Tokyo: Being coveted by my wife, I just want to play games

Chapter 273 Fate/zero premieres!

October 7th, afternoon.

The office building of Tokyo Game News Network.

As usual, Mito Yohei sat in front of his computer desk with a cup of hot American coffee. Looking at the words "Fate/zero starts at 4 o'clock" on the computer screen, he clicked the back of his head helplessly.

"I'm really unlucky to be assigned such a dirty job right after joining the company."

Mito Yohei sighed helplessly.

He just joined the Tokyo Game News Network company at the end of September this year and is currently a game reviewer, or in other words, the kind of editor who rates games on game information apps and stabilizes website traffic.

To be honest, this job is both simple and difficult.

In the months when many blockbuster games are released, my work is relatively easy. If I come across a game I like, I play it and rate it. If I come across a game I don’t like, I don’t play it, but just play it randomly online and rate it randomly.

In short, during the peak gaming season, game reviewers like him don't need to do anything, and they don't even need to rate the games. Just by reposting some radical game reviews from Europe, America and China, he can cause users in the forum to argue with each other, thus maintaining the popularity of the APP.

But during the off-season, things become more troublesome.

With the release of new-generation handheld game consoles by various manufacturers, and the entry of major manufacturers such as Juyin and SATE into the handheld game console field, this year is undoubtedly a big year for games.

Starting from "Sekiro" at the beginning of the year, to the subsequent hits such as "Fate", "Stardew Valley", "Dragon Age", "Monster Hunter", etc., it can be said that from early spring to summer vacation, players can play a masterpiece every month.

but.
Normally, with so many blockbusters concentrated in one year, the various companies would coordinate with each other to avoid the schedule. But this year is different. This year is a big year for games, but one of the reasons why this year is a big year for games is that the Hawaii Game Alliance wants to grab the market of NICO.

As a result, all the top games from major manufacturers were released in the first half of the year. After September, there were only a few new games on the market, which could not arouse any discussion.

Without discussion heat, the APP’s advertising space cannot be sold. If the advertising space cannot be sold, their company, Tokyo Game News Network, cannot make any money.

Being scolded by users is not a big problem.

If you can’t make money, that’s a big problem.

Therefore, usually in the off-season of games, Tokyo Game Express will also involve some areas with relatively overlapping users, such as the animation industry. What Mito Yohei is going to do today is to rate "Fate/zero", but it is not a serious rating, but a black money from NTsoft.

"No wonder Mr. Dongchuan was forced to leave. NTsoft has absolutely no sense of purpose in doing things."

Mito Yohei drank a sip of coffee helplessly because he had to do the work assigned by the leader. In addition to Stardew Valley, which is recognized by the industry as a super monster, Fate is also one of the super dark horses at the beginning of this year.

Without the support of animation, the sales of this game exceeded 7 million, directly raising the ceiling of Galgame to infinity. But this is just the beginning. With the launch of the "Fate" animation and the influence of Fuyukawa Tetsu himself, the sales of the "Fate" game directly broke through the 10 million mark!

Galgame with sales of tens of millions!

This data is so terrifying. To put it simply, even if you add up all the Galgames released on the market in the past year, the sales volume is not that high!

These statistics are extremely exaggerated. Some Galgame users even directly regard the day when "Fate" sales exceeded 10 million as the "Christmas" of the Galgame industry.

The player group is having fun, but as the saying goes, one family is happy while another is sad.

Because the "Fate" IP has become so popular, it has sparked heated discussions among almost all 2D users. Therefore, NTsoft has moved the "K-ON!" animation, which was originally scheduled to be released in the summer but conflicts with the "Fate/stay night" animation, to October in order to avoid the limelight.

in business.

Unless it is a situation like the Hawaii Gaming Alliance that had to compete with NICO for the market, most of the time it is not shameful to avoid a strong competitor. This is very common in the workplace and business circle.
No one expected that the sequel to "Fate", "Fate/zero", would come so soon. After NTsoft's delayed release, "K-ON!" will once again clash with it!
Now, practitioners in the entire industry are secretly watching the show. After all, NTsoft has already withdrawn once before. If it hangs up the "white flag" again this time, it would be impossible to say that it is not shameful at all.

not to mention.
Everyone in the industry knows that the "K-ON!" IP was created by Toru Fuyukawa and Sistar when he was still in NTsoft, and Toru Fuyukawa also owns the adaptation rights of this IP.

