[Game] Chapter 421-422

Chapter 421: The Next New Project

Persona’s total sales across all platforms had already broken the ten-million mark during the Spring Festival earlier this year. Now that the spring promotion had passed, total sales had climbed to over twelve million.

On the Switch, Persona’s sales only ranked sixteenth, but that alone was already a remarkable achievement. After all, Persona was a brand-new game released just last year, and it was the very first entry in the series.

And what were the games ahead of it on the charts?

Mario Kart, Zelda, Super Mario Odyssey, Animal Crossing, Super Smash Bros., Pokémon—each one an industry-famous series.

For Persona to sell over five million copies on the Switch within a single year, catching up to those massive IPs, was more than impressive.

After learning the news, Ichin returned to his office and checked the Switch platform sales report. Sure enough, between digital and physical shipments, it had surpassed five million. From March through April, sales had steadily climbed until reaching that milestone.

“Not bad, another new achievement.”

Looking at the numbers before him, Ichin began thinking seriously about future strategy for the Switch. Big titles were still necessary, but optimization couldn’t be ignored—it was hardly an easy issue to solve.

Moreover, there was no sign of Nintendo’s next console yet. Even though Ichin was now one of their key third-party partners, Nintendo hadn’t sent over any new development kits. If he could get one, that would mean the reveal of new hardware wasn’t far off.

“For now, it’s better to focus on development and optimization based on the Switch’s current capabilities.”

The next titles—Fall Guys would certainly launch on Switch, though it would need careful optimization. Some of its larger stages, combined with network issues, could cause stutters, and that wouldn’t do.

Opening his notebook, Ichin began considering projects for after Titanfall and Dark Souls released next year. First off, small-scale, high-quality titles were a must. Such games had always had a solid player base and often drew in casual newcomers.

Sakura Nene’s custom engine was still useful, perfect for developing side-scrolling 2D cartoon platformers.

And then there was Shinoda Hajime, who had been clamoring for a tokusatsu-themed game. They couldn’t get the rights to Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, or Ultraman adaptations, but tokusatsu IPs weren’t limited to just those.

GARO, for instance—one of the more popular tokusatsu series, running for nearly twenty years now, with solid quality across the board. Its suits, in particular, were extravagant. The glittering golden armor of the Makai Knight GARO was still vivid in Ichin’s memory.

This IP was worth approaching. The scale couldn’t match something like Dark Souls, but a linear, story-driven 3D action-adventure was entirely feasible. The script hardly needed rewriting—just adapt the existing plot, expand a few side stories, and it would be enough.

Turning tokusatsu into a game was definitely a challenge, but sales potential was uncertain. Still, even if one title didn’t succeed, it wouldn’t matter much—they weren’t a one-game studio.

By the time Dark Souls and Titanfall launched next year, the company would easily recover its costs. Add in the steady revenue from Apex and Fall Guys, and there was room to experiment.

The more he thought, the more viable it seemed. Ichin jotted down GARO in his project notes, alongside the already-planned Tales of Berseria and Castle Crashers, then called Hazuki and Shinoda Hajime into his office.

Hazuki glanced at Hajime, then at Ichin. “Calling us in like this… this must be about new projects, right?”

Ichin nodded but didn’t reveal it immediately. Instead, he asked about Fall Guys.

“Hazuki, the network test in June—can we make it?”

“Relax, we’ll be ready. With our current progress, as long as the network test goes smoothly, the game can launch between September and October.”

She noticed the open notebook on Ichin’s desk and smiled. “Another new plan?”

“Quite a few, actually. I just haven’t written up full proposals yet.”

Tapping the desk with his pen, Ichin turned to Hajime. “Hajime, remember when we talked about making a tokusatsu game?”

Her eyes lit up. “We’re really starting? Which one? Rider, Sentai, or Ultraman?”

Raising a hand to calm her down, Ichin said, “Those three are tough, so I’m thinking of trying another IP first. How about GARO?”

“Ohhh! GARO?” Hajime shot to her feet, practically bouncing. “What kind of game? Fighting? Action-adventure?”

“Action-adventure, of course. We haven’t decided which storyline yet—we still need to talk with the rights holders.”

Then Ichin turned to Hazuki. “I called you in because I was hoping you might have some industry connections—someone who could help us negotiate adaptation rights.”

“GARO, that would be Toei’s Tohoku Shinsha,” Hazuki mused. Instead of questioning the feasibility, she went straight to logistics. “I don’t know anyone there personally, but I do have friends in the tokusatsu circle. I can ask around. Give me a couple of days—if I can line up a meeting, we can try negotiating.”

Hajime’s fists clenched with excitement. “Hazuki-nee, I’m counting on you!”

After wrapping up the GARO discussion, Ichin let Hajime leave first.

Once the office door closed, Hazuki looked at Ichin. “So what made you think of doing a tokusatsu adaptation?”

“You forgot? I’m a tokusatsu fan myself.” Ichin tapped his chest. “I was thinking about next year’s projects, and the idea just kept snowballing. Plus, I’d promised Hajime we’d try someday, so why not now? Besides, I’ve got other project ideas too—it’s not like we’re staking everything on just this one.”

