Game Market 1983

Chapter 35: The Worthless Company

"But this company has what I truly desire..."

I watched CEO Kudo's expression for a moment, then gave him a slight smile as I spoke.

"Sir, how about we try this?"

The conversation was now entirely in my hands. Struggling with debt and wearing a gloomy expression, CEO Kudo had already given up halfway, looking at me.

"Hand this company over to me."

"What did you say?"

"After all, CEO Kudo, you no longer have the capacity to develop game software, right?"

"But... handing the company over is a bit..."

"How about this? I'll take over all the debts Triangle Soft has. Additionally, I'll give CEO Kudo an extra 30 million yen."

"Th... thirty million yen each!?"

30 million yen is equivalent to 300 million Korean won. In the 1980s, 300 million was an enormous sum of money. As far as I know, Triangle Soft currently has about 20 million yen in bank debt. So, taking over the company for about 50 million yen is like swallowing it in one gulp.

"But, do you have that much money as a foreign student working at Mintendo?"

"I have the money. Establishing a company is too challenging with a student visa."

"Oh..."

In reality, when I arrived in Japan in the 1980s, I made two major mistakes.

The first was setting my age too young. And the second was claiming to have just come to Japan for my studies. Because of these two factors, I found myself in a situation where even with 2 billion yen, I couldn't do anything.

Why? First, no matter how much money you have, you can't become a business owner if you've been in Japan for a short period.

To establish a new company in Japan as a foreigner, you needed to have lived in Japan for at least five years and have relevant work experience.

On top of that, the approval of the business idea was also uncertain since it depended on whether the Japanese government would grant it. So, as a 21-year-old Korean student in Japan, I was certain that I wouldn't get business approval, no matter how much money I had.

"Even if I start a console business right now, can a Korean-founded device succeed in Japan during the Atari Shock era? Starting without any preparation is a shortcut to failure... First, I need to build up my career to the point where no one can criticize it."

So, I decided to use Gunpei-sei.

Through him, I joined Mintendo, which was destined to lead the gaming industry from the 1980s to the 1990s.

Perhaps because the entry criteria and open recruitment weren't too strict at the time, I easily passed the interview, probably because of the success of Game & Watch.

Furthermore, his bringing Shige to the company turned out to be a stroke of luck for me.

Thanks to the two of them, I gained some credibility with President Kamawuchi...

So, I obtained the status of being employed in a related industry, and the rest was a matter of time. But... I didn't know that darn Kamawuchi would suddenly send me to the United States.

In the end, I spent a year in the United States, but it wasn't that bad. In fact, I became a key figure in Mintendo, on par with Gunpei and Shige. While the direction shifted a bit, I eventually took charge of planning a new console.

The development department for the new console was currently researching the upper limits of device specifications, and an experienced engineer from the team that created the existing Family had been selected to work with me.

In other words, I had created a department myself, one that would extract the most critical technology. If Kamawuchi and Gunpei-sei were playing poker with me, I had a hand comparable to a royal straight flush.

"So, how about it? Do you like my proposal? With that amount of money, as the CEO, you could establish a company similar to what you have now, couldn't you?"

"V... Very well. If it's that much, we'll hand Triangle Soft over to you."

"Oh, but I have one condition."

"C... Condition?"

As I said this, I noticed CEO Kudo's contemplative expression. It seemed he had been under a lot of stress due to finances all this time. I smiled slightly and continued.

"After we complete the paperwork, would you mind taking a trip abroad for a while? Maybe around a year? Oh, I'll cover the travel expenses for that as well."

"W... Why a sudden trip abroad?"

"Do you know the term 'Kagemusha'? CEO Kudo, you'll need to be registered as a ghost CEO for about a year from now on..."

Kagemusha - a term used to refer to a fake lord who wore the same clothes and had the same appearance as the actual lord in the Edo period, to prevent assassination. If a Japanese-founded company is transferred, it doesn't matter if it's a foreigner. Just as long as you have lived in Japan for over three years, you can buy it with money...

...

January 1987. I diligently cleaned up the office of Triangle Soft, which had been filled with cardboard boxes. Then, I proudly hung a new sign on the front door.

Pentagon Soft -

I added two more dots to the existing name, changing it from "Triangle" to "Pentagon," which meant five sides. I dusted off my hands and gazed at the neatly displayed sign.

