Jennis Office.
"Kimura, you're going to be famous!" His colleague, Nakai Masahiro, placed a magazine in front of Kimura Takuya.
Kdai, an old idol magazine first published in 1966, has been around for over 20 years. Initially, it focused on introducing contemporary Japanese film stars and popular singers. In the past two years, it transitioned into a comprehensive information magazine for popular idols, actors, and singers.
Due to its large readership and timely transformation, it holds a very important position in the field of idol magazines.
Especially the newly launched artist rankings in the magazine have been welcomed by countless readers.
Kimura followed Nakai Masahiro's finger and saw a table embedded in the black and white pages of the magazine.
Kimura was in the third row of the table.
"What is this?" Kimura Takuya looked up and asked, puzzled.
"Kdai surveyed over 400 passersby to select the most popular new male artist."
"Eh? Really?" Although Kimura had confidence and a premonition about this, when he actually heard the news, he still felt a sense of unreality.
It was like a dream.
But Kimura himself knew that this feeling was not a good thing.
Young people becoming famous too early can easily lead to arrogance, and they might suffer a big fall in the future.
Kimura Takuya's good friend and fellow SMAP member, Nakai Masahiro, couldn't help but feel envious.
"It's true, your popularity is soaring now," Nakai Masahiro said with a hint of bitterness.
To some extent, he greatly envied Kimura Takuya for meeting a CEO like Aoki Haruhi, who had the courage to discover and use a newcomer like Kimura as a spokesperson for his products before he even became famous.
"No, no," Kimura said with a frown. "I haven't felt it myself; I don't have any real experience of it."
Although he didn't have a real sense of it, Kimura Takuya could probably guess why he became popular—
Ever since he became the Pokémon spokesperson for Pokeni, with the popularity of the game and anime, many people now recognize Kimura when he walks down the street.
This was an unprecedented experience.
Even though he participated in the Red and White Song Contest last year during the Spring Festival, there were many members in the group at that Time, and he wasn't necessarily the most outstanding one. But now, many people directly call him "Pokémon" instead of "Kimura Takuya."
Thinking of this, Kimura couldn't help but smile bitterly.
He didn't know if it was good or bad.
Kimura Takuya was completely unprepared for losing his real name and becoming Pokémon.
In fact, when he took on this advertisement, he was only doing it to fulfill his responsibility and complete the task assigned by the office.
But he never expected Pokémon to become so popular.
And as the anime continued to air, it showed a trend of becoming even more popular.
"Kimura." Just then, Nakai Masahiro patted him on the shoulder, waking Kimura Takuya from his contemplation.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I…" Kimura smiled bitterly without showing it, then turned to his friend and said, "Do you know what the kids on the street call me now?"
"What?"
"Pokémon," Kimura said unhappily. "The name Kimura Takuya isn't as well-known as Pokémon anymore."
After being labeled this, he even lost his sense of self.
"You little rascal," Nakai Masahiro put his arm around his neck from behind, gently pulling his head to one side. It was just playful teasing between friends, a small lesson for Kimura. "You're getting a good deal and still complaining. You should be content. If it were me, I'd also be willing to be called Pokémon."
"Haha." Kimura shook his head and grabbed his friend's arm. "If I could, I'd be willing to swap with you."
"Don't be silly, Kimura," Nakai Masahiro let go, stood up, and stretched his arms. "This is an opportunity you should seize; others might not achieve this effect."
Nakai Masahiro was telling the truth.
Only Kimura could portray that blend of cuteness and gentleness, masculinity and charm so naturally; others truly couldn't do it.
A little more or a little less would cause the audience to dislike it.
Not to mention interacting with the cute pets in the game.
At least you can see that clarity and kindness in Kimura's eyes.
Just like Ash, the protagonist of the story.
"When you become famous in the future, you'll have to take good care of me, okay?" Nakai Masahiro said.
...
Pokémon's game, anime, advertisements, and merchandise formed a perfect four-in-one industrial chain, primarily filling people's vision with the anime, especially creating a sensation among teenagers.
While the game sold well, Pokémon's diverse range of merchandise also began to gain momentum, becoming a new growth point for sales.
The best-selling among these were naturally Pokémon plush toys, especially Pikachu's.
Then Eevee, Bulbasaur...
Eevee sold well because it was beautiful; as they say, appearance is justice.
Other products were basically ranked by popularity.
In addition to plush toys, cat bags also became a major sales item.
In Japan, there is a unique fondness for cats, possibly influenced by masters like Hayao Miyazaki, leading to a heartfelt love for these creatures.
And cat owners often have a need to carry their pets when going out. Rather than Pokémon products being attractive, it's more that cat bags themselves have strong practical value.
At the same Time, because of the various cute cartoon characters in Pokémon, these cat bags with 'astronaut helmets' quickly captured the market, becoming a favorite among cat lovers.
