Is it not a galgame?

Time is the greatest weapon and medicine in this world.

It can take away everything, including life and pain.

It can also change everything and make many things that were originally unacceptable to everyone gradually accepted.

For example:
The fact that Qing Zhiyuan is Gu Yuan Chunqiu.

Day 1: "A monster like Qing Zhiyuan who has fallen into the dirt of money can never be the master Gu Yuan Chunqiu whom I admire."

The next day: "How can a devil combine with an angel? Qing Zhiyuan can never become Guyuan Chunqiu."

Day 3: "Perhaps Qing Zhiyuan has made great achievements in some areas of gaming, but the gap between him and the great Gu Yuan Chunqiu is still huge."

Day 4: "Qing Zhiyuan..."

Day 5: “…”

Day 6: "The combination of His Majesty Qing Zhiyuan and Furuhara Chunqiu is a perfect union of the God of Games. I look forward to the last game that the God of Games will give us."

As time went by, people gradually accepted that Qing Zhiyuan was Gu Yuan Chunqiu, and compared the games that the two had previously led, and finally came to a conclusion:
This guy Qing Zhiyuan is a god in any other gaming field except for the business simulation games.

It is precisely because of such genius that Pokeni is what it is today.

No wonder this small company was able to overcome all difficulties and become the No. 1 in the gaming industry today after being taken over by Qingzhiyuan.

Although everyone couldn't believe it, they couldn't help but wonder -

"This may really be Tsubaki Furuhara's last work."

"Yes, he could have kept his identity secret, and Gu Yuan Chunqiu could have come back, but judging from what Qing Zhiyuan said, he seems determined not to be involved in game production anymore.

In this case, "Tears of Mermaid" is probably the last game produced by Furuhara Tsubaki, or Qing Zhiyuan in his career as a producer. "

"Ah... I was originally angry about the fact that Qing Zhiyuan was Gu Yuan Chunqiu, but now that you guys mentioned this...

Why do I suddenly feel reluctant to part with Gu Yuan Lao Zei's last work? "

"After all, he is a game production master who has been with us for so many years. He will definitely feel regretful when he finally leaves the game industry."

"But Qing Zhiyuan is such a jerk. You're not even 40 years old yet. Why are you in such a hurry to retire?"

"It was Gu Yuan Chunqiu who retired, not Qing Zhiyuan. Qing Zhiyuan will have to focus on being his chairman and doing management work from now on."

"Wow, wow, wow... So in the end, the only one who got hurt was Furuhara Tsubaki?"

"Who knows? I actually hope that someday in the future Qing Zhiyuan can pick up the Guyuan Chunqiu alias and give us more surprises."

"But, judging from the current results, it should be very slim, right?"

"Well... cherish it. When Qing Zhiyuan was still Furuhara Tsubaki, "Tears of the Mermaid" was likely his last work."

……

No matter how you look at it, this really seems to be Gu Yuan Chunqiu's swan song.

First of all, Qing Zhiyuan publicly announced that after the release of Tears of the Mermaid, Furuhara Tsubaki will officially retire, and he will also focus all his work on the management level.

In addition, just from the name "Tears of Mermaid":
It has a strong implication of completion.

Since the birth of "Onmyoji" as Pokeni's first galgame, Mermaid's Tears has been an important setting throughout P-company's galgame.

Although each galgame has its own complete main line and closed loop, you can still feel the shadow of Tears of the Mermaid from it.

It is everywhere and is the reason for so many amazing games from Paradox. However, even now, players can only piece together some general information through the fragmentary information of Mermaid's Tears appearing in different games.

Many players once thought that

The Mermaid's Tears series may last forever.

Just like Doraemon.

Unless the truth about the Mermaid's Tears is revealed one day, Pokeni can continue to follow the setting.

However, this day came so quickly that everyone was caught off guard.

“The biggest suspense of Tears of the Mermaid should be revealed soon, right? I watched the official trailer and the information revealed, and this game should be the outline of all the stories.”

“As the name suggests, Tears of the Mermaid is about facing the final mystery.

I have been looking forward to this day for a long time, because the old thief Gu Yuan has dug too many traps, and the endings of many games cannot actually reveal the truth in the end.

However, when I saw that Tears of the Mermaid was actually going to be published, I was actually quite panicked.

Really, it came earlier than I thought.

And what I fear most is—

Once you play Tears of the Mermaid, it's like the end of the entire series."

"Actually, whether you play it or not, the announcement of Tears of the Mermaid means the end of this series, or in other words, Tsubaki Furuhara is really leaving us."

“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…No, don’t…”

……

This feeling is very complicated.

Tears of the Mermaid is the main setting throughout the galgame of Pokeni. Many people want to see the ending, but when it really comes, they feel extremely disappointed and reluctant.

It’s like a long dream, but I’m about to wake up. This is probably what it feels like.

Sometimes, I would rather not wake up.

Just like Conan, it has been broadcast since 1996 until now. Although everyone thinks that this cartoon is really long and endless, when can we see Conan restore to become Kudo Shinichi?

But if it really ended, many people would probably feel sad.

Once something has been brewing and fermenting over time and finally integrated into life, when it leaves or ends, you will feel——

It was as if an important period in life had ended.

