The highlight of Mickford's launch event was scheduled for the latter half.
The first half consisted mostly of conceptual products and relatively inconsequential electronic devices.
When the second half arrived, Mickford clearly slowed the pace of the presentation, and Myron Cass personally took the stage to introduce the remaining content.
"Everyone, I know what you're waiting for," Myron Cass said. "But please don't be impatient. Everything you're expecting will be shown today. What I'm about to unveil next will be our key video game projects for the coming period. These are large-scale games that required a long development cycle and significant investment. Now, please welcome the head of our game development department, who will introduce our latest video game products."
"They're here," Takayuki said softly.
The other executives who had been chatting immediately fell silent and turned their attention to the big screen.
Among all of Mickford's announcements, their video game showcase was the one Gamestar Electronic Entertainment had to pay the most attention to.
The earlier products had little overlap with Gamestar's core business. No matter how impressive they were, they wouldn't shake Gamestar's foundation.
Games were different.
The head of Mickford's game development department took the stage and began with a brief introduction.
He first talked about Mickford's journey in game development over the past few years—a journey he described as extremely difficult.
Between the lines, he repeatedly implied that Gamestar Electronic Entertainment was simply too dominant, placing enormous pressure on other companies' game development efforts.
But everyone in the industry knew the truth.
Wasn't the real reason simply that other companies' games were of lower quality and not on the same level as Gamestar's?
If you could make high-quality games yourselves, where would the pressure come from?
To this day, Murakami Kazuo's game review website had listed around fifty or so five-star games in total.
More than forty of them came from Gamestar Electronic Entertainment.
Most of the rest were from Suri Electronics.
A small number belonged to Brown Entertainment.
And finally, an even smaller handful came from other mid- and small-sized studios.
As for Mickford—after all these years, they still didn't have a single game rated five stars.
It was only natural they felt pressure. Mickford had poured in huge investments without gaining much prestige, and even Myron Cass himself couldn't feel proud of that.
"But!"
Just as the department head finished lamenting their hardships, he suddenly changed tone.
"This year, we will completely turn things around. Thanks to the strong support of our CEO, Mr. Myron Cass, our game development department now has ample funding to fully unleash our creativity. At the same time, many like-minded and talented individuals have joined us. I am confident that in the coming years, our game development department will become a force that everyone pays attention to."
His voice grew more and more excited, as if Mickford's game division were about to rise to stand shoulder to shoulder with Gamestar Electronic Entertainment.
He then began unveiling their latest games.
The first was a first-person shooter—a sequel to one of their previous titles.
The visuals looked quite impressive. Gamestar's people immediately recognized it.
"That's Unreal Engine," they thought.
Kidaida Kō, head of the First Development Department: "The game looks good."
Kitada Hitomi, head of the Third Development Department: "But it's using Unreal Engine."
Shiratori Umi, head of the Second Development Department: "Boss, should we trip them up a bit? It might affect their development."
Uchiyama Ei, head of the Ninth Development Department: "You're really nasty… I like it."
Shiratori Umi instantly exploded. "Get away from me, you creep! You damn masochist!"
Takayuki said calmly, "Why trip them up? If their game sells well, we get a cut too. I actually hope their game becomes a hit."
A truly good game was always good news for players.
How could Gamestar Electronic Entertainment alone satisfy the appetites of all gamers?
Nowadays, developing a game often took two or three years, sometimes even longer. Yet players might finish it in dozens—or at most a hundred—hours. Were they supposed to wait several more years for the next release?
The market was still short on great games. One more good title from Mickford wouldn't hurt.
Takayuki was watching for two reasons: first, to see whether Mickford's games were genuinely interesting and worth playing; second, to let his team study the competition and plan their own future development pace accordingly.
At this point, the overall landscape of the game market was largely set. It was very unlikely for any company to seriously threaten Gamestar—unless Gamestar itself self-destructed by releasing piles of garbage games and ruining its reputation.
Next, the department heads began analyzing the technical details of Mickford's game—how certain mechanics were implemented and whether similar techniques could be applied to their own projects.
The launch event continued.
Mickford's game department head revealed several more casual-oriented titles: a music rhythm game and an extreme sports game. They closely resembled Rhythm Master and Riders Republic from Takayuki's previous life. Judging by appearances, they had the potential to become high-quality niche hits.
Still, none of them truly amazed Takayuki.
Then, suddenly, the department head's tone and demeanor shifted.
Takayuki noticed it immediately and narrowed his eyes.
"I believe that after seeing these games, you'll all agree that they look quite good—at least judging from the trailers," the department head said. "What I can promise you now is that your actual experience after getting the games will match what you saw in the trailers, or perhaps even exceed your expectations. I guarantee that if players are dissatisfied at any point within the first ten hours of gameplay, they can request a refund with no conditions. This is my confidence in the games we've made."
That was a strong statement—full of confidence.
Takayuki nodded to himself.
The department head continued, "If the games shown so far are ones you find solid and enjoyable, then the next title I'm about to reveal is one I am absolutely confident will leave you truly amazed. Please welcome our new-generation game producer—a young but exceptionally talented developer—who will now introduce a groundbreaking product, a game that can redefine the open-world genre!"