vrcanaries Chapter 72 Game Freak
Chapter 72 Game Freak
"You mean...aren't we supposed to be talking to animation companies about collaborations?"
Sam looked at the simple little house in front of him, which seemed quite different from the company building he had imagined.
They're just a group of people who make gaming magazines.
"Oh, I understand."
Before Lin Lixin could even think of a way to fool him, Sam clapped his hands and convinced himself.
"Our handheld consoles don't have that high resolution, and it's difficult to render fancy animation effects."
The planned NovaPocket will use a 2.6-inch reflective dot-matrix LCD screen with a maximum resolution of only 160x144.
This is far too blurry compared to the 640x350 EGA standard commonly used by NovaBox.
Sam thought about it more and more and found it made sense, and he had to admire Lin Lixin's foresight.
Unlike home consoles, handheld consoles don't have such large TV screens, so some compromises can be made in terms of resolution.
The downsides of reducing resolution are acceptable, but the benefits are obvious.
Low power consumption, low cost, and...
Lower screen design costs.
"Instead of spending a lot of money to find a top-notch animation company to commission animations that we don't need, it's a different approach to find a group of illustrators."
"Not only is it more suitable, but it's also cheaper and easier to negotiate with."
The more he spoke, the brighter Sam's eyes became, and he nodded repeatedly in admiration.
"Not bad, you really are a genius."
Sam has always had his own ideas about self-strategy.
Lin Lixin smiled and simply followed his line of thought.
"Hey, I've discovered you're really good at making yourself happy."
"?"
……
Twenty years old is the age to strive and work hard.
Satoshi Tajiri listened to the two men's self-introductions in a daze, and then looked at Ken Sugimori, who was a year younger than him, with a blank stare.
The name GAMENOVA is definitely well-known in the gaming industry.
Even in Japan, where there is no distribution, various urban legends about it circulate.
Claims like "the world's first true 3D game" or "the world's first true open-world RPG"...
Various prestigious titles have been bestowed upon this mysterious company.
To play the legendary NovaBox, you have to buy a US version from backpackers at a high price, and it doesn't even have Japanese language support.
"This...uh...Mr. Lin," Satoshi Tajiri licked his slightly dry lips, "are you really the legendary owner of GAMENOVA?"
The man in front of me, who called himself Lin Lixin, looked to be only a few years older than me and had a typical Asian face.
How could he possibly be the boss of GAMENOVA?
Although it's true that he was with a foreigner, it did look suspicious no matter how you looked at it.
Besides, even if it were true, GAMENOVA would have no reason to approach them.
They are not big companies like Namco, Sega, or Nintendo, nor even a new game company like SNK.
They were just a small magazine publishing company that made doujinshi (fan-made comics).
GameFreak, at most, only gained some popularity a couple of years ago with their "Ten Million Points Strategy for the Ironclad Formation" video.
But apart from that, he really couldn't understand what his gaming magazine could possibly have that the other party cared about.
Besides money.
Damn it!
Once Satoshi Tajiri understood this, it became clear to her that it was a fraud ring!
Seeing the distrust between the two, Lin Lixin didn't waste any more words and simply asked Sam to bring over their suitcases.
"Sam, get the stuff."
After a flurry of activity, a brand-new NovaBox and several floppy disks appeared in front of Satoshi Tajiri.
After making some simple adjustments to the display specifications and voltage, and using a monitor in their office, Satoshi Tajiri saw the legendary NovaBox for the first time.
"I recall your company used to have extensive research on the 'Ironclad Formation'?"
Lin Lixin found the console version of "1942" among the games and pushed it into the console.
"This is a flight shooting game that I developed, modeled after my predecessor Namco. I wonder if you two would be interested in giving it a try?"
Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori exchanged a glance, both seeing the interest in each other's eyes.
Although it's a scam... if it's just a trial run, there shouldn't be any problems, right?
NovaBox is a rare find in Japan.
With one controller for each player, the two-player co-op mode in 1942 is just the right amount of fun for the two of them.
……
Although the article about "Iron Plate Formation" was not written by the two of them, they were no strangers to the genre of flight shooting.
Whether it's Namco or the other companies, they all have major arcade and console titles in this genre.
But this is the first time I've seen a film like "1942" by Satoshi Tajiri.
Something's wrong, something's very wrong!
The random upgrades dropped by enemies and the dynamic changes in the number of enemies alone make 1942 far more replayable than any other game.
Add to that the gorgeous special effects, the smooth scrolling motion, and the simulated radio communication tone...
This is something from a completely different era than "Iron Plate Formation".
Satoshi Tajiri put down the controller, lost in confusion.
But then, the two saw Wolfenstein 3D.
"?"
"??"
Damn it, how did the gaming industry next door develop into this mess?!
'Knock knock knock'
Suddenly, there was a few knocks on the glass curtain wall at the entrance of the studio.
Tajiri Satoshi then seemed to wake from a dream and looked up.
A small truck had stopped in front of the door at some point, and a man dressed as a deliveryman was standing there with a large pile of brand-new magazines next to him.
This is not their GameFreak publication, but rather an overseas game magazine that Satoshi Tajiri subscribes to.
As a gaming media outlet, Satoshi Tajiri is not content with working in isolation. Instead, he regularly subscribes to other gaming magazines for reference and learning.
However, unlike Famitsu, it is not easy to buy popular overseas publications such as Electronic Games.
Therefore, they are usually delivered all at once after a batch has been collected.
When Satoshi Tajiri saw "Electronic Games" tucked among the magazines, his eyes suddenly lit up.
Wow, isn't this just a godsend?
Just when I was wondering how to deal with these two, the magazine was delivered to my door.
If I remember correctly, there was a one-on-one interview with the owner of GAMENOVA in a few previous issues of Electronic Games.
"Excuse me, I'll be there for a moment."
Ken Sugimori volunteered to bring in these magazines.
Hmph, exposing the scam to my face, just thinking about it is so satisfying.
However, just one minute later...
Satoshi Tajiri's hand froze in place.
There's no need to flip through the pages looking for illustrations.
Lin Lixin's image was boldly printed on the cover of one of the issues.
The editor-in-chief of Electronic Games was sitting next to him.
GameFreak is closed to the public today!
……
"So... Mr. Lin, what brings you here?"
"I've noticed that GameFreak's illustrations and shows are quite interesting, and I happen to have a need for that recently."
Lin Lixin took out a draft from his bag.
Is this a pink... kitten with a long tail?
Rather than a kitten, it's more like some kind of fantastical creature that doesn't exist in the real world.
Her big blue eyes were mischievous, and her whole body maintained a subtle harmony and cuteness.
"I call it 'Mew,' a creature that will appear in the new game I'm developing."