Besides the admiration of Takayuki in Japan, it's also time for the showdown between Japanese and American esports teams.
Last year, Takayuki spearheaded a new project, a multi-party collaborative esports initiative.
After unanimous research by local conglomerates confirming its profitability, esports officially began operations.
The first task was to recruit qualified gamers.
This process lasted for more than half a year, meticulously selecting and then professionally training each player.
Although the world of esports is still in its infancy, some managers and coaches from traditional sports clubs understand some basic management methods.
Players were assigned training schedules and supervised daily to ensure continuous growth.
And now, Japan has selected competitive players in various games such as Mario Kart, Street Fighter, and Street Basketball. Next, they will travel overseas to the United States to compete against the selected players there.
The ultimate winners of each category will receive a prize of $100,000 each.
For the American players, this prize money is equally tempting, so there were also many initial participants.
The battle between Japan and the United States is not something Americans care about because esports itself is not particularly prominent.
But for Japanese citizens, it's an opportunity to compete for glory.
Being in such a small country, they always lack a sense of security, so their national pride is particularly strong. If there is really a chance to defeat these great powers, they will be very excited.
Tokyo TV also immediately realized this and led a filming crew directly to accompany these selected players to the United States.
On the chartered plane, these players, who can be considered as advanced versions of gaming addicts, excitedly leaned against the windows, watching the scenery outside.
Even though the scenery over the Pacific Ocean remained unchanged, they couldn't help but exclaim frequently.
Most of them have never had the opportunity to travel abroad, and they haven't even had many chances to fly on a plane.
So, being able to fly to the United States is somewhat aspirational for them.
They never dared to imagine that one day they could really go to a big country like the United States.
Generally, only elite individuals should be qualified to go to the United States.
But they are going this time, so does it mean that they will also become elite individuals?
It turns out that being good at video games can also bring some benefits.
Previously, they participated in competitions purely for the prize money, without much consideration for anything else.
This time, the chartered flight and all the subsequent expenses in the United States will be jointly funded by their respective clubs.
And because of the influence of these local conglomerates, they have also attracted sponsorship from many brands.
Tokyo TV will specially thank these sponsors in the program advertisements.
However, these sponsors are more sponsored out of respect for the local conglomerates, and they don't take it too seriously.
And this money can completely meet the daily travel and living expenses of these young people in the United States.
As they gradually landed and saw the distant land, the towering skyscrapers, and the vast continent, their hearts were filled with longing.
They were like a group of people who had just walked out of a mountain village, full of curiosity about everything.
When the plane landed smoothly, the agents and managers of each club stood up from their seats and clapped their hands, saying, "Alright, everyone, tidy up, we're preparing to disembark."
Upon hearing the sound, these excited player-athletes immediately responded, quickly packing up their luggage and then orderly disembarking from the plane.
During this time, they underwent rigorous management training.
It's hard to say whether their skills in the games they each challenge have improved during this time, but strict management training has made them all look better in spirit.
After getting off the plane, they immediately boarded a bus and headed to the several temporary villas that had been booked.
There, they will undergo another round of concentrated closed-door training, and in early February, they will officially engage in the esports showdown between Japan and the United States.
Now it's mid-January, and for the next half month, they cannot afford to slack off.
At the same time, on the American side, the participating players seem to lack orderliness, each one appearing somewhat lazy.
In fact, they haven't even thought about forming so-called clubs yet, and each participating player is still acting as an individual.
In such a state, the results of the competition are almost predetermined.
The local conglomerates in Japan, Takayuki, and Tokyo TV all know this well, and they are not particularly concerned about the results themselves; they care more about the process.
Tokyo TV deliberately exaggerates the strength of the American players in order to make them appear stronger in the program.
In this way, they can give the audience the illusion that Japanese players have overcome strong opponents through continuous effort.
This filming style has long been familiar to them, and they don't need to say much about it.
"The American players are very strong. In order to defeat such a behemoth like the United States, our Japanese players are almost tirelessly training day and night, just to defeat powerful opponents through personal efforts."
"Although they are just a group of ordinary people who only know how to play games, they have also shown the indomitable spirit of our Japanese people. They are also respected players just like athletes."
Under the lens of Tokyo TV, every Japanese player looks very diligent, training seriously, as if facing formidable enemies.
And the viewers watching these programs actually don't know much about the competitive gap between electronic games.
They can only determine the strength of both sides through Tokyo TV's description.
As they watch a group of young people working hard on the television screen, they gradually feel admiration.
"Come on, big brothers, I will cheer for you with all my might!"
"Excuse me, where can I join the players' fan club? I want to join."
"Up there, I want to know too."
On the internet, there are also a group of people encouraging the player-athletes in their own way.