Tokyo Video Game Tycoon.

This phase will be quite tedious and lengthy, and Zhu Youxing believes that they will eventually choose the most suitable chip manufacturer, and he only needs to wait for the results.

The GSX console, which is still on sale, has finally ushered in a major product: Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core.

After a long period of preparation and promotion, the game has finally been released.

The release date is late November, which is a traditional peak shopping season in the United States.

In Japan, the United States, and Europe, long lines formed on the day of the release.

Even with the growing popularity of digital games, many people still choose to buy games offline.

Because buying games offline gives a sense of realism.

Of course, an even more important point is that games purchased offline can be resold later.

Some players who don't have a collecting habit will usually sell the games they've finished playing and then buy other games to play.

Therefore, many players actually spend very little on games.

Video games have always been considered the lowest-cost form of entertainment, sometimes even cheaper and more affordable than watching a movie.

You can only watch a movie for a few hours at a time, but if you want, you can play video games for days and nights without any problem, and they contain much more content than movies.

"Aiko, why are we queuing up so early in the morning? *yawn*..."

At the entrance of the Yusei Electronic Entertainment flagship store in Akihabara, Tokyo, the trio of girls—Kazumi, Otoko, and Aiko—stood in the middle of a long queue.

He Mei couldn't help but yawn the whole time.

At five o'clock in the morning, Kazumi was dragged out of bed by Aiko, who said she wanted to buy the latest video game.

He Mei couldn't understand why she had to rush over so early in the morning to buy games, since online shopping is so easy these days.

Even if you want to buy a physical copy, you can buy it online, although it might take a few more days.

There's absolutely no need to come and queue.

But Aiko persevered.

Aiko said, "Because you can get autographs from the production team by queuing here. Don't you want to get autographs from the Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core production team?"

Kazumi hesitated for a moment and said, "But... I'm so sleepy. Can you buy it for me?"

Aiko said, "Each person can only buy two copies of Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core, and each person can only sign one copy, so it's definitely more cost-effective for three people to buy together, right?"

Yin-chan chimed in, "That's right! I've been waiting for the release of Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core. How could I miss this chance to get an autograph? Kazumi, you lazy pig, don't you want an autograph too?"

"Of course I want to, but...but...wait, didn't you just call me a lazy pig? You're the lazy pig!"

"Hehe, whoever yawns is a lazy pig."

"You bastard..."

Aiko decisively ignored the two's bickering and instead craned her neck to look in the direction of the shop entrance.

The gates are now open, and people are queuing up in an orderly fashion to enter and buy games.

Within Aiko's line of sight, she saw many older people.

Those people all looked to be in their thirties, and some of them even looked to be in their forties or fifties.

Because their foreheads are all shiny, it's easy to tell their age.

The average age of the people queuing up this time is quite high.

"Ladies, do you also really like the Final Fantasy VII series?"

Just as Aiko was looking around, a middle-aged man who looked to be about forty years old turned around and looked at the three of them, and then couldn't help but ask a question.

Aiko nodded: "I really like it. This story is really great. Do you like this game too, Uncle?"

"Of course, this game brought back the feeling of my youth for the first time, so I absolutely couldn't miss its release."

Aiko said, "I see many older people queuing around me."

"Yes, these people must be like me, which proves the game's appeal," the middle-aged man said sincerely, a glint of light still flickering in his eyes.

He couldn't help but recall the feeling of playing Final Fantasy for the first time.

When he reached the part where Alice died, it happened to be one night.

That morning, on his way to work, he overheard others discussing who had died. That evening, disregarding his son's feelings, he forcibly took over the game console and ultimately witnessed a scene he would likely never forget.

Alice's death is as poignant as his lost youth.

After he finished playing the game, his wife thoughtfully prepared a bowl of instant seaweed soup for him to help him calm down, which touched him deeply. The only downside that night was that he didn't get to eat dinner, probably because his wife forgot.

Aiko said, "This game was personally overseen and produced by Takeyu-sensei, so the quality is naturally top-notch. He also oversaw the entire production of Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core, so I think the quality is definitely not a problem either."

Chapter 791 Not Crying for Me

791

In the afternoon, Aiko returned to the three of them's residence, satisfied, with the game cartridges she had bought.

Aiko and Oto huddled together in front of a machine. Aiko opened one of the unsigned Crisis Core cartridges, put it into the game console, and the familiar Final Fantasy VII music began to play.

