Tokyo Video Game Tycoon.

"That's right. I already have a lot of fans now. If I can experience the complete game in advance, it will be easier for me to guide my fans on how to play. I think this would be a very helpful approach for the game industry. Just like film critics and TV critics, games also need sufficiently professional evaluators, which will help the game industry develop in a healthier way."

Murakami Kazuo spoke eloquently about his subject matter.

Most of these were taught to him by Zhu Youxing using a secondary account online.

Meanwhile, Zhu Youxing, the one in control of everything, was still putting on a convincing act.

"This is indeed a good promotional channel, and I'm very interested. However, I saw in your profile that you require absolute neutrality, and that you treat all games fairly?"

“Yes, that’s my principle,” Murakami Kazuo nodded and said.

Zhu Youxing shook his head: "But if we make a terrible game and then give it to you early, and you criticize it mercilessly, causing our sales to drop, wouldn't our purpose of promotion be completely wasted? It would even have the opposite effect, so why would I ask you to promote it?"

Murakami Kazuo said seriously, "No, President Takeyu, you may have misunderstood. My original intention was to hope that the entire game industry would develop in a positive direction."

"The gaming industry needs a group of sufficiently neutral people who are not serving any particular game company, but rather serving the better development of the gaming industry and all players, since players are the foundation."

"If bad games become rampant because of bribery, I think the game industry will be ruined sooner or later. I love video games, and I don't want something so interesting to be destroyed. I think you, President of Takeyu, the one who created the game industry, should have the same thought as me, right? Otherwise, with the current scale of your Famicom, you could easily make more money with lower-cost methods, but that would ruin the game industry."

Zhu Youxing laughed: "Your views are quite novel, but I don't think a child like you could come up with so many ideas. There must be someone behind you teaching you to say these things, right?"

Kazuo Murakami shook his head: "It is indeed as you think, President Takeyu. Someone taught me that way, but he doesn't like to stand in the spotlight. He always claims to be a pure gamer who only plays games and doesn't want to get involved in this kind of thing. So, I represent him on his behalf."

Takeyusei gave Murakami Kazuo a deep look and then said, "Just like you said, I do hope that the game industry can continue to thrive. At least what you said resonated with me. However, I still have reservations about what you said. Anyway, we will never make bad games. If you just want the opportunity to play some games in advance, then that's fine."

Murakami Kazuo was secretly delighted.

Did I successfully persuade the president?

He thought it would be difficult.

“However…” Zhu Youxing spoke again.

Murakami Kazuo's heart skipped a beat. Were there any other strict requirements?

If a request crosses your bottom line, you must grit your teeth and refuse, even if it means losing the chance to play early. This was the advice Mr. Nintendo gave him, and he also thought it was correct.

"However, remember your words and remain absolutely neutral. I hope you can keep your word. Also, playing in advance is fine. I hope that reviews are reviews, but absolutely no spoilers. You can comment on the gameplay and the general content of the game, but the one thing is absolutely no spoilers. You should understand that this is as disgusting as spoilers for TV series."

"I can absolutely guarantee that!" Murakami Kazuo could no longer hide his joy.

So it was just a request for confidentiality? That's perfectly fine. I'll be as careful as possible with my reviews before the release and won't reveal anything I shouldn't.

Furthermore, even if Zhu Youxing didn't say anything, he would still insist on neutrality, and nothing could sway him, not even a huge amount of money.

This reflects his faith in and dedication to video games.

Of course, there was also the influence of Zhu Youxing's initial online indoctrination on this aspect.

In any case, Zhu Youxing had already decided to cooperate with him from the beginning, so the conversation just now was more like his test to see if the child would waver. At least for now, there was no sign of that.

However, people are always changing, and no one can predict what the future will hold. For now, it's best to focus on the present.

"I happen to have a game that's about to be released, so I can give you a preview."

"Is it Dragon Quest III?" Murakami Kazuo leaned forward slightly.

