I went up early in the morning, but I couldn’t even play a few games before I had to come back down. But the game was really fun. That’s why the way back down was even harder.

– I usually wake up really late on Sunday mornings. Sundays are the only days I can sleep in. But these days, I can’t do that. When I sleep in late and finish watching Manhwadongsan and go to the arcade, there are already a lot of neighborhood guys in front of . So now, on Sundays, I wake up diligently, eat breakfast, and get ready to go out, just like when I go to school. Sometimes, I even line up in front of the arcade before the doors open.

– I’m a high school student who likes . Among the characters, I like Suzy, so I only play Suzy. When you go to the 4th edition, Suzy takes off her white veil and puts on a black veil, right? It feels more authentic, and the black veil is strangely prettier, so I really want to see it in person, but I always die in the 2nd edition. But I can’t continue, and once I wake up, I have to wait a long time. If I wait a long time, I lose my sense again. I really want to go to the 4th edition too.

Most of the letters from the countryside were about how there weren’t many arcades around where they could play games.

The owner of the Gangnam computer arcade said that games are similar to relationships between men and women. People should be able to enjoy themselves to the fullest when they are desperately looking for them.

The A1 board is still being sold in new areas every day, but it has not spread far enough for rural people to enjoy it.

We need to get the game out there faster before these people’s enthusiasm cools.

I reviewed the entire sales organization. There were still many backlogged orders that had not been processed yet.

As I listened to the status report, I accepted the reality.

“We can’t do this on our own. We can’t expand our sales force indefinitely, and we also have time to hire new people and train them, so I don’t think we’ll ever be able to keep up with the demand.”

The number of orders to install A1 boards nationwide has grown faster than the rate at which we have expanded our sales force.

In addition, we cannot continue to hire sales personnel indiscriminately. If we hire a lot of personnel and the A1 distribution stabilizes to a certain extent, there will be nothing left to do.

Ultimately, I decided to work more closely with Myeongseong Electronics instead of expanding the sales organization further.

First, we linked up with the sales organization so that Myungsung Electronics dealerships could also apply for A1 board installation.

And up until now, our sales staff would go to the arcades themselves to install the boards, but now we have them installed by Myungsung Electronics home appliance delivery/installation technicians.

Although we would have to give a higher percentage to Myungsung Electronics, it seemed that it would be much better in terms of speed to borrow the power of Myungsung Electronics, which already had a nationwide network, rather than us taking charge of sales and installation.

“Our country is bigger than I thought. Covering the entire country was not as easy as I thought.”

“I guess so. A large company is a large company for a reason. There are certain things that a large company can do.”

Manager Park Chung-shin, who had been struggling with the expansion of the sales organization, breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that a significant portion of the sales/installation would be transferred to Myeongseong Electronics.

Unlike ROM packs, arcade boards are not targeted at general consumers but arcade owners, and since it would take time for to spread nationwide, it was a misjudgment to think that the sales organization could be started with a small but elite group like the development organization and expanded step by step.

Korea was bigger than I thought, had more arcades, and was much more popular than I expected.

After Myeongseong Electronics was hired to install the board, there was some confusion on site, but it quickly stabilized. The effects were immediate.

“By the end of September, it is expected to spread to major provincial cities and even nearby areas.”

Mr. Oh, who used to be a sales manager, spoke with a slightly brighter face.

was spreading so quickly that it could now be called a truly nationwide game.

When things settled down a bit, I picked out a few fan letters from the provinces that stood out and wrote back to them directly.

– Hello, Mr. Lee Jin-ho. Thank you for loving . I checked and 4 machines will be installed in OO Arcade and 2 machines will be installed in XX Arcade in your neighborhood. I apologize for keeping you waiting. We are currently reorganizing our sales network and installing games faster, so please wait a little longer. Starbeat will continue to make arcade games, so please continue to show us lots of love! / Starbeat CEO: Seo Nam-joon

I know I can’t appease them all, but I wanted to let them know that we’re doing our best.

But while I was replying, I came across a letter that touched my heart.

===

Hello. I am Min Dae-young, a middle school student living in a mountain village in Gangwon-do. I went to my aunt’s house in the city for the Lunar New Year this year and tried for the first time and fell in love with it.

