<EP. 28: Tomb of the Dragon (1)>
"Ah~ Come to think of it, Junhyuk, we should meet your parents soon too. When are you going to Korea? Are you too busy right now?"
"Um...? Oh, well..."
"Last time I went to Korea, I thought of stopping by your house. If I had seen them back then, it wouldn't have been awkward..."
Yuki's words made me momentarily forget what I wanted to say as I gazed at her.
"Why is that, Junhyuk?"
"I'll talk about our parents slowly later. Can we hold off mentioning it to your parents for now?"
"Oh, Junhyuk. Surely...?"
Yuki parted her lips as if to say something but eventually shook her head, sealing her lips shut.
"When the time comes, you'll tell me, right? I'll wait."
"Thanks..."
Grateful for her understanding, I patted her head before getting into the car parked in the lot.
"Drive safely."
"Yeah, thanks."
&
February 19, 1992. Wednesday.
The day before the release of Dragon Emblem.
It marked the release of Dragon Emblem 2 and the grand opening of a new store.
Though a bit away from the renowned Tamago Shop, a landmark of Pentagon, the newly established building in Akihabara was to dedicate its entire first and second floors to Dragon Emblem.
In less than a month, the efforts and passion of all Pentagon employees, led by Kawaguchi, had transformed the Dragon Emblem store into a beautifully furnished space.
"When Dragon Emblem 2 releases, it'll be a moment to catch our breath."
"Now that all the games announced last year have been released, it's to be expected, right?"
Nodding in response to Kawaguchi's query, I surveyed the store.
At its center stood a glass-encased exhibit featuring statues of King Croel, Saint Katrina, and the Pyroclasmic Mage Mirea.
As we toured the store, Kawaguchi's secretary, Sayuri, commented, "It feels like we're in a museum."
"The first floor will be a store selling Dragon Emblem-related merchandise," I explained, observing the displayed items. Sayuri smiled in satisfaction.
"And the second floor is still under construction?"
"With the tight schedule, we've only managed to open the first floor. The plan is to turn the second floor into a café, a meeting place for Dragon Emblem users."
"That sounds exciting."
Kawaguchi nodded approvingly upon hearing my plans. Amidst this conversation, Sayuri, with her finger at her lips, asked me a question.
"How do you plan to use the remaining half of the first floor?"
"That part will be operated based on how quickly users can clear Dragon Emblem in the future."
"Ah, just like what the Second Development Team mentioned. Always coming up with something new. But still, keeping it from the CEO until now. Isn't that too much?"
Taken aback by Sayuri's remark, Kawaguchi hurriedly intervened.
"Ahem! Ah, I'm feeling a bit parched. Sayuri, could you please get me some water?"
"Yes, of course, sir."
Since Sayuri was the kind to leap into action at any request from the CEO, she promptly nodded and headed toward the counter where the staff gathered.
As she walked away, Kawaguchi let out a long sigh.
"Junhyuk, now that Pentagon Soft has found stability, wouldn't it be time for you to step up as the real face of Pentagon? Sometimes, when employees speak casually to you, it bothers me..."
"I don't like it. What could possibly bother you about that? When you think about it, it's you, the CEO, who has led Pentagon from the beginning. So, have a little more confidence."
"Well, but still, I'm yo..."
"You're doing just fine as CEO. Even if it makes you uncomfortable, please endure a bit. Honestly, my time at Pentagon isn't going to last much longer."
"What!? Wait, what are you saying, Junhyuk? Are you saying you'll leave Pentagon Soft?"
In response to Kawaguchi's question, I just smiled slightly and raised the corner of my lips.
"I'll tell you later."
&
The next day.
Dragon Emblem 2 had a promising start, thanks to its predecessor's fame and the strength of the demo version.
On the first day of the event, Miyazaki's surprise idea led all employees to dress up as the occupations featured in Dragon Emblem 2.
Even Kawaguchi and I, who arrived early at the event, were pleasantly surprised by her prepared event, allowing us a hearty laugh before the new store's opening.
"Miyazaki, the sorcerer and manager. Please take good care of Pentagon's second roadshow, Dragon Emblem Store."
"Yes, I'll do my best."
As the designated opening time arrived, and the main shutter slowly rose, Miyazaki's cheeks flushed with excitement.
"Everyone, please have a great day today!!"
Lowering her head to the staff who were ready to work with her, the startled employees greeted her with enthusiasm.
"We'll do our best~!!"
"Let's go~!"
The metallic clang echoed as the shutter of the main gate lifted, and as the firmly locked doors swung open, customers poured in like a waterfall.
"Wow!! Amazing. They even have a statue of Croel."
"Seems like there's a new figure released too?"
"Cough, check out the staff's outfits. That female archer cosplay staff over there is super cute."
Fortunately, Miyazaki's idea seemed to have worked well, as the customers' reactions were not bad.
To set an official record for the first-day sales of Dragon Emblem 2, the staff quickly engaged with the incoming customers.
"Amazing! Croel's statue is here!"
"Is there a new figure released?"
"Cough, look at the staff's clothes. The female archer standing over there is incredibly cute."
Fortunately, Miyazaki's idea seemed to have worked well, as the customers' reactions were positive.
