The first Friday after Thanksgiving.
This day marks the start of the Christmas shopping season and is known as "Black Friday".
Retail giants such as Kmart, Walmart, and Target have long been gearing up for this battle.
Early in the morning, as dawn was breaking.
Long queues have formed in front of major convenience stores, with some tough guys even bringing their own tents.
However, unlike in the past, the proportion of young people in the queue this time has increased significantly.
They huddled together in twos and threes, their excitement barely concealed in their voices.
As early as two weeks ago, the promotional campaign for GAMENOVA's new "NovaPocket" portable game console was already in full swing.
This time, GAMENOVA has really gone all out, leaving no promotional channel unused.
The news was first revealed in a recent issue of Electronic Games. Apart from the lack of official images, the content was quite detailed and sparked a lot of discussion.
Mike, standing in the middle of the line, shivered slightly; the last moments before dawn are always the coldest.
"I said... stop flipping through that stupid magazine and tidy up your things, it looks like we're about to open the door."
Upon hearing this, John reluctantly put down the latest issue of Electronic Games.
This issue of the magazine completely declassifies information about the NovaPocket, showcasing both its exterior images and detailed specifications.
"That's great! There really are game consoles in this world that you can hold and play in your hands..."
John couldn't help but feel excited when he recalled the amazing promotional video featuring Mr. Schwarzenegger, which was full of unexpected charm.
Even Mr. Schwarzenegger, when not acting, would hide backstage and play video games—how amazing is that!
"You're the biggest contributor here, John."
Mike stood up, rolled up and put away the picnic mat he had used to cushion his bottom, and patted John on the shoulder.
Who would have thought that John could find the Easter egg hidden in Contra by the gaming god, Mr. Lin?
The prize is as high as $10,000!
Not to mention the medal made of gold and platinum that is exactly the same as the one in the game.
The two had originally prepared only $300 for this shopping festival.
All the money I've saved up throughout the year, just for a few days.
Now they can shop to their hearts' content without restraint.
"I never imagined I could make money playing games. You're amazing!"
"Hehe... I was just kidding... Hey, Mike, look!"
As they were talking, the television set placed in front of the convenience store's large glass window suddenly turned on.
The various manufacturers' Google Play products began to be displayed one by one.
The first thing John noticed, of course, was the several images with the large GAMENOVA logo.
He had watched the NovaPocket promotional video featuring Schwarzenegger countless times, but this time it was someone else entirely.
"It's Brandon Lee!"
"Aha, I knew he'd be in it too."
Brandon Lee is dressed exactly like he is in Street Fighter, standing in front of a wooden dummy.
"Da, da, da..."
Every move, every opening and closing movement, showcases the exquisite skill of Kung-Fu Master.
Jeet Kune Do, derived from Wing Chun, fits this body perfectly; every strike feels like it hits the heart of the audience.
A few breaths later, Brandon Lee stopped, exhaled a breath of stale air, as if reflecting on whether his previous movements were not skillful enough.
He suddenly grabbed a NovaPocket from the side, casually inserted the Street Fighter cartridge, and started playing.
As his fingers moved rapidly, Fei Long unleashed the same dazzling moves.
Brandon Lee nodded thoughtfully before putting down the handheld console and resuming his practice on the wooden dummy.
The second promotional video is short, but everyone can see what it's trying to convey.
"Wow, this little gadget can even play Street Fighter?"
John completely ignored the film's attempts to convey messages meant for parents, such as "more dexterity leads to higher IQ," and immediately focused on the Street Fighter cartridge.
Looking back, my biggest complaint about the NovaBox, this unparalleled gaming console, was that it wasn't convenient to carry around.
He couldn't make good use of his spare time during work.
NovaPocket was created precisely because it met this need.
A portable game console that you can play anytime, anywhere!
"How did they manage to cram so many components into such a tiny thing?"
Mike was equally amazed, but he soon noticed a problem.
"Huh? But if that's the case, wouldn't the handheld version only be able to play against AI?"
John then seemed to snap out of his daze and carefully examined the illustrations in the magazine.
"Indeed, it's essentially a controller, leaving no room for 2P participation, which is a drawback, a real shame."
Fighting with others, that's where the real fun lies!
Wow--
The two were pointing out the illustrations in the magazine, when suddenly they heard a collective gasp from the people around them.
Following their gaze, we saw that a new promotional video had started playing on the television sometime during the day.
Brandon Lee and Schwarzenegger each stand on one side of the screen, playing their respective roles in Street Fighter.
With the music and set design in place, a strong sense of destiny arises spontaneously.
Especially for the group of super fans of Street Fighter on the street, the sense of déjà vu from this scene was incredibly strong.
Guile took out a comb and tidied up the broom.
The tension between the two could be clearly felt even through the screen.
They looked like they were about to start fighting.
The next moment, both sides indeed... strictly speaking, it was Fei Long launched the first attack, quickly closing in on Guile.
Just when everyone thought the two were about to engage in a thrilling fight scene, they suddenly reached into their pockets at the same time and pulled out two NovaPocket phones.
John's brain went blank on the spot; this contrast was truly a brilliant move.
While he was still in a daze, Schwarzenegger pulled out a strange cable from his pocket and connected each end to the communication port of one of the two machines.
The scene then transitions to the handheld version of Street Fighter, which has a significantly lower resolution.
"Holy shit! So that's what the communication port they mentioned was for!"
John quickly flipped through the magazine and found the page with detailed interface configuration.
It was already clearly stated here that the NovaPocket comes standard with both an infrared communication module and a wired communication module.
At first, he didn't know what this thing was for, but now, seeing the two of them playing online together, it all became clear.
A stable wired connection and data exchange allow both parties to enjoy an online experience almost identical to that on NovaBox and arcades.
As for infrared, although its communication efficiency is not good, it is more flexible and convenient, and it is also very good at uploading and comparing scores.
The three promotional videos are still playing on a loop on TV.
It was placed alongside GGs from other manufacturers.
However, almost everyone's attention was focused on GAMENOVA's several GGs.