Now the situation is very delicate.

If the NTsoft version of K-ON! becomes popular and the audience has a preconceived notion that "NTsoft is the authentic version", it will be very difficult for Fuyukawa Tetsu to continue working on this IP in the future. And for NTsoft, they must make the "NTsoft version of K-ON!" popular and make the audience have this mentality.

However, NTsoft is not stupid. They did not force their way into Fate/zero, which has not yet been aired but has already attracted a lot of attention. Instead, they chose to use "pick-up marketing".

"They have to find the similarities between Fz and K-ON!, and then write soft articles to attract traffic. They also have to force the audience to feel that the two are of the same level and are both works by Toru Fuyukawa. Tsk, NTsoft has made a big bet this time."

Thinking of this, Mito Yohei smiled and shook his head helplessly.

If the quality of K-ON! is really good, then even if Toru Fuyukawa comes out to clarify, NTsoft will still be able to reap the rewards, because most viewers don’t care who made the work, but rather whether it’s good. But if the quality of K-ON! is not good and is resisted by fans of the original work, then Toru Fuyukawa will come out to make a fuss, and NTsoft’s reputation will explode.

Marketing by spoofing is always a risky move, but none of this has anything to do with Mito Yohei, who is only responsible for writing soft articles for money. However.
"It's really hard to find the similarities between Fz and K-ON!"

Mito Yohei drank his coffee, his eyes flickering with thoughtfulness. He hadn't watched the anime version of K-ON!, but he had played the interactive movie version shot by Fuyukawa Tetsu in the style of I Am Surrounded by Beautiful Women, and he had also watched Fate/stay night.

Without talking about style and only talking about subject matter, "K-ON!" and "Fz" have nothing in common.

On one side is a daily life animation about cute campus girls that is light-hearted yet a bit passionate; on the other side is an animation that is wrapped in a campus shell but is essentially a dark and cruel exploration of human nature.

"The only entry point is the school aspect. How about using a title like [Another school IP written by Fuyukawa Tetsu that is not inferior to Fate]? Although there will definitely be fans of the original work who will say things like [The author eats shit], it should at least give those newbies some positive impressions of the connection."

Thinking this in his mind, Mito Yohei continued to drink his coffee. Soon, as the countdown on the notebook page ended, his somewhat lazy waist gradually straightened up.

Not only him, the entire office floor suddenly became lively.

"All units, please pay attention! All units, please pay attention! Operation begins!"

"Six episodes in a row! Mr. Dongchuan is still as crazy as ever!"

"Damn it, why doesn't he buy soft articles from our company? That way I can make some extra money when I praise them online!"

"I don't have any other requests, I just want to see Zang Yan eat shit!"

"Stop talking so much nonsense! The marketing department, please monitor the popularity data in real time! This NTsoft order may be our largest order before winter! We must let the sponsors feel our sincerity!"

"Hayi!"

"Very good! Very energetic!"

Although there was a lot of noise outside, Mito Yohei rested his elbows on the table, staring quietly at the screen on his laptop.

There is no suspense. Accompanied by the grand and tragic "Prelude of the Dead" BGM, the first scene that comes into view is a paladin in armor standing on the top of a snowy mountain.

With both hands, he gently took out a seed from the withered golden tree on the top of the mountain. Then the seed gradually emitted a golden light as it rose into the sky, eventually illuminating the entire night sky and calming the wind and snow.

Then - [Produced by Holy Light Society and Audio-Technica Studio] a line of small words appeared on the black screen.

"This animated opening of the Holy Light Society is as good as ever."

I quite like the BGM of "Prelude of the Dead". Mito Yohei took the coffee with one hand, took a sip, then nodded slightly to the rhythm. With the other hand, he began to turn the ballpoint pen, his eyes still looking at the laptop screen.