We, aiming to set an official record for first-day sales of Dragon Emblem 2, quickly responded to the incoming customers, who were flowing in like a waterfall.
Since not all content related to Dragon Emblem 2 was ready, the store, except for the space with goods and decorations, was fully utilized as sales counters for the title. The lines rapidly diminished.
Next to each sales counter, the fingers of the staff counting each time a title was sold moved tirelessly, and I continuously cheered on the staff while observing the lines of customers that kept pouring in.
In this way, the 6,800 yen game cartridge set a record of selling approximately 100,000 copies in the first week through game shops nationwide.
This was the fastest-selling title among all games released in the current generation.
And thanks to the raid system presented through the demo, the device attraction effect brought by Dragon Emblem was truly tremendous.
In just the first week, an additional 60,000 units were sold, surpassing half of the soft sales, making it almost as popular as Mintendo's Family at its peak.
The somewhat inconvenient forced 4-player raid system caused Laon to be entangled like a spider's web among consumers and was selling like hotcakes.
So, as we entered April 1992, the rankings in the Japanese console industry shifted.
Laon, the latest entry among the next-generation models, climbed to second place in market share by defeating NEGA Drive with a dramatically increased device penetration rate.
Of course, the gap with the industry leader Mintendo was still enormous, but rising to second place within just a year of release was a remarkable feat.
As a result, armed with Sony's NEGA, NEGA began to be completely pushed out of the domestic market in Japan. Losing even the position of the second player to the newly born portable console was a humiliating blow to them.
"So, let's just take care of NEGA Drive well. Why bother making NEGA CD and hang ourselves..."
The NEGA CD, which appeared in the Christmas season last year, recorded the worst sales among consoles released in Japan to date.
The NEGA CD, sold for 49,800 yen, barely reached over 1,000 units supplied recently, mainly due to the harsh economic downturn.
But in a way, it was a predictable outcome.
Who would open their wallets for a peripheral device at 49,800 yen in such a severe economic downturn?
Of course, if the game was excellent, it could stimulate consumer purchasing desires, but looking at the graphics of Sonic bundled with it compared to the existing NEGA Drive, there was hardly any noticeable difference.
Moreover, having to endure extreme loading every time you played a game, users who had experienced playing even once all showed a disgruntled reaction and put down the controller.
A user playing the experience play in Akihabara thought the machine had stopped, repeatedly turning it on and off, to the point where...
But there was also good news for such NEGA.
The NEGA Drive, bundled with Sonic, began to show a tremendous response in North America and Europe, recently surpassing Mintendo's Super Family sales.
Although all the money earned there was blown away by the poor performance of the NEGA CD...
So, 1992 was a time of seismic changes in the console industry.
Leveraging the significantly increased device penetration rate due to Laon's swift chase, some third-party companies that had been loyal to Mintendo switched to our side.
Among them, there was a software company that we welcomed with open arms, the well-known Fox Soft, famous for its Real Power Pro Baseball and Devil Series.
They had an interesting story about the Real Power Pro Baseball, a game they created. There was a professional baseball player named "Ikawa Sankei."
Since high school, Ikawa had dreamed of putting his name as a player in the Real Power Pro Baseball and worked hard. As a result, he was able to join the Hanshin Tigers.
Despite being constantly pushed out of the starting lineup in Hanshin's formidable pitching lineup, Ikawa felt a great touch when his name appeared in the newly released Full Power Pro Baseball the following year.
But such joy was short-lived...
Even though his name was there, even his younger brother, within the game, did not use Ikawa.
When asked why he didn't use himself, his brother said...
"Your stats are too low, hyung."
"...?"
With just that one sentence, Ikawa repeatedly practiced to the point of winning the 'Sawamura' award given to the top pitcher and answered in his acceptance speech that he had practiced hard to raise his in-game stats, making the entire Japanese archipelago laugh. (Of course, this is a story from the future in 1999...)
So, Fox Soft, which had released various sports games during this period, especially since the 1988 Olympic game for arcades, was unparalleled in terms of following in the sports genre at this time.
-Our combination of the sports game format we aim for and the portable device Laon will bring about the best synergy.-
As I flipped through the latest issue of Famicom Communication, I couldn't help but suppress a chuckle at Fox Soft's article.
'As long as we stick to the basics, soccer and baseball games are a unique genre that will never crumble, especially due to fan sentiment.'
Just as Fox Soft said, it goes well with our Laon...
Nodding my head, as if reading the newspaper, as I turned to the next page, I found my expression inadvertently creasing.
-Knight Guild!! The strongest members. Second challenge to the Tower of Darkness~
The players who were breaking through the hardcore mode of Dragon Emblem, which I thought would last at least 3 to 4 months, were gaining tremendous popularity among users.
"They're already challenging the second tower?"
Due to the Knight Guild, the timing of the second part might be faster than I thought?
After the release of Dragon Emblem, those ranked at the top of the Hall of Fame were gaining tremendous popularity among users.
I have no complaints about their play that energizes users, but the leader of this party, that person...
But from then on, about two weeks later, on the second floor of the Dragon Emblem exclusive shop.
The black dragon, the owner of the second Tower of Darkness, kneeled before the sword of the hero, Osiri.
'Such a legendary hero, and his name is Osiri which mean ''Butt'... It's the end.'
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