Roppongi Office Agency.
"Uh... let me confirm this again. You're representing a game company called GAMENOVA, and you'd like to sign Yui Asaka?"
Manager Tanaka wore a smile on his face yet somehow radiated a chill that made Satoshi uncomfortable.
His eyes were narrowed into slits, his cheekbones and mouth carefully controlled into a perfectly measured curve. It was technically a smile, but one that felt entirely insincere.
The message was obvious: I'm not interested in this proposal. Take the hint and leave.
But Satoshi had been sent here by Ethan himself. There was no way he could simply turn around and walk away. He could only force himself to nod.
"Yes, sir. We'd like Ms. Asaka to serve as the design model and spokesperson for one of our game characters."
A tiny twitch appeared on Tanaka's face. Yui was one of the most promising newcomers recently signed by Roppongi Office.
In Tanaka's eyes, she had all the qualities necessary to become a top-tier idol, she only needed time. He had already mapped out her schedule for the next year.
If everything went smoothly, he intended to secure her an audition for Sukeban Deka II the following year. And now, right in the middle of all those carefully laid plans, some young nobody had appeared out of nowhere asking her to endorse a video game? It completely disrupted everything.
Even if he were to collaborate with a game company, he'd choose giants like Nintendo, Sega, or Namco, not some unknown startup.
Picking up the business card Satoshi had handed him earlier, Tanaka gave it a quick glance. It looked like something printed in a hurry. Aside from the GAMENOVA and Game Freak logos, it contained nothing but a plain line of text.
Game Freak President, Satoshi Tajiri
He gave a dismissive chuckle before placing it back where it had been.
"Very well. We'll discuss it with our business department. Mr. Tajiri, please wait for further notice."
Satoshi frowned slightly, but there wasn't much he could do. He thanked the man and left the office.
Japanese talent agencies operated very differently from those in America. Artists typically signed full-management contracts, so practically all authority belonged to the agency.
The performers themselves were often informed of decisions only after they'd already been made. Faced with such a strict hierarchy and isolation, the inexperienced Satoshi simply had no angle to attack.
GAMENOVA might have been a gaming giant with deep pockets, but this was Japan. A market the company had barely begun to grow. Outside gaming circles, its influence was practically nonexistent.
Leaving Roppongi Office, Satoshi wasted no time and headed directly toward Onyanko Club's office. Compared to the relatively unknown Yui Asaka, Onyanko Club had already become a significant force despite being founded only in 1985. So, this would undoubtedly be an even tougher mission.
"Both negotiations failed? What happened?"
Ethan paused from polishing character animations and looked surprised as he listened to Satoshi's dejected report over the phone.
Since when had GAMENOVA's name stopped working?
"Ethan... neither agency agreed..."
After listening to Satoshi explain everything from beginning to end, Ethan raised an eyebrow.
The situation sounded complicated. In reality, the solution was much simpler than Satoshi imagined.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"Satoshi, you're the president of GAMENOVA's Japanese branch. Could you maybe... think a little bigger?"
"Huh?"
"Roppongi Office is just a small entertainment company. It's not some massive mega corporation."
"So...?"
"Just pay her contract buyout and bring her over."
Halfway through, Ethan suddenly paused.
"Actually, let's do this instead. Buy the entire agency."
"..."
"It'll save us the trouble of building a talent division from scratch."
It was about time GAMENOVA expanded seriously into Japan. Game Freak alone wasn't enough and having a local entertainment company would be a valuable foothold.
Besides, this was Roppongi. A district packed with foreigners and international business. American dollars spoke especially loudly there.
"Think bigger..." Satoshi's mouth twitched.
So the solution was really that simple? Just buy the company?
Things moved forward with surprising speed. Once a massive injection of overseas capital flowed into Game Freak, the balance of power shifted overnight.
More than sixty percent of Roppongi Office's shares were acquired outright. The agency became a subsidiary under Game Freak's umbrella.
Including Yui Asaka, a whole batch of newly debuted talents was effectively transferred into GAMENOVA's camp. As for Sayuri Kokusho of Onyanko Club, after witnessing Game Freak suddenly ascend into a financial powerhouse, there was little reason left to reject cooperation.
Meanwhile, Ethan's first batch of playable characters was finally nearing completion. He immediately contacted Game Freak and arranged several promotional commercials.
Yui Asaka would portray Athena, the idol heroine from the Psycho Soldier Team Expansion Pack.
Sayuri Kokusho would portray Mai Shiranui, the superstar fighter from the Women Fighters Expansion Pack.
Together with Brandon Lee as Sie Kensou and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Brian from the American Sports Team, an absurdly powerful promotional lineup had come together.
Everything was ready.
"Ethan, how many copies of the character packs should I order?"
Meyer was also one of the distributors handling The King of Fighters. He wasn't the only one as several other major distributors were also competing for their share of the market, but he had learned to trust Ethan's judgment when it came to sales.
Increasingly, he felt he needed to study Ethan's money-printing tricks. Seriously, selling character packs? What kind of genius came up with a business model like that?
This version of The King of Fighters grouped characters into teams. The base game included:
The Japan Team: Kyo Kusanagi, Benimaru Nikaido, and Goro Daimon
The Fatal Fury Team: Terry Bogard, Andy Bogard, and Joe Higashi
The American Sports Team: Lucky Glauber, Heavy D!, and Brian Battler
Players wanting additional teams would need to purchase the corresponding expansion cartridge and pair it with the newly released Expansion Disk Drive.
Of course, the packs included far more than just characters. Exclusive character themes, unique stages, character artwork galleries, music playback modes. There was plenty of content packed inside.
"As for inventory..." Ethan rubbed his chin.
"Trust me. Stock extra copies of the Women's Fighters Pack."
"Why?"
"Because of Mai Shiranui."
"?"
"She jiggles."
"??"
"Anyway, that's enough for now. I've got to contact the TV station."
Only someone who had personally witnessed a fully animated Mai Shiranui in motion could truly understand her appeal and Ethan had every intention of making full use of every last bit of that precious extra megabyte of storage.
…..
New Year's Day, Sacramento
Christmas had just ended.
The wave of consumerism hadn't fully subsided yet. Stores everywhere had already begun New Year clearance sales, trying to unload unsold holiday inventory.
Benjamin walked into his living room carrying a box of donuts. He dropped onto the couch and switched on the television.
"Damn it. Those idiots in the neighborhood made me miss WWF this afternoon."
"Hopefully they're running a replay."
He casually flipped through channels. Then he paused.
"Channel 29? They changed their schedule?"
He stared at the screen as the GAMENOVA logo appeared. As far as he remembered, this small local station usually aired nothing but high-school football games.
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