A bolt from the blue!
In just five hours since its launch, Surrounded by Beauties sold 130,000 copies in the region alone, and the numbers were still skyrocketing as time passed and marketing campaigns gained traction!
Everyone was floored.
Absolutely floored.
Games like Surrounded by Beauties weren't new in Japan. Take AKB48, the mega-popular idol group—they'd released AKB 1/48: If You Fall in Love, a real-life dating sim where players romanced 48 girls, only to reject 47 and choose one "true love." The third installment, AKB 1/149: Love Election, took it further, making you date 149 girls and ditch 148 of them!
Talk about a wild premise. But the real issue? Crafting unique personalities and compelling storylines for over a hundred characters is a nightmare. Even in novels, it's nearly impossible—think My School Beauty Bodyguard, which took 20 million words to flesh out just a few dozen heroines. A small-scale PSP game like AKB? No way it could handle 149 characters' stories. Even at 10,000 words per character, that's 1.4 million words! Unless you're writing steamy fanfic, no writer or director could pull off 149 well-developed heroines. And for a game like this, the story is everything.
Weak story? No one plays.
The AKB Love Election trilogy sold nearly a million copies combined. Decent, sure, but for AKB48's massive fame—dominating charts, headlining music awards, and flooding Japan's media—that's a flop. Their influence back then was like K-pop girl groups at their peak in Korea and China. Yet, a million copies across three games? Total bust.
So, Japan's game devs mostly swore off real-life dating sims after that. But Surrounded by Beauties? No IP, no built-in fanbase, yet it hit 130,000 sales in five hours!
The number itself wasn't jaw-dropping, but the real kicker came with the data: the game wasn't just pulling in Galgame fans—it was attracting all kinds of players!
What did that mean?
It meant Surrounded by Beauties wasn't just a niche Galgame or a fan-service title like AKB Love Election. Its market potential was huge. With enough marketing cash, sales could explode!
Like a thunderclap, NTsoft's entire office was buzzing!
"130,000 copies! Holy crap! Team 4's about to take off!"
"Fuyukawa's killing it! His first game's gonna hit a million sales?!"
"A million? Way more than that! Most games peak a week after launch unless they're big-budget pre-orders. Fuyukawa's about to strike gold!"
"Youngest game director to hit five million sales—Fuyukawa's getting a new title!"
"Tch, five million sales. Wonder how much of a bonus Hikari's gonna rake in!"
"Gotta be a lot. It's a low-budget game. At five million sales, they're probably looking at 8% profit share!"
"Jealous! Just four people in their studio splitting 8%? They're set! … Wait, Fuyukawa's coming!"
"Holy—Minister Miyano's right behind him?!"
"Leading the pack, Fuyukawa's got some serious presence!"
The whole company was electric. On the fourth-floor hallway, under the starry-eyed gazes of the break room staff, Tetsu Fuyukawa strode toward the elevator in a sharp suit, his expression calm but commanding. Behind him, to his left, Sayoko flushed with excitement and a touch of nervousness, but mostly pride. To his right, Mitei Miyano wore a cool, confident smile. Behind them, Team 4's staff followed.
The clack of dress shoes mixed with the tap of high heels.
What a sight!
Every office along the hallway bowed and greeted Tetsu as he passed.
And, as luck would have it, just as Tetsu reached the elevator, Minister Nobi and a gaggle of Team 3 staff were already there. Unlike Team 4's high spirits, Team 3 looked grim—some faces dark with worry, others pale with panic. Deputy Director Yamanaka, his face ashen, stood among them.
A showdown!
The hallway buzzed with anticipation. Employees who weren't even there slipped out to watch the drama unfold.
"You once said some nasty things to my subordinate. If my game outsells yours, I want you, old man, to grovel at Hikari's office door!"
Tetsu's bet with Yamanacka was the talk of the company.
"It's happening! Mars is crashing into Earth!"
"That creepy Yamanaka's finally getting what's coming to him!"
"Kawachi's luck's turning around! You don't know, but back at Firefly, that old creep chewed her out daily."
"Yeah, Kawachi was up for a promotion to director when her tenure hit, but Yamanaka blocked it. Rumor is he wanted to take her to dinner, and she said no. Now karma's here!"
The hallway was alive with whispers, all eyes on Sayoko. She fidgeted under the attention, clutching her hands and lowering her head. But then, Tetsu grabbed her hand.
"Eek?!"
Startled, Sayoko looked up at him, wide-eyed with disbelief. They were close, sure, but this was the office, with everyone watching! She never expected him to hold her hand so openly.
She froze.
Not just her—Mitei Miyano raised an eyebrow, intrigued and amused. The whole hallway paused in shock.
"Told you! There's something going on with her and Fuyukawa!"
"Duh, they commute together every day. It'd be weirder if there wasn't something. But damn, Fuyukawa's got guts!"
