Influenced by the movie, the game for "princess mononoke" was a huge hit upon its release.
As long as you don't mess up, don't cause trouble, and have your own unique features and fun, then you will definitely be able to steadily reap a wave of benefits.
What's more, Pokeni's game quality is indeed super high.
Its performance naturally improved rapidly.
Within the first week, "princess mononoke" reached an astonishing 400,000 units sold, and the growth momentum did not decrease at all.
In the second week, it directly rushed to 500,000.
Immediately after that…
Within the first month, the sales of "princess mononoke" reached an incredibly terrifying 2.1 million units.
This sales volume once again made the world realize what Pokeni's game is all about.
If there are no surprises, "princess mononoke" might even break through 5 million, or even 7 million, by the end of this year.
...
The 500,000 units Torun pre-ordered from Pokeni were quickly sold out.
The sales department manager is already evaluating the potential market and is preparing to order more goods from Pokeni.
In the President's office.
"That's amazing," Secretary Fujiki praised, "President, you are too amazing. Pre-ordering 500,000 units really required immense courage. And the facts have proven that your decision was once again correct."
When the company heard that Hattori Hiroyuki had promised President Aoki Haruhi to directly pre-order 500,000 units of "princess mononoke," most people thought he was crazy.
Although the company has money, and Pokeni has produced many popular game, you can't play like this.
500,000 units is not a small number, and any mistake could lead to a loss.
To order 500,000 units of the game also means that "princess mononoke" must sell at least 2 million units, because Pokeni cannot have only Torun as a cooperative distributor.
On average, Torun can only absorb a portion of the princess mononoke players.
But!
2 million units, what a terrifying number!
It's still a question whether there can be one game that sells 2 million units in the entire world in a year.
Not every Nintendo game can sell that many.
However, the facts proved that Hattori Hiroyuki was right, and his decision was bold and correct.
It once again validated the greatness of Hattori Hiroyuki.
This Secretary Fujiki truly admired the President from the bottom of her heart.
In her opinion, without the President's sharp eye, there would be no Pokeni today.
When Pokeni was still a small chick, President Hattori saw that it would grow into a big phoenix in the future, so even when Pokeni was at its worst, President Hattori spared no effort to help them, trust them, and order game from Pokeni.
And now—
The facts prove that President Hattori was right.
President Hattori's foresight is truly sharp and admirable.
So far, Secretary Fujiki has not met a second great person who can recognize talent with such keen insight.
Hattori Hiroyuki smiled without speaking. Secretary Fujiki's praise made him feel ecstatic and very pleased.
That's why he hasn't changed his secretary for so many years.
"Fujiki-san, what you said is really too kind."
"President, what I said is the truth from the bottom of my heart," Secretary Fujiki responded earnestly.
"I know." Hattori Hiroyuki nodded.
"Of course I know you're telling the truth. I just like that about you."
Other people's flattery is obviously fake, but Fujiki is the kind of person who is very loyal and dares to speak the truth. If you do something wrong, she will definitely correct you, and if you do well, she will not hesitate to praise you.
It was Fujiki's straightforwardness that Hattori Hiroyuki found very pleasing.
Because other people's praise might be false, but Fujiki's praise must be from the bottom of her heart. At least, that's what she believes in her heart.
And Fujiki's judgment has almost never been wrong, which is also affirmed by Hattori Hiroyuki.
"It's miraculous," Secretary Fujiki exclaimed, "President, you are truly miraculous."
Hattori Hiroyuki smiled slightly.
Whether I am miraculous or not doesn't matter.
The key is that the trash can is miraculous.
To be honest, he really wanted to try what would happen if he didn't throw Pokeni's game into the trash can.
...
After the game sold well, Pokeni's official forum was also flooded by players.
The "princess mononoke" section was filled with all sorts of comments.
But generally, they can be divided into two different types of players:
One type had watched the "princess mononoke" movie before playing the game.
The other type played the game directly without watching the movie.