He had already watched the Dragon Quest III trailers online several times and was itching to play it, eager to learn about the story and gameplay.

"Dragon Quest? No, no, no, that won't do. Playing it in advance isn't unlimited. Dragon Quest is our main event, and if you want to experience it early, you'll have to wait at least ten days after its release."

Murakami Kazuo was slightly disappointed when he heard this, as he had thought he could play earlier.

With only a month left until the official release, he felt like each day was an eternity, and he really wanted to play it as soon as possible.

"I'll die if I don't have the latest Dragon Quest game to play," this is probably the sentiment of many loyal Dragon Quest players right now.

"So, President Zhuyou, what game are you planning to have me review in advance?"

"This game is a kind of intermediate entertainment game called Pac-Man. It will be released in the next few days. The game doesn't have much of a storyline, it's just pure entertainment. You can comment on it as much as you want, say whether it's fun or not, we won't stop you."

Murakami Kazuo was delighted to receive such an unexpected surprise today.

Even if it's not Dragon Quest III, it's still worth it.

"Okay, I will definitely do a good job of reviewing the game and try to publish the article about it on the forum as soon as possible."

Kazuo Murakami believed that this was a test from President Takeyu to see if he was qualified to review the game. He was determined to do his best in this first game review.

"Alright, the legal department will draft a confidentiality agreement later. This confidentiality agreement has very strict conditions. Even your closest relatives cannot be allowed to play it. Before the game is officially released, the game cartridge is still the property of our Youxing Electronic Entertainment. If you give it to someone other than yourself to play without permission, don't think you're a child. You'll still face a lawsuit."

“I understand. I would never show it to even my own father.”

Zhu Youxing nodded, then suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh right, I remember there was an article in your file reviewing the Sun Knight from Surui Electronics."

"Yes, that game is the only one on the PN console that's considered relatively fun," Murakami Kazuo nodded and said.

Does the president of the Bamboo Travel Club have a problem with this?

"I noticed that your review article mentioned that this game has been in development for at least three months, which seems to be a rather confidential piece of information these days. You seem to have some channels to obtain this kind of confidential information. Could it be that the person who was training you behind the scenes told you this?"

“This… is not it.” Murakami Kazuo shook his head. “Actually… it’s my father. My father is an employee of Surui Electronics. Right now, he works as a game developer at Surui Electronics.”

Oh wow, there's an unexpected bonus.

No wonder this child knows so much about video games; his father works in that field, and naturally, he's exposed to more information about games from a young age.

"President Zhuyou, don't you think my father's identity is a sensitive issue?"

After confessing, Murakami Kazuo regretted it somewhat.

What if Zhu Youxing is unhappy with this sensitive identity if I speak the truth like this? It just doesn't seem appropriate for the child of a Su Rui Electronics employee to take the initiative to discuss cooperation with Youxing Electronics Entertainment.

"Sensitive? Not really, I don't have that many concerns. But since that's the case, you'd better be even more strict with the contract. Under the confidentiality agreement, you absolutely cannot let anyone see or play the game card before the official release, understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

"Okay, then wait a moment. Once the legal department has drafted a confidentiality agreement, you can leave with the test game cartridge. How many people are there in your testing team right now?"

"Right now, there are only two people: one is the person behind me, and the other is myself. I will be mainly responsible for writing game review articles."

"Okay, you also need to strictly supervise the other person to prevent them from leaking secrets, otherwise our legal department will not be so lenient."

Kazuo Murakami made his promise again, and then he suddenly looked shy.

"Um, President Zhuyou, I have another request. I wonder if you would grant it."

"You said."

Can we take a picture together?

At that moment, Murakami Kazuo took a camera out of his bag and looked at Takeyusei with anticipation.

"Also, if possible, I would like to get your autograph. You wouldn't mind, would you?"

Being so close to my idol, it would be a real shame not to take a photo together.

Zhu Youxing laughed: "Okay, no problem."

Chapter 97 Midrod

After obtaining the qualification to preview the game, Murakami Kazuo immediately shared the good news with Takeyusei's alternate account.