Before that, I had only heard about video games, but I had never played them. Even when I went home, I kept thinking about games. I wanted to have a game console, but I couldn’t even ask my parents. Our family wasn’t very well off.

In my town, there is no one who has a game console. When I really wanted to play games, I would go to the nearby Deungchon-myeon. There was a bookstore there. I would open up a computer magazine in the bookstore and read and reread everything about Starbeat until I memorized it. If I stayed too long, the owner would give me a warning, so I could read the text quickly.

I used to imagine what a baseball game would be like, or a game pocket, looking at game screens in magazines, and play games in my head. Then I heard some surprising news. Starbeat was making an arcade game. I was so happy that I could jump for joy. Now, if I had coins, I could play games without a game console.

But my joy didn’t last long. There was no arcade in Deungchon-myeon. I went to the town just in case, but there was no in that arcade. I thought that this time I would finally be able to play games to my heart’s content. That day was really sad.

Still, I wonder if will come to the town someday? If possible, I hope there will be an arcade in Deungchon-myeon. I am waiting for that day to come soon, and today, I wrote my wish on a paper boat and let it float on the stream. Thank you for making a game that is fun just by imagining it.

===

I felt sad when I read the letter from Min Dae-young, who lives in Gangwon-do.

In Korea today, home game consoles are almost like a luxury item. With a population of over 40 million, the number of Gemix V, Comboy, and Gemboy combined is less than 1 million.

Everyone wants a game console, but not everyone can afford one, especially in rural areas where game shops are rare.

The great thing about arcade games is that not only are their specs far superior to those of home consoles, but anyone can play them with just a coin.

There’s a huge difference between buying a game console that costs over 100,000 won and playing a game for 50 or 100 won.

I was lucky enough to have a Gemix V when I was a kid, but I was still frustrated that I didn’t have any other consoles. I even got into fights with my friends over the consoles I didn’t have.

Thinking back now, it was such a childish thing, but that was how I felt at the time.

After hearing Min Dae-young’s story, I immediately looked into the information on arcades in the area. I looked to see if we had installed the game or were planning to install it.

However, there was no plan to cover even the nearby towns, not to mention Deungchon-myeon. I tried to reply to my friend Dae-young, but after writing several times, I ended up crumpling up the letter paper.

This was because no matter what I said, there was no way to comfort the heart of a child who could not do .

What would you say to a friend who plays games while looking at pictures in magazines and imagining things in their head?

I wish I could build an arcade in the town…

Huh? Wait a minute.

You’re building an arcade?

“That’s right. If there’s no arcade, just make one.”

A good idea suddenly occurred to me.

***

On Saturday morning after summer vacation, Min Dae-young woke up at the crack of dawn to go to school. The elementary school was about a 30-minute walk from his house, but he had to walk to middle school and then take the bus again.

He always got up early because if he missed a bus, he would have to wait a long time.

“I’m going to school~.”

Daeyoung left home with his two younger siblings who were attending elementary school.

Although summer is not over yet, the mountain village was cool from the morning.

As I walked, listening to the sound of water and birds, my younger siblings would sometimes go down a side road to pick up acorns.

After taking care of his younger siblings and dropping them off in front of the school, Daeyoung took the bus and headed to school.

Daeyoung was the first one to arrive at school today. He just threw his bag on his seat and went out to play soccer with a ball.

“Daeyoung~~!”

As I played alone, kicking the ball, my friends who went to school soon joined me. They threw their bags in a corner of the playground and played together. Before I knew it, my classmates from this class and that class came in and we played together as a jjambbong team.

“You guys~! Get it over with! Class is starting now!”

Five minutes before the bell rang, the teacher came out and shouted loudly, and only then did the students stop playing, wash themselves briefly at the tap, and run up to their class.

After finishing CA in the first period and finishing the fourth period, all classes on Saturday are over. Daeyoung, who had a long way home, bought some tteokbokki with his friends and then headed back home.

Saturday was nice, but it was a bit tiresome to go back and forth to school for only 4th period classes. But I was able to overcome the tiresomeness because I could play soccer with my friends.

Usually when I came home on Saturdays, my siblings were already eating at home.

But today was a bit strange. As I walked along the only road leading into town, there was a crowd of people gathered in front of the community center.

“What? Are you having a party today? I haven’t heard anything like that.”