Generally speaking, players who played the game directly without watching the movie gave higher ratings to the game, directly elevating it to the height of a deity:
"Ah, for a player like me who hasn't seen the movie, it's truly a blessing to be able to play such an amazing game.
"princess mononoke" is truly divine. The first glance into the game, I deeply felt Hayao Miyazaki's style.
But this is also 3D, so it feels like living in Hayao Miyazaki's fairy tale world."
"And the game's plot is very impactful. From the very beginning, the game already hinted at everything:
Merchants pursuing profit, instigating foreign warriors to slaughter the beasts in the forest and plunder resources.
Then, the transformed Boar God, a demon, came to this place and taught them a harsh lesson.
This is actually a microcosm of the entire game. When I played to this point, I was filled with endless disgust for these plundering warriors and merchants.
And the facts proved it.
In the later stages of the game, people waged war for profit, and the armed side plundered civilian resources…
Destroying nature for their own interests…
All of this fills one with disgust.
Until later, the first time I saw princess mononoke, I was deeply attracted to her.
A wild girl from nature."
"I also really like San. She's truly beautiful, both strong and kind. Especially when she was about to kill Ashitaka, but was scared back several steps by his words 'You are so beautiful,' she was truly adorable."
"When you play this game, do you have this kind of experience? Compared to Pokeni's previous game, "princess mononoke" is too difficult, isn't it?
The demands on the player's reaction speed, hand speed, and sense of rhythm are simply terrifying.
I died several times just at the Boar God."
"Yes, yes, yes! Me too. I died at the Boar God, and later I died most often at San's hands. I didn't expect such a small girl to be so agile, and every strike was fatal. I couldn't even run away."
"Isn't Eboshi also very difficult to fight later? In close combat, you can't beat her with a sword, but if you retreat a bit, good heavens, this person just picks up a firearm.
The bullets hit without fail, beating people senseless.
I died at least a dozen times at Eboshi's place."
"princess mononoke" is truly divine. The BOSS battles in 3D perspective are particularly impactful, especially when you face a BOSS much larger than you. That feeling of being small, helpless, and pitiful really comes on instantly.
The first time I saw the Boar God, my heart skipped a beat:
Nani?!
What kind of behemoth is this? Am I really going to fight such a monster?
Is it really possible?
Did Pokeni make a mistake somewhere?"
"Everyone goes through this stage, but it gets better after dying a lot."
"Hahahaha... The comment upstairs is truly brilliant. It's divine how it gets better after dying a lot."
"When playing game, everything else is superficial. Only by experiencing it yourself, grinding through it with real swords and guns, will you grow from the initial Prince Ashitaka to the War God Ashitaka."
"Pokeni has mastered 3D action RPGs. They must have done research and know where our fear points are and how to make monsters have a powerful sense of oppression. Even Eboshi, who isn't very large, will make you feel a deep sense of fear after fighting her."
"The charm of 3D game has been maximized by Pokeni. The large BOSSes are incredibly impactful. The Boar God, the Giant Warrior, Okkoto-shi… they appear with a terrifying aura, as if you're about to be crushed at any moment.
This isn't playing game; this is playing with your life!"
"The final form of the giant BOSS is also very impactful. When I fought the Forest Spirit's final form, I almost soiled myself from fear.
That feeling of it blotting out the sky, directly filling the entire screen, where you can't even see its body, only its feet, is filled with infinite dread.
It's as if the entire world is enveloped by the rampaging Forest Spirit.
It's truly terrifying.
Faint-hearted people simply cannot play this game."
"You are still too naive.
In "princess mononoke," is the most difficult one to defeat the Forest Spirit?
Wrong!
It's actually Kodama!
The only true God in the princess mononoke world — Forest Spirit, wrong!
The true only true God:
Kodama!
If you try it once, you'll know how terrifying Kodama are.
If you anger just one of them, a large group of Kodama will immediately be summoned.