Takeyusei pretended to know nothing, offered his congratulations, then subtly reminded Murakami Kazuo to be mindful of his neutral stance and not to waver easily before logging off.

Zhu Youxing has other things to do right now and can't devote all his time to this child.

However, he has already intended to guide the child so that he can gradually develop the ability to win awards in the future, and eventually establish something like the Oscars of the video game industry.

Whether the rest can truly develop to that extent depends on him.

Over the next few days, the three teams, excluding the first game development group, continued working on the game as planned.

Pac-Man was released on time. This game is also very representative. It is a classic casual game. In its previous world, Pac-Man even led a cultural craze.

However, it seems that because players in this world have already experienced a wide variety of games, their enthusiasm for Pac-Man is not as high as in the previous world. It can only be considered a high-quality game, with sales reaching 70,000 in its first week.

However, compared to Pac-Man, players are clearly more excited for Dragon Quest 3. They have already started clamoring for the release of Dragon Quest 3 in various places, and some have even organized a small parade in hopes of the game's quick release.

In response, Zhuyouxing suggests that all stores try their best to persuade those people not to cause trouble. Only with enough patience can video games become truly excellent.

He didn't want this kind of thing to cause any bad social atmosphere, because if he did, he might be targeted and exploited by people with ulterior motives.

As for game console sales, the growth rate is also accelerating.

It is currently selling at a rate of 13,000 to 14,000 units per day.

Occasionally, promotional activities can also significantly increase sales.

……

"Miss Tsukino, I suggest you go to bed on time every day. Even if you can't fall asleep, just stay in bed and don't do anything else."

In an office at Yusei Electronic Entertainment, Takeyuki is leading a team to develop a new game.

In addition to the four game development teams, Zhu Youxing occasionally pulls a few people from the four teams to temporarily form a development team to develop a game that he is fully responsible for.

Now that Takeyusei is already a well-established brand, it's natural to make good use of it, and Takeyusei himself also enjoys the fun of game production.

This time, Zhuyouxing selected four or five people from each of the four game development groups to form a small team of about twenty people, each responsible for the development of programming, art, music and other aspects.

In the Famicom era, programmers were versatile and could switch roles almost at any time. But that won't work when the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) comes along. At that time, more specialized people will be needed to do specialized things.

Art, music, animation, and special effects technologies all need to be developed.

He has already instructed Matsuhashi Minoru to begin scouting candidates, poaching people from film companies and television stations.

At the morning meeting, Takeyusei saw Tsukino Aya with dark circles under her eyes that looked like smoky makeup and finally couldn't help but say something.

“I’m not sleepy, I don’t need to sleep that much,” Tsukino Aya rejected Takeyusei’s suggestion.

Zhu Youxing shook his head: "This is for your health. If you continue like this, I'm worried that you might suddenly die at any time. I would be very sorry if something happened to such an excellent employee as you."

Tsukino Aya glanced at Takeyusei and said, "I'm fine. I heard you often go for days and nights without sleeping, right? You don't seem to have any problems."

Zhu Youxing pointed to his face: "Look at me, my blood and energy are abundant, there's no problem at all, but you, with a little dressing up, could play a vampire."

Zhu Youxing didn't know why he had so much energy; he guessed it was some kind of special perk or cheat code he had gained after transmigrating.

He didn't have a system or the old man's ring when he transmigrated; his abundant energy and decent memory seemed to be his only perks from transmigrating.

However, he didn't dare to go too far, in case this kind of benefit shortened his lifespan. For example, staying up late now is equivalent to losing a certain amount of lifespan, so he still needed to be more health-conscious.

Seeing that Tsukino Aya still wanted to say something to refuse, Takeyusei said simply, "If you want to learn how to make games from me, what I need is a healthy body. I don't want all the game-making skills I teach to be wasted in the end."

Aya Tsukino opened her mouth, and finally said in a slightly soft voice, "I'll think about it."