Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo-Chapter 943: New Game Plan

That's the core reason why so many players fell in love with the GTA series in the first place.

Then, after being drawn in by the freedom of GTA, players who started the main story would soon realize the narrative was surprisingly good.

No—more than good.

From a social standpoint, the game was quite politically correct. Featuring a Black protagonist, it silenced critics who might otherwise complain.

Even if the protagonist did shady or even criminal things, the themes of family and brotherhood resonated deeply with players.

Some worried that the criminal elements might negatively influence minors, but the number of people who grew up to become criminals because of a video game is even lower than those who win the lottery.

So based on the goodwill that GTA had built with players, the moment GTA 4 was announced, it was bound to cause a massive stir.

Much like the announcement of the Final Fantasy VII Remake back in the day.

Toward the end of 2014, Takayuki devoted half of his time specifically to supervising GTA 4's development and guiding the team on how to make the game better and more aligned with players' desires.

In the original GTA 4, the freedom wasn't actually as great as many expected.

That game introduced many new mechanics that differed from San Andreas, and these changes made driving and exploring feel less satisfying.

In GTA 4, for example, the protagonist could go flying out of the windshield in a crash. While realistic, it made the gameplay less enjoyable—players had to get up, return to the car, and continue, which broke the flow. Takayuki had personally criticized this mechanic many times while playing it.

Also, motorcycle gameplay, which had felt great in San Andreas, saw a sharp decline in handling and responsiveness in GTA 4.

That was largely because GTA 4 marked a transition in art style and engine technology, and the technical gap made it impossible to fully recreate the feel of San Andreas.

Takayuki planned to adjust this—at the very least, to restore the satisfying gameplay feel.

Technically, it wouldn't be an issue in this world.

All of Gamestar Electronic Entertainment's games used Unreal Engine, and there were no risks in reusing core systems.

If Takayuki wanted, he could even bring over combat systems from games like Street Fighter or Monster Hunter into GTA.

But that wouldn't be necessary—GTA didn't need over-the-top combat. It only needed realistic, human-like movement and behavior.

That could be achieved with standard motion capture using Unreal Engine.

By the time all of this was underway, 2014 came to an end, and 2015 arrived.

At the beginning of the year, the annual Gamestar Carnival kicked off as scheduled.

This was now seen by gamers as the ultimate video game festival, a sacred event for die-hard fans.

Here, one could potentially meet any of the industry's top developers.

Even competitors of Gamestar Electronic Entertainment sometimes showed up—not to sabotage the event, but to attend with a pilgrim's reverence.

After all, they were gamers too. And a gamer's love for great games doesn't change, no matter who makes them.

"President, you want me to go on stage to announce the new game?"

Umihane Shiratori looked at the speech in his hands, surprised.

Takayuki had handed it to him earlier that morning.

Takayuki nodded. "That's right. You're basically the main figure this year at Gamestar Carnival. Since you know the most about the new GTA, it'll feel more sincere for you to explain the game to the public yourself."

The truth was, Takayuki just wanted to step back for once.

After so many years of personally hosting Gamestar Carnival, even he was getting a bit tired.

Besides, this wasn't a major milestone year for the company—more of a transitional phase. So letting his team take the spotlight made sense.

Apart from Umihane Shiratori, Takayuki had also arranged for several other producers working on new games to take turns presenting their projects.

All he needed to do was sit backstage and watch.

"I... can I really do it?" Shiratori suddenly looked nervous.

"That doesn't sound like you. You used to be like a powder keg—whoever argued with you, you'd explode at them. What happened, you scared now?"

"Well... this isn't the same as an online flame war..." said Shiratori, now in his forties, blushing slightly.

Blushing. Takayuki found it strangely out of character.

"Just be yourself. If someone tries to push you around, push back—just like you would online. Don't hold back."

"...Alright, I'll give it a try."

After a moment of internal struggle, Shiratori agreed to Takayuki's request and prepared to personally go on stage to announce his game.

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At that moment, there were just ten minutes left until the presentation.

Down below, crowds of gamers had already gathered, eagerly awaiting the announcement of new games.

Among them was Myron Case, CEO of MicFo, who had come anonymously.

Also in attendance was Ueto Hayakawa, who arrived with great fanfare.

And Hack Brown, who made no attempt to hide his presence.

These were all titans of the video game industry.

Fans of the "Big Four" often said that the global gaming market was divided equally among these companies.

But the truth was, Gamestar Electronic Entertainment was dominant, and the other three were just scrambling for the leftovers.

These industry leaders had only come for one reason: to get a first-hand look at Gamestar's upcoming game roadmap.

But when the time came and they saw a stranger walk on stage, disappointment spread across their faces.

Takayuki wasn't presenting personally? Then this year must not be a big deal.

They realized they had miscalculated—maybe they shouldn't have bothered coming.

The first person to take the stage was Belrade, now head of the company's PC Battle.net platform.