Monday, 2 February 2002 — 05:00 AM.
In front of one of the largest ZAGE stores in Japan, located near the massive ZAGE Complex and ZAGE Tower in Tokyo, something had already gone completely out of control. The store would not officially open until 07:00 AM, yet two hours before opening time, the street in front of it was already packed with an enormous queue stretching far beyond the entrance. Barricades had been placed along the sidewalk, security staff were already moving around trying to maintain order, and hundreds upon hundreds of people stood waiting in the cold morning air, many carrying bags, folding chairs, food, blankets, thermos bottles, and handheld systems to keep themselves occupied. Some looked exhausted. Others looked far too awake for five in the morning. A few had clearly not slept at all.
The front section of the queue looked even more ridiculous. Several people had actually brought small tents and had been camping outside since the previous evening. Reporters from Japanese television stations had arrived before sunrise expecting to film a simple launch-day segment, only to find something closer to a festival forming outside the store. Camera crews immediately began recording the crowd while presenters moved between the barricades interviewing people who had somehow decided that standing outside for most of the night was a perfectly reasonable way to begin Monday.
One reporter eventually reached several people near the very front and asked when they had arrived. One young man laughed proudly and pointed toward the folded tent beside him. "Yesterday evening. Around seven." The reporter blinked. "You have been here since seven yesterday?" The man nodded as though there was nothing unusual about it. "Of course. If I came this morning, I'd be somewhere back there." He pointed toward the queue disappearing far down the street. Another person beside him added, "He was late. I got here before six." The reporter stared at both of them for a moment before looking toward the camera with an expression that said more than any commentary could have.
Naturally, the next question was obvious. "Why didn't you simply preorder the console?" The reaction from several people around them was almost immediate. "Because it sold out!" one shouted, while another laughed and added, "The first allocation disappeared too fast!" Someone farther behind them yelled, "I WAS AT WORK!" which made several people nearby laugh. The reporter then asked why they had not simply ordered through Z-Store. That question received an even stronger reaction. One man answered, "Because delivery says two or three days! Two or three days!" as though the concept itself were offensive. Another added, "Everyone will already be playing by then! I'm not waiting three more days after waiting this long!" A woman behind him nodded firmly. "Exactly. I want to bring it home today."
The reporter laughed. "So the solution is to stand here all night?"
Several people answered at once.
"Yes!"
"Obviously!"
"Worth it!"
And just like that, the old-fashioned physical launch queue had become the answer for anyone unwilling to wait for shipping.
As morning slowly approached, similar scenes began appearing throughout Japan. Tokyo was simply the most visible example. Osaka, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto, Fukuoka, Sapporo, and countless other cities reported huge lines outside major electronics stores and ZAGE retail locations. Local television programs that had originally planned small technology segments suddenly expanded their coverage once they realized how large the crowds had become. Helicopter shots began showing queues from above. Morning news programs displayed photographs sent from other regions. Radio hosts joked about workers calling in sick while standing visibly in line wearing company jackets.
ZEPS 4 had already been expected to become a major launch, but the combination of its specifications, launch software, backward compatibility, online ecosystem, Z-Remote, Blue-Ray technology, and especially the unexpectedly low ¥44,444 price had pushed demand beyond what many people had predicted. The machine no longer felt like merely another console release. For a lot of players, it felt like the beginning of a completely new era, and people wanted to be there on the first day.
Even ZAGE employees arriving at the Complex began slowing down when they saw the crowd.
Around 06:10 AM, several staff members coming in for launch-day operations stopped near the entrance and stared at the seemingly endless line stretching away from the main store. One employee quietly muttered, "That's insane."
Another replied, "And this is only one store."
At approximately 06:15 AM, someone the ZAGE Complex.
A bike.
Several employees near the entrance immediately recognized it.
The silver Silver Wrecker rolled toward the building, and sitting on it was Zaboru Renkonan, dressed considerably more casually than anyone might expect from the owner of the company on the biggest hardware-launch morning in years. One hand controlled the bike while the other carried a bag containing fresh bread, and another food container was secured nearby with gyoza inside. It looked less like the arrival of one of the most famous businessmen in the world and more like a man who had stopped for breakfast on the way to work.
Then Zaboru saw the queue.
His grin immediately widened.
He slowly brought Silver Wrecker to a stop and stared down the street.
"Damn."
Several nearby employees laughed.
Zaboru looked again.
The line just kept going.
"Damn."
One of the Complex staff approached him, and Zaboru casually handed over his trusted Bike . "Can you park Silver Wrecker for me? Thanks." The employee nodded while Zaboru grabbed his breakfast bags and, instead of walking directly into ZAGE Tower, turned toward the crowd.