The music was so good that Aiko later bought the original soundtrack vinyl record of this series. It's not cheap, but she was very willing to spend the money.

This time, the three of them didn't just buy game cartridges; they also bought a lot of other merchandise sold at the store.

The most expensive item is probably the Zack statue, which costs 200,000 yen.

With the multi-dimensional development of Youxing Electronic Entertainment, the sales of peripheral products are also rising steadily, and the revenue of video games is no longer limited to the games themselves.

For example, the Pokémon series of games has seen its trading card merchandise even surpass the games in popularity, with some older cards recently selling for high prices, which is truly incomprehensible to many.

What's so great about a mere card? Aren't they all products of industrialization?

Kazumi was wide awake now. After buying a whole bunch of Final Fantasy VII merchandise, she carefully arranged the items and then came over to the two of them to watch the game together.

The story of Crisis Core in Final Fantasy VII begins from this point.

Anyone who has played Final Fantasy VII knows that Zack, the protagonist of Crisis Core, is destined to die.

They also knew that as the main creator, Zhu Youxing would definitely give Zack's death a sufficiently impactful tragic plot.

But even knowing the ending, everyone still wants to know how the story unfolded.

Sometimes, spoilers can really affect people's motivation to experience a story.

But sometimes the ending of a story isn't that important.

The process of how the story unfolds is more important.

The groundwork laid in the former makes the ending of the story all the more impactful.

In a Japanese family home, a middle-aged man excitedly ran home and eagerly inserted the game cartridge into the game console to start Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core.

When he heard that familiar melody from Final Fantasy VII, an urge to cry welled up inside him.

But he is an adult after all, so naturally he can't be so easily moved to tears, but this also proves how much he is touched by this story.

In the scene, a teenager with delusions of grandeur appears on top of a speeding train.

This scene... it's so familiar.

Just like when you first meet Cloud, the protagonist of Final Fantasy VII.

The male lead this time is named Zack.

Having played Final Fantasy VII, he knew that Zack was Cloud's mentor.

There was some confusion and overlap in their memories.

In the original Final Fantasy VII, there was a story specifically about how Cloud was influenced by Zack's soul, eventually breaking free from his shackles and becoming the real Cloud.

Unlike Cloud in Final Fantasy VII, who pretends to be profound, Zack, the protagonist of Crisis Core, is a very eccentric and talkative guy from the very beginning.

The story from the very beginning fully reveals the character's personality.

This would no longer cause much emotional turmoil for this middle-aged man.

However, he still admires the game creator, Takeyusei, in his heart.

Among the three girls, Kazumi's eyes are already sparkling.

"Wow, this Zack is way cooler than the one in Final Fantasy VII."

Yin Jiang said, "Nonsense, Final Fantasy VII is already an eight or nine-year-old game. How could the graphics of the game back then be compared with the graphics of today's games?"

Kazumi's eyes moved closer and closer to the TV screen, completely ignoring Oto-chan's sarcasm.

"I wish I had a boyfriend like that."

Yin-chan: "So it was you, Kazumi, that lazy pig went into heat. No wonder your breasts have gotten bigger lately."

Kazumi retorted directly: "Envious? Envy is useless, you can only be envious."

Yinjiang suddenly became restless.

Aiko stopped the two of them and said, "Let's play a game!"

The two said in unison, "Oh."

Now that Aiko is engrossed in the game's storyline, she naturally can't stand the two of them bickering beside her.

Anyone who dares to interfere with her experience of the story will be made to suffer.

In the home of the middle-aged man on the other side, his wife sat down next to him and watched him play games.

"Honey, it's been so long since I've seen you play games. Why did you suddenly want to play games again?"

"Isn't there a new game being released? Honey, let me tell you, it's the prequel to the best game I've ever played."

Seeing her husband's somewhat excited expression, the wife found it rather amusing.

Even after all these years, my husband is still a bit childish sometimes, but it's also quite cute. I guess you could say he's still got a childlike heart?

The wife leaned gently against her husband, watching him play the game.

Their children now live at school and only come home once or twice a month at most, which sometimes makes this housewife feel quite lonely.

She was quite happy that her husband could stay home during the holiday, so she was content with the moment.

"Honey, do you think this character is handsome?"