Only a couple of hours after ZAGE uploaded the trailer, it had already spread everywhere.
YouTube views climbed rapidly, ZAGE Forum threads multiplied by the minute, and gaming communities across Japan and the United States were discussing nearly every part of the video. The two games themselves naturally attracted most of the attention, but people were also talking about the presentation. ZAGE's mascot-filled advertisements had already become something fans expected from the company, yet seeing Mario, Sonic, Pikachu, Crash and Kirby rendered so naturally beside Zaboru immediately caused another round of discussions about just how far ZAGE's 3D animation technology had advanced.
Some people even replayed the sofa sections simply to look at the rendering.
"BRO THE MASCOTS ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE THEY'RE IN THE ROOM."
"Forget the games for five seconds, how the hell did they render Pikachu's fur like that?"
"Kirby stealing Zaboru's sandwich is peak marketing."
"Why does Zaboru look like somebody's handsome dad now?"
That last comment generated far more replies than anyone expected.
But naturally, another portion of the community focused on something considerably more obvious.
Zaboru had just mocked Microsoft.
He never actually said the company's name aloud. Technically, the audio had been censored.
Unfortunately for Microsoft, Zaboru had exaggerated his lips so obviously that practically every person watching understood what he was saying.
MICROSOFT XBOX!?
Then he laughed.
And immediately followed it with:
"You know ZAGE doesn't really play by the rules anyway."
That line spread incredibly quickly.
Someone clipped the entire moment and uploaded it separately. Another person turned Zaboru pointing at the YOU KNOW THE USUAL? text on his shirt into an image reaction. Within an hour, users were already dropping it into discussions whenever somebody attempted to predict what ZAGE would do next.
The ZAGE Forum naturally became the worst place imaginable.
"MICROSOFT REALLY THOUGHT MARCH 27 WAS SAFE đź’€"
"ZAGE: Rules? What rules?"
"Bro waited until Xbox's release day just to say SURPRISE."
"I actually feel bad for Microsoft."
"I don't."
"Zaboru eating sandwiches while ruining another company's marketing schedule is crazy."
"YOU KNOW THE USUAL."
One user tried to defend Microsoft. "To be fair, nobody could reasonably predict ZAGE randomly announcing two games two days before release."
The first reply simply read:
"That's the problem. You tried to reasonably predict ZAGE."
That comment quickly became one of the most liked responses in the thread.
Still, beneath all the jokes, there was a genuine business problem developing.
Microsoft had released Fist Knight, SPAZEN, and Renzoku that day.
All three games had received marketing throughout the previous week. Microsoft had deliberately positioned them together as the next major wave of Xbox first-party releases, and internally there had been confidence that March 27 would provide them with a relatively clean window.
ZAGE had already released Trails in the Sky the 3rd and Medal of Honor 2 for ZEPS 3 earlier in the month.
No ZEPS 4 trailers had appeared afterward.
No announcements.
Nothing.
For Microsoft, the assumption had been simple.
ZAGE was done for March.
Then, on the exact day Microsoft's three games launched, ZAGE suddenly revealed Sengoku Basara and Gotcha Force.
And they weren't releasing next month.
They weren't releasing in two weeks.
They were releasing on March 29.
Two days later.
That created hesitation almost immediately.
Some Xbox owners still purchased Microsoft's games without thinking twice. Plenty had already been waiting specifically for Fist Knight, SPAZEN, or Renzoku, and one surprise ZAGE trailer wasn't suddenly going to erase that interest.
But other customers hesitated.
Especially people who owned both an Xbox and ZEPS 4.
Suddenly, somebody planning to buy two games had to reconsider whether they wanted to spend that money today or wait forty-eight hours to see what ZAGE's new releases were like.
And the trailer had made those games look extremely appealing.
For Japanese players in particular, Sengoku Basara immediately became one of the day's largest topics. The completely ridiculous interpretation of Sengoku-era figures was easy to understand, the massive battles looked visually impressive, and its fast hack-and-slash gameplay was the kind of thing that could immediately be enjoyed without needing dozens of hours of explanation.
