Building a Gaming Empire In 1984

"This is what they call the 'curse of knowledge,' huh?"

Ethan watched everyone become busy again and let out a helpless sigh. The issue of player accessibility in Street Fighter was something he had been thinking about ever since the game first launched.

But all of his ideas had always revolved around systems that simplified motion inputs, things like a modern mode. All it took was looking at the problem from a different angle, and the answer had been there all along.

And as fighting game rules and player communities gradually matured, a new idea began to form in Ethan's mind.

...

When Sam returned to the apartment from the arcade, Ethan was sitting cross-legged in front of the television. But unlike usual, he wasn't playing a game on the NovaBox, he was watching a program.

"WWF? You actually like watching this?"

Sam stared blankly at the three wrestlers grappling together on the screen. The show felt completely at odds with Ethan's usual tastes.

The most popular wrestler of 1985, Hulk Hogan, lifted the 500-pound André the Giant into the air, it was already the second time that day he had lifted him.

"Hulk! Hulk! Hulk!"

The phenomenon known as "Hulkamania" was on full display at this moment. The entire arena was chanting his name.

Bang!

André was slammed heavily onto the mat. At that instant, nearly every camera focused solely on Hulk. His iconic blond mustache made him look like an invincible god of war.

"What do you think?"

Ethan's voice carried an unusual excitement. This simple, brutal, and pure display of violent aesthetics stirred something deep within him, causing his heart rate to rise unconsciously.

Sam sat down across from him and shrugged.

"It's alright, I guess. I'm not really into this stuff. Isn't all of it scripted anyway?"

Before the 1980s, wrestling had not been the exaggerated, performance-heavy spectacle it was now. It had been a serious competitive sport, much like boxing.

Only after McMahon bought WWF from his father in 1982 did the show begin moving increasingly toward entertainment.

"At the very least, it's far more enjoyable to watch than before. It's precisely because of those scripted twists and turns, and those flashy, over the top bloodbaths that could never have existed in the past, that the program has become more and more popular, hasn't it?"

Sam glanced at Ethan and sensed the deeper meaning behind his words.

"You're planning to make The King of Fighters more exaggerated, like WWF?"

"Exactly, compared to reality, video games have unique advantages when it comes to visual presentation."

Ethan nodded.

One of KOF's defining characteristics was that it barely cared about realistic martial arts styles.

The guiding principles were simple: make it flashy, make it cool and because of that, iconic moves like Orochinagi, Maiden Masher, and Sunshine came into existence.

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"But that's not actually the main point I'm trying to make."

Ethan turned his gaze back to the television.

"Tell me... what if we organized a professional tournament ourselves? Like WWF or boxing matches. Broadcast it on television."

"?"

Sam nearly choked on the sudden topic shift, momentarily unable to understand what Ethan was getting at.

"You want to run wrestling?... Pfft! Wait, you mean a video game competition? On TV?"

Sam suddenly sucked in a breath, warming the room a few degrees.

"That actually... sounds like it might work?"

Not just work, it had tremendous potential. If they pulled it off, GAMENOVA would become the founding pioneer of esports itself.

"Video games only broke out of the ice this year. Isn't it a little too early?"

Calming himself, Sam began considering the potential problems. Just last year, video games had still been regarded as a dead medium, a hopeless sunset industry.

It was the aggressive entrance of GAMENOVA and several competitors that had revived the market. But changing public perception wasn't something that happened overnight.

Even today, when the NovaPocket had become a cultural phenomenon, there were still conservatives who had been burned by Atari and refused to accept video games again.

And then there was the issue of broadcasting game programs on television. Game footage had appeared on TV before, but those were simply promotional advertisements from game companies.

Hosting an actual competition show was something entirely different. The rewards could be enormous, but so were the risks.

Despite the money GAMENOVA was making from games, once manufacturing costs and the losses from selling consoles were deducted, they weren't wealthy enough to casually dive into a completely unfamiliar field.

To host a tournament, they'd need promotion, venues, television contracts, facilities, and "actors", or rather, competitors. All of that required money… a lot of money, and if the show failed, there would be no way to recover those expenses.

"Then it all depends on how far we can take The King of Fighters."

From a purely competitive standpoint, Street Fighter would probably be more suitable as a long-term esports title, but a television program wasn't EVO. What they needed was dazzling visuals and exciting combat.

"We're going to push both Street Fighter and The King of Fighters. And even Pokémon battles can be incorporated into the competition as well."

The Pokémon franchise had once released a battle-focused spinoff on the N64, Pokémon Stadium.

"As for television stations, we don't need to jump straight into signing broadcast deals with major networks like WWF. We can take things one step at a time."

After an entire afternoon of market research, Ethan had already found a suitable target.

...

Sacramento, California.

KRBK-TV 29, an independent West Coast television station.

"Mr. Hayes, please come in."

Station manager McCoy hurriedly instructed his staff to prepare arrangements and personally escorted Ethan into the reception room.

In an era dominated by the big three television networks and Fox affiliates, independent UHF channels like McCoy's had already been pushed to the brink of survival.

Had they not recently purchased a few inexpensive programs, Channel 29 might not even have had enough content to fill its broadcast schedule.

Forget a blockbuster program like WWF. Even the chance to sign a small boxing event with little popularity was something McCoy would actively fight for.

If things continued like this, never mind the California market, Channel 29 would be lucky to maintain its foothold in Sacramento and then, at precisely such a critical moment, GAMENOVA suddenly appeared at their doorstep carrying a program proposal.

"My apologies, Ethan. When I received the call, I was over at Stanford, so it delayed me a bit."

McCoy still carried the dust and exhaustion of nonstop travel on him. It was obvious he hadn't even had a moment to rest.

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