Nayuta Mase began to speak, his tone calm but carrying a quiet weight behind it. "ZAGE really started it all… and honestly, they kind of saved the industry from the ATARI crash. I was a gamer long before the rise of ZAGE. I've been an arcade and Atari fan since I was a child, so I still remember how things felt back then—how uncertain everything was, and how the excitement slowly faded."
He paused for a moment, as if revisiting those memories.
"So when ZAGE was established in 1991 and began pushing the industry forward again, I was genuinely happy. It felt like something that was dying had been brought back to life. For the first time in a while, there was hope again. And at that moment, I truly believed the video game industry had real potential—not just to recover, but to grow into something much bigger than before."
He gave a small, reflective nod.
"Back then, I didn't see them as a competitor or even a company to compare with. To me, they were more like a symbol of revival… proof that this industry could still move forward."
He then sighed, his expression tightening slightly. "What I hate about ZAGE is that they create unrealistic expectations… since 1991, they keep releasing an insane number of games every year. And it's not just about quantity—alongside that, they keep introducing new types of genres and consistently delivering strong gameplay. They make it look effortless, like they are always at the pinnacle, as if no setbacks can ever slow them down." He paused briefly, then continued in a lower tone "They don't just raise the bar—they push it to a level that most companies simply cannot reach. And because of that, people start to expect everyone else to do the same."
He exhaled quietly.
"And that… is where the problem begins."
Aya frowned slightly, clearly puzzled by his tone.
"Hmm? It sounds like you're complimenting them rather than hating them, Mase-san. Can you elaborate a bit more?"
Mase sighed and nodded slowly, as if he had expected that reaction.
"Yes… I understand why it sounds that way. The truth is, ZAGE is so perfect—almost beyond perfect—for the video game industry. They are just… too dominant, and that's exactly what creates the problem."
He paused for a moment, choosing his words more carefully before continuing.
"Despite their boss always encouraging the industry to grow and pushing other developers to become stronger, ZAGE themselves keep surpassing those expectations again and again. It's like they set a standard… and then immediately break it on their own."
His voice became slightly heavier.
"I mean, just look at last year… how can a single company—regardless of its size—create more than sixty games in one year? And not just that… out of those sixty-plus games, there isn't even a single 'cash grab.' Every one of them is polished, mostly free of major bugs, and genuinely fun to play."
He let out a quiet breath, the frustration becoming clearer.
"And what's even worse… each of those games has its own identity. They're not just repeating the same formula. They're all different, distinct, and memorable in their own way."
Mase looked toward the hosts, his expression now more serious than before.
"So tell me… how are we supposed to compete with that? How can any normal company possibly reach that level, let alone surpass it?"
"They're so dominant that they keep breaking their own records… and honestly, that creates another kind of problem—on the player side."
Mase sighed, then continued more slowly, as if choosing his words with care. "There's even a term for this now. Some players call themselves 'ZAGAMER.' Basically, they only buy ZAGE games. They ignore other releases… they ignore anything that isn't from ZAGE."
He shook his head faintly.
"And what makes it worse is that, for them, that's actually enough. I mean… more than sixty games a year. For a single person, that's already more than enough to fill their entire time, right?"
His tone grew heavier.
"So naturally, their attention, their money… their time—all of it gets consumed by ZAGE. Other developers don't just lose in quality comparison, we lose access to the players themselves."
He continued, his voice quieter but firm. "Even when we create good games that somehow exceed ZAGE, our names definitely can't overshadow them. No matter how much effort we put in, no matter how good the result is, the attention still flows back to ZAGE. And because of that… it remains a problem that we can't easily solve."
He exhale quietly before continuing.
"That's why I hate it so much. It's not just competition anymore—it's domination of attention. And the more they keep producing at that level, the harder it becomes for anyone else to even be noticed."
Mase glanced down briefly, then added in a more frustrated tone.
"And what I still don't understand is… how can they make games that fast? They don't even have an absurd number of employees—only a few hundred or maybe a few thousand worldwide. That's large, yes, but not enough to justify this level of output."
He looked back up, his expression tightening slightly.
"So why is their business model so efficient? Why is their development process so… insane? That's the part that really bothers me."
Takumi then asked, "So you hate them because they are so perfect…? Is it like a monopoly?"
Mase sighed and shook his head slowly before answering, his expression turning more serious.
"It's quite different from a monopoly. In fact, ZAGE is doing the exact opposite of that. They don't try to block us or push other developers out of the market. Instead, they actually want us to grow and become like them. They even go out of their way to make things easier for us."
He continued, his tone steady but firm.
"They give us access to their engine—Unreal Engine—and that alone helps developers tremendously when creating games for their platform. Not only that, they charge almost nothing for us to release our games. The barrier to entry is incredibly low compared to other platforms."
He paused briefly, then added,
"And now, with Steam, it's even more ridiculous… practically anyone can release their game as long as it meets a certain level of quality. Again, for almost nothing."
Mase exhaled quietly, a hint of frustration slipping through.
"So you see, it's not that they're restricting us. It's the opposite—they're empowering everyone. They give us tools, access, and opportunities."
His gaze shifted slightly toward Takumi.
"But because of that… they also raise the standard to an extreme level. That's what I hate."
He leaned back slightly, his voice lowering.
"They create expectations that normal video game companies like us simply cannot meet consistently. And once players get used to that level of quality and output… they start expecting it from everyone else."
