Chapter 516: Top Tier Futile Effort! A Shaken Komera! |
"Look! Just look!"
Neon.
Higashitsu.
Komera.
Chief Director of the Board's Office.
Ito Suke's voice, tinged with suppressed anger, rang out, accompanied by the heavy thud of a fist hitting the desk.
The world is fair, energy is conserved.
For every person laughing, there is someone crying; for every joy, there is a sorrow.
With the official release of the *Resident Evil VIII* trailer, Golden Wind, which had remained silent until now, finally launched its fierce marketing offensive.
The entire company was buzzing with activity, sparing no effort in expanding their territory in the marketing arena.
Furthermore, this time, for some unknown reason, that unpredictable chairman of Golden Wind had gone crazy, even leveraging the connections of her family business. Relying on Shen Capital's international partnerships, she had blanketed the market with promotions.
The scale of it even surpassed the marketing campaign for *Sekiro* back in the day.
It was the very picture of "This lady has nothing else, but she's not short on money. Pure cash-splashing extravagance."
Add to that the truly explosive news of "Dark fairy tale turns into Resident Evil"!
Golden Wind's tactic of holding back before unleashing this "Surprise Motherfucker" was indeed masterfully executed!
In an instant!
The entire gaming world was in an uproar!
The anticipation from various media and players reached an unprecedented peak!
*Golden Wind's New Title Finally Confirmed! Not the Rumored Dark Fairy Tale! Resident Evil VIII Shocking Reveal!*
*Killed My Wife! Took My Daughter! Will Veteran Resident Evil Protagonist Chris Turn Evil?*
*Golden Wind Releases Official Resident Evil VIII Trailer! Ethan's Story is About to Reach Its Conclusion!*
*Global Buzz! #ResidentEvilVIII# Tag Tops Social Media Trending Charts!*
*First Batch of Yiyou x3 Production Units Roll Off the Line! Resident Evil VIII to Serve as Flagship Launch Title!*
*My Time to Shine! Phantom Dream Group President Walker Claims Resident Evil VIII, Utilizing Phantom Dream VI's Reality Augmentation Tech, Will Elevate Motion-Sensing Games to Unprecedented Heights!*
*Phantom Dream! Aurora! Phoenix! Three Engine Modules Powering the Future of Motion-Sensing Gaming!*
...)
Resident Evil 8! It's still Resident Evil 8!
Looking at the compiled reports before him, Seiichi Nakamurai, standing opposite Ito Suke, felt as if he had fallen into an icy abyss!
We've been had.
Fell right into Golden Wind's trap.
Thinking back two months ago, he was still holding all the cards, smugly convinced that Golden Wind's little experimental venture was doomed to fail.
And then!
*Wham!* A Resident Evil 8!
Seiichi Nakamurai felt a bit uncomfortable in his corpse.
Wait, you...?
Are you guys insane?
If it's Resident Evil 8, then it's Resident Evil 8! Why the hell didn't you say so earlier! If you'd said so, my strategy would have been completely different!
A full two months!
We bought off media placements! We stirred up public opinion!
We poured in massive amounts of manpower and resources, finally managing to drag down the hype and reputation of your so-called "Village Of Shadows"!
And now you're telling me we aimed at the wrong target?!
Top-tier futile effort?!
Now, the entire gaming market's attention has been completely captured by Golden Wind's concentrated offensive.
What lies before Komera seems to be nothing but putting in the effort and trying to sell their own wares.
However, fortunately, this time Nakamurai still had considerable confidence in his own innovative project:
"...The situation is not yet irredeemable."
Seiichi Nakamurai took a deep breath, steadying his mind.
He knew now was absolutely not the time for angry embarrassment.
Even less should he be like the former president, Uekoe Kagemasa, who stubbornly fixated on competing with Golden Wind, focusing his attention on attacking the opponent.
Otherwise, he would only drag himself into an even more disadvantageous position.
Right now, the top priority was not to lament and fume over the two months of public opinion incitement going down the drain, but to immediately shift the wind, redirecting the focus towards self-promotion.
Suppressing his shame and annoyance, Nakamurai said with a serious expression:
"Compared to Resident Evil 8, which continues the story from the previous installment, our *Silent Hill: Ascension* boasts greater innovative force and more daring gameplay innovations."
"I believe that in this final month, as long as we find the right direction for our marketing, we will definitely be able to..."
"Kick the bucket and turn cold—"
At the same time.
Takasugi Studio Lead's Office.
Takasugi Isao took a sip of his pre-rain Longjing tea, smacking his lips as he said:
"Our game is indeed innovative, and very much so,"
"To the point it almost 'innovated' me to death."
As a member of the game development team, Takasugi Isao knew the details of the game.
With less than a month left until the Higashitsu Gaming Festival,
The basic production of the first season of *Silent Hill: Ascension* was also complete.
His evaluation was—
"I don't understand it, but I am greatly shocked."
*Pfft—*
Hearing this.
Moriya, smoking on the other end of the video call, almost choked.
Takasugi had said this sentence in Huaguo language, his tone very stiff, even a bit comical.
"...Then I 'deeply look forward to it'."
Moriya fanned the smoke in front of him, teasing.
The two were just chatting casually on the call today anyway.
Moreover, someone like Moriya had a good sense of propriety.
Although he was the president of Golden Wind, he wouldn't use his old friendship to pry for too much information.
It wasn't that he didn't want to create favorable conditions for his own side.
He just didn't want to engage in such underhanded dealings, putting his old friend in an awkward position.
Moriya Tetsuya always did things with utter openness and aboveboard methods!
"...Since you're about to kick the bucket, have you considered coming over to my side?"
