Accompanied by an intense barrage of drumbeats, the GAMENOVA logo vanished from the screen. In the darkness that followed, a powerful burst of electronic-infused music erupted without warning. The track blended rock with sounds Benjamin had never heard before.
"An ad from a game company?"
Benjamin took a bite out of his donut and casually tossed the remote aside. At the very least, whoever made this had excellent taste in music.
Compared to wasting his evening watching prime-time sitcoms, he'd much rather spend a few minutes here.
The scene abruptly shifted to a live studio broadcast. The venue was a small arena in California, one that had previously been rented out for local boxing events.
The camera swept across the audience in a beautiful arc. The modest venue was packed to capacity. Hundreds of fans from all over the country had crammed themselves into the seats.
Many held homemade signs above their heads. Some had painted character names and artwork directly onto their faces. They shouted wildly in rhythm with the music, the roar was loud enough to rattle the windows.
Some chanted GAMENOVA's name. Others screamed for specific characters from their favorite games. Everyone here had someone they were cheering for.
The event had been teased in magazines for months. Now, all that anticipation exploded into pure passion.
"GUILE! GUILE! GUILE!"
"ZANGIEF! ZANGIEF! ZANGIEF!"
Naturally, the loudest chants belonged to the cast of Street Fighter. After all, tonight marked the world's very first officially organized fighting-game tournament. The people who managed to attend weren't just GAMENOVA fans, they were fighting-game veterans.
This wasn't some small community event hosted by a local arcade. This was an official competition and more importantly, there would be a reveal for a brand-new game.
A new fighting game from GAMENOVA after all this time.
"It has to be a Street Fighter sequel, right? They should add some new characters."
"Definitely, and hopefully they upgraded the graphics too."
"Hurry up! The camera's coming this way!"
"Buff Cammy! Buff Cammy!"
Following the frenzy of the crowd, the camera rushed toward the center stage. There stood a standard boxing ring. Apparently, it had been left behind by the previous organizers, so rather than removing it, GAMENOVA had simply kept it in place.
Benjamin shifted forward on the couch and squinted.
"So, is this a boxing match or...?"
"At least Channel 29 finally found something worth airing."
He muttered under his breath, a trace of excitement appearing in his eyes. Missing WWF earlier had been disappointing, but this looked surprisingly promising. At least it could serve as a substitute.
Then the camera zoomed closer, a close-up of the ring appeared.
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Benjamin froze.
"What the hell is that?"
In the center of the ring sat two enormous arcade cabinets he'd never seen before. They were placed back to back.
Click!
Dry ice fog poured over the edges of the ring, colored lights flashed and the audience immediately noticed the machines.
Under dazzling fireworks, the polished surfaces reflected the stage lights, proudly revealing the name painted across the cabinets.
THE KING OF FIGHTERS
What a flashy name.
What a badass name.
King of Fighters.
"WOOOOOOO!!!"
The crowd exploded. Everyone surrounding the ring erupted into deafening cheers. There really was a new game!
To Benjamin, however, it all seemed utterly ridiculous. This felt like someone had assembled an event from random dreams. What kind of sane person puts two arcade machines in a boxing ring?
"I thought Channel 29 finally got smart. Guess they just couldn't afford anything better."
The camera rose higher, handing the spotlight to a gigantic projection screen hanging above the arena. The massive display dominated the entire venue. Facing both the audience and multiple camera positions, it would project the gameplay for everyone to watch.
Among the crowd, John and Mike excitedly waved their signs while staring at the unfamiliar arcade cabinets on stage.
John shook his Guile sign so hard that his entire body trembled. His ticket had been a gift from GAMENOVA. Because of the Contra easter egg incident, he'd received a complimentary ticket and even travel reimbursement.
Mike, meanwhile, had another goal in mind. After the event ended, they planned to stay in California for two more days. And Mike intended to challenge two Pokémon Gyms in the area and see if he could uncover any clues about Mew.
"John, keep your eyes open."
"They definitely hid something!"
"There has to be a clue!"
"..."
John had become somewhat accustomed to Mike's obsession. To be honest, he personally doubted that the legendary No.151 even existed. It might simply be another GAMENOVA marketing stunt and maybe players would only see it in a sequel someday.
Just then, the arena lights suddenly went dark, the projector switched on. But instead of displaying gameplay footage, the screen showed a glass-walled commentary booth positioned beside the stage.
The camera locked onto the two commentators seated inside. Ethan and Vivian adjusted the Sennheiser MKH-816 microphones in front of them.
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
"Welcome to the very first EVO Evolution Championship Series, presented by GAMENOVA!"
"I'm your commentator for tonight, Ethan!"
Vivian had abandoned her usual casual attire for once; she even wore light makeup. Picking up immediately after Ethan, she shouted energetically.
"That's right, viewers!"
"Tonight, will be the most important night in fighting-game history!"
"Who will write the very first page of this legend?"
"ARE YOU READY?!"
The audience answered with an even louder roar.
Vivian paused, waiting for the lighting crew and soundtrack to sync up. Then, as the drums thundered once more, every spotlight in the arena converged onto the entrance tunnel to the left of the ring.
Watching from home, Benjamin stared at the strangely familiar spectacle. The resemblance was impossible to ignore.
"Wait a second…"
"Isn't this literally how WWF does entrances?"
If he wasn't mistaken, the next step should be, two players walking out to compete in a video game. But they weren't professional wrestlers.
Why were they getting such elaborate special effects?
As he watched the smoke machines and nonstop fireworks pouring out around the tunnel entrance, curiosity got the better of him.
What exactly were these people trying to do?
"Introducing our first competitor!"
Vivian's voice rang through the arena, grabbing everyone's attention. Only after she confirmed that every eye had turned towards the entrance did she continue.
"From Los Angeles!"
"With an iron will and Sonic Booms powerful enough to tear through any opponent!"
"PLEASE WELCOME…"
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER!
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