Was Yie Ar Kung-Fu a good game?
Objectively speaking, absolutely.
Whether it was the graphics, the sound design, or the overall polish, it was unquestionably an excellent title.
Among arcade games of its era, it easily ranked among the better-looking and better-made releases. But simply being good wasn't enough to compete with Street Fighter.
Because Street Fighter was so overwhelmingly strong that it bordered on unfair.
If you compared graphics, was it really any better than Contra, Metal Gear, or Street Fighter?
As for originality… well, Street Fighter happened to be another martial arts fighting game.
That made things even worse. The two games overlapped almost perfectly in every aspect. A direct collision like this meant there could only be one winner.
And that winner...
...was Street Fighter.
At Konami's American branch, the vice president's expression shifted constantly between anger and disbelief.
Only a single day after launch, Yie Ar Kung-Fu had already begun receiving a considerable number of return requests.
Not because of quality issues.
Not because of defective hardware.
Instead...
Arcade owners who had played Street Fighter were returning Konami's cabinets simply to free up floor space.
Some even used the refund money to purchase additional Street Fighter machines. It was downright humiliating.
"Sir, we've also received two returns from Phoenix, Arizona."
"I know..."
The vice president let out a long sigh while staring at the inventory report until his brows nearly twisted together.
Losing reputation wasn't the issue. Pride meant nothing in business.
The real problem was… What was he supposed to do with these stacks of Yie Ar Kung-Fu inventory?
Every cabinet represented real money.
"So..."
"Did we manage to get our hands on a Street Fighter cabinet?"
"Take me to it."
For now, he could only set his worries aside and personally examine the machine that was crushing them in the market. Before he even reached the room, while still standing in the hallway, he could already hear the excited shouting inside.
"Use the Spinning Piledriver, you idiot!"
"No! Hadoken! He already knows how to block that move!"
...
Bang!
The vice president shoved the door open with a dark expression.
Sure enough, a crowd of engineers had gathered around a Street Fighter cabinet decorated with cartoon artwork of Brandon and Arnold.
"Zangief... WINS!"
The engineer controlling Zangief proudly copied the wrestler's victory pose.
"Quit celebrating."
"The boss is here."
"The boss? I don't give a fuc…"
He turned around.
His words died instantly.
Standing behind him was the vice president...whose face had become frighteningly expressionless.
The two stared at each other for several seconds. Finally, the vice president sighed helplessly, as there wasn't much left to investigate.
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If even Konami's own developers and engineers could become completely absorbed in the game that alone proved how extraordinary its quality was.
Right now, the priority was obvious.
Stop production and deal with the unsold inventory.
He had no intention of letting Konami become the next Atari.
Within a single week, Yie Ar Kung-Fu and Street Fighter experienced a complete 180 degree reversal in market performance.
Walk into any arcade...
And you'd find long lines of players waiting to play Street Fighter.
Kung-Fu still attracted plenty of curious customers at first.
But after a few matches… Most of them migrated straight into the Street Fighter queue.
The versus system, in particular, was nothing short of genius. Highly skilled players could occupy a cabinet for an entire day if no one managed to beat them.
That was completely different from older games, where everyone had to line up again after every session.
Before long, players everywhere began researching combos and advanced strategies. Of course, not everyone was obsessed with improving their mechanics.
Another type of fan emerged as well.
"Bruce Lee is obviously the strongest! Do you even understand Jeet Kune Do, you moron?"
"You're crazy. Guile is the real man! American muscle all the way!"
"I don't know about you guys, but Chun-Li's amazing... Those thighs are incredible."
"Wait... nobody likes Cammy?"
"I'd totally let Cammy crush me with her legs... hehe."
Once players were allowed to choose characters… Arguments over who was strongest became an unavoidable part of the experience.
Naturally, the two most popular characters remained Bruce Lee and Guile, who also appeared together on the game's promotional artwork.
The influence of Street Fighter even sparked a nationwide kung fu craze.
"Brandon. Arnold."
"I really have to thank both of you."
Ethan sincerely expressed his gratitude.
Street Fighter's incredible success owed a great deal to the early attention and publicity the two stars had generated.
Countless newcomers to video games had come simply because they wanted to play as either the T-800...or Bruce Lee.
"No, Ethan."
"I'm the one who owes you."
Brandon shook his head seriously.
He wasn't being polite.
Street Fighter's popularity had exceeded everyone's expectations. Its influence had even reached Hollywood.
"I've received offers to star in two martial arts films."
Before this, Brandon had appeared in only a single production and even then, merely as Bruce Lee's stand-in.
This opportunity had become the true beginning of his acting career.
As for Schwarzenegger… Following Contra and The Terminator, he was already one of Hollywood's hottest stars.
Guile merely added another layer to his popularity.
Although he was also receiving daily complaints from players furious about Guile's cheap turtling tactics.
"Well..."
"I should get going."
"My flight to Kansas leaves shortly."
Ethan shook hands with both of them and prepared to leave. Just as he turned around, something occurred to him. He stopped and looked back at Brandon.
"Oh, right."
"When you're filming, be careful."
"Arnold, the same goes for you."
"I've heard safety standards on movie sets have been getting increasingly lax."
He couldn't help remembering the original timeline.
In 1993, while filming The Crow, Brandon had been killed after a prop gun accidentally fired a real projectile due to mistakes made by the prop department.
To this day, countless conspiracy theories surrounded the incident. Ethan had no way of uncovering the truth.
But perhaps he could still change the ending in his own way.
"Arnold."
"Brandon's just starting out."
"I hope you'll look after him."
"Of course."
Arnold readily agreed.
As the two flagship characters of Street Fighter, Guile and Bruce had already become inseparable in the public imagination.
The unofficial "fated rivalry" between them had become one of the hottest running jokes among fans.
Smiling, Ethan bid them farewell before heading to Los Angeles International Airport.
Besides Street Fighter and Metal Gear, he had prepared one more launch title for the NovaBox.
But first, he needed to fly to Kansas and recruit a certain "eccentric genius" from juvenile detention.
"Mr. Ethan..."
The detention center supervisor looked at the young entrepreneur with open skepticism.
"Are you absolutely certain you're looking for John Carmack?"
He couldn't understand why anyone would come searching for such an unruly teenage thief. Especially since Carmack was only fifteen years old.
By all accounts, he was nothing more than a troublesome delinquent.
"The kid stole an Apple II computer from his school."
"That's why he ended up here."
"Are you sure you've got the right person?"
Ethan nodded.
"No mistake."
"John Carmack is exactly who I'm here for."