Soon, an English-style villa in the snow appeared on the screen.

"Are you going to start from Emiya Kiritsugu's boyhood? In that case, the story I just came up with can just... Baka~~~ start the story directly from adulthood? It seems like I have to start over from scratch."

Looking at the screen showing Kiritsugu Emiya and the white-haired little loli Illya's mother, Mito Yohei held his forehead helplessly. Although he only watched the beginning, he was after all from the animation industry, otherwise he would not have received this job right after joining the company.

Of course, even if he comes from the content industry, he certainly can't guess the plot just by looking at the beginning, but from small details such as the painting style and narrative rhythm, he can probably infer the style of this work.

Obviously, compared to its predecessor FSN, FZ will not have a more youthful school plot. In addition, he claims to be a half fan of Fate, having watched FSN and played Fate games, so he can probably guess that Emiya Kiritsugu will be the protagonist of this one.

To be honest, he was quite curious about why Emiya Kiritsugu became like in the previous work, but this would make it difficult for him to write a soft article.

The difficulty of the work has greatly increased. Mito Yohei is speechless.

"Hey, there's no point in getting upset, let's just watch the plot first. Maybe inspiration will come to us as we watch. Eh? This guy, Tokiomi, is he out so early? Did he send Sakura to the Matou family at this time?"

Thinking of this, Mito Yohei's heart suddenly tightened.

He claimed that he was only half a fan of "Fate", but this was mainly because he was old and it was difficult for him to follow a certain anime series with the mentality of chasing stars or looking for "like people" like when he was young. In fact, he played the "Fate" game over and over again seven or eight times, and every time he played it, the more he felt sorry for the character of Sakura Matou.

Now he is very conflicted. On the one hand, he hopes that the plot will occur before Sakura is sent to the Matou family. On the other hand, he is also clear about the development of the [future] and does not want to watch the plot develop step by step like this. Therefore, from some perspectives, he hopes that the timeline of the plot is after Matou Sakura enters the Matou family, so that he will not be repeatedly dragged by emotions.

He was very conflicted. Not only Mito Yohei was conflicted at this moment, but the screen was also filled with barrages of comments.

【Tokiomi deserves death! 】

[It's all Tokiomi's fault! Why did you give birth to two if you can't raise one! ]

[As expected, Japanese men are all cowards! ]

[Damn you Dongchuan old thief! ]

[Illya! I smell a knife! ]

The barrage was packed with comments, with a large number of them overlapping. Mito Yohei had no doubt that if he hadn't turned on the 1/4 screen barrage mode, the entire screen would have been filled with comments by now.

"Within less than a minute of the broadcast, there were 120,000 simultaneous online viewers and more than 7,000 comments. Mr. Dongchuan's appeal is truly terrifying. But speaking of which, he actually embedded the player into the GOGO platform, and optimized it in every aspect. It seems that he is just as the rumors say, a guy with terrifying ambitions."

Looking at the player embedded in the [GOGO platform], and then opening the [GOGO] APP on his mobile phone, and looking at the equally well-optimized player on it, Mito Yohei took another sip of coffee, his eyes full of admiration.

At this time, most of the viewers on the barrage did not think so much and were mainly discussing the plot, but as a practitioner in the related industry, he naturally paid more attention.

Don’t underestimate Dongchuan Che’s move of simply implanting the player into the game platform, but this move, coupled with the various businesses currently being carried out by the Holy Light Society, actually clearly exposes Dongchuan Che’s ambition!
For Dongchuan Che, the game platform is not just a game channel, but a multi-field collection channel that brings together animation, novels, music, film and television, and games!
Dongchuan Che’s goal is definitely to build a large cross-field entertainment empire!

Logically speaking, there is nothing wrong with this. In fact, just thinking about it makes Mito Yohei a little excited.

You have to know that the reason why a channel can become a channel is essentially because of its influence, or traffic. Just like OTTO, why do all game manufacturers want their games to be on OTTO?

You should know that OTTO's 30% commission is very high among all game platforms, but even so, OTTO still attracts countless game manufacturers.

