When the two sequels to pokémon 3d world were released, it was like dropping a royal flush, and countless players cried out that they couldn't take it.
However, this was not the end.
In February, Pokeni's main Pokémon game, the latest legitimate sequel, "pokemon light/dark," was officially launched.
In "pokemon light/dark," not only were the new Pokémon from the previous pokémon 3d world included, but Espeon and Umbreon were also added to the two different game versions, Light and Dark.
This fulfilled the expectations of countless players.
"Oh my god, Umbreon and Espeon are too beautiful, aren't they? For a moment, I didn't know which one to choose."
"Ah~ Pokeni's speed is really fast. I didn't expect that Moons Dark Side and sun myth, which only came out during the New Year, would already be added to the legitimate works now.
When I was playing the game, I was thinking, when will such beautiful Pokémon be able to join the battle?
I didn't expect it to be realized in just over a month.
Should I say that Pokeni understands players, or that we have already been completely dominated by them?
I hope it's the former."
In fact, the development plan had already been in place. After the development of pokémon 3d world was completed last year, Aoki Haruhi had already started to have Lisa Asano and her team form a team to develop pokemon light/dark.
However, the decision to add Umbreon and Espeon was made in the second half of 1996.
At that time, Aoki Haruhi considered that since Moons Dark Side and sun myth had already been released, then Umbreon and Espeon naturally had very strong representative qualities of dark and light.
It would be better to directly add them to this new Light and Dark Pokémon game, and it could also sell for a wave of money.
Yes, I'm sorry, Aoki Haruhi's mind was full of business.
The result was also in line with his expectations. After hearing that Espeon and Umbreon were added to Light and Dark, players went crazy.
"Espeon is so beautiful! Its fur, eyes, and shape are all so pretty, like a fairy prince.
No, to be precise, Espeon is the Apollo of the Pokémon world. A god of the sun-like existence."
"No, no, I still prefer Umbreon. Don't look at its black fur, which is a bit scary, but when the light circles on Umbreon's body glow with the appearance of the Moon, it's incredibly beautiful.
It's simply breathtaking; I can even dream of it at night."
"I want both, so I'm especially conflicted. Ahhh... Why does Pokeni official give us such a difficult problem?
Why can't one Pokémon game collect all Pokémon, and how great would it be if Espeon and Umbreon were all gathered in it?
The content is almost the same, but they have to split it into two to sell. It's just too hateful."
"Who says it isn't? Both Espeon and Umbreon are our favorites. These two Eevee are just too cute when they come out.
They are both cute and beautiful, and one is mysterious, one is noble, one is elegant, and one is arrogant, making people truly unable to put them down.
It feels sinful to abandon any one of them.
I really don't want to make a choice."
That's right, Aoki Haruhi was also troubled by this problem in his previous life.
Now, the explanation given by Pokeni official is:
They do not want to collect all Pokémon in one game cartridge, mainly to facilitate players' battles and exchanges, thereby promoting player socialization.
Playing game with others will bring double the happiness.
Only children make choices; adults want everything.
Many people even bought two copies of Pokémon directly to have both Espeon and Umbreon. One for Light and one for Dark.
For those who don't have enough money but really want them, they have to collaborate and share with other good friends, obtaining what they want through Pokémon exchanges.
And socially anxious players would never want to battle and socialize with others; they would buy two copies and play by themselves.
...
In addition to Pokémon game, Pokémon peripheral products were also launched in conjunction.
For example, plush toys, pillows, especially the "Pokémon cat bag" designed by Aoki Haruhi himself, were selling like crazy.
After the New Year, young people carrying Umbreon or Espeon cat bags could be seen everywhere on the streets.
Many people even transformed their own cats into the appearance of Umbreon and Espeon.
To some extent, Eevee really resembles a cat.
It is also because of the popularity of Pokémon that countless pets have suffered.
In addition to cats, pet dogs were also messed with.
So, many times, you can also see barking Umbreon or Espeon running all over the streets.
This phenomenon was also called the "Eevee Phenomenon" by the media.
It roughly means the group effect caused by the Pokémon Eevee, along with its countless different evolution branches.
This leads players to have a special fondness for it and to engage in various strange behaviors to express their love for Eevee in real life.
...
The trend in the pet world was also brought about by Pokeni.
A large part of DUN's peripheral income was contributed by Pokémon.
In addition to dolls, Pokémon gashapon machines and claw machines were also important sources of income.
In large shopping malls and important festive event venues, Pokémon gashapon machines and claw machines can be seen everywhere. People will always be irresistibly attracted by the exquisite and cute Pokémon in the claw machines.
Even without the game, the anime alone is enough to give them high visibility.
And everyone's preferences are different.
Some like Pikachu, some like Eevee, some like Bulbasaur, some like Charmander...
And the more evolved the form, the rarer it is, and the more players want it.
...
The New Year was joyous, and Pokémon could be seen everywhere.
It can be said that this was a carnival for the whole nation, and it can also be said to be the victory of Pokémon.
Children's New Year money was instantly drained by Pokeni.