Hearing that, Hazuki finally relaxed. “Then there’s no problem.”

***

Chapter 422: May, Cherry Blossom Viewing

There was no rush for the new game project—there was still plenty of time, and Ichin hadn’t even started drafting the proposal yet.

The game planned for Sakura Nene’s engine was Castle Crashers, a stage-clearing action title similar to BattleBlock Theater, except this one was a 2D combat-focused game that supported up to four players online or locally.

It was a simple project. All it needed was a basic design document and a team of around twenty-five people to develop it. Compared to BattleBlock Theater, this was much easier—no need for overly complex stage designs. As long as the combat system, items, and monsters were done well, it would be solid.

After thinking it over, Ichin decided to first draft the proposal for Tales of Berseria. The combat systems of the Tales series had always been excellent, but older titles like Phantasia, Destiny, and Eternia would need extensive modernization to work today. By comparison, Berseria was more suitable.

He considered Tales of Arise, the newest in his memories, but its story required too many rewrites, making it unfit for a direct adaptation. The plot needed more careful handling. Berseria, on the other hand, was more balanced overall, and if developed, Ichin planned to push its visuals and systems closer to Arise.

Arise used Unreal Engine 4, right? Should we switch to Unreal 5?”

Ichin was very familiar with Epic’s UE4. The newly released UE5 brought massive improvements: graphical fidelity, global illumination, and rendering quality that could transform a game’s presentation. He had looked into UE5 briefly last year but hadn’t tested it directly.

Still, there was already a china team developing with UE5Black Myth: Wukong. Ichin had seen its reveal trailer before his transmigration and had eagerly awaited its release. Now, the project existed here as well.

That was a good thing. Ichin welcomed more game developers joining the field; it was boring being the only one.

“They’re based in Hangzhou, right? When I return to China this summer, maybe I should visit.”

With that thought, he continued writing the Berseria proposal while also downloading UE5 to study it firsthand. If the future lay in UE5, as company head and active developer, mastering the engine was a must.

—

By May, the weather had warmed, and cherry blossoms lined the streets in full bloom.

On the drive to campus, Utaha gazed at the blossoms. “The cherry trees are blooming, Ichin. Should we go see them this year?”

“Sure,” Ichin smiled. “Let’s pick a weekend. How many people should we invite?”

Cherry-blossom viewing was always livelier with more people.

Utaha immediately counted on her fingers: “The two of us, Haruno and Yukino, Eriri, Kou-nee and Rin-nee, Hazuki-nee, Aoba, Nene, Hifumi, Hajime, Yun-nee, Narumi and Momo… that’s about it. Too bad Umiko can’t come back, or she’d join too.”

Those were essentially the studio’s founding members. Even without Umiko, it came to fifteen people—plenty. Many of them could cook, so everyone could bring food, spread out a couple of big picnic blankets, and enjoy the blossoms together.

Ichin nodded. “Alright, once we’re free, let’s check with them about their weekend plans.”

During breaks at collage, Utaha sent out invitations to everyone. Most agreed, though Yun Iijima had to visit her family that weekend and couldn’t come.

Still, missing one person wasn’t a big deal.

When she asked Narumi, she suggested inviting Kuroneko (Ruri Gokou) too. Utaha relayed it to Ichin, who thought it over and agreed. He had nearly forgotten about her—she was a talented programmer, steadily improving. Though a little behind Narumi and Nene, she was fully capable of handling projects on her own. Plus, she got along well with them, so inviting her made sense.

Receiving Narumi’s invitation, Ruri was surprised but gladly accepted. She understood the implication: the team intended to train her as a core member, an opportunity she wouldn’t miss. And since everyone was kind and welcoming, she didn’t feel her usual social anxiety.

—

Saturday, cherry-blossom day, came quickly.

At 8 a.m., Utaha was still asleep, while Ichin was already up. After washing up and eating a light breakfast, he began preparing food for the picnic.

Pulling ingredients from the fridge, he folded his arms. “Hmm… Eriri said she’d handle sushi, so I’ll make something else.”

He had plenty of chicken wings—perfect for cola wings and fried wings, everyone’s favorites. He also planned vegetable spring rolls, since stir-fry wasn’t picnic-friendly. For variety, he thought about making dim sum too.

After marinating the wings, he pulled out his phone to look up how to make crystal shrimp dumplings. He wanted to give them a try.

By 9:30, the kitchen door opened as Utaha walked in, freshly washed.

“Ichin, do we have anything to eat?”

“Yeah, want some crystal shrimp dumplings? I tried making them—they turned out pretty good.”

He lifted the steamer lid, revealing rows of translucent dumplings.

“Oooh! Gimme two!”

Utaha’s eyes lit up instantly, her appetite stirred.

Ichin packed most into a thermal lunchbox, leaving two in a bowl, and handed them over with chopsticks.

“Eat first. I’ll warm you some milk. Once the egg tarts and wings are ready, we can head out.”

But Utaha didn’t answer—her mouth was already stuffed full of steaming dumplings, her face radiating pure satisfaction.

***