December brings Christmas as scheduled.
If you were to ask who was the most excited this Christmas, the answer would undoubtedly be the gamers who packed the parking lots in front of the malls to capacity.
America, cities on the highway.
Unlike Japan- lit areas with their towering buildings and dense crowds, most of the area maintains sparse clusters of buildings connected by roads.
However, this shopping plaza, which should be far from residential areas and downtown, was surprisingly packed with customers from nearby areas.
These people have gathered here, clearly for the same purpose.
"GAMENOVA's new console is on sale!!!"
The NovaXeno, a new console that has been promoted for almost half a year, and the next-generation game Civilization are finally going on sale today!
Is over three hundred US dollars very expensive?
Please! That's a 16-bit, next-generation device with a built-in CD drive, internet connectivity, and thousands of colors displayed on the same screen!
Let alone nearly $400, even if it were just about offering a kidney, some people would probably get carried away and rush in.
GAMENOVA has that kind of influence in America.
However, unlike the players' enthusiastic enthusiasm, Lin Lixin was extremely busy.
Production capacity is severely insufficient!
Whether it's Micron, which is still adapting to the new SDRAM architecture, or OEM foundries, they are all operating around the clock.
Even so, despite starting to stock up early, they could only manage to produce 500,000 units.
If this had happened when the Notebooks were first released, 500,000 units would have been enough to keep the market going for several days.
However, the GAMENOVA of today is not the same as the arcade company that didn't even have its own platform back then.
NX's immense popularity led to sales exceeding one million units during the pre-sale period.
Not to mention, there are still a large number of players waiting for feedback from the first batch of users before handing over the $400.
500,000 units—that's not even enough for pre-orders!
3 a. m.
Mike Mohan, Frank Pierce, Alan Adhan set off from UCLA and arrived at the already crowded shopping mall under the cover of darkness.
Faced with this catastrophic scene, the three of them were not surprised at all.
This is how GAMENOVA's new product launches should look.
Mike deftly pulled out a picnic mat, while Frank handed the two drinks, and Alan tossed the NP handheld console and a handful of batteries onto the picnic mat.
This indicates that preparations have been made for a protracted battle.
"Speaking of which, I never thought that extended floppy disk drive would still come in handy. I thought that once it was replaced, it would only be a collector's item."
Mike opened the soda bottle, gulped down two mouthfuls, and gazed at the posters pasted at the mall entrance in the distance.
The next-generation game console, called NovaXeno, maintained GAMENOVA's consistent design style: simple and modern, without any unnecessary elements.
Apart from a prominent circular drive for holding optical discs, the machine maintains a rectangular casing.
According to the promotional materials, NovaXeno can be used as NovaBo simply by connecting an external floppy disk drive via a universal interface, allowing users to play older games already released on notebooks without any issues.
This is a simulation function implemented using a CPU in double-width mode.
This entire NovaXeno can be considered a new device with a built-in 8-bit notebook emulator.
"Come on, Mike! After today, it's the 16-bit era! Stop thinking about those old 8-bit games!"
Frank made no secret of his fickle nature; of the three, he was the most excited.
Since only he had pre-ordered the NX console, the other two could only sit there dumbfounded with a CD, grinning like idiots.
"It's hard to say. Nobody has ever seen what a 16-bit game will actually look like. Maybe the improvement won't be that significant?"
Alan habitually poured cold water on the idea.
"What nonsense are you talking about? That's 256KB of memory, Alan, 256KB!!"
This kind of configuration is only seen in high-end arcade machines, let alone home consoles.
Only high-end IBM multi-purpose PCs are qualified to use such powerful memory.
"Configuration doesn't prove anything."
Alan shrugged. "Tetris and Pokémon are so fun, they can still run on handheld consoles."
He was holding the NP in his arms, without even looking up.
"I'm actually a little worried that GAMENOVA might neglect the refinement of details because of the improved configuration."
"Tch---- Now you're acting all high and mighty again. If you're so capable, take NX back and don't play with her anymore."
"One thing at a time, I definitely need to play with this critically."
"How shameless!"
"Okay, sir, let me check your pre-order information—okay, that's all."
The shop assistant, with a professional smile, deliberately flaunted her looks.
No matter how hard she tried, the people in front of her, or rather the long line of people behind her, all kept their eyes glued to the cardboard box in her hand, not even glancing at her.
This really annoyed her.
"This is the Civilization DVD you pre-ordered. Please keep it safe."
Frank swallowed hard and nervously took the card case.
The plastic-sealed casing faintly reveals the disc inside, which reflects a dazzling array of colors.
The cover features the exact same image as the original promotional video: the colossal Atlas with an Earth.
The title area features a sculptural font with swirling, three-dimensional shadows.
[CIVILIZATION]
That's it! That's it!
After months of waiting, it has now become a reality, manifested in this disc, displayed before him.
The magnificent melody of " Dream of Flight " could no longer be suppressed and resonated in his mind.
Supported by the two men, Frank turned and walked unsteadily toward the Daimon.
As he walked, he heard the shop assistant's voice from behind him.
"I'm sorry, sir, we're out of NX units in stock. That was the last one. We'll call you via the number you provided as soon as it arrives. However, Civilization still have Civilization in stock—"
The last one----
Frank shuddered as he glanced back at the man pounding his chest in despair.
Not long ago, he was having a great time chatting with the three of them, and they even played a game of Street Fighter together online.
However, it seems that from this moment on, the other party is likely to hate him.
Inside the school building.
Mike and Alan sat to the side, watching Frank carefully take the NovaXeno out of the box and connect the cables one by one.
He then inserted the Civilization disc into the NX and pressed the power button.
"Squeak-
The CD drive spun rapidly, emitting a barely perceptible noise, and the CRT television screen flickered with stripes.
Then, the song " Dream of Flight " began to play.
Although the sound quality is significantly worse than the vinyl version, and it's completely electronic, the three people, who were already hooked on the song, could still recognize it instantly.
As if to show off its advanced graphics capabilities, the game's main title screen extensively uses various blue gradients and accent colors in combination.
The center section offers several options for players to choose from.
[Single-player game]
[Online Multiplayer]
[Game Settings]