Many adults also acquired Pokémon; the main battle game were basically a must-have.
Moreover, such game have very personalized and private characteristics, because everyone needs to cultivate Pokémon. Whether it's battling with other players or exchanging, in short, after Pokémon are collected, they become the player's private property, with exclusivity and uniqueness.
Under such circumstances, Pokémon sales also surged upward.
Basically, there's no need for any statistics to roughly understand that the beginning of 1997 will definitely be the world of Pokémon.
The entire game market has transformed into the shape of Pokémon.
...
It's terrifying; who would have thought that Pokémon would have such powerful energy?
Even now, the biggest change brought by Pokémon is—
When people talk about family-friendly game that can be played together, the first thing that comes to mind is no longer Nintendo's super mario.
But Pokeni's Pokémon.
This is enough to explain how terrifying Pokémon's current influence is.
Especially in the Europe and America market, Pokémon has gone completely crazy.
In the Japan region, at least Nintendo's previous GB could barely hold a place, Sega's GP game console did not completely monopolize, and the number of people in Japan is not as many as in Europe and America, so Pokémon's sales were not that terrifying.
But in the Europe and America region, it is completely different. This area has been baptized by Sega's GP, or more precisely, by Pokeni's handheld Pokémon for over 4 years.
This huge market has actually already taken the shape of Pokémon.
After the Europe and America region introduced the Pokémon anime, it reached its peak.
As soon as the legitimate sequel to Pokémon came out, the Europe and America market directly exploded on the spot.
There was even a period of stockouts, and many distributors had to wait for a while to get urgent shipments from Pokeni.
In the Europe and America region, Umbreon and Espeon went even crazier.
The Moon and Sun are indeed humanity's greatest objects of worship and mascots since ancient times.
As long as you can relate to them and not make it too low, you can always achieve good results.
What's more, Umbreon and Espeon are very "cat-like" Pokémon. The cat-like nature combined with the sacredness of the Sun and Moon instantly elevates their appeal to the maximum, while also incorporating a sense of cuteness and friendliness. How could they not go crazy?
Players in the Europe and America region cried out that they couldn't take it.
"So cute, Espeon!"
"So beautiful, such an elegant Umbreon!"
"Oh my gosh, I love them so much. I must get them; I want a copy of everything."
"If my cats could grow to look like this, I'd definitely rub their faces every day."
"Ah~ I wish there were Pokémon in real life! Having Umbreon and Espeon as pets just thinking about it makes me incredibly excited."
In short, the consecutive releases of Pokémon were a huge success in both Japan and Europe and America.
They became the best-selling game of the moment, bar none.
They even sold out, causing many players who wanted to get their hands on them to be unable to do so.
Seeing others experience the joy of catching and using Espeon and Umbreon first, these guys were filled with envy.
If it weren't for the production capacity not keeping up, the Pokémon series would have created even more outrageous and terrifying results.
At the same time, it was precisely because of the success of Pokémon that Sega, through its handheld game, managed to survive, avoiding irreversible failure due to its setbacks in the console market.
They also had more income to invest in the research and development of the next generation.
For this reason, President Nakayama, the President of Sega, even specially called Aoki Haruhi to express his gratitude.
It wasn't exactly gratitude, but rather a customary New Year greeting, and at the same time, he expressed his blessings for Pokeni's new game released on handhelds, hoping that GP pokemon light/dark would sell well.
For someone with Nakayama Hayao's stubborn personality, being able to do this much was already quite difficult.
It should be known that not long ago, President Nakayama was still resentful because Pokeni helped Sony achieve great success, instead of Sega assisting in the game console field.
However, with the passage of time, President Nakayama now pretty much understood Aoki Haruhi.
Sega Saturn really might not have been able to drive the 3D game they wanted to develop, and even if it could, the game effect might not have been better than Sony's.
At least Pokeni did not completely abandon Sega, but continued to exert effort in handhelds, and at the same time helped them stabilize the handheld market.
Just for this point alone, Nakayama Hayao couldn't bring himself to hate Aoki Haruhi.
In other words, after entering 1997, a tripartite situation almost formed in the game field:
Firstly, the largest piece of the pie, the console platform, was firmly occupied by Sony, becoming the new game console overlord.
In the handheld game field, Sega GP was far ahead, and it was expected that Sega would launch its next-generation handheld game by the end of 1997 or 1998.
As for game cartridges/discs, Nintendo still led, after all, they had too many excellent game under their belt, and as long as nothing went wrong, they could keep making money, such as the super mario series, Kirby series, the legend of zelda series, fire emblem series…
And now, catching up, the most surprising and frightening, was the dark horse that was still unknown a few years ago—
Pokeni.
The sales of Pokémon alone were enough to propel Pokeni into the ranks of first-tier game manufacturers.
After this wave of sales, Pokeni's game revenue in 1996, without calculating peripheral sales, had already firmly secured the second position.
Becoming the largest game developer in Japan, second only to Nintendo.
If peripheral product revenue were added, Pokeni had already trampled Nintendo underfoot.