Many manufacturers producing similar products were still in the stage of using portable hand-held cat carriers, never imagining that DUN, a company producing blue products, would have such advanced creative ability.
As soon as Pokémon's cat bags were released, many game players and cat product manufacturers rushed to imitate them, and various types of cat bags appeared on the market.
Hand-held cat carriers also began to use transparent materials on both ends and sides to expand the cat's field of vision.
In addition to DUN's backpack style, there were also single-shoulder bags or front-mounted cat bags produced by other companies.
In short, as Time went on, you could see various types of cat bags on the streets of Tokyo.
However, none of these cat bags successfully threatened or even captured 1% of the Pokémon cat bag market share for no other reason than that Pokémon was simply too cute.
Moreover, the Pokémon anime had very high popularity.
According to some, unless Disney made cat bags, there was basically no competition.
...
As night fell, Aoki Haruhi and Nao Tsuda strolled along Ginza Street.
The Japan lights around them flickered.
In the 90s, it wasn't the minimalist and grand design style of the future, and ultra-large LCD screens were rare. Shopkeepers mainly attracted people through colored lights.
So at night, the area became a riot of colors, making you dizzy just by looking up.
In the future, there's a special name for it: light pollution.
But in this Time, the flickering, colorful lights seemed to be alive, constantly changing to display vitality. This sight was more common in livelier places.
In large shopping malls, in addition to the colorful lights, there were also noisy sounds, making it seem even more vibrant and full of life.
This was Tokyo, Japan, one of the largest cities in the world.
"Aoki-san."
Nao Tsuda stopped and tilted her head, carefully examining Aoki Haruhi.
He touched his nose and asked, puzzled, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I think Aoki-san… you've grown too fast," Nao Tsuda said with a smile.
After laughing aloud, she continued walking as if nothing had happened.
Aoki Haruhi quickened his pace to catch up with her.
So the two walked side by side again, looking like a mature couple.
"Looking back, it's truly surprising," Tsuda said with a sigh. "The first Time I met Aoki-san, you were someone completely devoted to game, with a high talent for the product itself, but like a scientist in an ivory tower, oblivious to your surroundings.
You didn't understand the market, nor did you understand people's hearts."
"Heh heh, thank you for the compliment," Aoki Haruhi sneered sarcastically.
"But now…" Tsuda lowered her head and pondered for two seconds, "You can already consider many development paths simultaneously, such as animation, games, advertising, merchandise toys, etc., and connect them from the very beginning of the layout, with each undertaking its own mission, yet ultimately forming a combined force.
The strategy, creative ability, and overall coordination demonstrated are all astonishing."
Nao Tsuda felt a deep tremor in her heart, even though she was quite familiar with Aoki Haruhi, and all these things happened right under her nose.
No, it was precisely because these things happened right under her nose that it was truly surprising.
She even thought from Time to Time—
What kind of genius is Aoki Haruhi, to be able to make such rapid progress in a short period? There is probably no second person in the world who could do it.
Even the spokespersons he chose were so perfectly suited.
Nao Tsuda asked herself, if it were her, she definitely wouldn't be able to be so comprehensive.
She couldn't even do a tenth of it.
Aoki Haruhi chuckled, not directly answering Nao Tsuda.
Should I say that these things are actually what others have already done, and I'm just borrowing some ideas from the future?
However, feeling the admiration in Nao Tsuda's eyes truly made him incredibly happy.
He even felt dizzy.
Just like these colorful Japan lights.
"By the way, Aoki-san."
Just then, Nao Tsuda tugged on Aoki Haruhi's sleeve, guiding him to look over.
Not far away, there was a row of claw machines, and the most popular one had Pokémon toys inside.
The machine was already crowded with people.
Currently using the machine was a mother and daughter.
"Left, a little to the left, release! Oh dear… what a pity, just a little bit more…"
…
Seeing this, Nao Tsuda couldn't help but chuckle.
It further confirmed the fact that Pokémon was indeed very popular.
"Aoki-san. Do you know who invented the first claw machine in Japan?"
"Hmm?" Aoki Haruhi was momentarily stunned.
He seemed to have no research on this matter.
Seeing that he didn't answer for a long Time, Nao Tsuda smiled and revealed the answer:
"Sega."
"Eh?"
This was something Aoki Haruhi hadn't expected.
He knew that Sega had started with arcade games, but he hadn't expected Sega to even make claw machines, and so early too.
"To be precise, the claw machine as it is today, with a robotic arm like a crab claw that can be controlled by joysticks up and down, is entirely Sega's credit," Nao Tsuda said with a smile.
"Back then, Sega was a vibrant and legendary company that carved out a name for itself with many arcade games."
Mm-hmm.
