Shimayose Yosuke was certainly not the first person in all of Japan to reach the hidden level. Aside from the creators and Kobayashi Tetsu, the first person to actually beat it was Tajiri Satoshi. However, Tajiri Satoshi didn't go to Kadokawa Game Magazine; instead, he called the Atlas office directly. According to the rules, of course, that didn't count.
Other than Tajiri Satoshi, as the saying goes, "the early bird gets the worm," and Shimayose Yosuke was indeed the first person to submit his entry to Kadokawa Game Magazine.
Therefore, Shimayose Yosuke was the first to visit Atlas, and he was the one who received the most introduction.
Kobayashi Tetsu gave Shimayose Yosuke a brief tour of Atlas. The spacious twenty-fourth floor made Shimayose Yosuke exclaim the moment he walked in.
Atlas was actually quite large!
He was clutching a camera, taking pictures as he walked. He aimed at the blue "Atlas" logo at the front desk, pressed the shutter, and asked Kobayashi Tetsu, "President, is the entire twenty-fourth floor Atlas?"
"To be precise, only two-thirds is Atlas. The remaining third was hard to rent out, so the Mitsui Building just leased it to Atlas at a flat rate."
Kobayashi Tetsu explained briefly: "In other words, because the vacancy rate was too high and inconvenient, and considering Atlas's inevitable expansion, the Mitsui Building did a favor, renting out an entire floor of office space for the equivalent of two-thirds of the rent."
The office space was 500 square meters. Atlas occupied 350 square meters of it, with the remaining 100-plus square meters left temporarily vacant. With an average of 5 square meters of office space per person, it was quite spacious.
As he walked, Kobayashi Tetsu casually introduced the interior of Atlas to Shimayose Yosuke.
Shimayose Yosuke took photos of what he saw and heard along the way.
Passing by a large whiteboard in the office, Shimayose Yosuke looked up at the text written on it and exclaimed in wonder: "Does this count as office equipment too?"
Kobayashi Tetsu nodded vigorously, looking solemn.
It absolutely had to be office equipment! It was for his exclusive use!
Aside from the First Development Division, which was currently on vacation, Shimayose Yosuke met the people from the Second and Third Divisions and even saw Megami Tensei under development.
Of course, Kobayashi Tetsu didn't allow him to continue taking photos this time, and Shimayose Yosuke was sensible enough not to ask further questions about the development of Megami Tensei.
Finally, entering Kobayashi Tetsu's office, Shimayose Yosuke scanned the room, even more astonished.
This dump was an office too?
It wasn't even as good as the room he had in the game store.
Tetsu Kobayashi didn't seem to care; he casually pressed the red button on his desk.
Yosuke Shimayose asked in surprise, "What is this for?"
Tetsu Kobayashi tilted his chin, gesturing toward the door.
Just then, Noriyoshi Ohba walked in, carrying two chilled glass bottles of Coke.
Yosuke Shimayose leaned back instantly.
So that's how it's done!
Tetsu Kobayashi nodded.
That is indeed how it's done.
"It's just an office; what's the point of being so restricted? Besides, I'm not actually here most of the time anyway."
Tetsu Kobayashi was about to deliver a famous quote.
Actually, they were all from ordinary families! It's just that his family's house in Setagaya Ward happened to be a little bigger than most.
Yosuke Shimayose nodded as if he took it seriously.
An ordinary family, Kobayashi Tetsu!
He put down his camera, his expression gradually becoming serious. With his gaunt, angular face and the long hair typical of an art student, he looked, for some reason, exactly like an orc.
"President Kobayashi, what everyone is actually most concerned about is when Atlas will release another masterpiece like Sonic the Hedgehog? Although Street Fighter and Jackal were released this year—and they're actually pretty good, if a bit lacking in volume—people still want another masterpiece like that!"
Having said this, Yosuke Shimayose seemed quite apprehensive: "Other companies develop seven or eight games a year, while Atlas only develops two."
Although the combined revenue of seven or eight games from other companies can barely compare to a single Street Fighter—
Still, I can't help but feel that Atlas's efficiency is just too slow.