"Jealous! I want a boyfriend that cool and talented."
The crowd erupted again.
Hearing the whispers, Sayoko stared at Tetsu, her eyes shy but full of trust. After a moment, she blushed and mumbled, "Tetsu-kun… too many people are watching~"
"Don't care," Tetsu said, rubbing her hand with his thumb. He turned, his smile turning icy, and slipped one hand into his pocket, locking eyes with Yamanaka in the Team 3 crowd.
He didn't speak, but as his brow furrowed and his gaze grew colder, Team 3's staff flinched and parted, clearing a path.
Five million sales, minimum!
Surrounded by Beauties was on track for at least five million sales!
Tetsu's future at the company was limitless. No one wanted to cross him for Yamanaka's sake.
The hallway gaped in awe as Team 3 stepped aside, avoiding Tetsu's gaze.
But not everyone backed down.
"You disrespectful little—!" Minister Nobi, humiliated by his team's retreat, pointed at Tetsu, ready to chew him out. Before he could finish, Mitei Miyano, arms crossed, flicked his hand away with her phone. Her cold eyes locked onto him. "Nobi, your elevator's here."
Boom!
The hallway went dead silent.
Everyone stared at Mitei, then their eyes widened further. After knocking Nobi's hand away and seeing him turn red but stay silent, she stepped back behind Tetsu, as if deferring to him.
What the—?!
Gulps echoed through the crowd.
Tetsu stood at the front, ignoring Nobi and glaring at Yamanaka. Everyone swallowed hard.
Team 3's morale was crushed!
Nobi's face alternated between red and pale. Team 4 was about to drop a blockbuster. Tetsu was about to drop a blockbuster. Team 3 couldn't afford to give Mitei an excuse to come after them.
Sure, Team 4 and Team 3 were locked in a resource tug-of-war—irreconcilable interests—but if Mitei pushed too hard without cause, the board would call her out for overreaching. But if Team 3's sabotage of Yamanaka came to light, Mitei would have every reason to press her advantage.
They had to back off to cut their losses.
As for Yamanaka? The moment those 130,000 sales hit, he was useless to Team 3.
Nobi shot Tetsu a bitter glare, then led his team into the elevator.
The elevator lights flickered as it ascended, leaving the hallway quiet again.
Under countless eyes, Tetsu stared at the trembling, pale-faced Yamanaka. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he spoke for the first time: "To kneel or not to kneel?"
"I—"
---
# Chapter 88: To Kneel or Not to Kneel?
A bolt from the blue!
In just five hours since its launch, Surrounded by Beauties sold 130,000 copies in the China region alone, and the numbers were still skyrocketing as time passed and marketing campaigns gained traction!
Everyone was floored.
Absolutely floored.
Games like Surrounded by Beauties weren't new in Japan. Take AKB48, the mega-popular idol group—they'd released AKB 1/48: If You Fall in Love, a real-life dating sim where players romanced 48 girls, only to reject 47 and choose one "true love." The third installment, AKB 1/149: Love Election, took it further, making you date 149 girls and ditch 148 of them!
Talk about a wild premise. But the real issue? Crafting unique personalities and compelling storylines for over a hundred characters is a nightmare. Even in novels, it's nearly impossible—think My School Beauty Bodyguard, which took 20 million words to flesh out just a few dozen heroines. A small-scale PSP game like AKB? No way it could handle 149 characters' stories. Even at 10,000 words per character, that's 1.4 million words! Unless you're writing steamy fanfic, no writer or director could pull off 149 well-developed heroines. And for a game like this, the story is everything.
Weak story? No one plays.
The AKB Love Election trilogy sold nearly a million copies combined. Decent, sure, but for AKB48's massive fame—dominating charts, headlining music awards, and flooding Japan's media—that's a flop. Their influence back then was like K-pop girl groups at their peak in Korea and China. Yet, a million copies across three games? Total bust.
So, Japan's game devs mostly swore off real-life dating sims after that. But Surrounded by Beauties? No IP, no built-in fanbase, yet it hit 130,000 sales in five hours!
The number itself wasn't jaw-dropping, but the real kicker came with the data: the game wasn't just pulling in Galgame fans—it was attracting all kinds of players!
What did that mean?
It meant Surrounded by Beauties wasn't just a niche Galgame or a fan-service title like AKB Love Election. Its market potential was huge. With enough marketing cash, sales could explode!
Like a thunderclap, NTsoft's entire office was buzzing!
"130,000 copies! Holy crap! Team 4's about to take off!"
"Fuyukawa's killing it! His first game's gonna hit a million sales?!"
"A million? Way more than that! Most games peak a week after launch unless they're big-budget pre-orders. Fuyukawa's about to strike gold!"
"Youngest game director to hit five million sales—Fuyukawa's getting a new title!"
"Tch, five million sales. Wonder how much of a bonus Hikari's gonna rake in!"
