"Eh~ I never thought you'd be able to achieve such success without DUN's investment."
They were drinking at the Eden X-space bar in the evening.
Hearing that "The Mermaid's Heart" had sold over 100,000 copies, Tsuda Nao couldn't help but feel a bit jealous.
"Pokeni secretly made a galgame without bringing DUN along," Tsuda puffed out her cheeks, pretending to be angry.
"Because we had enough budget," Aoki Haruhi smiled. "And this game was quite sudden anyway; it wasn't originally in our development plan."
Seeing his serious expression, Tsuda Nao couldn't help but laugh. "I'm just joking."
She raised her glass to clink with Aoki Haruhi's. "Congratulations, The Mermaid's Heart is a big hit."
"Thank you."
The two raised their glasses and took a sip.
Aoki Haruhi smiled without a word, lost in thought.
The Mermaid's Heart was just the beginning.
He was still far from his goal.
Pokeni's dream was to defeat Nintendo.
The next game, Diablo, was the real priority.
"It seems you don't have so much resistance to making galgames anymore, do you?" Tsuda Nao said with a smile.
"Uh..."
Aoki Haruhi choked slightly.
"That's because the galgames Pokeni makes are different from others," Aoki frowned. "Our galgames aren't like what you imagine."
"Eh?" Tsuda Nao blinked. "I thought Pokeni's galgames told stories of beautiful love between men and women—pure, flawless, and unsullied by worldly views. Isn't that the case?"
"Er... that is indeed the case."
Ah, damn it, this wicked woman.
Seeing the amusement hidden in Tsuda Nao's eyes, Aoki Haruhi immediately realized she was saying this on purpose.
Tsuda Nao smiled slyly, staring at the cup in her hand and twirling it.
Light spread up from the base of the cup, scattering into a kaleidoscope of colors.
"However... Aoki-san, you really do have a talent for galgames. Being able to redefine the genre, getting players to accept it, and letting them taste a love that's untainted by anything 'blue'... I think that alone is remarkable."
Changing the status quo of the entire galgame industry with one's own efforts—that really is remarkable.
And these are things that are very difficult to achieve in the film industry.
Games can provide a greater sense of immersion; this is what Tsuda realized from it.
Having rarely received praise from her, Haruhi Aoki felt a bit tipsy, as if he had been drinking.
"After all, galgames have their beautiful side too. I understand that a bit better now," Aoki said earnestly. "Games are actually just a medium; the key is what you want to convey to the players."
"And what do you want to convey to the players?" Nao Tsuda rested one hand on the bar counter, supporting her chin as she gazed at Aoki.
"Love," Aoki said, smiling as he looked at Nao Tsuda.
Her lush, vibrant lips looked even more alluring under the lights, like strawberries, making one tempted to take a bite.
Tsuda's eyes flickered slightly. "As expected, love truly does bring joy."
"It can also bring sorrow," Aoki said, taking a sip of his drink. "The reason Pokeni's games are moving is because they contain both the beauty of love and the sorrow of parting."
"Good thing I don't play your games," Tsuda retorted.
"Ha? Then I'll have to teach you a lesson," Aoki said, standing up with his hands on his hips.
"I don't know who will be teaching whom," Nao Tsuda smirked.
The next morning, Aoki Haruhi dragged his exhausted body out of Tsuda Nao's house and headed to the company.
Back in his office, Aoki rubbed his shoulders while turning on his computer.
"Yabai." (Damn it.)
I'm only 26 this year, why am I so exhausted?
I can only blame Tsuda for having such incredible stamina.
But just thinking about Tsuda's sultry appearance last night, Aoki felt an urge to go back and continue.
Closing his eyes to calm himself down, Aoki created a new document on his desktop.
Focusing his attention on work, now is not the time to be thinking about such soft comforts.
Women will only slow down my progress toward becoming the world's richest man.
Pokeni is still a small company right now; it can't be compared to Nintendo, and even DUN is a giant compared to Pokeni.
If I want to match Tsuda Nao's status, I must work even harder.
Moreover, as the president of the company, I need to properly plan for the company's future.
"The Mermaid's Heart" is currently on sale and has achieved good results.
If it continues at its current momentum, reaching sales of 200,000 units shouldn't be a problem.
The only product the company has in development is "Diablo."
As for "Diablo," Aoki Haruhi isn't particularly worried; after all, it's a proven success from his past life, and its release is bound to bring earth-shattering changes to the gaming industry.
Pokeni's cash flow is quite abundant, so they can absolutely afford to develop another new product.
Aoki Haruhi doesn't really want to continue with galgames.
Even if they were to develop a galgame in the future, it would be better to wait until after "Diablo" is released.
Currently, players have already formed a fixed impression of Pokeni, almost equating Pokeni with galgames.
This is not a good thing.
When a company's game genre becomes increasingly fixed, it becomes harder and harder to pivot.
As for Kairosoft-style games, Aoki Haruhi had no intention of touching them again, certainly not in the short term.
Markets need to be cultivated, and it takes a considerable amount of time to build up a user base for simulation games; there was no need for Pokeni to waste money in that direction.
Besides that, what other types of games were suitable for development?
The mainstream games on the market were still predominantly Japanese RPGs.
For instance, the Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy series had shone brightly on the SFC this year, driving countless players wild.
It was said that "Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light" would be released in the second half of the year, so the strategy RPG niche had already been claimed by someone else.
Fire Emblem could definitely be considered a milestone game.
It was a pity; when he wanted to develop it last year, he didn't have the money, and now that he had the money, he had missed the opportunity.
The long development cycle of games was also a headache.
After a long period of thought, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck Aoki Haruhi's mind.
Without even thinking it through carefully, his fingers moved on their own.
A line of text appeared in the document—
[Pokemon]
Come to think of it, this name is quite similar to Pokeni.
Since it's such a fated connection, it would really be inexcusable not to make a Pokemon game.
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