Rebirth Tokyo 1986

Chapter 258 Street Fighter Online
It was a sunny and warm morning in mid-November.

500 Street Fighter 2 arcade machines were installed in hundreds of arcade halls in Tokyo.

Xinghai Games will observe whether the game is popular in arcades for two consecutive weeks.

If the game is popular, then we will produce it on a larger scale.

If the game doesn't sell well, try overseas.

Only when all else fails will I give up on this game.

This is the process of Xinghai Games when making arcade games.

Even if Street Fighter 2 has a high probability of becoming a hit, it cannot destroy the company's reasonable ecology.

A good company ecosystem is far more important than an early profit.

Yamaguchi, a frequent visitor to the arcade and a fan of games, asked in surprise, "Boss, are there new games?"

The arcade owner raised his eyebrows proudly and replied, "Yes, I got this with great difficulty. It's super fun."

The test of Street Fighter 2 included not only company employees and passers-by, but also game hall owners.

I just wanted to win the favor of the game hall owner as much as possible.

This is a very practical way to effectively increase arcade sales.

The reason why Street Fighter 2 was able to be directly released online on 500 units in the first batch was thanks to the support of the game hall owner.

The game was so much fun that even these knowledgeable people couldn't help but get addicted to it.

"Really? Then I'll try."

After saying that, Yamaguchi Maeichi took out a 100 yen coin from his pocket.

Both Japan and the United States issued large numbers of coins.

Therefore, arcade machines in both countries are more accustomed to directly inserting money rather than spending money to buy coins first.

Of course, this is also related to the economic level.

When arcade games became popular in China, China's economic conditions were relatively poor.

If you just throw in a 1 dollar coin, not many people can afford to play.

At that time, the average salary in China was only a few hundred yuan.

Japan and the United States are different.

One has an average salary of over 30 yen, and the other has an average salary of over 2000 US dollars.

Although they also use coins, the number of times they can play is much higher than that of Chinese people.

Chinese arcades are naturally more accustomed to the model of 1 or 4 game coins for 5 yuan.

The rocking cars of later generations also prove that the reason why arcades do not accept coins directly is due to economic limitations.

Because China already had a good economy when rocking cars became widely popular, so people invested a lot of money in rocking cars.

It can be said that whether the arcade machine directly accepts coins has the greatest economic impact.

"Don't worry, it's definitely fun, so I bought 10 right away."

The boss was quite proud.

Because Street Fighter 1 has already gained a certain degree of popularity in Japan.

So when he heard that Street Fighter 2 was recruiting arcade owners for testing, he signed up immediately.

Street Fighter 2 lived up to his expectations, he really found it very interesting, so he placed an order without hesitation.

The price of an arcade machine is not cheap, it costs 50 yen.

However, he believes that the game will pay for itself soon.

Because the coin consumption of fighting games is far greater than that of level-breaking games.

Even if you play against a computer, you can only play for about ten minutes at most.

If you are fighting against someone, it may take several minutes at the slowest and no more than 1 minute at the fastest.

At the end of the day, you can easily earn tens of thousands of yuan, and your investment can be recovered in half a month.

This is also the reason why Star Ocean Games dares to price the game so high.

The revenue of fighting games far exceeds that of level-breaking games.

"Oh, you still have to smash it hard to make a move?"

Yamaguchi played Street Fighter 1 many times. It was fun, but it hurt my hands too much when I hit them.

"No, look at these buttons, they have been changed this time."

"This one is a light punch, this one is a light kick. These two over here are heavy punches and heavy kicks..."

"clear."

Although I don't remember it very well, it doesn't matter at all.

After selecting your character, it is completely OK to try it in the game.

"Well, who should I choose?"

Yamaguchi looked around and finally chose an American soldier.

This character is pretty awesome, not only can he launch waves, but he also has an invincible rising dragon sweep.

He is a novice in Street Fighter 2 now, so it is better to take it slow.

"Not bad, not bad, this revision is indeed more comfortable."

"The previous move based on the degree of force used was simply inhumane."

Yamaguchi shook the joystick and performed some moves, and was very satisfied with the new Street Fighter.

However, because he was a novice and was not familiar with the moves, the skill he used most often was Aliku, Aliku.

And the routines used are also very similar.

Get familiar with the moves in the first tube of blood, and continue this pattern if you win.