On the video, Moriya stubbed out his cigarette and asked casually.
For example, openly and aboveboardly poaching talent!
"Cho... Chotto matte..."
Hearing this, Takasugi Isao was momentarily caught off guard, scratching his neck in confusion:
"Moriya-san, usually when companies poach people, they at least use a headhunter as an intermediary... and besides, what president personally comes to pry loose a cornerstone? Isn't your 'openness and aboveboardness' a bit too much?"
"Ah..."
Moriya was completely unfazed by Takasugi's bewilderment, waving his hand:
"The relationship between our two companies has long been one of mutual destruction, having an intermediary or not is irrelevant,"
"Besides, it's not the first time Komera has tried to poach talent from our GW,"
"Last month you guys even offered a high salary trying to poach Sato, the director of our Steel Chain Fingers,"
"Funny thing is, back when he was at Komera, Sato couldn't even catch the eye of your 'Big Three',"
"But now you want to poach him back with triple the salary, it's really..."
At this point.
Moriya couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head repeatedly, finding the whole situation quite ridiculous.
If they knew it would come to this, why bother offending Golden Wind over trivial gains back then?
But what's done is done, and saying anything more is meaningless.
"The current state of Komera, I don't need to tell you, you know it best yourself,"
After laughing, Moriya said with a serious expression:
"Originally, although the infighting among the Big Three was severe, to a certain extent, it was also a double-edged sword, with the benefits even outweighing the drawbacks,"
"Back when I was the executive director, I always worked hard to maintain that balance, even though Yamamoto was President Uekoe's student,"
"For decades since Komera's founding, the Peak Studios have changed batch after batch,"
"But there has never been a precedent of a studio lead being promoted to a position above executive director,"
"Why?"
"Because once the lead of a Peak Studio is promoted to a position above executive director, it fundamentally disrupts the delicate balance of the Big Three, rendering the competition meaningless,"
"This was something even Uekoe Kagemasa dared not break,"
"Otherwise, back then, someone like me who didn't get along with Yamamoto at all should have been transferred from my executive position to make way for Yamamoto Tsunashiro..."
At this point.
It seemed someone knocked on Moriya's door.
Moriya acknowledged it, smiling as he took a cup of milk tea from the person who entered, thanking them.
Then he turned back to the video and continued:
"But now, Seiichi Nakamurai has become president,"
"And, before he took the presidency, Nakamurai Studio underwent no reshuffling at all,"
"That is to say, he is not 'President concurrently serving as Lead', but 'Lead concurrently serving as President',"
"The 'Head of the Big Three' that Yamamoto and Koizumi once regarded as a crown jewel has lost its meaning,"
"All the company's resources are now focused on Nakamurai Studio,"
"With one studio dominating everything, even if you and Nishikawa aren't making mainstream games, life must be pretty tough, right?"
That one sentence!
Stabbed right into Takasugi's sore spot!
It has to be said, the reason Moriya Tetsuya could sit in the executive director position at Komera for so long was no accident. He deeply understood the "art of balance."
As the entity above the Big Three, Moriya balanced the healthy competitive relationships between them.
As the entity below the president, Moriya also balanced the relationship between management and the technical teams.
If you compare a conglomerate to a scale,
Then the executive director is the counterweight balancing all relationships.
He knew very well what kind of dictatorial quagmire a group would fall into if it lost "balance."
And reality was exactly as he said.
Komera today had become Seiichi Nakamurai's world.
He was the president, the executive director, and also the director of the first studio.
From top to bottom in Komera, no one could provide any operational-level checks and balances on him.
And the only one at the administrative level with enough authority to suppress him, Chairman Ito Suke, was an outsider when it came to gaming affairs.
Thinking back to the old days.
Even during Uekoe Kagemasa's era, when Yamamoto Tsunashiro, leveraging personal connections, secretly enjoyed relatively more abundant resources and controlled the development rights for popular game genres,
Under Moriya's balancing act, besides Yamamoto, the other two studios could also produce high-quality works.
Like his studio's *Hotspot Rally: Return*, *Speed Alliance*, and Nishikawa's studio's *Wild Dunk EX*, *Baseball Ace: Master*, etc.
While not the main focus, within their respective genres, they were also flagship-level titles that shone brightly.
But now?
Takasugi asked himself.
How long had it been since they produced a decent work?
To the point that now, when people mention "Racing King," most talk about Huaguo's Nuyan, not the once-glorious Takasugi Studio.
Seeing Takasugi sink into melancholy contemplation,
Moriya also took a sip of his milk tea and said:
"Actually, I shouldn't be telling you this,"
"But as an old friend, I can't help but give you a hint about the grand move we are about to implement—"
At this point!
Moriya paused slightly!
Then took a deep breath and slowly spoke:
"Do you know about [Made in Heaven]?"
As soon as these words were spoken!
Takasugi Isao couldn't help but shudder all over!
Made in Heaven!
How could he not have heard of it!
As the "intermediary group" that acquired Phantom Dream, the name Made in Heaven was virtually unknown to no one in the gaming industry.
Not only because it directly acquired Phantom Dream, the world's top-tier engine manufacturer,
But also because since then, Made in Heaven had become shrouded in mystery!
Instead of merging with Golden Wind as it should have, it not only remained separate but even changed its name, operating independently!
And!
There had always been rumors that [Made in Heaven] was currently overseeing an absolutely unparalleled, monumental super project!
To the extent that even Golden Wind had to transfer some of its elite staff from its three major studios to join, and was recruiting elite talent from across the global gaming industry to collectively invest in the development of this mysterious project!
Seeing Takasugi's expression turn serious, Moriya couldn't help but smile mysteriously, lowering his voice:
"And—"
Comments 1