The Strange Registration Scene in Adachi Ward
That conference became a carnival for dance enthusiasts worldwide.
Players from all over the world, performing various dance moves, drew cheers and shouts from the crowd, and the scene made the front page of all the newspapers the next day.
Sales of Sega and Sony's collaboration, Dance Dance Revolution, exploded during that month.
This also allowed Sony to experience the enormous profitability of the video game industry for the first time, not to mention that it connected its LD business and record business in one fell swoop.
A win-win situation he created himself, silencing everyone.
Keep reading.
1989: <Art of Fighting> and <Dance Dance Revolution>.
1990: He returned to the screen for the second time with "Art of Fighting" and his new work "Taiko no Tatsujin".
The year 1991 was a stroke of genius.
He actually sent an invitation to Capcom, which at the time was on the other side of the fighting game Capcom alongside Sega, and listed Street Fighter II as an official competition title.
Everyone thought this was like letting a wolf into the house.
However, the result was that the popularity of Street Fighter II attracted unprecedented crowds to the Sega convention, and players praised Sega's vision.
Countless players flocked to the venue, eager to witness the prowess of the strongest player.
On the other side of the main stage, Sega's own Taiko no Tatsujin finals, with its completely different joyful atmosphere, attracted a large number of family users.
Use your opponent's trump card to create a stage for yourself, and then use your other card to reap the rewards.
Tsujimoto Kenzo had no choice but to accept this calculated move.
Nakayama Takuya's finger finally stopped at the end of the file.
The 6th Sega Esports Tournament, 1992.
Competition items:
Sega's Virtua Fighter.
Sega's The King of Fighters.
One represents the future of 3D fighting games, and is Sega's darling.
Another project was one he personally approved, which integrated the two major IPs, Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury, and even added characters from Metal Slug, to create a 2D fighting masterpiece with a grand story background.
As August progressed into mid-August, the city qualifiers for the Sega Esports Tournament, like pebbles thrown into a lake, created ripples across Tokyo.
The owner of this game center in Adachi Ward was all smiles early in the morning, having prominently displayed huge posters for the King of Fighters and Virtua Fighter qualifiers.
"Boss, you're finally here! I've been waiting for so long!" a boy shouted excitedly.
"This champion gets to go straight to the Tokyo finals in Akihabara! Just thinking about it gets my blood pumping!" Another person was already rubbing their hands together, eager to try.
The shop owner grinned from ear to ear, pointing to the registration form. "The registration fee is 500 Japanese yen. Anyone who wants to be the representative of Adachi Ward, write your name down!"
In no time, the counter was surrounded by people, whispering and discussing who should sign up first, the atmosphere as lively as a festival.
Just then, the crowd automatically parted to make way.
Daigo Umehara walked in as usual.
He was short, but he spotted the eye-catching poster immediately. He paused for a moment, then walked straight to the counter.
"Daigo's here too!" The owner enthusiastically handed over a pen. "Here, write your name down and bring honor to our shop!"
Daigo didn't say anything, but simply nodded, took the pen, and carefully wrote his name on the first line of the brand-new registration form.
The surroundings fell silent instantly.
The teenagers who were just moments ago talking animatedly about what ranking they would achieve in this tournament are now craning their necks and staring intently at the four words on the registration form.
The air froze for three seconds.
"Um—" one of the boys who had been shouting the loudest earlier quietly pulled his hand out of his pocket, scratched his head, and said, "I suddenly remembered, my mom doesn't let me stay out too late."
"Yes, yes, yes," his companion immediately chimed in, his expression serious, "We still have more than half of our summer homework to finish; we need to go back and catch up. Competitions and such are really interfering with our studies."
"I... I have a stomachache, I need to go to the toilet."
In the blink of an eye, the group of enthusiastic young people in front of the counter scattered like birds, leaving only the boss, his smile frozen on his face, still holding the pen in his hand, waiting for the next person to sign up.
He glanced down at the registration form, which bore only one lonely name: Daigo Umehara.
Looking up at the empty surroundings, the boss felt like crying.
That's great, the King of King of Fighters champion for this arena has already been decided before the match even started.
He was hoping to make a fortune from registration fees and coin-operated games on match day, but now it seems he can't even collect the registration fees.
Fortunately, this didn't happen with Virtua Fighter, and quite a few people are still planning to give it a try. After all, there aren't any monster brats like Daigo Umehara among the Virtua Fighter players in this area.
The following days unfolded exactly as the boss had predicted.
The number of people who signed up for "The King of Fighters" was just one, a stark contrast to the dozens or even hundreds of people who frequented other arcades.
Every day, the boss would look at that registration form and feel like lighting a cigarette.
However, something strange happened.
Although the contestants from this region were "discouraged" from the competition, the arcade's business inexplicably improved.
"Hey, I heard there's a kid in Adachi Ward who's really good at King of Fighters?"
A young man with a sleazy look, clearly from another district, walked in, a cigarette dangling from his lips, followed by several onlookers.
The regulars in the store exchanged knowing glances, then silently gestured with their chins toward the King of Fighters machine in the corner.
There, Daigo Umehara stood on his personal beer crate, waiting expressionlessly.
"Ha, I'll have a go at him."
The young man tossed away his cigarette butt, sat down confidently, and the sound of coins being inserted was crisp.
The result was as expected.
Less than three minutes later, the young man stood up, looking dazed. His mouth was half-open, and his eyes were blankly staring at the words "K.0." on the screen, as if he didn't understand what had just happened.
He couldn't even take down the opponent's first character.
"Who's next?" His companions behind him shrank back, and no one dared to answer.
From then on, this arcade became a unique sight in Adachi Ward.
No one signed up for the competition, but every day, "experts" from Katsushika Ward, Edogawa Ward, Arakawa Ward, and even further afield lined up to challenge Daigo Umehara, only to end up handing over 100 Japanese yen "tuition fees" to the arcade owner.
The owner looked at the unusually heavy cash box every day, and then at the small figure standing on the beer crate who had single-handedly ruined the King of Fighters match at his arcade. His feelings were indescribably complicated.
Is this kid a god of wealth or a plague?
However, this also allowed Daigo Umehara to get acquainted with the different styles of players from other regions in advance, which could be considered as training before the major competition.