The second blood level is used to launch a wave to wear down the opponent until the game is won.

"Hey, there are mini-game Easter eggs?"

Yamaguchi was happily taking a taxi and trying out various moves.

"Yeah, but it doesn't seem to be of any use."

The boss felt that the car-smashing Easter eggs were a bit superfluous.

Why bother with all this fancy stuff? Just do it!

"Hehe, I think it's quite interesting and stress-relieving."

Although Yamaguchi Maeichi's tactics were extremely defensive, he was quickly punished by the computer.

Chun-Li used her flexible body and Hundred Kick combo to kill him directly.

"Hey, I lost. Let's play another round."

Yamaguchi was already a little fascinated and quickly put in the second coin.

Today is a holiday, and a large crowd quickly gathered at the arcade, with all 10 Street Fighter 2 machines full.

At the beginning, because everyone was a novice, they could still bear to watch others play.

After a while, the Street Fighter 1 veteran gradually became familiar with the game and began to actively look for people to play against.

"Hiss, so awesome."

Yamaguchi Maeichi was just an ordinary game player and was quickly defeated by a high-level player.

"Forget it, let's just watch others play."

He felt his pocket and found it was empty, so he could only retreat back helplessly.

But fighting games are fun just watching other people play.

A large crowd soon gathered behind the 10 Street Fighter 2 consoles.

Among these people, some are here to watch the fun, while others are eager to try.

"Great, 50 is definitely worth it."

When he thought of those arcade owners who backed off because of the high prices, he wanted to laugh three times.

For such a popular coin-eating game, 50 is not expensive at all.

Think about whether you have worked hard to manage your business or whether you are just playing it down...

A day passed quickly and the owner of the game hall couldn't wait to open the coin box.

Instead of counting the coins one by one, he put them in a plastic box specially designed for storing coins.

This plastic box is heavy and has small dividers.

Ten coins can be placed between each partition, for a total of 10 coins.

"Hahaha, as expected, I am a genius."

The boss was overjoyed because the first game console came with 248 100-yen coins.

Although I haven't watched anything else, I guess it's not less.

The fact was exactly as the boss had expected. The average income of each machine reached 240 coins, or 2.4.

It was only the first day, and Street Fighter 2's popularity had not yet spread.

It is estimated that the game will become more and more popular in the future, and he will earn more and more.

Of course, even if he maintains the status quo, he will still make a lot of money.

Excluding rent, utilities, you can easily make back your investment in half a month.

Including rent, utilities, it is completely possible to make a profit in one month.

The rest of the time, I just lie down and make money. "I hope the game can be popular for a few more years."

At this time, the owners of game halls wanted the game to be a big hit and to stay popular even more than the employees of Star Ocean Games.

On the other side, the Xinghai Game office.

Although we had to work overtime at night, no one complained.

Everyone wants to know how much Street Fighter 2's daily revenue is.

"President, this is the Street Fighter 2 revenue we received."

500 arcade machines are not a lot, so Xinghai Games directly entered major game halls.

While observing the game situation, understand the game's daily revenue.

"Very good, impressive. Today's average revenue is 2.2 yen."

Owners who bought Street Fighter 2 arcade machines basically made a lot of money.

Even in more remote areas, the income exceeds 1.5 yen.

The employees of Star Ocean Games were actually a little shocked by the revenue of Street Fighter 2.

Some are even thinking about opening a game room at home.

"Good, good, the Second Development Department has really made a good game."

The young man said as he clapped.

Soon, thunderous applause broke out in the office.

Everybody was happy and excited.

Because the reward and punishment model of the Star Ocean game is very collective.

The second development department that produces the game will receive a huge bonus, but employees of other studios can also share in the benefits.

Masato Takeshita does not like Penguin's competition model very much. Games with good reputation will be distorted in the pursuit of profit.

Nintendo's model is still better.

Departments that develop high-profit games make a lot of money, and failed studios can also receive a certain minimum living allowance.

After all, when it comes to games, no one can guarantee that they will be popular except time travelers.

Who could have thought that a big world game would defeat the former No. 1 in the two-dimensional world, Pig Farm.

You know, the Yin-Yang Master in the pig farm has influenced the cognition of Chinese netizens to a certain extent.

Krypton Gold, Card Drawing, SSR...all became popular words on the Internet after Onmyoji became popular.