Dae-young, who was tilting his head, began to notice something increasingly strange. A large truck with a roof he had never seen before had its mouth wide open, and people were busily unloading something from it.

Not only my younger siblings, but also the village children, older brothers, and older sisters all came out to watch it.

“Hey! Daeyoung is coming! Daeyoung! Come quickly! Hurry up! Someone came from Seoul to see you!”

“Yes? In Seoul?”

Daeyoung, who didn’t know English, quickly ran to the village hall.

“Are you Daeyoung?”

“uh···?”

Min Dae-young froze in place. The person he had only seen in pictures was now in front of him. He remembered the letter he had sent him a while ago.

“Really? President Seo Nam-joon?”

“Call me Namjoon hyung. Nice to meet you.”

Dae-young absentmindedly grabbed the hand that Seo Nam-joon extended and shook it. He had no idea what was going on right now.

“Why are you here, hyung?”

“Daeyoung said he wanted to try out and floated a paper boat. It crossed the Han River and came all the way to our company. That’s why I came.”

“yes?”

“It looks like it’s just finished. Come in.”

Seo Nam-joon entered the village hall with Min Dae-young.

As soon as he entered, Daeyoung’s jaw almost fell off because he was so clueless.

“What is this… what is all this?”

Daeyoung slowly looked around.

The usual community center had been transformed into an arcade. Twelve game cabinets, like those found in town arcades, were lined up along the walls. There were four of them, , and the other eight were different games.

On the other wall, there was a TV on a desk, along with a variety of games, including a Jemix, a Hyundai Comboy, and a O-Sung Gemboy. There was also a box full of game packs.

“Honey, that guy brought a bunch of snacks too. I’m so excited!”

Daeyoung’s youngest sister pointed to a large box of snacks. It was filled with all sorts of snacks that you wouldn’t normally see.

On the wall, a neon sign that read [Star Beat Daily Arcade] glowed brightly.

“I looked it up and there really weren’t any arcades around here. So I just made a one-day arcade. I came in a hurry, but I took a wrong turn and was a little late. But I’m glad I finished just in time for you to get home. Now, sit down. Everyone was waiting for you to come.”

“Do it quickly, Daeyoung. Hurry up!”

The town hall was filled with neighborhood children, youth, and even seniors. Daeyoung sat down in front of with a pounding heart.

As Seo Nam-joon put the coin in, a clicking sound was heard from the cabinet.

All the townspeople were watching the game screen.

Dae-young wanted to choose Soo-ji, but for some reason he felt he had to choose Kim Do-kwon.

Dae-young, who had been throwing a few light punches at the start, easily entered the command and even threw a signature punch. Min Dae-young had already learned the strategy through .

– There’s still one left!

“What? Did that machine just talk to us?”

“Yes, that’s right. Have you seen the masterpiece of the weekend? It’s recorded by the voice actors who appear in it.”

“Huh? Really? This is incredible!”

People were all surprised when they heard our language in the game. Min Dae-young easily made it to Stage 2. He no longer cared about what other people thought. He was completely focused on the game.

“Now, the daily arcade is open. Enjoy yourselves, everyone!”

As soon as Seo Nam-joon declared, the children all rushed to the game console. While a few Starbeat staff members explained how to use it to the children, Seo Nam-joon and his mothers prepared potato pancakes for the children to eat.

“Thank you so much, Namjoon hyung.”

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I can come to Gangwon-do and breathe in the fresh air. How is it? Is fun?”

“Yes, it’s a lot more fun to just think about it and then actually do it.”

“Okay, have fun today and tomorrow. I’ll give the Jamix and the game consoles as presents to the community center, so have fun with the people. Be careful, if the mayor writes a letter saying you’re playing too much, I’ll come get them.”

“Yes, don’t worry!”

Daeyoung answered bravely.

Just looking at that face, Seo Nam-joon could feel that it was worth it to come all the way to the mountains of Gangwon-do carrying all kinds of gaming equipment.

“Then should I play a two-player game with my brother?”

“yes!”

Seo Nam-joon spent the whole day playing games with Min Dae-young and the other village children. In the evening, he held a game competition for the villagers.

He decided to make [Star Beat Daily Arcade] a regular program and visit underprivileged areas that do not have an arcade.

It seems that only now can be called a truly national game.

1988 Retro Game Tycoon Episode 97