"GAMENOVA is releasing a new game?"
Judging from the commercial alone, this new title, Street Fighter, was clearly another martial art fighting game, very much like their own Yie Ar Kung-Fu.
That was not good news.
The vice president frowned deeply, his eyes instinctively drifting toward the inventory report he'd just set down.
Launching alongside another game in the exact same genre was bad enough.
Even if Yie Ar Kung-Fu was polished enough to stand toe to toe with the competition, overlapping releases would inevitably eat into sales.
The arcade business was a zero-sum game. Every cabinet a customer bought from someone else meant one fewer sold by you.
"Sir, where exactly did this GAMENOVA come from? Is it a Namco subsidiary or something?"
His subordinate looked genuinely puzzled.
This unfamiliar company had appeared out of nowhere, living up to its name by bursting onto the scene like a supernova, even overshadowing long-established giants like themselves.
Only companies such as Sega, Namco, or Nintendo should have been capable of that.
The vice president slowly shook his head.
"If our information is accurate... they're just a small independent studio."
"A tiny workshop?"
The subordinate froze before letting out a relieved sigh.
"That's good, then. Their earlier hits must've just been lucky, they happened to stumble onto good concepts."
If they were really just a small indie studio, there was no reason a veteran giant like Konami couldn't beat them.
"...Let's hope so."
Staring at the production figures on the report, the vice president felt his temples throb. An uneasy premonition slowly crept into his mind.
Fortunately, things developed far better than he had expected.
On its very first day, Yie Ar Kung-Fu sold through more than thirty percent of its inventory. Even Konami headquarters hadn't anticipated numbers like these.
Everyone had been saying the American video game market was trapped in another ice age, so headquarters had never been particularly optimistic about the porting project.
Now, with such astonishing sales, executives had already begun discussing spin-offs and sequels to Kung-Fu.
"What a scare..."
After reviewing the first day's sales report, the vice president finally relaxed.
Aside from California, GAMENOVA's home turf, where sales had clearly underperformed, the rest of America was buying enthusiastically.
Soon enough, those arcade operators who had been brainwashed by GAMENOVA would come to their senses. Once they realized just how polished Kung-Fu really was, they'd naturally switch over to Konami.
As for concerns about excess inventory?
Ridiculous.
If anything, he now needed to order the factories to increase production immediately. Otherwise, once Yie Ar Kung-Fu's popularity truly exploded, their current inventory wouldn't even come close to meeting demand.
Inside Silicon Oasis's office, multiple landline telephones rang almost nonstop. The entire company was in complete chaos.
"So you've already purchased Kung-Fu? Through whom? Konami's official distributor? Understood, sir. Sorry for bothering you..."
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Meyer hung up and rubbed his aching forehead. He had a serious problem.
Technically speaking, Street Fighter had actually reached the market several days before Kung-Fu.
Meyer had played the game himself. He had absolutely no doubt that even twenty years into the future, this game would still be wildly popular in arcades.
This was the future of arcade gaming. Just imagine players stubbornly feeding in coin after coin because they refused to accept defeat.
Imagine that one-minute countdown timer. This game was everything arcades had been waiting for.
Naturally, just like before, Meyer had paid extra to get distribution rights. With one sweeping signature, he'd even bought every cabinet from the first production batch.
And now, he couldn't sell them.
Apart from a handful of California arcades that had exceptionally close relationships with Silicon Oasis, nearly every arcade owner had immediately chosen Konami's Kung-Fu the moment they heard the Konami name.
"Ethan... today's sales aren't looking very good..."
On the other end of the line, Ethan sounded completely unconcerned.
"Relax, Mr. Meyer."
"I trust your judgment. You understand Street Fighter's potential."
"Just let the bullets fly for a while."
Meyer didn't quite understand the idiom. But he completely agreed with Ethan's point. There was no reason Street Fighter should lose.
In fact, it shouldn't lose to any arcade game currently on the market. The following afternoon, Meyer received a call from a large arcade in Arizona.
"Mr. Meyer... Do you still have any Street Fighter cabinets available?"
"Of course we do!"
Meyer answered immediately, though he couldn't help feeling puzzled. He had personally approached this arcade before.
At the time, they'd declined because they'd already ordered Kung-Fu.
So why were they calling him now? Had they opened another branch?
Or perhaps...
"Wonderful! I'll take ten."
"...Actually, make that fourteen."
"Hey…you! Return those last two Kung-Fu cabinets too! Hurry up!"
"You returned Kung-Fu?" Meyer blurted out in surprise.
"Why?"
"Because there's no room anymore."
The owner answered matter of factly.
"I cleared out an entire section today."
Then, as though suddenly remembering something, he hurriedly asked, "Wait! Has anyone else in Arizona already placed an order?"
"There's one in Phoenix?!"
"Damn it!"
"That old man beat me to it!"
Hearing that a Phoenix arcade had already secured an order earlier that morning, the owner became visibly agitated.
"I kept telling you idiots to buy at least a few Street Fighter cabinets instead of filling the place with Kung-Fu! Fuck!"
"Uh... sir?"
"Sorry. I was talking to my employees."
"Please arrange shipment as soon as possible."
"I'll wire the payment immediately."
That day, conversations about Street Fighter spread across California like wildfire.
On the streets.
In schools.
Inside restaurants.
No matter where you went, groups of young people could be heard passionately arguing over one question.
Who was stronger…
Guile...
or Chun-Li?
If one of your friends asked whether you'd played Street Fighter and you had no idea what they were talking about...
Come on.
You were hopelessly behind the times.
Henry's small arcade, Arcade Area, was packed.
It was even busier than usual.
Because the shop had just received two brand-new cabinets.
"Ah-ta!"
"Sonic Boom!"
The voices of Brandon and Arnold echoed continuously from the speakers, prompting the excited crowd to imitate the characters' battle cries.
"Henry's already won nine straight!"
"Can anyone stop him?!"
Surrounded by spectators, Henry expertly worked the joystick and unleashed Ryuu Yassai, defeating his opponent's Guile.
The clear voice from the cabinet announced.
K.O.!
The crowd immediately erupted into cheers, surrounding Henry.
"Ten-time champion!"
"Ten-time champion!"
"Ten-time champion!"