Who would have thought that a mobile game imitating League of Legends would actually rank first in game revenue.

You should know that when this game was first launched, it was almost shut down due to poor revenue.

Therefore, we must provide the most basic guarantees to the staff and not discriminate against them because of failure.

Of course, those who are obviously causing trouble or are unsuitable should be fired or transferred as soon as possible.

The gaming industry needs creativity, but not malice.

"Thank you, thank you everyone. I believe that you will all develop excellent games soon."

Nishiyama Takashi was very excited, his face flushed as he kept thanking everyone.

Just when he wanted to solemnly thank Masato Takeshita, the young man smiled and waved his hand.

Today's glory belongs to StarCraft Games, the Second Development Department, and Takashi Nishiyama.

But it can't belong to him.

If Masato Takeshita stepped forward, he would be too dominant.

After a while, Rogers walked up to the young man.

"President, what will you do next?"

The young man raised his eyebrows and replied as a matter of course: "It's so late, of course we should have dinner to celebrate."

"Didn't the company reserve a spot?"

The most profitable time for game halls is usually at night.

Therefore, it was not until 12: in the morning that Xinghai Game collected all the data.

"clear."

After dinner, Rogers stood in the middle of the podium embarrassedly.

"Well, the new game is online, and we need to work hard for the employees of the second development department and the company's marketing department."

"We still have to work overtime tomorrow, starting at 2pm."

Street Fighter 2 has just been launched, and the people involved have a lot to do.

Overtime is inevitable.

"Yes, President."

Everyone was mentally prepared, so they didn't care, and there was even some anticipation in their voices.

This is the benefit of sufficient bonuses, and employees are also willing to work overtime.

"Then thank you all for your hard work next."

"Don't worry, everyone will have a long vacation after this period is over."

Taking a long vacation after intensive overtime work is a hidden rule of Xinghai Group.

Only when employees get enough rest can they create higher value.

Especially in creative industries such as games, employees must be given sufficient rest time.

If employees work overtime mechanically every day, their creativity will soon dry up.

Unable to produce innovative games, only copy and paste.

"Yeah, we know."

"learn."

"Long vacations are good. I like long vacations the most."

Relevant employees were discussing happily.

Those who were not on the Street Fighter 2 project team were a little envious at this moment.

They also want to work overtime, not only to get high overtime pay, but also long vacations.

News about making money always spreads quickly.

In less than a week, arcade owners all over Japan knew that another arcade machine had become popular.

More importantly, this arcade machine consumes a lot of coins.

Therefore, Xinghai Game’s phone was directly bombarded with calls from game hall owners.

"I want five."

"I want five."

"I want five."

……

Orders came to Xinghai Games like snowflakes.

Xinghai Games had to urge Xinghai Semiconductor to complete the production of arcade motherboards as soon as possible.

As for the outer shell, that is relatively simple and it is easy to find a factory to help make it.

Things are different now, Japanese companies' profits have dropped significantly.

It’s not easy to find such a generous order from Star Ocean Games.

"Boss, I can't put the coins in. I think you are full."

Players who engage in Street Fighter fighting are basically veterans.

Generally, novices will play against the computer when no one is around, or play those level-breaking games.

So when faced with the situation of not being able to invest in coins, it is natural to think of the reason.

"Sorry, sorry, wait a moment."

The boss bowed repeatedly, then quickly opened the coin box under the arcade machine.

Sure enough, it was full of coins, almost 2000 of them.

It's been less than 10 days and so much has accumulated.

Perhaps only the early "Ping Pong" and "Space Invaders" which led to the rise of Japanese games have such exaggerated revenue.

Game hall owners are making a ton of money, and Star Ocean Games is not bad either.

In just half a month, more than 4000 arcade machines were sold.

This is still limited production capacity.

If there were no production capacity constraints, tens of thousands of units could definitely be sold easily.

"President, do you think we should also build a game hall?"

Street Fighter 2's huge money-making ability successfully stimulated Rogers.

He wanted to follow Sega's example and set up a game center.

"Let's wait a little longer. We have too few games. Let's talk about it next year."

The output of Star Ocean games is far less than that of Sega and Nintendo, and cannot support the game center.

If this is really true, the place will be empty or filled with other companies' games, which will be too ugly.

(End of this chapter)