This is because OTTO’s traffic is too large, or in other words, the scale of OTTO’s active users far exceeds that of other game platforms!

And what does Dongchuan Che want to do now?
Dongchuan Che wants to bring all fields into the same platform!
Of course, the crossover between users in the fields of animation, novels, music, film and television, and games is not that exaggerated. People who like to listen to music may not like to watch animation, people who watch animation may not like to play games, and people who read novels may not like to watch animation. However, these are all potential users!
Once Dongchuan Che's [GOGO platform] is formed, the future potential will be much greater than OTTO! But at the same time, the difficulty will be much greater, and it may even directly touch upon the [Antitrust Law].

Dongchuan Che's idea is not something that is too difficult to think of, but why haven't big companies like SATE, NICO, or Juyin carried out such an operation?
There is never a shortage of smart people in this world.

The reason why top companies dare not act recklessly is essentially because of the existence of antitrust laws.

The antitrust law can be simply described in one sentence: preventing behaviors that restrict competition, or emphasizing competition.

In the past, Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard triggered antitrust laws. This was essentially because Microsoft itself possessed the three characteristics of [top channel operator], [large-scale game developer], and [top cash ability].

If Microsoft simply develops products by itself, then the problem is not a big deal. However, if Microsoft uses its financial strength and its dominant position in the industry to acquire its peers, or uses methods such as increasing channel fees to suppress its peers, then it is tantamount to [restricting competition].

To put it simply, both parties should let their works speak for themselves, and we cannot say, "If I can't beat you, I'll buy you and own you exclusively."

It was only after Microsoft conducted countless public relations and repeatedly emphasized to the judge that it would not monopolize Activision Blizzard's "COD" and other influential products on the XBOX platform that it passed the antitrust law review and completed the acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Similarly, Dongchuan Che seems to have chosen the most ambitious and promising path, but at the same time, he has also chosen the most difficult path.

The more cakes you eat, the more pressure you will face from your peers. In the future, it will be almost impossible for Dongchuan Che to expand by acquiring other companies, and even some exclusive agreements with other top manufacturers will be difficult to sign.

It is almost impossible to come up with something like "My platform has large traffic and low commission, so everyone come to sign an exclusive agreement" and then use these exclusive games to suppress other platforms. Dongchuan Che's advantage can only be his own works, otherwise he will be sued by competitors in minutes.

In fact, the horizontal resource integration behavior of Fuyukawa Tetsu will definitely trigger the antitrust law. By then, novels, animations, and movies from other manufacturers will probably not be able to land on the GOGO platform.

Relying solely on your company's works to support a platform spanning multiple fields, competing with the most powerful companies in each field, and maintaining long-term retention of users in multiple fields, otherwise it is meaningless and will only increase operating costs.

How difficult this is can be seen from the fact that giants such as SATE, Juyin and NICO are unwilling or dare not get involved.

"There is no support from other animation companies' works, relying solely on our own works. This not only tests the quality, but also the production capacity. I don't know if Fz will fail in such an urgent situation."

Mito Yohei took another sip of coffee. To be honest, he had great confidence in Toru Fuyukawa before, after all, Toru Fuyukawa never failed to deliver, but now that he had figured out Toru Fuyukawa's thoughts, he was a little worried.

After all, Dongchuan Che is also a human being. The work pressure on the game side is actually very high. Now he has to be responsible for the animation section, and the schedule for this aspect is very tight.

In history, there are many projects that have been crushed by deadlines, or caused the style of painting to collapse, or caused problems with the plot. Although the quality of "Fz" seems to be great at present, the follow-up is equally critical.

As a fan of "Fate", Mito Yohei really does not want this "Fz" to start strong and end weak.

Thinking of this, Mito Yohei actually became a little nervous. However, soon, as the plot on the screen progressed and Matou Kariya appeared, his emotions were completely attracted by the plot.

"Matou Kariya, he knows Matou Sakura's mother? Does that mean Mr. Fuyukawa is going to eat the book?! No, no, no, this is the overall tone of the painting. Eh——"

Mito Yohei was a little excited when he heard Matou Sakura's mother say to Matou Kariya, "I hope you can help take care of Sakura." It is normal for a long story to change the book. Although changing Matou Sakura's childhood will definitely affect the characterization of Matou Sakura, he still looks forward to Fuyukawa Tetsu changing the plot.