Just like everyone’s youth, when you feel it leaving, it may not be because of your age change or decline in appearance, but it may just be the end of an event.

……

In any case, driven by various factors, the popularity of "Tears of Mermaid" has been soaring.

In February 2003, Qing Zhiyuan released a new product presentation for Tears of Mermaid and announced that she was Tsubaki Furuhara, who would retire after the release of the game.

This news immediately caused an uproar.

Then Paradox struck while the iron was hot and began the promotion and preheating of "Tears of Mermaid". The whole month of February was the promotion period of "Tears of Mermaid", with various promotional videos, posters, and advertisements everywhere, especially the slogan "The last work of Tsubaki Furuhara" which was quite shocking.

No matter how everyone viewed Gu Yuan Chunqiu and Qing Zhiyuan before, when it really came to this moment, everyone actually felt reluctant to part with them.

Moreover, the game quality of "Tears of Mermaid" is very strong. Judging from the part shown by Paradox and the actual demonstration at the press conference, the picture quality is unique. In today's world, the quality of two-dimensional games has once again been greatly improved.

The PV shown, in addition to its freshness, also incorporates many previous game memes, inevitably evoking the memories of countless people.

So under such circumstances, the popularity of "Tears of Mermaid" soared like a rocket, and it couldn't be suppressed.

A galgame has become the most anticipated game blockbuster at the moment.

Other games, even the upcoming blockbuster "Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness" and blockbuster games from other big-name manufacturers, have been suppressed.

Mainly because it is the last work of Tsubaki Furuhara, it is so popular.

……

"It's a trap, it must be a trap!!!"

On the Sony side, President Ken Kutaragi didn't believe the rumors about Tsubaki Furuhara's retirement at all.

He knows Qing Zhiyuan too well.

This guy's marketing methods and various business tricks are endless. He is very good at bluffing and creating effects.

As long as things like Furuhara Tsubaki's retirement are effective, Kutaragi Ken firmly believes that Aoki Gen can do it for the rest of his life.

Now that Qing Zhiyuan and Gu Yuan Chunqiu are bound together, won’t it be a matter of minutes to return to the front line of game production in the future?

Not only Ken Kutaragi thinks so, but other bigwigs in the industry also have the same idea.

The only thing that puzzled everyone was——

“Damn it, why do Qing Zhiyuan’s tricks always work?
Can't you see this is just a marketing ploy?"

"Maybe it's too sincere? Who would doubt the authenticity of Miyazaki's retirement every time?"

"Hayao Miyazaki was originally planning to retire, but he couldn't resist the many fans who loved him, and he also had the desire to create, so he came back.

What is Qing Zhiyuan? "

"Tsk, tsk, who knows? The same statement can be applied to Qing Zhiyuan."

"Ah this..."

……

"I'm a little confused now."

At the Pokeni headquarters, Mika Ishino was preparing for the battle, constantly confirming and fixing bugs, while thinking about what had happened recently.

The more I think about it, the weirder it seems.

After a while, she put down the keyboard and looked up at Maeda Jun who was sitting opposite her.

"Does the president really want to retire by exposing his vest, or is it just a gimmick to build momentum for "Tears of the Mermaid"?"

"Eh?"

Maeda Jun was concentrating on playing the game, but when he heard Ishino's words, he took off his headphones.

His eyes rolled around, and after a long while he finally realized what was happening:
“Well…it’s really hard to say.

Look at the master Hayao Miyazaki, whom the president likes. Didn’t he also make a comeback after retiring? "

Mainly the president [has a criminal record]

This is not the first time that Tsubaki Furuhara has retired.

The last time Furuhara Chunqiu’s final work “Your Name” was a huge hit, it was almost as popular as it is now.

Moreover, the president has always been cunning and has come up with various marketing methods. It seems that it doesn't matter if a good one is used a few more times.

Judging from the current public opinion and player feedback, "Tears of the Mermaid" is simply too good to be true.

How many people are still looking forward to the release of this game?

Even the dealers rushed to place additional orders.

President Hattori directly increased the number of orders from the original 30 to 50.

Before the game was officially released, distributors had already ordered more than 200 million copies from Paradox.

In other words, even without seeing the final number of players purchasing the game, "Tears of the Mermaid" has not only recovered the cost for Pokeni, but also made history.

But from a side perspective, it also reflects how optimistic the market is about this game.

In other words, people are more optimistic about the great artist [Guyuan Chunqiu].

After thinking for a while, Maeda Jun felt that the CPU was about to burn out.

……

Maeda Jun shuddered and shook his head.

"I can't figure it out. It's possible that this is a marketing ploy, or it's possible that the president is sincere."

In short, Maeda Jun felt that he would never be able to become a president like Qing Zhiyuan in this life, and he thought that the game plot was more suitable for him.

Ishino Mika also raised her head and thought for two seconds, and finally gave up.

"Forget it, forget it. We are not the president. Why should we think so much? As long as we can make a good game and sell it, everyone will be happy."

"Uh-huh."

……

……

As public opinion continued to ferment, time was like a running giant, running vigorously and shaking the earth, but it stumbled headfirst into February 2003, 2.

On this day, Pokeni's new game, Tsubaki Furuhara, made the final game -

"Tears of the Mermaid" is officially released.

……

...(End of chapter)