"I can't believe something like this can actually be made..."
Sam pushed the joystick on the controller, moving the character through the environment. Whenever he pressed the B button, the gun in the center of the screen would fire straight ahead.
This was actually a 3D game!
Sam had always thought that such an outrageous level of visual presentation could only exist in a distant future where hardware had become incredibly advanced.
Yet somehow, with Ethan and Carmack working together, they had managed to achieve it using the hardware capabilities of the NovaBox.
The game's objective wasn't complicated. Or rather, it was brutally straightforward.
Players would take on the role of a spy escaping from a prison castle while fighting and eliminating enemies along the way.
Each level was designed as a collection of interconnected rooms separated by interactive doors.
Find the elevator, and you could proceed to the next stage. From knives and pistols to machine guns and Gatling guns, the variety of weapons and enemies was remarkably rich.
It was hard to imagine all of this being compressed into such a small floppy disk.
"This is insane! I actually have to turn my view to aim!"
After using his pistol to gun down several enemy soldiers charging toward him, Sam cried out in astonishment.
"Tch… Making a fuss over nothing."
Carmack looked disdainful, but his own expression wasn't nearly as calm as he pretended.
Ethan had practically pushed the pseudo-3D technology he developed to its absolute limits, even adding a huge number of optimizations that Carmack himself couldn't fully understand.
A first-person action shooter. This level of immersion was completely unprecedented. Looking across the entire world, no one else could do something like this.
Ethan didn't join the group of testers. Instead, he stood beside the office telephone and dialed Meyer's number to inform him about the console and also to ask for contacts of more distributors across America.
This time Ethan knew he had a big leverage against all distributors across the country, so he would milk them dry and get a bigger share, which would then fund their other games in future.
…..
"What?"
Meyer's voice shot up so high it nearly pierced Ethan's eardrums.
"The cartridge and NovaBox distribution... Of course, Ethan, of course."
On the other end of the line, Meyer's hands trembled as he listened carefully to every word Ethan said, afraid of missing even a single detail.
Ethan had actually entered the home console market! But...
"Ethan, I'm afraid now isn't a good time to launch."
"Why?"
"NOA President Minoru Arakawa has just announced that their new console, the NES, will begin test sales in New York this week."
Meyer didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was obvious. Launching now meant going head to head with Nintendo, the giant of the Japanese gaming industry.
Combined with the weakness of the home console market, Meyer felt it would be far safer to let Nintendo test the waters first.
"Test sales?"
Ethan was slightly surprised. It was still only the first half of 1985. According to the original timeline, the NES wasn't supposed to officially launch until late October.
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"Could it be that reviving the arcade market caused Nintendo to move up their schedule?"
That was the only explanation Ethan could think of. After a moment of silence, he suddenly relaxed. Fortunately, GAMENOVA had moved quickly enough as well.
Even if Nintendo entered America ahead of schedule, they were fully prepared.
"Perfect, then Meyer, we'll hold our own test sale this week as well. Let's do it in Los Angeles."
...
Such a risky plan went completely against Meyer's instincts. But in the end, he was only a distributor.
Since he had taken Ethan's money, he had to get the job done. Thus, during this late spring in America, the gaming market witnessed a bizarre sight.
On the East Coast, Nintendo announced the test sale of a new home entertainment system called the NES, priced at $199.99.
On the West Coast, GAMENOVA followed immediately afterward, announcing the test sale of its NovaBox home gaming console in California at a price of $249.99.
It was as if the two companies had coordinated in advance. Both launched their test sales on the exact same day.
However, their results were completely different.
During the first week of test sales, the NES achieved an overwhelming victory across the board. Meanwhile, NovaBox's sales were unexpectedly low.
The reason was naturally the additional fifty-dollar cost of the NovaBox, along with the glaring phrase "home gaming console" printed directly on its promotional materials.
The shadow left behind by Atari was truly staggering, nearly destroying the commercial potential of the very term "game console."
The NES, on the other hand, handled the issue brilliantly. By packaging itself as an entertainment system, it confidently found its way onto department store shelves.
As for Ethan's side, the NovaBox was displayed on merchandise racks inside large arcade centers.
Its target audience clearly wasn't housewives and children, but rather the core gamers who spent all day hanging around arcades.
Ports of major hits such as Metal Gear, Street Fighter, and Contra were certainly tempting.
But players could already enjoy those games to their heart's content at arcades for a dollar.
The truly decisive factor, however, was the bundled copy of Super Mario Bros. that came with the NES. The undisputed king of side scrolling platformers had perfected nearly every aspect of its design.
"Ethan, the NovaBox test sales... aren't looking very good."
After hesitating for a long time, Meyer finally reported the results honestly.
Test sales served as market testing before a product's official launch and were often the best indicator of sales potential and consumer response.
With results like these, the NovaBox had practically already been branded a failure.
"I think you could consider shifting GAMENOVA's focus back to arcade development as soon as possible. Home console development is quite a different field, so focusing on arcade titles might play more to your company's strength.
In Meyer's eyes, the NovaBox was an overly ambitious, idealistic product taken far too far.
Its floppy disk drive, dual sound chips, custom Z80 processor, coprocessor, and dual graphics-chip architecture gave it the most luxurious specifications of its era.
It also gave it a price tag far beyond its competitors.
Combined with the fifty to sixty dollar price of each floppy disk game, playing video games had practically become a luxury pastime for the wealthy.
"I'm sorry to say this, and I don't mean any offense, but I think the NovaBox project has failed."
"Failed? Why do I feel like it's only just beginning?"
On the other end of the phone, Ethan casually played with a gleaming golden cartridge in his hand. Its special coating made it look as though it had been plated with real gold.
Printed on the cover was the image of GAMENOVA's chosen spokesman, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Below it was the title.
Wolfenstein 3D.
After a full week of effort, the first batch of cartridges had finally been completed.
Ethan understood GAMENOVA's market positioning very clearly.
From the very beginning, they had never followed the same all-ages path as Nintendo. If the NES could bundle Super Mario Bros, then the NovaBox could naturally bundle its own flagship title as well.
...
That morning, several major arcades across California placed a brand-new game cartridge on display. It looked completely different from other cartridges.
Using the NovaBox exclusive floppy disk format, its casing was covered in a brilliant golden finish that immediately attracted attention.
"Receive a free copy of Wolfenstein 3D with proof of NovaBox purchase."
At the same time, GAMENOVA game commercials finally returned to television screens after a long absence. This time, however, the advertisement was surprisingly simple.
After Arnold Schwarzenegger's brief appearance at the beginning, every remaining second consisted entirely of actual gameplay footage.
Yet it was precisely that gameplay footage that left audiences watching in utter shock.
It was three-dimensional.
A first-person 3D shooter?
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