Date Masamune using six swords like claws already had fan art appearing online.
Honda Tadakatsu looking suspiciously like a giant war machine generated memes almost instantly.
And the moment people realized the game supported multiplayer functionality through ZAGE Network, interest increased even further.
Gotcha Force attracted a different crowd.
The colorful toy-scale battles looked simple at first glance, but the deeper team-building systems became obvious when viewers slowed down the trailer. Different Borg costs, team composition, unit classes, local co-op, online multiplayer and multiple objectives gave people considerably more to discuss.
Then there were the brief franchise appearances.
RoboCop.
Toy Story.
Transformers.
Gundam.
They only appeared for moments, but that was enough.
Toy collectors immediately became interested.
Younger players simply thought controlling tiny robots inside enormous kitchens and living rooms looked fun.
By early morning, one thing had become obvious.
Microsoft's three games were no longer the only major gaming topic of March 27.
And elsewhere in Japan, one particular company found the entire situation extremely entertaining.
Inside Sonaya's headquarters, Hikaru Kurata had just finished watching the trailer.
Junpei Hoshida stood nearby along with several senior engineers who had gathered around one of the large displays after hearing that ZAGE had unexpectedly announced new games.
The final screen appeared.
SENGOKU BASARA — MARCH 29
GOTCHA FORCE — MARCH 29
The ZAGE logo faded.
Silence remained for approximately three seconds.
Then Hikaru covered his face with one hand.
His shoulders started shaking.
Junpei looked toward him suspiciously.
"Hikaru-san?"
The shaking became worse.
Then Hikaru suddenly leaned backward and burst into laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Several Sonaya engineers jumped slightly.
Junpei stared at him.
Hikaru continued laughing so hard that he had to place one hand against the table. "Oh God... this is beautiful."
Junpei started laughing too. "You're enjoying this way too much."
"Of course I am!"
Hikaru wiped the corner of one eye and looked back toward the frozen ZAGE trailer. "Do you understand how satisfying it is seeing somebody else experience this?"
One engineer nearby immediately understood.
"Oh."
Hikaru pointed toward him. "Exactly!"
Junpei folded his arms, already smiling because he knew precisely where this was going.
Hikaru continued, "Xbox definitely researched ZAGE. They looked at the schedule. They saw ZAGE release two ZEPS 3 games earlier this month and thought, 'Okay, that's probably it. No ZEPS 4 releases in March.'"
Junpei nodded. "Honestly, it's not an unreasonable assumption."
"That's what makes it funny!"
Hikaru started laughing again.
For years, Sonaya had been one of the companies most frequently forced to learn an important lesson about ZAGE.
Never assume the company followed normal industry schedules.
Never assume silence meant inactivity.
And most importantly, never assume that because ZAGE had already released something, they wouldn't suddenly release something else.
Sonaya had learned those lessons the painful way.
Repeatedly.
Hikaru sighed happily. "Microsoft probably prepared everything carefully. Marketing campaign, release date, trailers, retail placement. Nice clean March 27 launch."
Junpei added, "Then Zaboru walks onto a sofa, eats a sandwich and basically announces two games forty-eight hours away."
Hikaru pointed at him. "Exactly!"
Several developers around them laughed.
Junpei shook his head. "And the timing really is diabolical. If ZAGE announced these last week, Microsoft could at least adjust expectations. But announcing them directly on release day? That's like hitting Xbox with a damn truck while they're walking out of the store."
Hikaru grinned. "Classic bastard of Zaboru."
"Very classic."
Hikaru leaned back in his chair. "And then he mocks them."
Junpei chuckled. "Technically, Microsoft was censored."
That made Hikaru laugh again.
He eventually calmed down and looked toward Junpei. "You know, I almost feel sorry for them."
Junpei raised an eyebrow then Hikaru grinned "Almost"
Somehow, watching another major company get blindsided by ZAGE really was strangely satisfying.
Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers away, the atmosphere inside Microsoft's Xbox offices was significantly less cheerful.
The morning had started with excitement.
Fist Knight. SPAZEN. Renzoku.
Three new first-party games.
Three projects Microsoft had invested considerable time and money into.
Then somebody discovered the ZAGE upload.
Within minutes, the trailer was playing inside one of the conference rooms.
Seamus Blackley watched the entire thing in silence.
Zaboru appeared.
He ate.
He joked.
The mascots appeared.
Then came the sentence.
"Who said we weren't releasing any ZEPS 4 games this month?"
Zaboru mouthed Microsoft's name.
BEEEEEEP.
Seamus's eye twitched.
Then Zaboru laughed.
"You know ZAGE doesn't really play by the rules anyway."
Seamus slowly leaned forward.
Nobody around the table said anything.
The Sengoku Basara footage played.
Then Gotcha Force.
Then March 29 appeared.
Two days.
The trailer ended.
For several seconds, the room was completely silent.
Then Seamus spoke very quietly.
"What... the fuck."
Nobody answered.
He slowly turned toward one of the marketing managers.
"What the fuck do you mean ZAGE is releasing ZEPS 4 games?"
The manager swallowed. "We didn't receive any indication they were preparing a March release."
"Neither did I!"
Seamus stood up so quickly that his chair rolled backward.
"And how the hell does he have the nerve to mock us in the trailer?!"
One employee cautiously replied, "Technically, he censored—"
Seamus turned toward him.
The employee immediately stopped talking.
"Don't."
"…Understood."
Seamus paced around the room with both hands on his hips. "We chose this window because they already released two games this month. Two! Who releases fourteen games around a console launch and then goes, 'You know what? Let's add two more!'"
Nobody had a particularly useful answer.
Then the conference-room door opened.
A sales employee entered carrying several printed reports.
His expression immediately made the atmosphere worse.
Seamus noticed. "What?"
"We have the early digital numbers."
"And?"
The employee hesitated.
"They're below forecast."
Seamus stopped moving.
"How far?"
"Not catastrophic. Physical retail is still too early to properly judge, and all three games are selling. But digital purchases over the last couple of hours dropped below the curve we projected."
Another manager looked confused. "Why?"
"We've been monitoring purchasing behavior and forum discussion. A noticeable number of users are saying they're delaying purchases until March 29. Mostly customers who own both Xbox and ZEPS 4."
Seamus stared at him.
The employee continued carefully. "They're not necessarily canceling purchases. Some are just... waiting."
"Waiting."
"Yes."
"For ZAGE."
"…Yes."
Seamus closed his eyes.
His jaw tightened.
One hand slowly formed into a fist.
The employee quickly added, "Again, this doesn't mean the games are failing. It's very early. But the trailer definitely affected launch-day momentum."
That somehow made Seamus angrier.
Because it was reasonable.
Nobody was claiming Xbox had suddenly collapsed.
Nobody was claiming the games were disasters.
The problem was simpler.
Microsoft had spent weeks building momentum for March 27.
ZAGE had disrupted it with one trailer.
One fucking trailer.
Seamus looked toward the frozen screen.
Zaboru's smiling face remained there, sitting comfortably on a sofa in that stupid white shirt with yellow writing.
YOU KNOW THE USUAL?
Seamus stared at it.
His eye twitched again his forehead bulged.
Then his face gradually turned red.
"DAMN ZAGE!"
Several employees flinched.
Seamus pointed directly at the screen.
"AND DAMN YOU, ZABORU!"
The shout echoed through the room.
Nobody said anything afterward.
Several employees simply looked down at their reports.
Others stared at the screen.
And somewhere inside Microsoft, Will Carlo would probably find the entire situation considerably funnier than he was allowed to admit.
If Hikaru Kurata had been standing inside that conference room at that exact moment, however, he would have recognized the expression immediately.
Because years earlier, he definitely had worn exactly the same one.
To be continued.
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