2019.
This was a year many players would always remember.
In the hearts of countless gamers, its significance ranked second only to the legendary First Year of Gamestar.
But time moves on quietly, and even Takayuki could not stop that flow.
The latter half of 2019 passed swiftly.
The world as a whole remained stable.
Although some regions were inevitably plagued by war, poverty, and chaos, this parallel world was, overall, remarkably peaceful.
Major disasters were rare as well.
Takayuki felt fortunate.
Only in such a world could truly great cultural works be born.
Creators no longer had to worry endlessly about survival.
They wouldn't be forced to abandon their pens because their homelands were torn apart by war, nor would they die senselessly on battlefields.
According to the original plan, 2020 would be the year the Tokyo Olympics opened.
The official opening date had already been confirmed—mid-July.
The Games would last about half a month, followed shortly by the Paralympics, bringing the total duration to over a month.
During this period, the director in charge of the Olympics barely had time to report progress to Takayuki anymore.
He practically had no rest at all.
By now, he had full control over the opening and closing ceremonies, holding absolute authority.
With both the Olympic Committee and Takayuki backing him, he could mobilize anyone at will.
Even if someone complained, a single report to the Olympic Committee would be enough to make officials of the Japanese Olympic Preparatory Committee fall into line.
The Japanese Prime Minister was counting on this Olympics to reintroduce Japan to the world.
If a few troublemakers ruined that plan, the Prime Minister would certainly not be pleased.
And if the Prime Minister wasn't pleased, those committee officials would be finished as well.
Everyone knew this was a lucrative position.
Aside from Gamestar Electronic Entertainment firmly taking control of the opening and closing ceremonies, no excessive demands were made.
As a result, the director's requests were met as much as possible—anything to prevent him from stirring up trouble.
Preparations for the ceremonies went smoothly.
A full rehearsal had already been completed, and Takayuki had personally attended the first run-through.
Although there were still a few imperfections, he was very satisfied with the overall arrangement.
It seemed hiring this renowned director had been well worth it.
Early 2020.
As usual, the United States hosted the International Consumer Electronics Show.
There was no need to explain the importance of this exhibition.
Countless tech giants gathered here to showcase their latest concept technologies, hoping to attract investment and public interest.
By now, Gamestar Electronic Entertainment was a regular attendee.
Every year, the company released at least one or two products that looked genuinely interesting.
This year, they unveiled a brand-new VR device, along with a real-scene holographic projection system.
Both products were primarily designed for video games.
However, if large clients were interested, the devices could also be adapted for commercial use.
In Takayuki's previous life, holographic projection technology had only existed in prototype form—far from mass production, confined mostly to laboratory experiments.
But in this world, technology had advanced several stages beyond that.
Holographic projection was no longer a difficult problem.
On a sudden inspiration, Takayuki decided to combine holography with video games, allowing games to truly appear in the real world.
As a game company, video games naturally had a place at such an exhibition.
Still, major titles were usually not revealed here, since Gamestar had its own carnival events and dedicated game expos later on.
This time, Takayuki personally supervised the creation of a mobile game with a relatively modest budget and scope.
He named it Pokémon GO.
Pokémon GO completely abandoned traditional gameplay conventions.
This time, the focus was on exploration.
Real exploration—across the entire world.
The game utilized the phone's built-in GPS.
As players wandered around their cities, they would randomly encounter different Pokémon depending on their location.
There would be thousands of Pokémon for players to discover.
Among them were extremely rare species.
Some of these could only appear in specific countries or regions.
When Takayuki personally unveiled the game, it immediately attracted crowds of reporters and exhibitors.
The gameplay concept was undeniably novel.
As Takayuki put it:
"This game is meant to encourage players to step outside. People who love video games shouldn't just stay indoors forever. Gamers can also walk out the door and embrace the world."
At present, Pokémon's audience was estimated to exceed 100 million people worldwide.
Even if only a small fraction of them were encouraged to explore the outdoors, the game's purpose would already be fulfilled.
Of course, the game still included monetization elements.
But everything was kept within reasonable limits—nothing excessive.
On the very day it was unveiled at the exhibition, Pokémon GO officially launched.
All users with facebook smartphones could download it for free from the official app store and immediately head out on adventures with Pokémon GO.
The announcement was sudden.
The release was just as sudden.
Players had absolutely no time to prepare.
Yet on its very first day, the game shot straight to number one on facebook's free download charts.
There were simply too many Pokémon fans.
The previous top-ranking game had been a well-known monetized title, earning massive profits across many countries.
That game's publisher had proudly declared they would dominate facebook's charts forever—unbeatable, the eternal number one.
That boast didn't last long.
It was swiftly and mercilessly proven wrong.
In Takayuki's words:
"Let's give them a little Pokémon shock."
With over 100 million loyal fans worldwide, every Pokémon title consistently sold more than ten million copies on average.
These were fans cultivated over decades—unshakably loyal.
Their attachment far exceeded that of any other game franchise.
Even if Pokémon GO had been nothing more than a low-quality reskin wearing a Pokémon shell—
As long as it was an official Gamestar Electronic Entertainment release,
No Pokémon fan would ever skip it.