The press conference was followed by a banquet. Kobayashi Tetsu drank only a little, sipping cautiously. He was afraid of waking up like Haibo, only to find a stranger by his side demanding money.
Fortunately, when Kobayashi Tetsu woke up, there was no one else beside him.
Today was the launch day for the Mega Drive and its first batch of games, but Kobayashi Tetsu wasn't very excited. His state of mind was calm.
Everything that needed to be done had been completed before the game's release. After that, it was all up to how things played out.
He knew these games would achieve the desired effect, but he couldn't be sure exactly how successful they would be.
After a simple breakfast, Kobayashi Tetsu called out, "Let's go and take a look."
Naka Yuji nodded and promptly followed.
Six months' salary was gone, but Naka Yuji wasn't sad at all.
After all, there was still the Sonic bonus!
Strolling through the streets and asking a few questions, the two of them found the nearest game store.
"In America, there aren't many game stores with the Nintendo logo..."
Kobayashi Tetsu scanned the street, already forming a rough conclusion in his mind.
There were many shops with the Sega logo, but those with Nintendo's were noticeably fewer.
At least in the North American market, Nintendo was clearly a step behind.
Kobayashi Tetsu strolled into a store. It was mid-afternoon, and the shop was bustling with customers. The first thing he saw were two American youths playing Street Fighter, so intensely that they looked ready to shove the joystick down each other's throats.
Kobayashi Tetsu stood behind them, watching for a moment. When they finished their round and turned around, they looked at him with obvious confusion. They clearly couldn't understand what an Asian man was doing standing there—surely he wasn't here to play a game!
Seeing that they truly didn't recognize him, Kobayashi Tetsu felt a pang of disappointment.
It seems my fame isn't that widespread yet, he thought.
"I see a lot of Atlus games, but unfortunately, none of them are in the most prominent spots."
After browsing for a while, Kobayashi Tetsu raised a hand to get the owner's attention.
"Do you have a cartridge for Sonic the Hedgehog 2?"
The owner, who was holding a phone to his ear, turned and told the person on the other end to hold on before addressing Kobayashi Tetsu.
"We're out! If you want to play it, leave me your phone number and a deposit, and I'll order one for you!"
Kobayashi Tetsu looked up slightly, his expression turning serious. "Are all these games selling well?"
The slightly chubby shop owner turned to look at Kobayashi Tetsu, sizing him up with a surprised gaze. "Why are you asking? What do you do?"
"Oh, I'm a market researcher hired by Sega. Here's my ID."
Kobayashi Tetsu casually pulled out his Japanese passport and showed it to the man.
As expected, the shop owner couldn't read it, but he still seemed seventy or eighty percent convinced of Kobayashi Tetsu's identity.
"How should I put this... Since it's the first 16-bit console, the graphics, music, and everything else are just great. We've already sold a lot of units today. As for the game cartridges, there aren't many launch titles, so the only ones worth considering are just a few specific games. They're all selling well, and it's hard to say which one is the most popular right now."
After all, people buy game consoles to play games. Who would buy one without any games?
So, on launch day, as long as a game wasn't terrible, it was bound to sell out.
Kobayashi Tetsu wasn't too surprised by this.
He couldn't get much more information from the shop owner, so he chatted for a few more moments before leaving.
"President," Naka Yuji leaned in and lowered his voice.
"I just took a look around. All the Atlas games are sold out; they're only taking pre-orders now. Even the older MS cartridges are almost gone."
Kobayashi Tetsu nodded slightly.
"What do you think the combined launch sales for these two games will be?"
Naka Yuji cautiously guessed a number: "Five million for the launch?"
Kobayashi Tetsu was amused.
"The Mega Drive didn't even sell five million units at launch. How could these cartridges possibly sell five million!"
The Mega Drive had indeed sold thirty million units in North America, but those thirty million weren't sold in a single day. From 1988 to 1990, a total of over twenty million units were sold over two years.
Just as Kobayashi Tetsu was about to estimate a figure, he suddenly saw a man wearing a hooded jacket and a mask, looking like a drug dealer, approach them.
"Bro, looking for games?"
Kobayashi Tetsu was slightly startled.
"I saw you just come out of the game store empty-handed. You must not have found the games you wanted! What are you looking for? Sonic the Hedgehog 2? Metal Slug? Or other MS games? Just name it, I have them all! The official price is $59, but I'm only charging $65!"
Kobayashi Tetsu was stunned.
An American scalper!
Looks can be deceiving, he thought. Who would have thought this drug dealer had switched to selling game cartridges!
Lin Dengwan had both cartridges. He'd scored Sonic for free at the launch event, but the cartridge itself cost 59 US dollars. Between travel, lodging, and the event ticket, he'd spent over 200 US dollars.
As for the Metal Slug cartridge, he'd bought it from a scalper.
To be honest, Lin Dengwan wasn't particularly interested in Metal Slug. But since it was released at the same time, he figured he'd pick it up anyway. By the time he remembered to buy it, however, it was too late. No one in all of San Francisco had any stock left, except for the scalpers.
After playing Sonic all afternoon, Lin Dengwan felt utterly satisfied.
In the evening, he sprawled on the sofa, idly fiddling with his cartridge collection box.
The Metal Slug cartridge sat inside, still sealed, looking somewhat out of place.
"Metal Slug... can it really be that fun?"
Just as the thought crossed his mind, the door swung open and his girlfriend stormed in.
"Still obsessing over that alien hedgehog?! I even wore my blue wig and went to the launch events in San Francisco and Los Angeles with you! Don't you know you should be doing something for me now?! You're not trying to make me dress up as an alien hedgehog and get yelled at, are you?!"
Lin Dengwan froze, then practically vaulted off the sofa.
No way!
He definitely couldn't handle this today!
"Wait, wait, wait!! Let's just play a game! This one, Metal Slug, it's a two-player game!"
His girlfriend glared at him like a furious cougar. Finally, she snatched up the controller, fuming.
Fine, let's play! We'll play the game first, then I'll play with him!
The two entered the game, which began with a super brief cutscene. In an office, two agents named Marco and Tarma received their mission, saluting their boss, who was drawn in the same comical style.
Unexpectedly, at this point, the screen suddenly split. The top half froze, while the bottom half revealed a new scene, creating a comic-book-style layout with different panels.
The top half maintained the reporting posture, while the bottom half showed the two arriving at their destination and beginning their mission.
Lin Dengwan instantly perked up.
This was not what he had imagined at all! It actually had cutscenes!
Well, Sonic had them too, but Sonic's cutscenes were relatively more straightforward, lacking the visual impact brought by this kind of paneling.
The graphics weren't exactly lavish, but the details were spot on. Whether it was the crumbling buildings, the vehicles, or the enemy soldiers chatting around a campfire, the screen was complex yet didn't feel cluttered. One could accurately distinguish between allies, enemies, and the terrain.
The internal design was incredibly refined; this was definitely not some minor indie title.
This was Lin Dengwan's first impression of Metal Slug.
He glanced through the manual, reading the descriptions of the various firearms and equipment, which even included introductions to the enemies that would appear.
Only after reading did he begin the game with great enthusiasm.
Lin Dengwan silently prayed.
Please don't let me die!
If I die, I won't be able to finish the game today!
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