"Takayuki, what direction should we take for the next game?"
As April arrived, the excitement around Titanfall inevitably began to wane.
However, in just one month, Gamestar Electronic Entertainment had made a substantial profit.
In the month's sales statistics, global Titanfall sales reached 17 million, and further sales would continue to rise, with surpassing 20 million being a sure thing.
Console sales also soared by 10 million units in just one month, a figure that would normally take half a year to achieve. This year's GSX sales data was certainly looking very promising.
But the past is the past. Now, Takayuki could no longer rest on his laurels. He still had many more games he wanted to create.
Takayuki's thoughts were interrupted by the question. He turned to look at his side, where Tsukino Ai was standing.
"Takayuki, what were you thinking just now?" Tsukino Ai asked, tilting her head.
...
...
The two of them had been discussing future game development plans, but Takayuki had suddenly spaced out, not sure what he was doing.
"Future game direction? Haven't we already got development plans for Civilization, Monster Hunter, and a few other games? We'll just release them on schedule."
"Mm? You seem like you're not too concerned about the future development plans? Is something going on?" Tsukino Ai asked, more confused.
Takayuki rarely seemed absent-minded.
"I was thinking about the MK1 phone that Mikuf has been selling. Their recent sales have been good, and it looks like Sury Electronics is struggling to keep up."
"Mikuf?" Tsukino Ai glanced at her phone next to her.
It was the MK1, a model she had just recently bought. She had to admit that the MK1 was indeed an epoch-making product.
When the phone was first released, it garnered a lot of attention. After being sold worldwide, it quickly became popular among young people.
The design was simple and stylish, and to keep up with trends, the MK1 offered multiple color options, allowing for more choice.
Internally, the phone was also packed with rich content.
Various applications came flooding in, and many major internet companies created exclusive apps for the MK1 right away.
Using these apps was much simpler and more convenient than browsing websites on a regular phone, and they operated very smoothly.
She really couldn't find any faults with this product.
"Has the MK1 had an impact on Sury Electronics?" Tsukino Ai had been paying little attention to Sury Electronics lately, so she didn't know what was happening.
Takayuki nodded. "Yes, it has, and the impact has been pretty big. Their handheld business is shrinking fast. Haven't you noticed that our handheld business hasn't been making much noise lately?"
"Yeah... that does seem true."
Tsukino Ai thought back carefully. Recently, although Gamestar Electronic Entertainment had shifted focus to the console business, the handheld sector hadn't been completely abandoned.
Under normal circumstances, handhelds were still a very popular platform for users. Even if Gamestar Electronic Entertainment didn't release too many first-party games, third-party games could still satisfy players.
But recently, there had been fewer and fewer updates regarding handhelds.
Now that she thought about it, it seemed like several companies that used to specialize in handheld games had shifted to making console games.
"Takayuki, are you planning to give up on the handheld business too?"
Takayuki shook his head. "Not exactly. Handhelds still have a market, and they can't be completely eaten up by smartphones. But continuing the handheld business would certainly drain our resources. Smartphones are just too convenient. I'm actually considering launching some mobile games."
"Takayuki, are you sure you want to do this? Isn't that indirectly undermining your own handheld industry?"
Takayuki smiled calmly. "Does the platform really matter? What matters is making fun games, isn't it?"
From the beginning, Takayuki had never been overly attached to the concept of game platforms.
His dream was to bring more great games from the original world to this world, allowing more people to play great games.
Whether to change the game platform was really unimportant.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have suddenly chosen to expand to the PC platform when the console business was booming.
At that time, it could have been said that developing for the PC platform was directly competing with their own home console business.
But in reality, the game itself was always the core for Takayuki.
Takayuki said, "The handheld business should still continue. Handhelds do have unique features that smartphones can't compare with. But don't you think it's a bit of a shame that we're not part of the convenient mobile platform?"
"So, Takayuki, does that mean you want to make a phone? With our capabilities, we could give it a try."
"No, I'm not interested in making phones, but I wouldn't mind giving Myron Keys a little competition."
"Give Myron Keys competition?"
Tsukino Ai clearly didn't understand the term. She didn't know where Takayuki had picked up that phrase, but her subconscious told her it didn't sound like a good term.
"We don't have to do it ourselves, but we could have a good partner and compete well with Myron Keys."
"What do you mean?"
"Bob, Facebook. I just so happen to have a good indie game almost ready. I can talk to Bob about it."
In New York, USA, as night fell, in a mansion worth over a billion dollars in a suburban affluent area, Bob was fast asleep, holding his nth girlfriend.
He didn't look anything like Mark, the Facebook founder, who had seemed almost devoid of human emotion in Takayuki's previous life.
On the contrary, Bob was quite the ladies' man.
This made Takayuki feel that he was more human, and he really didn't want his partners to have robot-like faces.
Suddenly, a phone rang loudly, causing Bob's body to stir slightly.
His girlfriend, however, was the first to wake up. She glanced at Bob's phone with a displeased look, then picked it up groggily to see who it was.
An unfamiliar name. "Damn, why are they calling in the middle of the night? Our Bob is still resting. Even the president treats Bob like royalty. There's no way he's going to be disturbed at this hour. But the person calling clearly doesn't care. How rude. Are you more important than the president?"
She angrily hung up the phone.
But a few seconds later, the phone rang again.
"Bob, this guy is so annoying. Who is this Takayuki calling at this hour?"
"Huh? Hmm!"
At first, Bob was still a little groggy, but when he heard his girlfriend mention Takayuki's name, he immediately became wide awake and quickly grabbed the phone to answer.
"Hello, hello? Is this Mr. Takayuki?"