"You mean... aren't we supposed to be looking for animation studios to discuss collaborations?"
Sam looked at the simple little house in front of him; it didn't seem to be the company building he had imagined.
They're just a group of people who work on gaming magazines.
"Oh, I understand."
Before Lin Lixin could even think of a way to fool him, Sam clapped his hands and convinced himself.
"Our handheld consoles don't have that high resolution, making it difficult to render elaborate animation effects."
The planned NovaPocket will feature a 2.6-inch reflective dot-matrix LCD screen with a maximum resolution of only 160x144.
This is far too blurry compared to the 640x350 EGA standard commonly used by NovaBox.
Sam thought about it more and more and found it made sense, and he had to admire Lin Lixin's foresight.
Unlike home consoles, handheld consoles don't have large TV screens, so their resolution can be compromised to some extent.
The downsides of reducing resolution are acceptable, but the benefits are obvious.
Low power consumption, low cost, and...
Lower visual design costs.
"Instead of spending a fortune to commission animations from top-tier animation companies that we don't need, hiring a group of illustrators is a better approach."
"Not only is it more suitable, but it's also cheaper and easier to negotiate with."
The more he spoke, the brighter Sam's eyes became, and he nodded repeatedly in admiration.
"Not bad, you really are a genius."
Sam has always had his own strategies for self-reliance.
Lin Lixin smiled and simply followed his train of thought.
"Hey, I've discovered you're really good at making yourself happy."
Twenty years old is the age to strive and work hard.
Satoshi Tajiri listened to the two men's self-introductions in a daze, then exchanged bewildered glances with Ken Sugimori, who was a year younger than him.
The name GAMENOVA is certainly well-known enough for people in the gaming industry.
Even in Japan, where there is no distribution, various urban legends about it circulate.
Claims like "the world's first true 3D game" and "the world's first true open-world RPG"...
Various prestigious titles have been bestowed upon this mysterious company.
To play the legendary NovaBox, you have to buy a US version from Backpack at a high price, and it doesn't even have Japan language support.
"This... uh... Mr. Lin," Satoshi Tajiri licked his slightly dry lips, "Are you really the legendary owner of GAMENOVA?"
The man in front of me, who called himself Lin Lixin, looked to be only a few years older than me and had a typical Asia face.
How could he possibly be the boss of Gamenova?
While it's true that he had a foreigner with him, it still looked suspicious no matter how you looked at it.
Besides, even if it were true, GAMENOVA would have no reason to approach them.
They are not big companies like Namco, Sega, or Nintendo, nor even a new game company like SNK.
They were just a small magazine publishing company that made doujinshi (fan-made comics).
GameFreak, at most, only gained some popularity a couple of years ago with their " How to Score Ten Million Points in Xevious " video.
But apart from that, he really couldn't understand what his gaming magazine could possibly have that the other party cared about.
Besides money.
Damn it!
Once Satoshi Tajiri understood this, everything became clear to her – it was a fraud ring!
Sensing their distrust, Lin Lixin didn't waste any more words and simply had Sam bring over their suitcases.
" Sam, get the stuff."
After a flurry of tinkering, a brand-new NovaBox and several floppy disks appeared in front of Satoshi Tajiri.
After making some simple adjustments to the display specifications and voltage, and using a monitor from their office, Satoshi Tajiri saw the legendary NovaBox for the first time.
"I recall your company used to have extensive research on ' Xevious '?"
Lin Lixin found the console version of "1942" among the games and pushed it into the console.
"This is a flight shooting game that I developed, modeled after my predecessor Namco. I wonder if you two would be interested in giving it a try?"
Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori exchanged a glance, both seeing the interest in each other's eyes.
Although it's a scam... if it's just a trial run, there shouldn't be any problems, right?
NovaBox is a rare find in Japan.
With one controller each, the two-player co-op mode in 1942 is perfect for them to have a great time playing together.
Although the article about " Xevious " was not written by the two of them, they were no strangers to the genre of flight shooting.
Whether it's Namco or the other companies, they all have major arcade and console titles in this genre.
But this is the first time I've seen a film like "1942" by Satoshi Tajiri.
Something's wrong, very wrong!
The random upgrades dropped by enemy units and the dynamic changes in the number of enemy units alone make 1942 far more replayable than any other game.
With its dazzling special effects, smooth scrolling animation, and simulated radio communication tones...
This is from a completely different era than " Xevious ".
Satoshi Tajiri put down the controller, lost in confusion.
But then, the two saw Wolfenstein 3D.
Damn it, how did the gaming industry next door develop into this mess???
"Knock knock knock"
Suddenly, there was a few knocks on the glass curtain wall at the entrance of the studio.
Satoshi Tajiri then seemed to wake from a dream and looked up.
A small truck had stopped in front of the door sometime earlier, and a man dressed clearly as a deliveryman was standing there with a large pile of brand-new magazines next to him.
This isn't one of their GameFreak publications; it's a foreign game magazine that Satoshi Tajiri subscribes to.
As a gaming media outlet, Satoshi Tajiri is not content with working in isolation; instead, he regularly subscribes to other gaming magazines for reference and learning.
However, unlike Famitsu, it's not easy to buy popular overseas publications like Electronic Games.
Therefore, they are usually delivered all at once after a batch has been collected.
When Satoshi Tajiri saw the Electronic Games magazine tucked among the pile of magazines, his eyes suddenly lit up.
Wow, isn't this like a pillow being delivered just when you're about to fall asleep?
Just when I was wondering how to deal with these two, the magazine was delivered to my door.
If I remember correctly, there was a One on One interview with the owner of GAMENOVA in a few previous issues of Electronic Games.
"Excuse me, I'll be there for a moment."
Ken Sugimori volunteered to bring the magazines in.
Hmph, exposing the scam to my face, just thinking about it is so satisfying.
However, just one minute later...
Satoshi Tajiri's hand froze on the spot.
There's no need to flip through the pages looking for illustrations.
Lin Lixin's image was boldly printed on the cover of one issue.
The editor-in-chief of Electronic Games was sitting next to him.
GameFreak is closed to the public today!
"So... Mr. Lin, what brings you here?"
"I've noticed that GameFreak's illustrations and shows are quite interesting, and I happen to have a need for that recently."
Lin Lixin took a draft out of his bag.
Is this a pink... kitten with a long tail?
It's less like a kitten and more like some kind of fantastical creature that doesn't exist in the real world.
Her big blue eyes were mischievous, and her whole body maintained a subtle harmony and cuteness.
"I call it ' Mew,' a creature that will appear in the new game I'm developing."