Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo-Chapter 1011: Living Fossil

"Grandpa, I'm telling you, this game is amazing! I think it's my favorite game ever!"

"Pokémon... what a strange name."

"No way, Grandpa, you really don't know anything about this?"

"Haha, sorry about that. I've never paid much attention to things like this before."

Inside a villa, a 14-year-old boy was playing a video game with his grandfather.

That grandfather was none other than Jesse Hormier — a renowned director now in his seventies.

He had made films across a wide range of genres: romance, thriller, war, espionage, coming-of-age, and more.

He started his career early. He's spent over fifty years navigating the ups and downs of the film industry. At just sixteen, he began working on film sets, and by twenty-two he had directed his first feature-length film. He was basically a living legend in the movie world.

...

...

He had witnessed the rise and fall of the film industry.

Back in the day, films were seen much like video games are now — boring distractions, unworthy hobbies.

But he fought back against that mindset and gradually won over audiences of all ages with his excellent films. Along with other great directors of his time, he helped build the foundation of the modern film industry.

Thinking back, Jesse still felt a sense of youthful pride.

Now, movies had become an essential part of everyday entertainment. No one dared to say anymore that films were useless or a waste of time.

But every era needs a scapegoat. In today's society, video games had taken on that role — dismissed as time-wasters, especially by people over sixty.

"Grandpa, Grandpa! It's a super rare Pokémon! Catch it, quick!"

"Oh oh oh!"

Jesse fumbled with the controller and tried the capture function — but failed.

"Oh no, Grandpa, you have to weaken the Pokémon first!"

"Oops, I forgot."

Following his grandson's instructions, Jesse managed to catch the rare Pokémon.

"Ha! I got the rare Pokémon! Grandpa, you're amazing! I'm going to show this off to my friends online! Wait for me — I'm grabbing my phone to take a picture and post it on Facebook!"

Facebook — another modern invention, created around the same time as video games.

That, Jesse understood well. These days, most of his movie promotions happened on social media.

He had his own official Facebook account.

He mainly used it to promote his films.

Jesse even considered Facebook and video games to be two of the great inventions of this era.

Facebook connected people across distances, allowing for seamless interaction. Video games went a step further — bringing people together through shared passion and immersive experiences.

"All right, picture taken."

His grandson beamed as he edited the post, then uploaded the Pokémon capture photo with a short caption on Facebook.

"Hey, maybe I should share it too. Is that okay with you?" Jesse asked.

"Of course, Grandpa! You caught that Pokémon — it'd be awesome if you shared it too!"

"Alright then."

Jesse picked up his own phone.

It was a Facebook-branded phone.

Despite his age, he was just as tech-savvy as his grandson.

Back in his youth, Jesse had been something of a rebellious spirit. That attitude had stayed with him, making him always open to new things, even at his age.

He hadn't gotten into video games before mainly because they were time-consuming — he preferred to dedicate his time to filmmaking.

But this time was different. His upcoming movie would be related to video games, so playing them now was essential research.

"Hmm, what should I write..."

Jesse thought for a moment, then quickly came up with something:

"Sharing the joy of video games with my grandson today." frёeωebɳovel.com

He smiled as he posted the caption along with the Pokémon capture photo to his official Facebook page.

This wasn't just a casual post.

It was also a teaser — letting people know that he, an old-school director, was now playing video games. The sharper minds out there might connect the dots and guess that his next film would be gaming-related.

But he had underestimated the imagination of internet users.

Since Jesse had never really talked about games before, many people assumed he wasn't interested or even disliked them.

So when they saw his post, their first assumption wasn't that his next film would be about video games — they thought it was going to be a touching family story.

User A: "Wow, you can really feel the close bond between Jesse and his grandson from just that one photo. Is Jesse planning to make a film about relationships across three generations? I'd love to see that!"

User B: "I can already picture a warm, heartfelt story with just a hint of bittersweet emotion. Don't worry, Jesse — even if it's not a commercial hit, I'll be first in line to watch it!"

Jimmy, top screenwriter and magazine editor: "WOW! Jesse's working on a new film? Amazing. I grew up watching his movies. Can't wait for his next family drama!"

At that moment, Jimmy — the magazine editor — was chatting with a few industry people at a resort.

All of them had been rejected from the two Gamestar Electronic Entertainment film adaptations.

That gave them a bit of shared misery to bond over.

As they chatted, Jimmy's phone buzzed — a notification from one of his Facebook favorites. It was Jesse's new post.

"Wow, can't believe Jesse is still directing films at over seventy. If it were me, I'd be enjoying retirement by now."

Someone sighed.

"He's a living fossil in the film world. People from his generation had very different ideals from us. That's what makes him so admirable."

Listening to their conversation, Jimmy looked closer at Jesse's post and noticed a detail in the photo.

"Wait... is that a video game?"

The other two leaned in for a look.

"Yep, definitely a game. That's Pokémon. My kid loves playing it — showed it to me once. But hey, it's just a game."

Jimmy nodded too.

"Looks like... it's just a game, nothing more."