They will fight to the death, ganging up on you and chasing you to the ends of the earth.
Unless you die, you cannot escape them.
This is simply more terrifying than any BOSS!
"Hahahaha, I really couldn't hold back when I saw the Kodama part.
I'm like that too.
I was walking fine, but then I saw a Kodama dart out from the woods, and I thought, 'What kind of monster is this? It must drop good items, right?'
I tried to hit it, and that's when I realized I was wrong.
Completely wrong, ridiculously wrong.
They ganged up on me and beat me to death.
Don't be stubborn; no matter how many times you come, the end result will always be death.
I shouldn't have provoked the Kodama."
"Hahahaha, in reality, the Kodama are the only true gods who control life and death in this world.
Even an ultimate BOSS as strong as the Forest Spirit will have a day when he is defeated.
You can even clear the game without taking any damage.
However, against the Kodama, you have no chance of winning at all.
These are lessons learned with blood and tears!"
...
Players who had watched the movie "princess mononoke" also praised the game, but just like Famitsu's review, there was still a slight dissatisfaction deep down.
Someone posted a complaint on the Pokeni forum:
"For players who have already seen the movie, the plot of this game actually doesn't have much appeal.
Because it basically hasn't changed much.
It still follows Hayao Miyazaki's main storyline for princess mononoke, and many key nodes haven't changed.
The only thing worth praising is that the gameplay is quite good; the characters from princess mononoke were made, and the combat is very impressive.
Walking in the world of princess mononoke, interacting with different characters, leveling up, and fighting monsters, especially the BOSS battles, are really fun.
However, in terms of plot, there are really no surprises."
"I feel the same way.
If you play the game after watching the movie, the experience will definitely be a bit lacking, with less freshness and joy of exploration.
But the combat is really interesting, and it's also very well integrated with the plot.
For example, after male protagonist's arm was injured, he gained the power of a curse, but at the cost of burning his own life, which is actually very consistent with the setting of the princess mononoke world view.
When I play this game, knowing the plot, I mostly experience the fun of combat."
"The game also adds a lot of new content.
For example, only after playing the game did I realize that Kaya was Ashitaka's fiancée, and the jade dagger she gave him was her cherished possession."
"Nani?! So Kaya was Ashitaka's fiancée? I thought she was his biological sister."
...
After the game's release, due to its popularity, it once again boosted the viewership of the movie.
After experiencing the game and watching the movie, players and audiences engaged in a deeper discussion of Hayao Miyazaki's ideas and the thoughts he wanted to express in "princess mononoke":
"The reflection on humans and nature, this is Hayao Miyazaki's unchanging theme, and I'm glad Pokeni didn't change this when making the game.
Of course, it might also be because of the limitations from Ghibli; with Hayao Miyazaki's temperament, he probably wouldn't be willing to let Pokeni ruin his work.
"princess mononoke" is actually a very profound work.
Both the game and the movie perfectly illustrate this point.
In it, we can see Eboshi struggling for the people in her town, not hesitating to destroy the forest at all costs, constantly expanding and developing, just wanting these poor people from the bottom to live a better life.
Eboshi is actually a very controversial yet charming character.
In the movie, there isn't actually that much description of Eboshi; a lot of information is pieced together.
But these were greatly supplemented and strengthened in the game.
By talking to the people in the town and collecting clues, we can find that Eboshi is actually a person with a hard life.
But she doesn't resign herself to fate; her heart is firm and strong.
She is also very kind.
This kindness is for humanity, for the exploited, homeless, disabled, and weak individuals at the bottom.
Eboshi sympathizes with them and enables them to regain the courage to live through their own hands.
In this regard, Eboshi is undoubtedly righteous and powerful; for those "oppressed" she saved, she is a god.
She will always be the spiritual leader of this group of people.
I really like Eboshi; she is complex, powerful, and possesses extremely strong personal charisma.