"Now that I've settled the unpaid wages, it's time to make my appearance."

At that moment, a man's voice came from behind me.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

I turned my head to see Mr. Kawaguchi, looking at me with a puzzled expression.

"Oh? Are you one of the Mintendo employees I met at the Dragon Warrior event?"

"Hello, Mr. Kawaguchi."

"How did you end up here?"

"I'm here to offer technical support. I'm here to help with the new project at Pentagon Soft."

"Is CEO Kudo inside?"

"Ah, CEO Kudo left for an overseas trip. So, effectively, it's just you and me for now."

CEO Kudo had settled the debt with the advance payment I provided last month, met with a lawyer to prepare the contract documents, and then departed for Europe.

"What did you say?"

"So, for the time being, Mr. Kawaguchi will be in charge of Pentagon Soft."

"Me?"

Mr. Kawaguchi looked at me with a bewildered expression. As I lightly pushed open the office door and stepped inside, Mr. Kawaguchi followed and looked around at the changed interior.

"Is this really Triangle Soft?"

"No, it's Pentagon Soft. It's a place where the CEO and employees work as equals within a pentagonal framework to develop the best games. For the time being, Mr. Kawaguchi will be the main director here."

"When is CEO Kudo coming back?"

"It might be a bit longer... maybe a year? Or perhaps a bit more?"

"I just came to check on the company's situation because my overdue wages were paid..."

"We've disposed of the old surplus inventory. Now, as Pentagon Soft, we have plenty of resources to create a new game. How about it? Would you like to try making the fantasy game you were working on one last time? I'll do my best to assist you."

"Final... Frontier."

"What?"

"I've decided on the title of the new game: Final Frontier. As a game designer, I'll put my heart and soul into this one."

Final Frontier - a game that would later become a masterpiece of that era, remembered by gamers everywhere.

After that, Mr. Kawaguchi and I rushed to develop Final Frontier together. While I couldn't visit daily since we had an office in Tokyo, I made it a point to visit whenever I was in town.

It seemed that Mr. Kawaguchi had played the Dragon Warrior I had lent him and found a breakthrough. Back then, game development companies didn't pay much attention to BGM, but Mr. Kawaguchi realized that dramatic BGM was essential to enhance the excitement of the game.

The BGM of Dragon Warrior gave players a feeling of readiness to embark on an adventure, as if asking if they were prepared for the journey. The music playing in the field also gave the feeling of setting out on an adventure with companions.

Inspired by that, Mr. Kawaguchi hired a novice composer who specialized in classical music, with a focus on piano. For illustrations, we used the artwork of Amano Yoshitaka from Tatsunoko Production, famous for the "Eagle Brothers."

"Looking at the party composition, it seems Mr. Kawaguchi is targeting a specific age group."

As I reviewed the proposal for Final Frontier, I smiled at Mr. Kawaguchi.

"Is it too obvious that I'm criticizing Dragon Warrior?"

"Not at all. It's not a bad strategy. If Dragon Warrior offers a simple story that gives dreams and hopes to children, Final Frontier's target age group will be slightly higher, from high school students to adults."

"That's right. The battle scenes show characters and monsters appearing on the same screen, creating a feeling of tension and battle between them. What do you think? I've tried arranging the battles this way. A while ago, watching NFL (American football), I felt the tremendous tension when players faced each other just before the quarterback passed the ball."

"Tension? Just by facing each other, I don't think it will maximize the tension in the battle."

"That's why I've designed the battles this way."

Mr. Kawaguchi showed me a battle with monsters using the Active Battle System.

Players and monsters had a gauge that allowed them to choose actions, and the order in which the gauge filled determined when players and monsters took turns attacking. It was a groundbreaking battle system that would be the foundation of Final Frontier.

"But, Junhyuk, I've been curious for a while. You seem to have unique knowledge about game design and coding. Thanks to you, the development of Final Frontier went smoothly."

"Oh, really? I'm glad I could be of help."

"With your level of skill, you could compete with Shige from Mintendo's. Why aren't you working on game development?"

"Well... I'm actually working on a game as a hobby."

"A game as a hobby? What kind of game is it?"

"It's still a secret. I can't reveal it. Haha."

I smiled and avoided giving a direct answer to Mr. Kawaguchi. The game I had been slowly working on since returning from the United States last year was nearing completion. One thing was certain: I had no intention of releasing this game under the Mintendo name.

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