Chapter 5. Why Don't You Just Ascend to Heavens Already?
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"President Tsuda, I really appreciate your proposal, but there's something I need to let you know in advance."
Kiyoshi Yuuma took a deep breath and said, "Galgames and the RPG game we want to make still have some fundamental differences."
"Mm, please go ahead," Tsuda Nao raised her hand slightly, sincerely inviting him to speak.
"The focus of galgames is on courting girls and achieving romance. If you want to give players a deeply immersive experience, the visual quality must be exceptionally high. If we want to include dynamic CGs, that will demand even higher-quality graphics. Drawing good character portraits and standing illustrations is just the foundation, and what really matters is producing top-notch dynamic CGs."
"Mm-hmm." Tsuda Nao nodded, fully agreeing with Kiyoshi Yuuma's point. "President Kiyoshi, your words have eased my earlier concerns. Being able to draw such exquisite characters, and on top of that, being able to so thoroughly analyze the essence of a galgame, proves that I wasn't wrong about you. Your company is definitely capable of turning this game into a classic—maybe even a defining title in the future of romance games."
President Tsuda's eyes were sparkling, as if she was already lost in an endless fantasy about the future.
Hehe.
This foolish woman didn't expect to fall into my trap, did she?
Kiyoshi Yuuma smiled to himself and smoothly shifted the topic: "But there's a major problem."
Tsuda Nao looked up at him, puzzled.
"Right now, on the FC, it's almost impossible to achieve the effect we're aiming for." Kiyoshi Yuuma pursed his lips, putting on a face of deep regret.
"Yes." Asakawa Hiroki frowned and chimed in from the side. "The Famicom's performance is too limited, and it can't support the required graphics. Based on the visual standard the President is asking for, a single image would need at least 0.5 MB. With 15 characters, and each needing 3 to 4 images, we'd be looking at around 100 MB. Even if we compress it, maybe we could get it down to 50 MB, but that's still mission impossible on the FC."
To put it plainly, the most advanced gaming console on the market was still Nintendo's Famicom. The 8-bit hardware had very limited efficiency and extremely low color support—only a total palette of 52 colors, and at most, 13 colors could be displayed on the same screen.
There was no way it could support a grand game like Onmyoji.
The soul of a galgame lies in its writing and visuals, especially those heart-pounding character illustrations and interactive CGs. If those aren't well made, the game loses its meaning.
Even though we call them CGs, they are actually handled through a sequence of images in the game, not actual video playback. Otherwise, the required storage would shoot up to 1 GB, which is impossible for hardware to support in this era.
To put it more simply, early romance CGs were essentially animated stills. The game would change images when players clicked, creating an "interactive" illusion.
To save space and improve efficiency, even a single image would be sliced into many parts.
For example, interacting with the face would only replace the face portion; interacting with the body would replace the body...
...
Hearing this, Tsuda Nao couldn't help but show a hint of regret. "What a pity, if such a magnificent work can't be realized."
Exactly.
Kiyoshi Yuuma nodded hard. "But if we just make it into a pure RPG, then as long as the story and gameplay are attractive enough, it can still sell well."
"Unless…"
At that moment, Hiroki suddenly spoke, startling Kiyoshi Yuuma.
"The current mainstream home computers are far more powerful than the FC. Is there a possibility that we consider releasing it on PC?" Asakawa Hiroki pondered aloud.
Oh come on!
Kiyoshi Yuuma groaned in his heart. I was so close to persuading her, and you go stabbing me in the back like this, Hiroki?! Are you even on Pokeni's side?
"No." Kiyoshi Yuuma argued logically. "The number of PC users is far fewer than console users."
At this point, the installed base for home consoles, especially Nintendo's FC, had reached over 15 million units, and with the NES released in North America and Europe, that number was about 35 million.
And PCs?
In Japan, there were only about 1.5 million units. It's not even in the same league.
"If we put it on PC, I can't guarantee sales," Kiyoshi Yuuma said seriously.
In fact, in his previous life, Classmates was released on PC and created the legendary feat of selling over 100,000 copies.
Out of 1.5 million PC users, it sold over 100,000 copies. What kind of concept is that?
He could only say that there are indeed a lot of LSPs.
[T/N: LSP means a lewd pervert. If you want to find out more about the term, please go to Urban Dictionary.]
"I see…" The light in Tsuda Nao's eyes dimmed again.
"What if we add a chip?" Asakawa Hiroki asked. "One that's specifically designed to handle images and memory issues. That way, maybe we can push the FC to its limits and support a cartridge size of around 50 MB. Even if the visuals aren't incredibly refined, it would still outclass all the adult games currently on the market!"
I…
Kiyoshi Yuuma stood there dumbfounded, nearly coughing up blood.
What the hell?!
Add a chip? Why don't you just ascend to the heavens already?!
...
Kiyoshi Yuuma didn't react for quite a while. He searched his memory carefully for Asakawa Hiroki's background and found that this guy had studied semiconductors in university. The company had hired him as a hardware engineer specifically to develop the next-generation home gaming console.
Damn it!
In the 1990s, when it came to semiconductors, if Japan claimed to be second in the world, no one would dare claim to be first.
Bringing Hiroki today was originally to help solve some technical issues and to persuade the other President to invest. He hadn't expected things to escalate to this point…
Kiyoshi Yuuma felt extremely frustrated.
"President Kiyoshi, do you still have any doubts?" Tsuda Nao asked leisurely with a smile.
Kiyoshi Yuuma opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.
"In fact, for me, there's only one answer," Tsuda Nao said seriously. "If your company can't meet my requirements, then this investment will have to be canceled."
"But if you don't want to make this game, please be sure to sell this plan to me. DUN is still willing to invest 50 million to fully buy out this project."
In your dreams!
Kiyoshi Yuuma took a deep breath, straightened his suit, stood up, and gave Tsuda Nao a deep bow. "Then we'll be relying on your guidance, President Tsuda."
...
After both sides reached an agreement, they spent about half a day finalizing the details. The meeting was thus concluded. A contract would later be drafted by DUN, and the investment funds would be issued in four installments—1/4 per quarter—into Pokeni's corporate account.
"This is great! President, we finally secured the investment!"
The three of them walked out of DUN, and only Hiroki was visibly happy.
He glanced back at the other two, a little puzzled as to why Kiyoshi Yuuma and Mika Ishino had such heavy expressions on their faces.
Didn't we just get the investment?
Why does it feel like we just lost a war?
Asakawa Hiroki chuckled, "President, if I hadn't strongly persuaded President Tsuda just now, maybe…"
One fierce glare from the President shut him up instantly, and Hiroki felt a chill in his heart.