America: The Godfather of Game Development

Chapter 46 Return it! Exchange it for Street Fighter!

Is Gamenova releasing a new game?

Judging from this promotional video alone, this game called "Street Fighter" is clearly a fighting game similar to their "Kung Fu" series.

This is not good news.

The vice president frowned, his eyes glancing unconsciously at the inventory list he had just put down.

When it was about to be released, it encountered a game with the same theme. Even though it was not afraid of the competition because of the exquisite quality of "Kung Fu", its sales were affected to some extent.

The arcade market is a zero-sum game.

If you buy one more unit from someone else, you'll buy one less unit for yourself.

"Boss, what's the background of this GAMENOVA? Is it a subsidiary of Namco?"

The messenger was somewhat puzzled.

This unfamiliar company name, just like its name suggests, suddenly burst forth with dazzling brilliance, even overshadowing established manufacturers like themselves.

Only companies like Sega, Namco, or Nintendo could possess such capabilities.

The vice president shook his head, equally unsure.

"If the information is correct, they are just a small studio made up of a group of individual people."

"A small workshop?"

His subordinates were momentarily stunned, but then quickly breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good. It seems that their previous works were just a lucky coincidence that they found a good subject."

If it were just a small workshop, there's no reason why a giant like Konami, which has been in the industry for many years, couldn't compete with it.

"I hope so..."

The vice president stared at the production figures filled in on the report, his temples throbbing, and a bad premonition slowly crept in.

But things developed in a way that far exceeded his expectations, and of course, for the better.

On the first day of its release, the inventory of "Kung Fu Hustle" dropped by more than 30%.

This is an achievement that even Konami headquarters didn't expect.

It's said that the North American video game industry is in a glacial period, and the headquarters wasn't optimistic about this porting project.

With such amazing results, headquarters has already started meetings to discuss the development of spin-offs and sequels to "Kung Fu Hustle".

"What a false alarm..."

After reviewing the data report for the first day, the vice president finally felt relieved.

Apart from GAMENOVA's home base of California, where sales were clearly not going well, sales throughout North America were booming.

It won't be long before these arcade game companies, brainwashed by GAMENOVA, realize how well-made and high-quality Kung Fu is, and switch their allegiance to Konami.

As for the concern about excess inventory, that's utter nonsense.

Now he even has to arrange for the factory to speed up production and quickly prepare more goods.

Otherwise, once the popularity of "Kung Fu Hustle" takes hold, their current stock will be far from enough.

……

Inside the Silicon Oasis office, several landline phones were constantly ringing, and the entire company was bustling with activity.

"You've already bought 'Kung Fu Hustle'? Where did you get it from? From Konami's official channels? Okay, sir, sorry to bother you..."

Meyer hung up the phone, rubbed his temples, and felt a headache coming on.

I've run into big trouble.

Strictly speaking, Street Fighter was actually released a few days earlier than Kung Fu Hustle.

Meyer had already tried out the new game, and he had no doubt that such a game would still be very popular in arcades even ten or twenty years from now.

This is the clear path for the future of arcade games!

Think about those players who keep renewing their coins out of resentment, and think about that one-minute countdown.

It's simply the destined masterpiece that arcades have been waiting for.

So, as before, Mayer paid more to sign an exclusive supply agreement and even took all the pre-produced machines with him.

Now here's the problem: they can't sell them!

Apart from a few arcades in California with which they had a particularly good relationship, almost all arcades chose Konami's "Kung Fu" arcade game after hearing about Konami's reputation.

"Hey, Mr. Lin, today's sales aren't looking too good..."

On the other end of the phone, Lin Lixin's voice didn't sound anxious at all.

"Relax, Mr. Meyer. I believe you have the vision to see the potential of Street Fighter. Let the bullets fly for a while."

Meyer didn't understand Lin Lixin's analogy, but he strongly agreed with what Lin Lixin said.

Street Fighter has no reason to lose, and it's impossible for it to lose to any other arcade game currently on the market.

……

The following day at noon, Meyer received a call from a large arcade in Arizona.

"Mr. Meyer, I wonder... if there's any Street Fighter left in stock?"

"Of course!" Meyer quickly replied, but a few doubts arose in his heart.

He had approached the arcade owner before, but they refused him, saying they had already ordered "Kung Fu Hustle".

Why are you contacting me now?

Did they open another branch?

or……

"That's great! Could you please give me 10 units, um, 14 units, please? And you there, return the remaining two 'Kung Fu' theaters too, quickly!"

"You withdrew from 'Kung Fu Hustle'? Why?"

Meyer was startled when he heard what the other person said.

"Of course it's because I couldn't fit any more space. I cleared out a section of land today."

The other person answered casually, then, as if suddenly remembering something, quickly pressed for an answer.

"By the way, has anyone else placed an order in Arizona yet? There's one in Phoenix?! Damn it, that old fox! We're still a step too late."

Upon hearing that Meyer had already placed an order in Phoenix earlier, the other party suddenly became anxious.

"I told you guys to at least buy a few Street Fighter consoles, not all of them Kung Fu! F**K!"

"Uh? Sir?"

"Sorry, I was talking to my employee. Then I'll trouble Mr. Meyer to arrange for the shipment as soon as possible, and I'll transfer the payment to you immediately."

That day, the whole of California was filled with discussions about Street Fighter.

Streets and alleys, campuses, restaurants...

No matter where you are, you can hear groups of young people arguing about who is stronger, Bruce Lee or Chun-Li.

What if a friend asks you about Street Fighter and you have absolutely no idea what it is?

Please, you're really out of touch.

ArcadeArea, Henry's little arcade, is thriving.

Today was much more lively than before.

Because the store has two more new machines.

"Ada!"

"Shu Ting!"

The voices of Brandon Lee and Arnold Schwarzenegger blared from the speakers, stimulating the onlookers to shout along.

"Henry has won nine straight! Is there anyone who can beat him?!"

Surrounded by players, Henry quickly shook the joystick and unleashed a True Dragon Eight Break, defeating his opponent Guile.

As the clear "KO" sound came from the speakers, Henry was surrounded by cheers from the crowd.

"Ten-time champion! Ten-time champion! Ten-time champion!..."