Aoki Haruhi nodded seriously.
"But, after several decades, Sega has become an old company."
"Hmm?"
"Look at Ginza here." Nao Tsuda directed Aoki Haruhi's gaze.
"How many people are scrambling to own a shop here."
"But the reality is, without development and innovation, businesses here will only be abandoned by Time and replaced by newer ones."
"This is very similar to Sega, yet also different."
"Sega is old, but Nakayama, that person, is particularly courageous. Even at his advanced age of over 60, he still possesses the spirit of forging ahead fearlessly."
"People like him can generally only be described as gamblers."
"However, it is precisely such gamblers who can stand out in the tide of Time."
As Nao Tsuda spoke, Nakayama Hayao's sparse hair, stubbornly covering the bald spot on his head, and his sharp, eagle-like eyes, involuntarily appeared in Aoki Haruhi's mind.
As soon as he thought of this.
Aoki Haruhi couldn't help but shiver.
…
…
"The victory of Pokémon is not only the victory of Pokeni, but also our victory."
In the steaming sauna room, Nakayama Hayao said so.
He sat motionless, his already sparse hair falling to one side, becoming damp from the steam and sweat.
Nakayama Hayao himself was like a stone Buddha, appearing particularly terrifying in such an environment.
Even without moving, you could feel a powerful force emanating from him.
That kind of power was permeated in every cell of Nakayama Hayao. Aoki Haruhi dared not imagine what this man had experienced; just one glance made his pores expand.
Aoki Haruhi smiled happily and politely, but he was very puzzled inside.
Do all big shots like to go to the sauna?
Gen Urobuchi also went to the sauna with him quite often.
Now there was another one, Nakayama Hayao.
Sweating all over, and two big men sitting in a sauna room, with nothing else, just sitting, that in itself is very strange, isn't it?
"Aoki-san, it seems you enjoy the sauna very much," Nakayama Hayao glanced at him, smiling without warmth.
"Just so-so." Aoki Haruhi waved his hand.
Please don't say such strange things, okay?
If it weren't for the big shot dragging me to the sauna, why would I come here?
"Isn't there an old Chinese saying, 'steaming upwards every day'?"
Nakayama Hayao said, "Steaming upwards in the sauna room will bring good luck in the future."
"After the sauna, go soak in a comfortable cold bath in the cold pool to relax your muscles. That's what life is about." Nakayama Hayao's mouth twitched slightly twice.
Aoki Haruhi thought, this guy isn't laughing, is he?
And, you just said "steaming upwards every day," and then suddenly plunging into cold water, isn't that a bit inauspicious? It contradicts what you said before, doesn't it?
However, Aoki Haruhi didn't pay attention to these details. He knew that Nakayama was in a good mood now, after all, they had achieved good results, and the road ahead was still long. Everyone hoped for a good beginning, plus a good ending.
"This Time, sega gp was able to achieve a good sales growth rate, Aoki-san, you truly made an indispensable contribution," Nakayama Hayao said.
"Not at all, not at all." Aoki Haruhi shook his head repeatedly.
"Aoki-san."
Nakayama Hayao turned his head and looked into Aoki Haruhi's eyes, saying seriously, "Without Aoki-san, we would never have thought that there was such a thing as lithium batteries in the world, let alone combining lithium batteries with game consoles, thereby saving space in the game console, making the game console slimmer, and still providing good battery life.
And, without Pokémon from Pokeni, our current handheld game console would probably struggle to support the sales of the game console."
What Nakayama Hayao said was a fact, but not entirely so.
Aoki Haruhi thought.
It wasn't entirely his credit; even if the role of lithium batteries wasn't realized now, it would eventually be realized in the future. The development of technology never shifts according to individual will.
It was just that Aoki Haruhi accelerated this process and combined Sega and Sony.
And the latter, Pokémon, was indeed truly promoted by Pokeni.
So, in terms of credit, Aoki Haruhi could only accept half.
"The main reason is that Sega and Sony's technology is very excellent, otherwise, it would not have achieved such good results." Aoki Haruhi smiled, "As expected, future handheld consoles will definitely be mainly color screens."
Nakayama Hayao smiled and nodded.
He agreed that future handheld consoles would be in color.
"But the market is currently dominated by GB," Nakayama Hayao couldn't help but frown at this thought.
And there was half a sentence he didn't say: to push the dominoes, Pokeni and Sony alone are not enough; more third-party game developers need to come in.
Moreover, the real war is not in handheld consoles, but in TV game consoles.
"As long as we continue, more and more game developers should join Sega in the future," Aoki Haruhi responded.
"We all have a common opponent. I hope we can cooperate more in the future and drive it off its throne." Nakayama Hayao clenched his fist.
"Hmm, okay." Aoki Haruhi nodded solemnly.
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