However, on the other hand, in terms of confronting nature, Eboshi is extremely cruel and brutal; for the sake of the town's people, she can set fire to mountains, kill beasts in the forest, and for a huge bounty, she can believe the Monk's words and hunt the Forest Spirit's head.
From this perspective, Eboshi is undoubtedly a villain.
But humanity is complex here; when you see the plight of those who were bullied, you simply can't hate Eboshi.
I think this is also the two dilemmas Hayao Miyazaki wanted to express in "princess mononoke":
Eboshi, who destroys nature for the survival and development of humanity, still says, "Let's start over" in the end.
I don't know how others understand it, but in my opinion, she probably hasn't given up on following the old path; she'll likely continue to dig mountains and cut trees, because without these resources, they simply won't have the ability to resist foreign invaders.
For princess mononoke, who represents the forest and nature, she hates humans, so she returns to the forest to continue guarding it.
The contradictions between the two are irreconcilable.
It started this way, and it still returned to the origin in the end.
Hayao Miyazaki probably didn't find a win-win answer himself."
"Are humans and nature truly irreconcilable? I don't think so.
In the animal kingdom, there's also survival of the fittest and the law of the jungle.
The key is that nature has its own laws; it forms a complex food web, and all the organisms on it constitute an entire ecosystem, cycling repeatedly, over and over again.
Nature operates under this premise.
But humans, with excessive exploitation, hunting, killing animals, cutting down forests... this is what causes ecological destruction.
If we don't overdo it, but instead act within a reasonable ecological range, with sustainability and continuity as the premise, then humans can coexist very well with nature, with animals and plants.
The Earth has existed for 4.5 billion years.
Human history is only a few million years short.
It's impossible for it to be destroyed by a single human.
However, humans will destroy themselves because of their own greed; I think this is what Hayao Miyazaki's movie and Pokeni's game want to tell us."
"Being able to raise questions and make people think, just this alone, the game and the movie have done well enough; the rest is up to us in reality."
...
After the "princess mononoke" game became popular, although there was some controversy, it was mainly about the plot, and the game itself had no problems.
Many movie fans even believed that the game's level of restoration was already quite good.
President Aoki Haruhi's choice was actually quite difficult; under the premise of keeping the theme and plot unchanged, the only thing he could do was to do a good job with the presentation and gameplay.
Fortunately, the final effect was good.
It was precisely because of "princess mononoke"'s innovative action 3D RPG gameplay that Shinji Mikami was once again elevated to a deity.
Media reporters even conducted a special interview with Shinji Mikami, wanting to understand what this genius Producer was thinking to have such groundbreaking game design.
"Combining 3D and 2D, using 3D action gameplay to make up for the plot's shortcomings, is truly remarkable," the reporter asked, "How exactly did you consider and choose such a design?"
Shinji Mikami thought carefully for a moment and replied, "Actually, all of this is thanks to our President Aoki Haruhi.
During the meeting, we raised the question of how to create game fun while keeping the plot unchanged.
A guy named Kamiya Hideki said, 'Why not make it a 3D game?'
And then the President adopted his idea."
"We were all very shocked at the time, thinking it was almost impossible to achieve, after all, the animation itself is 2D, and if you insist on changing a 2D animation into 3D, the difficulties faced are not small.
Under such circumstances, it was the President who personally guided us, telling us how to achieve this strange game that looks 2D but actually plays in 3D.
Yes, I can only describe it as strange.
However, the final result also proved this point: President Aoki was right.
He is truly a genius; without the President, we would never have been able to create such an amazing game," Shinji Mikami sighed.
However, the reporter's face showed a meaningful expression, clearly not believing him.
He even thought that Shinji Mikami was too cute for giving the credit to Aoki Haruhi, and that this employee would actually lie like that in front of the media to save the President's face.
"You are truly too humble, Shinji Mikami-san," the reporter said with a smile.
Do you think I'll believe you if you just make up a story?
I…
Shinji Mikami choked a bit.
I'm telling the truth!
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