Finally, Takayuki decided to leave the decision to the players.
In future next-generation consoles, there will also be performance and graphics modes. Trying this approach with Titanfall was not a bad idea.
As for the PC platform, there's no need to say much—if your configuration is good enough, you can have the graphics quality you desire.
After finalizing the frame rate issue, the time had come for Christmas, and the Titanfall demo was released as scheduled.
Each sales counter of Gamestar Electronics had a dedicated Titanfall section.
Even in Gamestar's own stores, there were events associated with Titanfall.
Customers who pre-ordered the digital version of Titanfall on-site received some physical rewards.
This was also aimed at stimulating the digital game market.
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Additionally, every customer who purchased a game console or game could receive an exclusive Titanfall redemption code.
If they planned to pre-order Titanfall in the future, they could use the code to obtain a unique Titanfall character design, which was a small prize for the online mode.
Players were already very interested in Titanfall.
The game's graphics and performance were truly impressive.
On the official Titanfall discussion forum, many discussions about the game's settings had already started appearing.
Countless players were creating various fan works based on the official Titanfall settings.
Creating derivative works for their favorite games was a popular cultural phenomenon among players, even though it could raise some copyright concerns. However, Gamestar Electronics was very lenient about this, especially when individuals created non-commercial works, often even promoting them. This made players continue to hold Gamestar Electronics in high regard.
Based on Titanfall's already strong popularity, when the demo was officially announced, many players flooded into Gamestar Electronics' sales counters right before Christmas.
Some of them had already planned to buy games for Christmas, while others wanted to buy gifts for family or friends, so they took this opportunity to experience the Titanfall demo.
To encourage more players to visit physical stores, larger stores added extra Titan control demo content to the existing training level demo.
When players heard this, they rushed to the stores with additional demo content, making several Gamestar stores some of the most popular places on Christmas Eve.
Besides offline events and discounts, there were also special online activities for players.
The demo didn't just include a single-player training level but also an online PvP map for players to try out.
The online activity for the training level was a "Fastest Training Challenge."
The competition was divided into several regions, with the top ten players in each region receiving exclusive Titanfall rewards.
The specifics of the rewards were kept secret for now, but Gamestar Electronics promised the winners would be pleased.
Next came the online competition.
Titanfall's competitive features were already strong, and it would be a waste not to host a competitive event for such a game.
Thus, Titanfall also held an online competition, divided into several regions. The winning team would receive many Titanfall-related prizes.
These activities were certainly exciting, but the real reason players wanted to play Titanfall was still the game's inherent quality.
On the first day the demo was released, Titanfall's concurrent player count skyrocketed. Whether on PC or console platforms, the game was very popular.
Since it was free, players wouldn't pass up the chance to try it. As long as they had a game console and no 3D motion sickness issues, they couldn't ignore the game.
By the end of the year, Titanfall had successfully become the most anticipated game among players.
After adopting a pre-sale system for online sales, the total pre-sale number had already reached 500,000.
And this was just the result of a little over a week after the demo was released.
This meant that once the game officially launched, the first-week sales would already be at least 500,000, and the number was still growing. It was hard to predict how high it would go by the official release.
But no matter what, this was definitely something to look forward to.
Thus, 2006 quietly passed by.
At the end of the year, the now-famous annual game awards ceremony was held as scheduled.
As usual, hosted the event, announcing the most popular games of the year, excluding Gamestar Electronics' first-party works.
After all, Gamestar's games, when they were released, would simply dominate.
It was well-known that even Stardew Valley, made by Takayuki under a pseudonym, almost took over the awards ceremony that was being prepared at the time.
For Takayuki, awards and fame no longer mattered.
His presence alone represented quality and absolute strength. No one could deny this fact.
However, during the game awards ceremony, Gamestar Electronics didn't miss the opportunity to increase excitement.
Thus, they announced the official release date of Titanfall.
March 1, 2007.
It would also be Gamestar Electronics' annual carnival.
Using the carnival to celebrate Titanfall's release was quite a high-level treatment.
By this time, the development of Titanfall had entered its final stages.
The bugs had mostly been fixed, and now it was time for the official pressing... oh, no, it should be pressing onto cartridges.
Gamestar Electronics' direct flash storage factory was running at full speed, rapidly producing Titanfall's exclusive cartridges at a rate of five to six hundred thousand per day, then packaging and distributing them worldwide.
At the same time, workers had gathered in the U.S., Japan, and several bustling areas in Europe.
They brought various tools and equipment, setting up a twenty-square-meter area, which was enclosed with barriers to prevent peeking.
Then they began working frantically within this small space.
Curious passersby, including journalists, tried to figure out what was going on, but the workers remained mysterious, only revealing they were hired by Gamestar Electronics.