However, when he felt that Fz's overall style and tone were slightly different from FSN's, he also sensitively realized the problem - this might be a bigger knife.

However, compared to his keenness as a content practitioner, other viewers do not have such strong ability to speculate.

At this time, the barrage was already boiling, and countless barrages hoped that Matou Kariya could save Matou Sakura.

However, as the scene jumped, as Matou Kariya returned to the old house to see Zōken, and as Zōken took him to see the young Nendorisakura who had been covered by a insect nest, the barrage on the entire screen completely exploded!
[You old thief Dongchuan, you have no heart! ]

[Baga! What’s wrong with this animation?! ]

[I was scared! This scene! (horrified)]

[Is this the legendary "Warrior of Love" Toru Fuyukawa? No wonder he gets scolded every day. (Sweating)]

[Pervert, this Dongchuan Che is definitely a pervert! (Angry)]

[(crying) No wonder my boyfriend suggested I not watch his animations]

[This old man is so abominable! Let him die quickly! ]

[The "Banner Brigade Against Fuyukawa" will gather in Akihabara at 9 o'clock tonight! 】

The barrage went completely wild, with big barrages, small barrages, colorful barrages, and all kinds of barrages instantly filling the screen. In just less than a minute, the number of barrages directly jumped from 7000+ to !
But this is not because there are only 20000 barrages, but because the number of barrages only shows +!

Seeing this data, Mito Yohei felt very complicated. Obviously, this plot is indeed a knife, but it also successfully aroused the emotional resonance of the players.

Any work that can quickly arouse the user's emotional resonance at the beginning and make the user resonate emotionally with the characters in the work is already half successful, because this emotional resonance will drive the user to continue to [explore] the fate of these characters!

The facts prove that this is indeed the case!

When Mito Yohei saw the third episode and saw Saber in a suit accompanying Illya's mother to the river, the statistics department within the company also produced data.

"Twenty-four million views! One hour after the premiere of Fate/zero, the number of views exceeded twenty-four million! The completion rate exceeded 82%!"

As the employees of the statistics department shouted excitedly in the corridor, the entire office floor was completely boiling!

"Twenty-four million views?! Are you kidding me?"

"This is too much! Many second-tier works only get over 100 million views a year or two after they are finished!"

"Sikuni! The Fate IP is going to be established! Mr. Fuyukawa is really amazing, but his works are a bit depressing."

"Don't worry about that! Hurry up and prepare the copy! Shiro! I want to see your first copy within two hours! The content should be about praising Fate in a fancy way, and the name of Fuyukawa Tetsu should be mentioned. He is a great tool for attracting traffic! Mito, the same goes for your special mission! Give me the copy within two hours!"

"All units, please pay attention! All units, please pay attention! The first-level red alert has been sounded! A super hit is about to appear! This wave of traffic that can help us survive the winter must be consumed!"

The overwhelming number of views instantly ignited the entire office floor of Tokyo Game News Network!

Everyone, including Mito Yohei, moved quickly, but not just them!
The sequel to Fate has always been very popular, and the opening of Fate/zero was so explosive, plus Toru Fuyukawa released six episodes at once!

Eat a lot and be full!

With such an exaggerated amount, even those Tuntun mice who like to watch the finished works can’t bear it!

Needless to say, while the office building of Tokyo Game News was boiling, the entire Japanese two-dimensional cultural community was also completely ignited!

Countless fans spread the word!

Adult fans were recommending the film to their friends, students were secretly watching the film on their phones in warehouses during after-school club time, and even some office workers on their way home from work on the subway would curiously peek at the young people nearby watching the same film on their phones in large groups.

A spark started, and the news that Fate/zero was about to start airing and was of extremely high quality spread quickly like fire on poplar trees!
Of course, there were some very extreme fans who, after watching the first episode, had already tied white bandages on their heads and rushed towards Akihabara with big flags. Among them, there were two little faces that Fuyukawa Che was very familiar with.

