Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo-Chapter 956: The Game That You Still Can’t Afford

Very few companies were actually willing to agree to sell their games at significantly reduced prices.

In this world, most game developers had found it relatively easy to make money—provided their games were of solid quality. Good games naturally led to good sales.

This world hadn't gone through any major economic recessions before, and people generally had decent disposable income. In fact, this world felt more like a peaceful version of Takayuki's original world.

And that's exactly what he liked about it—peace was the greatest gift for ordinary people.

With peace, came spending power. Even if people occasionally hesitated before buying a game or console, they rarely hesitated when a truly good game came along.

So in this kind of environment, most developers weren't eager to offer even older titles at a big discount. Even for games released two or three years ago, 10–20% off was the norm—still far from what Takayuki had originally envisioned.

...

And because this world's game industry had never faced a true global recession, these companies had never experienced the desperation that comes with an economic crisis.

When money's tight, even choosing to spend on entertainment becomes a luxury.

These days, most popular games were still priced at $40–50 or more. Many players simply couldn't keep up anymore.

In the end, only a few companies—those with good relations with Gamestar—agreed to participate in the discount campaign.

What surprised Takayuki a little was that Suri Electronics also agreed to join.

Not only that, but they actually took the discount event pretty seriously.

Seeing Gamestar roll out its summer sale, Suri launched a similar promotion of their own.

Suri hadn't been doing all that well recently. So when a potential revenue-boosting opportunity came along—even at the cost of lowering player confidence in full-price purchases—Hayakawa Ueto still went ahead with it.

It confirmed again that Suri Electronics was a formidable rival, one that Takayuki couldn't afford to take lightly.

As long as Hayakawa was in charge, Suri would keep advancing steadily, always looking for a chance to overtake.

"Summer Sale Festival! Gamestar Electronic Entertainment's first-ever mega sale event for gamers! Come browse your favorite games—and while shopping, you might randomly receive digital items for Battle.net or console platforms!"

Across Facebook's video and social platforms, Gamestar's ads now dominated prime placements.

Though ad fees remained non-negotiable, Facebook was partially owned by Gamestar. This gave them priority ad placement, allowing them to queue ahead of others for the most valuable ad slots.

With such strong resources in hand, Gamestar's ads always made a lasting impression.

It was summer—when both kids and adults were too lazy to go outside. It was simply too hot, and most just wanted to stay indoors with the air conditioning on.

And if you were staying in, there weren't many things to do—video games were still one of the best options. freeweɓnovel.cøm

But recently, many gamers had started to feel a sort of mental fatigue.

Maybe it was because there were too many games to choose from—so many that it all started to feel empty.

There was even a term circulating online: "Digital ED"—a reference to the lack of excitement or stimulation from playing video games.

Cookie-cutter games couldn't hold attention anymore. Players would try them briefly, then drop them.

Only a handful of timeless classics were still selling strongly.

"Discounts? Ha! You think you can fool money out of me that easily?" a middle-aged man scoffed at a summer sale ad on his computer.

Sales like this had happened before, and the discounts had never been impressive.

A $50 game at 10–20% off still felt unaffordable.

He had a few games he'd wanted to try, but every time he saw the price, he walked away.

A $50–60 game might offer 50–60 hours of gameplay—technically a good value—but in a struggling economy, that hardly mattered.

People had less and less disposable income, and fewer people were willing to spend on games.

Even lifelong gamers were tightening their wallets.

Newcomers—especially kids with shrinking allowances—were forced to turn to free-to-play mobile games like Candy Crush.

Meanwhile, retro titles on Facebook mostly appealed to nostalgic older players. Newcomers who grew up playing Final Fantasy VII Remake had little interest in pixelated 8-bit games—unless those games offered something truly unique.

As the ads continued to roll out, forums started buzzing with discussion about the upcoming sale.

"Only a few days until the sale. Anyone planning to pick something up?"

"I've always been interested in Sekiro, but I heard it's really hard. I'm scared I'll just get stuck and waste my money."

"Then buy the physical version so you can resell it afterward."

"Nah, too much trouble. I'd have to wait for shipping, install the cartridge, and everything. I'd rather just play something else."

"Yeah, I've been finding games more and more boring lately."

"Is it the games that are boring—or something else?"

"Maybe it's just too much entertainment? These days I spend most of my time watching videos. By the time I realize it, the day's already over. I don't even think about gaming."

"Looks like there's nothing exciting about this sale."

"Just a few small discounts, right? Still can't afford anything. I'm not interested."

"Exactly!"