As for 1997, countless people had a vague illusion—
This guy, surely he won't really be able to take down Nintendo, will he?
Whether he takes them down or not, it's actually irrelevant to Aoki Haruhi.
He works so hard, so diligently, only wanting to tell others:
What I lost…
Cough cough.
The humiliation suffered from Yamauchi will eventually be repaid one day.
And that time is not far off.
Aoki Haruhi deeply felt the call of destiny.
However, nothing happens overnight; you have to eat one bite at a time, and do things one by one.
Steady and sure, that is Aoki Haruhi's style.
With the game's rear firmly secured.
After the New Year, Aoki Haruhi and Nao Tsuda visited Ichihashi Fumie together.
Miss Ichihashi Fumie was the Producer recommended to Aoki Haruhi by Director Iwai Shunji of "proposal daisakusen" at a previous gathering.
Aoki Haruhi held the Producer's information given to him by Director Iwai Shunji:
Ichihashi Fumie (English name Chloris, nickname Lizzie)
Born on 1969.7.15, currently 27 years old.
Japanese-American mixed race.
Her father is a Japan novelist, and her mother is an American, a senior executive at Sony Columbia.
Ichihashi Fumie, influenced by her parents, has been interested in the cultural and entertainment industry since childhood.
Due to her mother's connections, she is very familiar with Hollywood and has experience participating in film production.
Before returning to Japan, she served as a production manager and associate Producer on several films in Hollywood (Destroyer, Groundhog Day, Legends of the Fall, The American President, Executive Decision).
She returned to Japan because she was not satisfied with purely Hollywood commercial films.
And now, this young Producer lives in a Japanese-style house left by her grandfather in Chiyoda Ward.
Before they even entered the door.
An Akita dog pounced on them.
Aoki Haruhi was knocked flat on his back.
Nao Tsuda became nervous and quickly went to check on him.
"Are you alright?"
The large Akita dog, however, showed no intention of attacking Aoki Haruhi, but merely squatted on him, licking along Aoki Haruhi's chin up to his eyebrows with its dog tongue.
His face was covered in slobber.
"Hahaha… I'm so sorry, I didn't expect Xiao Qiu to like you so much. It's not usually like this."
A girl in a Japanese kimono ran out.
But honestly, Nao Tsuda didn't feel like she was the type of girl who would wear such clothing.
Because this girl had long golden hair and large blue eyes, with delicate and Stereo features, looking more like a Westerner.
Only her soft facial features and smooth jawline had the charm of an Eastern girl.
The first sight Tsuda saw, she couldn't help but sigh in her heart—
What a lovely beautiful girl.
"Is it Miss Ichihashi Fumie?"
Nao Tsuda asked.
"Yes, I am Ichihashi." Ichihashi Fumie bowed deeply, "I'm sorry, Akiu wasn't like this before, perhaps it likes you too much."
Looking at Ichihashi Fumie again at this moment, Nao Tsuda suddenly felt it was appropriate again.
Although she had a Western face combined with the delicate skin of an Easterner, with Ichihashi Fumie now standing in front of her in a kimono, Nao Tsuda felt that such a girl and such a beautiful white satin kimono complemented each other perfectly.
She was truly beautiful.
Like a white rose standing in the sun.
So this is the Producer Director Iwai Shunji recommended to us.
However, at the same time, Nao Tsuda couldn't help but feel some doubt in her heart—
Such a young Producer, can she really bring Moon River's films to the international market?
The Europe and America film and television industry has its own special rules, to be precise, not only the film and television industry, but also in other fields in Europe and America—
There is an inherent repulsion towards Eastern faces.
If it's an Europe and America face, coupled with American identity, it would be much more convenient to do things there.
This is also why Director Iwai Shunji recommended Ichihashi Fumie to them.
Because he felt that Ichihashi herself was mixed-race, coupled with her mother's connections, she had also served as a Producer in Hollywood for a period of time and had some work experience, in addition, Ichihashi herself had ambitions, and she also had the other half of Japan blood.
If she could join Moon River, then in the future, they would have a strong foothold in both Japan and Europe and America.
Now it seems, that is pretty much the case.
The only thing that made Nao Tsuda worried was—
Ichihashi Fumie looked really too young.
Ichihashi Fumie quickly pulled the Akita dog aside, looking at Nao Tsuda and Aoki Haruhi with a hint of amusement.
Aoki Haruhi's face was covered in slobber.
He frowned and stood up.
He hadn't expected their first meeting to be in such a way.
"Hello, I am Nao Tsuda, the President of Moon River Company. We had an appointment earlier.
This is our Executive Director, and also my husband, Mr. Aoki Haruhi."
Nao Tsuda covered her mouth and chuckled.
"Hello, Miss Ichihashi Fumie."
Aoki Haruhi wiped his face and extended his hand.
Ichihashi Fumie glanced down at the Akita dog's slobber on it, just smiled, and took his hand.
"Hello, Mr. Aoki Haruhi, I am Ichihashi Fumie, please guide me."
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