"Sayuri, this isn't a good idea. The sisters will scold us."

Among the crowd of protesters, Nanako Ohara, who was carrying a small schoolbag, looked a little embarrassed and timid.

Next to her, with tears still hanging in the corners of her eyes and a white bandage on her forehead, Sayuri Sato wiped her nose with the back of her hand, then sniffed and yelled, "No, no! That bad guy is so abominable! He actually told me about this healing show! It makes me feel so uncomfortable now! No! I must teach him a lesson today - whoever dares to catch your Sayuri grandpa, let him go! The big bad guy is coming."

"You two little brats, why are you here to join in the fun?"

On the busy streets of Akihabara, in front of him was a large group of young fans protesting against Fuyukawa. Under the supermarket sign, Fuyukawa Che, who was wearing a casual black suit and had one hand in his pocket, pushed his sunglasses on his face, then looked down at Sayuri Sato, who had been dragged to the side of the road by him, with a strange expression on his face.

Fate/zero was released, so naturally he had to stay in the company to monitor the data. However, after the first round of data came out, several women in the office who cried bitterly after learning the plot kicked him out.

There is no other reason. I just want to complain about him writing such a sharp plot, and I have to use the duck neck from the newly opened Zhou Hei Ya restaurant nearby to heal my pain.

Dongchuan Che was naturally speechless about this. They were all strong women, but they acted more like weak little girls who couldn't stand the slightest sight of a knife.

But it is obvious that Sayoko wiped her tears because she is a very gentle, soft-hearted woman with a low tear point, and Sato Fujiko and Miyano Mitsuwa naturally took the opportunity to act coquettishly to him.

As for Chika Ohara, she didn't cry, and didn't even react. She just pinched his cheek in annoyance before he left.

Chika Ohara appears to be calm and elegant on the surface, but in fact, she loves literature and has a heart that is very sensitive to emotions.

There was nothing he could do. The women in the family were united, so Dong Chuanche could only run down to buy duck necks. However, he never expected to meet two little girls who had just finished school. Especially, these two little girls were still in the parade to protest against him.

Puzzled.

However, when he saw the tears in Sayuri Sato's eyes and the vicious look in her eyes, he probably understood.

Leaning over and pulling Sayuri Sato's cheek with a smile, Dongchuan Che said with a smile: "Is it really that serious? Are you angry over a joke?"

"Hmph! Hey! Stop pinching my face!"

"Okay, okay, come on, I'll take you to get some ice cream on the way."

When her little face was grabbed by Dongchuan Che, the somewhat arrogant Sato Sayuri shook her head, but when she heard that she could eat ice cream, her eyes immediately lit up.

Because they both have a physique that is prone to obesity and her left leg was amputated below the knee, Fujiko Sato is quite restrained in her diet towards Sayuri Sato. But Sayuri Sato is also a foodie.

She was excited when she heard about ice cream, but when she thought about her position, she shook her head proudly. However, when she saw Dongchuan Che walking forward without looking back, she panicked again when she thought that the ice cream was gone, and hurriedly followed him reluctantly.

As for Nanako Ohara.

Looking at the grand occasion caused by Dongchuan Che, and looking at Dongchuan Che's handsome back who didn't care about all this, there was more admiration in her eyes.

It must be said that although Fuyukawa Che exercises regularly, because Sayoko helps him adjust his diet structure, and the amount of exercise he does is far more than that of ordinary people, his figure is still relatively tall and thin.

This kind of figure in a casual black suit is indeed very handsome, coupled with his own transcendent temperament, walking on the streets of Akihabara caused many passing beauties to turn their heads frequently. However, Ohara Nanako was a little girl in her early thirteens after all, and she didn't have any other ideas.

"I must become a great screenwriter like Brother Dongchuan in the future!"

She clenched her fists secretly until Dongchuan Che, who was smiling and dealing with Sato Sayuri, turned back and called out twice. She was wearing a junior high school JK uniform and pleated skirt, and a big red bow on her head, and then she woke up as if from a dream, exclaimed "Ah", and then trotted over quickly.

(End of this chapter)