"I am a person who pursues excellence; I believe quality is more important than quantity. The development plan for this year only has Megami Tensei remaining, for which Tokuma Shoten already has supporting anime and manga, and there is also a light novel of the same name being released.
As for other development plans, we'll probably have to wait until next year."
Although Shimayose Yosuke nodded in agreement, he still felt a bit disappointed inside.
Actually, Jackal was not bad, but Jackal is currently considered a medium-scale game, while Street Fighter is an arcade game. On home consoles, the 3A concept proposed by Kobayashi Tetsu has been followed by some other companies with their own works, such as Nintendo's previous The Legend of Zelda.
But Atlas itself has only made one 3A-level work: Sonic the Hedgehog.
It's really hard not to care about that!
Shimayose Yosuke felt like representing the players who often buy games from him and grabbing Kobayashi Tetsu by the collar.
Still taking it easy, are we! Where are my games!
Just as Kobayashi Tetsu was about to say more, there was a knock at the office door, and Noriyoshi Ohba's voice came through.
"President Kobayashi, Tajiri-kun, whom you asked me to look after, is here."
Kobayashi Tetsu looked up sharply.
Satoshi Tajiri had finally arrived! If he hadn't shown up, Tetsu Kobayashi would have gone looking for him himself.
With Kobayashi's permission, Noriyoshi Ohba opened the door, and Satoshi Tajiri rushed into the office, a scarab beetle in his left hand and a longhorn beetle in his right.
"President Kobayashi, please give me five minutes to explain everything clearly!"
Yosuke Shimayose instantly leaned back.
I'll give you five minutes, but first, tell me how you went crazy!
Ignoring the stranger in the room, Tajiri looked straight at Kobayashi.
Kobayashi had been prepared, but he was still taken aback by the man's appearance. Nevertheless, he nodded solemnly, "Go ahead, what is it?"
Tajiri said, "I want to make a game."
Kobayashi tilted his head back slightly.
Folks! Who gets it!
The relief he felt when Tajiri said those words!
He had been waiting for over a year, terrified that Tajiri would get discouraged and run off. Now, he had finally come knocking.
Kobayashi slapped the table.
"That's a good thing! Tell me, what kind of thing do you want to make?"
"I just want to make a game about trading items. Like how kids trade beetles; in the game, they would make trades, use the beetles to battle, and everyone would have their own unique, favorite beetle..."
Tajiri was spitting as he spoke, gesturing wildly. Getting carried away, he even tried to hand the longhorn beetle in his hand to Kobayashi to trade with him.
Yosuke Shimayose looked at Tajiri, then back at Kobayashi.
To be honest.
For a split second, Shimayose Yosuke truly admired Kobayashi Tetsu.
The number of crazy people he has to deal with in the office every single day!
Take this game, for example.
He wasn't exaggerating.
But the moment Shimayose Yosuke heard about it, it sounded unreliable!
"Beetle Battle," "Trading Beetles"—come on, they weren't kids anymore. Who would want to play such rubbish?
But.
Unexpectedly.
Shimayose Yosuke saw Kobayashi Tetsu nod solemnly.
"That sounds like it could be good. Do you have a more detailed plan?"
Tajiri Satoshi nodded as expected: "I have a rough idea, and if possible, I'd like to study more creatures for inspiration."
Shimayose Yosuke turned his gaze back to Kobayashi Tetsu.
He thought Kobayashi Tetsu would refuse, but Kobayashi Tetsu actually nodded.
"Sure. I'll personally sponsor you with some money. You should go visit zoos and botanical gardens all over Japan for research."
Shimayose Yosuke was deeply shocked.
Just this lousy game—he knew he wouldn't like it the moment he heard about it.
And Kobayashi Tetsu actually thought it was worth making!
Shimayose Yosuke's head was spinning.
"So, is this the gap between a genius and an ordinary person like me? A game like this, I wouldn't even want to play it myself, so how could anyone actually make it!"
Kobayashi Tetsu looked at him with a faint, knowing smile.
Sigh!
There really was someone!
And you're seeing it today.
Tajiri Satoshi wanted to make Pokémon, so of course Kobayashi Tetsu would help him!
After all, he still wanted to be "Xiao Che"!
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