A brief silence followed before he finished.
"You should realize that, right?"
Mase inhaled deeply before speaking, his expression tightening as the thought clearly weighed on him. "And this will probably make things even worse… because ZAGE will definitely continue to expand. At the rate they're going, there might come a future where the only video game developer left standing is ZAGE itself—simply because of how dominant they've become."
He paused, letting that idea settle in the room before continuing, his tone quieter but more serious.
"When one company keeps growing without any real limitation, it slowly starts to consume everything around it. Not directly… not intentionally… but naturally, through sheer influence and presence."
Mase looked down briefly, then added with a faint shake of his head.
"And the others? Smaller studios, mid-sized developers… they won't stand a chance. Not because they're bad, but because they simply can't keep up with that level of consistency and output."
Yasu frowned slightly, then spoke in a calmer but confident tone. "I don't think it will be like that. If anything, what I envision is the opposite—video games will continue to increase in both quality and quantity as the number of gamers keeps rising. The demand itself is growing, and because of that, the industry should become more diverse, not less. Different studios will find their own niches, their own audiences… and the overall ecosystem will become more vibrant. Don't you think so?"
He leaned back slightly, clearly believing in his perspective, as if trying to balance out the heaviness of the discussion.
Mase nodded slowly, acknowledging the point before replying. "That might be true in the long term… I won't deny that possibility. The market is expanding, and there is room for growth."
He paused briefly, then his expression turned more grounded.
"But for now… it's really hard for us to compete with them. That's the reality we're facing today. No matter how optimistic the future might look, the present situation is still heavily tilted."
Mase exhaled quietly before continuing.
"That's why I end up hating ZAGE so much… or at least, that's how it looks from the outside. And because of that frustration, I often find myself antagonizing them, even if part of me understands what they're doing isn't necessarily wrong."
Then Aya asked, her tone gentle but direct, "So what do you want then, Mase-san? What do you think ZAGE needs to do?"
She leaned slightly forward as she spoke, clearly curious about his answer, as if trying to draw out something more concrete from all the frustration he had expressed so far.
Mase looked at her for a moment, then smiled casually, though there was a hint of hesitation behind it.
"Well… for example," he began slowly, "could they release fewer games for a year?"
He let the suggestion linger for a second before continuing, his tone becoming a bit more earnest.
"I know what ZAGE is capable of, and I'm not denying their strength. But if they released fewer games per year than usual—even just for a while—it would give third-party developers like us some breathing room."
He gestured lightly with his hand as he spoke, trying to explain his perspective more clearly.
"It's not about stopping them completely. It's about creating space. Right now, their presence is so overwhelming that it overshadows almost everything else. If that pressure eased even slightly, we would finally have a chance to let our own games stand out… to actually be seen by players."
Mase's smile faded just a little as he finished.
"At the very least… it would give us time to shine as well."
Yasu let out a short laugh, though there was a hint of disbelief in it. "So you want ZAGE to hold themselves back… just so you can rise? Isn't that a bit strange, Mase-san?"
He tilted his head slightly, as if testing the logic of it, while the tone remained light enough to keep the conversation from turning too heavy.
Mase sighed, then gave a small, helpless smile. "Yeah… unfortunately, that's true. I know how it sounds."
He paused for a moment, choosing his words more carefully.
"But that's the only solution I can even think of right now. I've tried to look at it from different angles, but every 'proper' solution always comes back to the same thing—we, as developers, need to create games that can truly stand against ZAGE."
His gaze lowered slightly.
"For example, Buriko Soft would have to consistently release games that can overshadow ZAGE's titles. Not just once, but repeatedly… enough to change player perception. And we both know how difficult that is."
He exhaled quietly, the weight of that reality clear in his voice.
"We can't produce games of that caliber consistently, not at that scale and not at that speed. It's not just about talent—it's about systems, resources, and something else that ZAGE seems to have mastered."
"ZAGE keeps pushing boundaries—delivering great games one after another, with remarkable quality at a massive scale… and they manage to do it almost every single time."
Mase shook his head faintly.
"And the frustrating part is… I know they're not doing anything wrong. They're not cheating, they're not blocking us, they're not acting unfairly."
He looked back at Yasu, his expression conflicted.
"But even knowing that… it's still incredibly hard to accept. It's hard to face that kind of gap without feeling frustrated. So yes… it's not a perfect answer. It might not even be a good one."
A brief pause followed before he finished quietly.
"But right now… I don't have a better solution than that."
The discussion continued beyond that point, branching into several related topics that circled back to the same core issue. The hosts asked follow-up questions, the audience reactions grew more divided, and Nayuta's earlier points were revisited from different angles, each one adding a new layer to the conversation. What started as a simple interview slowly turned into a broader debate about the future of the industry, the pressure on developers, and the expectations placed on everyone outside of ZAGE.
And as all of this unfolded, it didn't just remain a distant conversation on television. The implications of it—the tone, the frustration, the uneasy truth behind Nayuta's words—began to weigh on Zaboru as well. It wasn't just criticism; it was a perspective from inside the industry, something grounded and difficult to ignore. Hearing it laid out so clearly made him more concerned than he expected, because for the first time, the consequences of ZAGE's dominance were being expressed in a way that felt real and unavoidable.
To be continue
AN :This are the trouble that have no solution lol
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