Interviewing employees at Gamestar Electronic Entertainment Co., Ltd. went very smoothly, with most of them being qualified programmers and computer engineers. The only difference was figuring out how to change their mindset to create games.
But there was one exception among them.
A strange girl.
Wrapped up tightly, Takayuki couldn't even see her face clearly.
But when he saw this girl, there was an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
As for Tsukino Aya, she had a deep impression of Takayuki.
He was the guy who claimed to be an arcade attendant. Why was he here? Apart from being an arcade attendant, was he also an interviewer for this company?
"Hello, Miss Tsukino Aya, right? Your resume is impressive, graduating from Stanford with a degree in computer science, you'd probably be welcome anywhere with such qualifications, right?"
"I don't like those places, and besides, I don't need money." Tsukino Aya answered Takayuki's question very straightforwardly.
Not for money?
"I'm just interested in the games your company makes."
Takayuki's eyes lit up when he heard that.
She was the only one in today's interview who expressed interest in the games themselves.
Most of the others who came didn't seem to have a clue about electronic games.
Some of them had heard of the NES, but they didn't have a specific concept of it.
"Tell me your thoughts on electronic games." Takayuki became interested and started asking questions actively.
Most of the previous employees had basically passed by just asking simple questions.
But Tsukino Aya was very special.
"Electronic games are interesting, and I think they can be even more interesting. I just don't know where to start."
She was the first one who actively wanted to learn how to make games! And she was a graduate of a top university.
Takayuki felt like he had struck gold.
He started discussing enthusiastically with Tsukino Aya.
Originally, Takayuki was supposed to be the interviewer, so he should have been more serious.
But when he saw someone willing to make games voluntarily, he couldn't keep up the act.
And as Tsukino Aya conversed with Takayuki, she also began to feel that Takayuki himself was becoming somewhat mysterious.
This didn't seem like a simple interviewer and arcade attendant.
He knew so much about computer technology, and an interviewer shouldn't be so familiar with computers.
Could he also be an experienced programmer at this company?
"You're hired. You can start working at the company tomorrow, and the salary is at the top end of the market."
Takayuki had no doubts about Tsukino Aya's abilities. A graduate of Stanford in computer science was almost top-tier in the industry.
"Um, can I make a request?"
Tsukino Aya suddenly raised her hand and said.
"Go ahead."
"If possible, I would like to work from home. It shouldn't be a problem if I'm just writing code."
Takayuki was taken aback.
This request was a bit unusual.
To ask to work from home on the first day.
Most companies probably wouldn't accept it.
Maybe that's why she hasn't been looking for a job?
Seeing Takayuki's expression, Tsukino Aya quickly added, "If not, I hope my workspace can be separated from others. I don't want to be too close to anyone else."
This time, Tsukino Aya really wanted to work here because she found games interesting and wanted to be involved.
Takayuki looked at Tsukino Aya with suspicion.
Was she wrapped up from head to toe just to avoid being touched by others?
It seems that the company is about to have a group of eccentric programmers.
This girl wrapped up tightly, except for the shiny silver twin tails, couldn't be seen at all. It's really curious what she looks like.
"That's no problem, the company is quite large."
"Then I'm fine with it."
"Your employment contract will be formally signed tomorrow, and then you can start work officially."
Takayuki was about to lead this group of people through their first game development process.
...
After recruiting employees, Takayuki began training them in game development.
It's not easy to get them into a completely new industry, but at least it's a start, and there's also a project for them to learn together. He aimed to have them produce their first game together within a month.
A month passed quickly, and the overall development of the company gradually entered the right track.
Including the one-week sales of game consoles at the beginning, it had been a month and a week since then. Over 100,000 game consoles had been sold, with Tetris selling over 81,000 copies, followed closely by Contra with over 65,000 copies. Bomberman, Tank Battle, and Gomoku sold around 50,000 copies each.
The least selling game was Dragon Quest, which had the longest development time.
Takayuki wasn't worried about the sales of Dragon Quest because RPGs naturally need time to ferment, and it wasn't time for it to really take off yet.
The manga magazine publisher had been steadily promoting through manga, and the manga story was also reaching its climax. By then, they could check the sales data again.
And the release of the eighth game wasn't far off.
Most players had played through the existing games within a month, so the arrival of a new game was just what they needed.
"Super Baseball Championship, the latest game for the NES, is about to be released! Pre-orders are available now! Each store's pre-order will come with different official pre-order bonuses. Our store's pre-order will receive an exclusive Super Baseball Championship badge! Only 3,500 yen!"
At Ota Amusement Hall, the staff were enthusiastically promoting the latest game.
The latest game release, and it was a baseball game.
As Japan's national sport, baseball's position had been unshakeable for many years.
Just announcing the billboard immediately attracted the attention of many people.
Especially the children, their eyes were sparkling.
Since childhood, they had been influenced by baseball, dreaming of standing on the field of a baseball championship and receiving the attention of the crowd.
And now, the billboard showed a young man in a pitching posture, surrounded by countless cheering figures. Just looking at the billboard made many children yearn for it.
Only 3,500 yen, and the children immediately begged their parents to buy Super Baseball Championship. At this point, the parents seemed to be waking up too.
Buying the game console wasn't the end, it was just the beginning. If you wanted to play more games, you had to buy them separately.
Although it wasn't much money, it wasn't a small amount either when accumulated gradually.
As a result, many parents resolutely refused their children's requests, leading to many children crying and making a scene.
But even if they were refused, children from ordinary families only needed to grit their teeth and save up their pocket money for a month to buy it.
A month ago, not many people really understood what the so-called NES was.
But a month later, at least in the Tokyo metropolitan area, the NES had become a familiar term.
Any household with an NES and the latest game would immediately become the darling of the children.
Newspapers, TV, and other media also gradually began to feature the NES.
This wasn't an advertisement anymore, at least Takayuki didn't pay for advertising.
And this once again increased the influence of the NES.
At this moment, in the Gamestar Electronic Entertainment Co., Ltd., the mood of several programmers and engineers who were developing Super Baseball Championship together with Takayuki was somewhat uneasy.
Apart from Takayuki's explanation and guidance on game development, Super Baseball Championship was basically developed and completed by them independently.
They had no idea whether the game would sell well or not.
And the closer it got to the release date, the heavier their anxiousness became.