Super Mario being part of the launch lineup was something players had already anticipated. It caused a wave of excitement, though not much surprise.
But what followed definitely got players hyped.
The second game logo to appear was for the newest installment of Metroid—Metroid: Other M.
In the original world, this was considered the 11th game in the series, though there had been various spin-offs and remakes prior. In this world, however, Takayuki chose to bring it forward earlier in the timeline.
It was also a great opportunity to experiment with cinematic storytelling.
After Metroid came Dragon Quest.
This franchise had practically become an annual staple, with consistently solid sales—no less than 3 million copies each time. Including it in the launch lineup was a surefire bet.
This was essentially opening with a royal flush.
...
The fourth game revealed was the latest in the Need for Speed series. Building on the experience from Need for Speed 5, the sixth installment was shaping up to be more polished than ever. This time, the plan was to clearly separate simulation-style racing from arcade-style fun, aiming to capture both types of racing fans in one net.
The fifth title was Street Fighter IV, marking the series' first full leap into 3D character models.
With fully 3D battles, Street Fighter had finally entered its own next-gen era.
Following that were titles like Super Soccer Championship, NBA Basketball, and other sequels. All of them featured dramatic improvements in both visuals and animations—this truly was a new era for gaming.
Standing on stage, Takayuki couldn't help but feel a bit emotional. After so many years, the gaming era he remembered so fondly had finally arrived.
Every game—remake or not—looked like it belonged to a completely new generation.
The waves of cheers from the audience overwhelmed everything. It felt like a festival—one major announcement after another, and every game looked amazing. The crowd was hooked.
Gamestar also announced that players would still be able to play older games on the new console. Backward compatibility was preserved. However, this time, the console would switch back from discs to cartridges.
Discs were cheaper to produce, but thanks to Gamestar's acquisition of a flash memory manufacturer, they were able to reduce the cost of cartridges significantly.
With that acquisition, it was only natural the new console would favor cartridges. And these days, flash storage had gotten cheap enough to be viable.
Of course, cartridges were still more expensive than discs, but they allowed for a more compact console design, since there was no need to reserve space for a disc drive. As a result, the GSX console was as small as the original Famicom (NES).
High performance, compact size—that was everyone's first impression of the GSX.
After the ten promotional trailers finished playing, the crowd was still buzzing with excitement.
The die-hard fans were already planning to buy every game in the lineup.
When the tenth trailer ended, the spotlight returned to Takayuki. He smiled and asked, "So, what do you think? Are you satisfied with these games?"
The audience roared in response, their enthusiasm flooding the hall.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the screen, Hayakawa Ueto, Gamestar's rival at Surei Electronics, was watching the livestream unfold in real time.
Seeing Gamestar's sleek new console, he felt a chill run down his spine.
He wasn't worried about performance—they could match that. But because their new console still had to support optical discs, the design had become bulkier than the previous generation.
Better performance also demanded better cooling systems—another unavoidable bulk factor.
But discs and disc drives were core to Surei's business. They owned the patents, set the standards, and planned to cash in massively through licensing. Of course, their console needed a drive.
Gamestar, on the other hand, had no such baggage. They could go all-in on compact flash memory. Reading from memory chips required much less space than reading from discs, giving the GSX a surprisingly small footprint.
Small design, powerful internals—this combo was destined to win over a lot of fans.
There's just something inherently impressive about fitting high-end performance into a tiny box.
This was a clear win for Gamestar.
And with such a solid lineup of established franchises, Gamestar was starting with a significant advantage.
"It's fine," Ueto thought, trying to comfort himself. "We're just trying to maintain our market share, not steal theirs."
Still, he couldn't help feeling a bit frustrated.
Keeping his composure in front of his team, he said coolly, "No need to panic. Our product is just as strong."
His only consolation was that, following YOO's collapse, Surei had scooped up many of YOO's acquired game studios.
Thanks to high salaries, these developers had joined Surei, and their talent was unquestionable. He was banking on their games for the upcoming battle.
With that in mind, Ueto asked, "How's our presentation coming along? Are all the game trailers ready?"
"All set… just one thing."
"What is it?"
"A few studios said the trailers might not match the final product."
"What do you mean?"
"They're worried the real game won't look as good as the trailer."
Ueto waved it off. "That's fine. We still have time. Tell them to make the final product match the trailer."
The staff nodded and let it go.
Just then, on the livestream, Takayuki announced that he was about to reveal the price of the GSX.
Ueto immediately signaled for silence in the room, all eyes on the screen.
"Now then," Takayuki said, raising his hand. "Please look at the screen."
A number appeared:
Price: $399
The moment it showed up, the once-hyped crowd quieted slightly.
And on Surei's side, Ueto's eyes lit up.
For the first time, he thought—
"Wait… maybe we still have a shot."