"Gotta be a lot. It's a low-budget game. At five million sales, they're probably looking at 8% profit share!"
"Jealous! Just four people in their studio splitting 8%? They're set! … Wait, Fuyukawa's coming!"
"Holy—Minister Miyano's right behind him?!"
"Leading the pack, Fuyukawa's got some serious presence!"
The whole company was electric. On the fourth-floor hallway, under the starry-eyed gazes of the break room staff, Tetsu Fuyukawa strode toward the elevator in a sharp suit, his expression calm but commanding. Behind him, to his left, Sayoko flushed with excitement and a touch of nervousness, but mostly pride. To his right, Mitei Miyano wore a cool, confident smile. Behind them, Team 4's staff followed.
The clack of dress shoes mixed with the tap of high heels.
What a sight!
Every office along the hallway bowed and greeted Tetsu as he passed.
And, as luck would have it, just as Tetsu reached the elevator, Minister Nobi and a gaggle of Team 3 staff were already there. Unlike Team 4's high spirits, Team 3 looked grim—some faces dark with worry, others pale with panic. Deputy Director Yamanaka, his face ashen, stood among them.
A showdown!
The hallway buzzed with anticipation. Employees who weren't even there slipped out to watch the drama unfold.
"You once said some nasty things to my subordinate. If my game outsells yours, I want you, old man, to grovel at Hikari's office door!"
Tetsu's bet with Yamanacka was the talk of the company.
"It's happening! Mars is crashing into Earth!"
"That creepy Yamanaka's finally getting what's coming to him!"
"Kawachi's luck's turning around! You don't know, but back at Firefly, that old creep chewed her out daily."
"Yeah, Kawachi was up for a promotion to director when her tenure hit, but Yamanaka blocked it. Rumor is he wanted to take her to dinner, and she said no. Now karma's here!"
The hallway was alive with whispers, all eyes on Sayoko. She fidgeted under the attention, clutching her hands and lowering her head. But then, Tetsu grabbed her hand.
"Eek?!"
Startled, Sayoko looked up at him, wide-eyed with disbelief. They were close, sure, but this was the office, with everyone watching! She never expected him to hold her hand so openly.
She froze.
Not just her—Mitei Miyano raised an eyebrow, intrigued and amused. The whole hallway paused in shock.
"Told you! There's something going on with her and Fuyukawa!"
"Duh, they commute together every day. It'd be weirder if there wasn't something. But damn, Fuyukawa's got guts!"
"Jealous! I want a boyfriend that cool and talented."
The crowd erupted again.
Hearing the whispers, Sayoko stared at Tetsu, her eyes shy but full of trust. After a moment, she blushed and mumbled, "Tetsu-kun… too many people are watching~"
"Don't care," Tetsu said, rubbing her hand with his thumb. He turned, his smile turning icy, and slipped one hand into his pocket, locking eyes with Yamanaka in the Team 3 crowd.
He didn't speak, but as his brow furrowed and his gaze grew colder, Team 3's staff flinched and parted, clearing a path.
Five million sales, minimum!
Surrounded by Beauties was on track for at least five million sales!
Tetsu's future at the company was limitless. No one wanted to cross him for Yamanaka's sake.
The hallway gaped in awe as Team 3 stepped aside, avoiding Tetsu's gaze.
But not everyone backed down.
"You disrespectful little—!" Minister Nobi, humiliated by his team's retreat, pointed at Tetsu, ready to chew him out. Before he could finish, Mitei Miyano, arms crossed, flicked his hand away with her phone. Her cold eyes locked onto him. "Nobi, your elevator's here."
Boom!
The hallway went dead silent.
Everyone stared at Mitei, then their eyes widened further. After knocking Nobi's hand away and seeing him turn red but stay silent, she stepped back behind Tetsu, as if deferring to him.
What the—?!
Gulps echoed through the crowd.
Tetsu stood at the front, ignoring Nobi and glaring at Yamanaka. Everyone swallowed hard.
Team 3's morale was crushed!
Nobi's face alternated between red and pale. Team 4 was about to drop a blockbuster. Tetsu was about to drop a blockbuster. Team 3 couldn't afford to give Mitei an excuse to come after them.
Sure, Team 4 and Team 3 were locked in a resource tug-of-war—irreconcilable interests—but if Mitei pushed too hard without cause, the board would call her out for overreaching. But if Team 3's sabotage of Yamanaka came to light, Mitei would have every reason to press her advantage.
They had to back off to cut their losses.
As for Yamanaka? The moment those 130,000 sales hit, he was useless to Team 3.
Nobi shot Tetsu a bitter glare, then led his team into the elevator.
The elevator lights flickered as it ascended, leaving the hallway quiet again.
Under countless eyes, Tetsu stared at the trembling, pale-faced Yamanaka. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he spoke for the first time: "To kneel or not to kneel?"
"I—"