Someone in the queue noticed him first.
Then another.
Within seconds, whispers spread down the line.
"Wait."
"Is that—?"
"Zaboru?"
"Holy crap!"
Zaboru walked toward the barricade with a huge grin and raised one hand. "What's up, guys!?"
The reaction became immediate chaos.
"WHOA! IT'S ZABORU!"
"ZABORU-SAMA!"
"OVER HERE!"
"TAKE A PICTURE!"
One woman several rows back shouted, "I WANT TO HUG HIM BUT I'LL LOSE MY PLACE!"
Zaboru heard that and burst out laughing. "Don't do it! Protect your queue position! That's more important!"
That somehow made the crowd even louder.
He continued walking slowly along the front part of the queue while security staff adjusted around him. Then Zaboru suddenly stopped and looked across the people waiting. His grin turned mischievous. "Alright, serious question." Several people quieted slightly. Zaboru lifted his voice. "Which one of you faked being sick or used a fake emergency leave today!?"
For half a second there was silence.
Then an absurd number of hands went up.
Zaboru stared.
The crowd immediately began laughing.
One man raised both hands.
Zaboru pointed toward him. "BOTH HANDS!? What did you tell your boss!?"
The man shouted back, "STOMACH PROBLEM!"
Someone beside him yelled, "HE ATE CURRY LAST NIGHT ON PURPOSE!"
The entire section erupted.
Zaboru bent forward laughing. "That's commitment!"
Another woman shouted, "I used personal leave!"
Zaboru pointed at her. "See!? Responsible citizen!"
Someone farther back yelled, "MY BOSS IS HERE TOO!"
The crowd suddenly turned toward one section.
A middle-aged man immediately covered his face.
Zaboru's eyes widened. "NO WAY!"
The people around the man started laughing while he reluctantly raised one hand.
Zaboru walked closer. "Wait, you're the boss?"
The man nodded with visible embarrassment.
"And your employees called in sick?"
"Yes."
"And now you're also here?"
"…Yes."
Zaboru stared at him for a second before laughing so hard he had to step back. "Okay, that one is fair. Nobody can complain now!"
The mood around the queue became even more relaxed after that. Zaboru simply continued walking among the people, occasionally stopping to answer simple questions, joke about the launch, or pose for photographs. Black Berry phones appeared everywhere almost instantly. Some people held them up from behind the barricades, while others near the front asked for proper pictures. Zaboru rarely refused unless security needed him to keep moving. He grinned, posed beside groups, gave thumbs-ups, and even held up the bag of bread in one photograph when someone asked what he was carrying.
"Breakfast," Zaboru explained proudly.
"Why do you have gyoza too!?"
"Because bread isn't enough."
That answer somehow became funny enough that several people around him started laughing again.
Eventually, while moving farther down the queue, Zaboru noticed one couple standing close together and holding hands. Both looked exhausted but incredibly excited. The woman noticed him first and immediately tightened her grip on her husband's hand.
Zaboru smiled and walked toward them. "Whoa! You brought your spouse along? That kind of rocks, man." He gave them a small round of applause. "Couple launch-day queue. Respect."
The pair were none other than Chiyo and Satou Miura.
Satou immediately froze.
All the courage he had possessed while calling his workplace earlier that morning apparently disappeared the moment Zaboru Renkonan stood directly in front of him.
"U-Uh… Zaboru-san, I… I'm a big fan."
Chiyo, on the other hand, had absolutely no problem speaking. She grinned brightly and said, "Zaboru-sama! I'm a huge fan!"
Satou slowly turned his head toward his wife.
Zaboru noticed immediately.
His grin widened.
"Oh?"
Satou's expression became slightly awkward.
Chiyo did not even realize what she had done.
Zaboru laughed and raised both hands. "Hey, hey, don't start a marriage crisis because of me. I support healthy households."
Satou finally laughed despite himself, and the tension disappeared almost immediately.
Zaboru looked at both of them. "So you guys are buying one console?"
Chiyo shook her head enthusiastically. "Two!"
Zaboru paused.
"Two?"
Satou nodded, finally regaining his confidence. "One for me and one for her. We want to play online together too."
Zaboru's expression genuinely brightened. "Okay, that's actually awesome." He looked between them. "And which game are you playing first?"
Chiyo answered instantly. "Monster Hunter!"
Satou sighed. "She decided that weeks ago."
"You agreed!"
"I agreed after you kept asking!"
Zaboru laughed. "Then Monster Hunter it is. Good luck with that.."
Chiyo laughed loudly while Satou smiled. "We'll survive."
"Good answer."
