After the first arcade relaxed its stance, more arcades began to accept "Street Fighter" into their establishments.
Even with direct pressure from arcade manufacturers like Namco, Konami, and Taito, they wouldn't turn away a game that could make money.
Furthermore, the manufacturers themselves wouldn't openly apply pressure; they could only signal their disapproval behind the scenes.
Thus, the blockade of arcade distribution channels, initially led by Namco, had to come to an end, as the number of "Street Fighter" cabinets installed had already exceeded 30,000, and this number was still climbing.
While it wasn't the first fighting game, it was currently the most fun one to play! It featured a refined system, diverse characters, and precise hit detection.
Compared to other competitors on the market, the current "Street Fighter" had excellent balance. Aside from the character Chan Ka-Kui, who was admittedly a bit overpowered, all other characters were above the standard level.
Ryu had his own characteristics, and M. Bison had his own; to master multiple characters, players had to invest a significant amount of game coins to practice.
This was a true coin-guzzler!
If "Demon Tower" led to many people spending game coins due to its early marketing and the Golden Sonic reward, then "Street Fighter" was for a purely different reason.
You can't get stronger without inserting coins!
Since he had some idle time, Kobayashi Tetsu casually wrote an article, preparing to publish it under the name "Ten Cents".
"Atlas Enters the Arcade Game Market, Street Fighter Becomes a Craze, Where is Namco?"
Kobayashi Tetsu actually didn't know whether it was Namco or Konami that started it first, but he figured that if he just criticized them one by one, there would be no problem!
"————It's amazing, when Street Fighter becomes some kind of fashion symbol, and when young people start muttering 'Hadoken', what is Namco, a veteran arcade game giant, doing? Is 'Galaxian' really that fun?"
Kobayashi Tetsu went on a rant, and after thinking about it, he still wasn't satisfied, so he casually dragged Sega into it as well.
Given the scale of Sega's arcade games, even if they only relied on Sega, the number wouldn't just be 8,000 units.
But it was obvious that Sega's arcade division's promotion efforts were lacking.
Just as Kobayashi Tetsu was scolding them, the phone on his desk rang. He answered it casually, and the person on the other end was unexpected.
Hayao Nakayama.
"Kobayashi-kun, congratulations to Atlas for successfully establishing a foothold in the arcade game industry."
"Oh, President Nakayama," Kobayashi Tetsu replied, "Thanks to you, although Sega hasn't sold many game machines, the results are satisfying enough."
Hayao Nakayama on the other end of the line let out a soft chuckle, his attitude impossible to decipher.
But then, Hayao Nakayama said: "Speaking of which, Sega is currently developing a role-playing game, but our headquarters lacks sufficient experience in this genre. Does Atlas have the capacity to provide one or two consultants to Sega? We would, of course, provide suitable compensation."
Tetsu Kobayashi understood.
This was their way of scratching an itch, of smoothing things over.
Nakayama knew Sega hadn't given their all, and Kobayashi knew it too, so now, Sega was making a gesture to smooth things over.
Kobayashi didn't mind and asked casually: "Will Atlas get a credit?"
"We can do that," Nakayama Hayao replied straightforwardly. "Similar to the arrangement between Atlas and Capcom, the new title can bear the Atlas name, billed as a joint production."
"That works. I'll lend you Masanobu Endo. Just in case you don't know him, Masanobu Endo is the producer of Demon Tower and a co-producer of Final Fantasy. That should show enough sincerity, don't you think?"
Hayao Nakayama on the other end of the line was genuinely shocked.
That was real sincerity!
He had thought a producer of that caliber could be called an ace.
Now, there was no way they couldn't give them credit!
Hanging up the phone, Tetsu Kobayashi spread his hands.
It's a small matter, just a gesture of convenience.
At this point in time, the role-playing game released by Sega must be "Phantasy Star."
"Phantasy Star" is a pretty good game too, though Kobayashi Tetsu isn't very familiar with it. Sending Masanobu Endo over to attach his name to it is the best he can do.
Speaking of early Japanese RPGs, "Phantasy Star" actually deserves a place among them. It's just a pity that the "Phantasy Star" series was cut short due to Sega's restructuring. Otherwise, in later generations, it might have been considered a role-playing game on par with "Dragon Quest" and "Final Fantasy."
Kobayashi Tetsu lowered his head, looked at the article, and tore off the part about Sega, deciding not to use it.
Attaching a name to it is also a way to boost Atlas's influence. Besides, just sending a person over without actually having to do any real work—why not?
"Atlas Enters the Arcade Game World, 'Street Fighter' Becomes a Trend, Where is Namco?"
Department Manager Nakamura had, of course, finished reading the article.
Where is Namco?
Department Manager Nakamura's face turned dark.
Making games!
Although Namco is also an arcade giant, among the "Big Four," it is currently in a sorry state.
The worst is Taito.
This kind of talk is really unpleasant to hear!
He really wanted to write an article in return to denounce Atlas, but no matter how he turned it over in his mind, he couldn't write it.
In the end, all one can do is sigh.
There's no other way; let's make games.
If you don't make your games good, all marketing is useless.
Do people really not know that Atlas is marketing? From the Golden Sonic to the Jackie Chan movie, it's all marketing, and it's visible marketing at that.
Why don't others follow suit? It's not because they lack money, nor because they don't know how; it's because they can't guarantee their games will live up to that level of quality.
Take the fanfare around the Golden Sonic, for example. If the quality of Demon Tower had been worse, that kind of marketing would have backfired.
But as it happens, the quality of Demon Tower was exceptional enough that it established many of the RPG standards we use today, such as having the slime as the first monster you fight.
And this Street Fighter is even more incredible.
This Jackie Chan movie is practically written through with the scent of marketing—Atlas logos are everywhere, they even kidnap the Atlas president during the final fight scene.
But the movie was well-made, and the game was well-made too!
Naturally, the players bought into it.
Even under the joint blockade of the arcade giants, it still managed to achieve 30,000 in sales, so much so that arcade halls were now getting restless and couldn't be held back—no one argues with money.
"Fighting games!"
Department Manager Nakamura secretly clenched his fist.
Namco also had to get on board with fighting games; while the Street Fighter craze was still ongoing, they needed to make a fighting game as soon as possible!
However, this was currently just a plan. After all, Namco was a large game company with hundreds of employees, and many projects needed to be launched gradually; it was impossible to just make a snap decision and start immediately.
Putting down the newspaper, Department Manager Nakamura let out a slight sigh, still feeling somewhat helpless.
Why was this Atlas so hard to kill!
Please Support me by becoming my Patreon member and get 15+ chapters.
[email protected]/Ajal69
change @ with a
Thank You to Those who joined my Patreon