At Tsukino Aya's home, she was dressed as usual, wearing very little clothing, feeling safe only at home, feeling like she could wear less.
She simply squatted on the chair, her eyes blinking as she browsed through all the posts related to game consoles and Super Baseball Tournament.
This was her first time participating in game development, and on the day of release, she was still so nervous, always hoping to see some positive reviews of the game on the internet.
But throughout the entire release day, the internet seemed calm, as if the game had never been released.
In a certain forum, the gaming console section created due to the popularity of game consoles was particularly quiet today.
Where did everyone go?
Could it be... they all went to buy the latest game?
Tsukino Aya thought so, but she also found it hard to believe.
If there were so many people willing to buy it online, maybe even more would buy it offline?
No way, this game isn't that fun.
Tsukino Aya wasn't the target audience for sports games, but making games and experiencing games were two different feelings.
She enjoyed the moment when the game was successfully made and ran, representing a world being created in her field.
Just like a creator.
This was more interesting than the game itself.
Among those who felt as nervous as her were the dozens of employees who participated in game development together.
Throughout the day at work, they would constantly inquire about the sales process at various stores.
When they heard that many people were queuing up, they would breathe a sigh of relief, but then they would start to worry about whether the quality of the game itself would pass.
At the company, Takayuki looked at these nervous people and couldn't help but smile.
"Everyone."
Takayuki stood in front of the desk on the second floor, clapping his hands to draw the attention of the programmers.
"I know what you're worried about right now, but what I want to say is that whether a game is popular or not sometimes doesn't just depend on the initial sales."
People raised their heads, looking at Takayuki with confusion.
What do you mean by not looking at the initial game sales?
"Just like a brand-new TV series, a brand-new product, it may not necessarily be popular at first, and it also needs word-of-mouth to ferment. Sometimes, even if you put in the effort, you may not really get a return."
"Game development also has a lot of uncertainties. Sometimes some games inexplicably become popular."
"When you played the game, did you feel its fun?"
People nodded.
They truly felt the joy from the game.
"That's enough, just like a work of art, a game is also a form of art. I call it the ninth art, and art, first of all, needs to impress oneself before impressing others."
"As long as it impresses you enough, then you're already halfway there."
"President, what about the other half?" a programmer asked loudly.
"The other half, well, that depends on the players. This is something no one can control, but one thing to remember is that respecting the players is the most important. If you do that, the chances of the other half being successful will greatly increase."
With Takayuki's words, they couldn't completely relax, but at least they felt a lot more at ease.
Perhaps there was really no need to be so nervous and anxious.
"Okay, about the Super Baseball Tournament project, for now, we can put an end to it. Next, we will have a completely new project."
Takayuki came to encourage them for a purpose. He wanted these people to regroup and not be stuck in one circle. Employing these employees was not just about making one game and ending it.
"This time, I will separate you guys. It's a bit wasteful to have fifty or sixty people working on one game, and what I need is to divide you guys up."
In the first month of game development, Takayuki could also observe some people among them who truly had the ability to develop games.
Just like the producers of Japanese TV dramas, responsible for overall planning and guiding the TV series.
After one game's development, it was obvious that some people were starting to stand out.
Not to say they could do it all by themselves, but according to their guidance, they could do the corresponding work well, and occasionally shine.
Next, he planned to divide them directly into several production teams for the separate production of games.
"Zhang, Miyaji, Kohara, and... you twenty will temporarily form the first production team. Next, I will give you the direction of production. You will be responsible for the production of the Rocket Car game."
"Ishigaki, Shimokawa... you fifteen will be responsible for a long-term project, the sequel to Dragon Quest, which may take six months or even a year to complete. You need to have enough patience for this."
"And the remaining computer electronic engineers, Eri Hayasaka will lead you to specialize in the development of game consoles. Game consoles not only need the main body but also some additional peripheral devices to enhance the expandability and playability of the game console. I have already given Miss Eri Hayasaka the specific research and planning. She will brief you on the work."
Takayuki quickly divided everyone into roughly three groups.
Then he planned to expand the manpower again after these people completed the game development work within a year, and let some of the current people take on the role of producers again, branching out and being responsible for more types of games at the same time.
The employees assigned to the producer positions were excited.
This meant that their work was being valued and paid attention to, but at the same time, the responsibility on their shoulders was heavier than before.
And once people started to feel the pressure, the previous worries about game sales data were slowly diminishing, and they began to invest themselves in the new project.
After arranging the work plan for these employees, Takayuki began to look through the recent newspapers.
The Red and White Machine had gradually become a popular product in just one month.
More and more people were discussing it, and now it didn't need as much advertising to start having an impact.
In one newspaper, there was even a column about the Red and White Machine.
In this column, there were explanations and recommendations for Red and White Machine games, just like recommendations for TV dramas.
Tokyo Asahi Shimbun.
This was one of the giants of the Japanese newspaper industry, with a daily circulation of tens of millions, ranking in the top three in the world.
It was truly admirable, with such effortlessly high sales that it could crush any industry, with profit margins and popularity that were staggering.
Unfortunately, the game industry, like the TV and film industries, was a product that consumed a lot of time and couldn't be compared to the newspaper industry at all.
But speaking of which, it seemed that he could really consider setting up a dedicated gaming magazine, which would also increase the stickiness of gamers.
Hmm, maybe he could discuss it with Daigo Ikeda.
By the way, I'll ask about Tsuchiya Sansuke's recent situation and get feedback from readers as well.