Takayuki roughly explained the general situation to Ayano Tsukino.
As for Ayano Tsukino's current mood, Takayuki didn't know, but he could vaguely sense her restrained anger.
"What do you plan to do?" Ayano Tsukino seemed to calm down a bit internally, then calmly asked Takayuki again.
Takayuki stared seriously at Ayano Tsukino and said, "Last time, I had prepared some PR plans to deal with the attacks from the TV stations. However, unexpectedly, six TV stations collectively faced scandals, disrupting all the rhythms. Those people finally quieted down for a while. Suddenly, I realized that such methods are quite effective, and moreover..."
Takayuki deliberately paused, then carefully observed Ayano Tsukino's reaction.
However, Ayano Tsukino wore a black mask and covered most of her eyes with a cloak, making it difficult for Takayuki to see what expression she was wearing.
He was now suspecting whether the previous scandal exposure was related to Ayano Tsukino.
But... it shouldn't be, right? She is quite skilled in networking and programming, but it shouldn't be easy for her to get hold of such scandalous information.
Perhaps some other kind-hearted people helped.
Takayuki thought so.
"And, this time, those baseball players are so sensitive. I think there must be something wrong."
Ayano Tsukino, sharp as ever, immediately said, "You speculate that those baseball players might have done some shady things similar to those in video games?"
"Exactly, but I reckon it might not be easy to investigate such matters. It would be convenient if there were channels to obtain such information."
After saying this, Takayuki deliberately observed Ayano Tsukino again.
Ayano Tsukino seemed quite calm.
"Sorry, I'm only proficient in programming and network maintenance, and at most, a little bit of artificial intelligence. Inquiring about scandals isn't within my professional scope. I can't help you, but if you need me to infiltrate a company or someone's network, that's no problem."
"Huh? You're also knowledgeable in artificial intelligence? That's quite advanced."
"What advanced? Stanford University established an AI laboratory in the 1970s. I just entered the lab out of interest and studied for a while."
So it was established so early? Takayuki really didn't know much about this.
In his previous life, it wasn't until 2017 to 2018 that artificial intelligence gradually became a hot topic, but the discipline was established much earlier.
It's justifiable to say it's one of the top institutions in the field of computing.
But compared to all this, why does Ayano Tsukino seem more and more inhuman?
How come you're good at everything?
Did I recruit an all-rounder?
Suddenly, he remembered a joke from his previous life.
The United States has superheroes and veterans.
Japan has ordinary high school students and various isekai protagonists.
China has anti-Japanese heroes and various ancient time-travelers.
All of them are super powerful characters.
Ayano Tsukino seems to follow this trend a bit.
But she graduated from university.
Takayuki suddenly had an idea, "Right, would hacking into the personal networks of those baseball players' homes get us some juicy information?"
Ayano Tsukino nodded, "That's possible. So, what, do you want me to help with this?"
"No, you're my best employee, I can't let you take any risks. If you were discovered, the risk would be significant. I'm just proposing a hypothesis. I can find someone skilled in doing this."
Even though he crossed over to a parallel world, the grey area exists everywhere.
As long as Takayuki is patient, he will definitely find such a place.
And then, he can hire a few people to help him investigate.
Ayano Tsukino's body trembled slightly, and her head lifted slightly. Those beautiful eyes began to stare directly at Takayuki seriously.
"So, you don't need my help? Then why did you call me here? Actually, I can help. I'm quite confident in my stealth techniques, and digging up dirt on others shouldn't risk exposure."
Takayuki shook his head, "No, the company really needs you now. I can't let you take any risks. Alright, let's stop here with this matter. I'm grateful to you for opening up a good train of thought for me. If you have any problems with game production, feel free to ask me. I won't refuse."
Takayuki was very happy; he felt he had found a good solution.
So, all that's left is to find the right person.
Oh, perhaps that Long Tail Rain who helped me before might use similar methods?
After all, they are more adept at the internet.
But obviously, I can't ask them for help. That guy is very eager for my company; I can't give him any expectations.
Finding relevant people shouldn't be a problem.
Takayuki was already immersed in the issue of finding suitable candidates and didn't notice when Ayano Tsukino left.
He also didn't notice that before leaving, Ayano Tsukino deliberately glanced at Takayuki a few more times before walking out of the office.
Under the attacks from those baseball players and the TV stations, it seemed like Gamestar Entertainment was under a lot of pressure, as if he had become the target of everyone's criticism.
But in terms of actual game sales, they remained as steady as a rock.
Sell the SFC, completely unaffected.
Or perhaps there was a slight impact; some adults who were fond of baseball already started to dislike Gamestar Entertainment.
But whether it was the NES or the SFC, initially, they were targeted towards children.
Most children didn't care about societal opinions.
They just wanted to be entertained.
And video games brought them the greatest joy.
Whether it was the NES, the SFC, or the very popular Tamako song among girls, sales remained undiminished.
If a family's adults were loyal baseball fans and somewhat disliked Gamestar Entertainment, but their children insisted on SFC games, if they weren't bought, they'd sever ties with their fathers then and there.
In such cases, fathers generally had to compromise.
Agree to their children's requests.
So, SFC sales remained above 100,000 units per week.
Sales of the NES saw a slight decline, from its peak of 200,000 units in a week to about 70-80,000 units.
This was mainly due to the impact from their own SFC, not because people were suddenly fond of the NES again.
Later, they began implementing a price reduction strategy; the price of the NES was reduced to 5,000 yen per unit, and the first-party game cartridges for the NES also saw a general price reduction of about 10% to 20%.
Thanks to this price reduction strategy, sales once again rose to around 150-160,000 units per week.
Although the SFC had better graphics, if the NES was cheap enough, it was still very popular.
After all, no one can resist something cheap and fun.