Zaboru posed for one quick photograph with them before continuing farther down the queue. Chiyo immediately looked at the picture on her Black Berry afterward with a huge grin, while Satou stared at her for a moment and muttered, "You were way too excited."
Chiyo smiled sweetly. "Jealous?"
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
She laughed and squeezed his hand.
The store still had nearly forty minutes before opening, but by then the launch atmosphere had already become something much larger than a normal retail event. Reporters were broadcasting live. Fans were taking pictures with Zaboru. Security staff were constantly adjusting barriers. Employees inside the store were making final preparations while checking inventory counts again and again. Rows of ZEPS 4 boxes had already been positioned inside, each black-and-silver package ready to be carried out the moment purchases began.
Then 07:00 AM arrived.
The main doors opened.
The crowd cheered so loudly that people several blocks away could hear it.
The first customers entered in controlled groups while store staff checked numbered queue tickets and enforced purchase limits. Cameras captured the first ZEPS 4 being officially purchased from the main ZAGE store. The buyer held the box above his head like a championship trophy while everyone around him applauded.
Then another unit sold.
Then another.
Then another.
The line began moving.
Slowly, but constantly.
Across Japan, the same thing happened.
Stores opened.
Boxes moved.
Receipts printed.
People walked outside carrying ZEPS 4 systems while strangers congratulated them as though they had achieved something meaningful. Some immediately called friends. Others took photographs. A few people sat nearby simply staring at the box they had been waiting months to finally hold.
By mid-morning, national television coverage had transformed the launch into one of the largest entertainment stories of the day. ZEPS 4 queues appeared beside political news, financial reports, weather segments, and morning programming. Commentators discussed the surprisingly aggressive pricing. Technology reporters compared the console's capabilities with Xbox and i-Play. Retail analysts attempted to estimate how quickly inventory would disappear.
But another story was beginning to grow at the same time.
Absences.
Companies throughout Japan reported strangely high numbers of employees calling in sick, requesting emergency leave, or simply failing to appear. It was not enough to damage the country or create some national shutdown, obviously, but the pattern was noticeable enough to become hilarious. Some workplaces had already prepared for it after the previous week's jokes. Others had not.
One television segment showed an office manager holding a stack of absence requests and saying with a completely tired expression, "Apparently six people in this department developed stomach problems on exactly the same morning."
The reporter asked, "Do you believe them?"
The manager stared at the camera.
"No."
Another company discovered that three supposedly ill employees had appeared in background footage from a ZEPS 4 queue broadcast.
One of them was waving directly at the camera.
That clip spread everywhere.
By afternoon, the story became large enough that even several government officials began joking about it publicly before discussing the more serious side of how major entertainment releases could unexpectedly affect weekday attendance. Someone inside the government eventually suggested contacting ZAGE about future launch scheduling, especially if the company planned another release capable of creating crowds on this scale.
That request eventually reached Zaboru.
He was back inside ZAGE Tower by then, eating the remainder of his breakfast while reviewing launch numbers with several staff members. One of them carefully informed him, "Boss, we've received contact from government representatives. They're interested in discussing the weekday launch issue."
Zaboru stopped chewing.
He looked toward the employee.
"The government?"
"Yes."
Zaboru stared for another second before beginning to laugh.
"They seriously want a meeting because people skipped work to buy our console?"
The employee tried to remain professional. "Not exactly because of that, Boss. More about future coordination and the effect of major launch events."
Zaboru leaned back in his chair, still clearly amused. "Man…"
Thousands of ZEPS 4 units were moving continuously across Japan. International markets were reporting similarly enormous activity as their own launch windows opened. ZAGE Network was filling with first-time ZEPS 4 connections. New ZAGE IDs were appearing. Astro Playroom was being launched. Trophys were already beginning to unlock.
And somehow the Japanese government wanted to talk to him about Mondays.
Zaboru rubbed his forehead and chuckled. "Alright. Tell them we'll talk. Just… not today."
"Understood."
"Today is launch day."
The employee nodded.
Zaboru looked once more toward the rapidly changing numbers across the screen.
The first day of ZEPS 4 had barely begun, and it was already becoming far more chaotic than even ZAGE's internal forecasts had predicted.
By evening, the launch dominated headlines not only because of the console itself, but because the absurd wave of questionable sick leave and emergency absences had somehow become part of the story. What had started as a joke during Zaboru's earlier presentation had transformed into something real enough that news programs, employers, employees, and even government officials were now talking about it.
And through all of that, ZEPS 4 continued selling.
Meanwhile, ZEPS 4 had finally been available for one full day, and the forum was already heavy with discussion…
To be continued.
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