That year's tournament became a global dance player's carnival.
Footage of players from around the world performing a dazzling array of dance styles, eliciting cheers and gasps from the crowd, made the front page of every newspaper the next day.
Sales of *Dance Dance Revolution*, developed in collaboration between Sega and Sony, skyrocketed that month.
This success gave Sony its first taste of the immense profitability in the video game industry, and it seamlessly connected their LaserDisc and music businesses.
A win-win scenario he had personally orchestrated, silencing all critics.
Let's continue.
1989: *Art of Fighting* and *Dance Dance Revolution*.
1990: *Art of Fighting* returns, paired with the new title *Taiko no Tatsujin*.
1991 was a stroke of genius.
He actually invited Capcom, at the time one of the two powerhouses in the fighting game genre alongside Sega, to participate. He even listed *Street Fighter II* as an official competition event.
Everyone thought he was inviting a wolf into the fold.
But the result was that the popularity of *Street Fighter II* drew unprecedented crowds to the Sega Tournament, and players praised Sega's boldness.
Countless players flooded the venue, eager to catch a glimpse of the world's greatest players.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the main stage, Sega's own *Taiko no Tatsujin* finals captivated family audiences with its joyful atmosphere.
Using a competitor's flagship game to build his own stage, then reaping the rewards with his own game—this audacious strategy left even Kenzo Tsujimoto, the mastermind behind *Street Fighter II*, with no choice but to grudgingly accept.
Takuya Nakayama's fingers finally came to rest at the end of the file.
1992: The Sixth Sega Esports Tournament.
Competition Games:
Sega's *Virtua Fighter*.
Sega's *The King of Fighters*.
One represented the future of 3D fighting games, Sega's own darling.
The other was a grand 2D fighting game masterpiece he personally oversaw, merging the two major IPs of *Art of Fighting* and *Fatal Fury*, and even adding characters from *Metal Slug* to create a game with an expansive narrative background.
As August approached its midpoint, the city qualifying rounds of the Sega Esports Tournament rippled through Tokyo like stones tossed into a pond, stirring excitement in every corner.
Early that morning, the owner of the game center in Adachi Ward proudly displayed giant posters for the *The King of Fighters* and *Virtua Fighter* qualifying rounds in the most prominent spot.
"Boss, it's finally here! I've been waiting for this!" a young boy exclaimed excitedly.
"The winner this time gets to go straight to Akihabara for the Tokyo Grand Finals! Just thinking about it gets me pumped!" another boy rubbed his hands eagerly, already itching to compete.
The owner grinned widely, pointing at the registration form. "Entry fee is 500 yen. Whoever wants to be Adachi Ward's representative, put your name down!"
In an instant, the counter was swarmed with people, whispering and debating who should sign up first, the atmosphere as lively as a festival.
Just then, the crowd parted automatically, forming a path.
Daigo Umehara walked in as usual.
He was small, and his gaze immediately fell on the conspicuous poster. He paused briefly before striding directly to the counter.
"Daigo's here too!" The shopkeeper exclaimed enthusiastically, handing him a pen. "Come on, sign up and bring glory to our shop!"
Daigo didn't speak, merely nodding as he took the pen. With deliberate strokes, he wrote his name on the first line of the pristine registration form.
The surrounding chatter ceased instantly.
The youths who had been spitting saliva everywhere, debating their potential rankings in the tournament, now craned their necks, staring intently at the four characters on the form.
The air froze for three seconds.
"Um..." The boy who had been shouting the loudest earlier quietly withdrew his hand from his pocket and scratched his head. "I just remembered, my mom won't let me stay out too late."
"Yeah, exactly!" His companion beside him chimed in, his expression suddenly serious. "I still have more than half my summer homework left. I need to rush home and catch up. Competitions and stuff... they're too distracting from schoolwork."
"I... my stomach hurts. I need to use the restroom."
In the blink of an eye, the group of passionate young men at the counter scattered like birds and beasts, leaving the shop owner alone. His smile froze on his face, the pen he'd been holding to sign up the next participant still clutched in his hand.
He lowered his head and glanced at the registration form. A single name stood alone: Daigo Umehara.
Looking up at the empty surroundings, the shop owner felt like crying, but no tears came.
Perfect. The tournament hadn't even started, and he'd already crowned his champion for this arena's *King of Fighters* tournament.
He'd been counting on a big payday from registration fees and coin drops on the day of the tournament, but now it looked like he wouldn't even collect enough to cover the registration fees.
Fortunately, *Virtua Fighter* hadn't suffered the same fate. Quite a few people were still willing to give it a try. After all, this area lacked a prodigy like Daigo Umehara among its *Virtua Fighter* players.
The next few days unfolded just as the shop owner had predicted.
The *King of Fighters* registration remained at a solitary entry, a stark contrast to the dozens or even hundreds of participants at other arcades.
The shop owner stared at the registration form every day, feeling like he needed a smoke.
Yet something strange happened.
Even though the local competitors had been "discouraged" from participating, the arcade's business inexplicably picked up.
"Hey, I heard there's a kid in Adachi Ward who's really good at *The King of Fighters*?"
A rough-looking young man, clearly from out of town, walked in with a cigarette dangling from his lips, followed by several companions eager for a show.
The regulars exchanged knowing glances before silently nodding toward the *King of Fighters* machine in the corner.
There, Daigo Umehara stood on his signature beer crate, expressionless as he waited.
"Hmph, I'll take him on."
The young man tossed his cigarette, sat down with self-assured confidence, and inserted his coins with a crisp *clink*.
The outcome was never in doubt.
Less than three minutes later, the young man stood up, dazed, his mouth agape as he stared blankly at the "K.O." on the screen, as if unable to comprehend what had just happened.
He couldn't even take out the opponent's first character.
"Who's next?" His companion behind him shrank back, but no one dared to answer.
From that day on, this arcade became a spectacle in Adachi Ward.
No one signed up for the tournament, but every day, "masters" from Katsushika Ward, Edogawa Ward, Arakawa Ward, and even further away would line up to challenge Daigo Umehara, only to end up paying the arcade owner a hundred-yen "tuition fee" each.
The owner would gaze at the unusually heavy money box every day, then look at the small figure standing on a beer crate, single-handedly "sabotaging" his *King of Fighters* tournament, and feel a mix of emotions too complex to describe.
*Is this kid a god of fortune, or a harbinger of misfortune?*
However, this also allowed Daigo Umehara to early on encounter the diverse styles of players from other districts, serving as valuable training before the major tournaments.
Please Support me by becoming my patreon member and get 30+ chapters.
[email protected]/Ajal69
change @ with a
Thank You to Those who joined my Patreon