Game Market 1983

Game Market 1983 – Chapter 64

This idea was actually conceived by the store owner himself . In 1991, a group of amateur programmers from Mintra would acquire the official license for ‘Princess Make’ from the Japanese company Kainic, and translate it into Korean .

“I have several friends who can code . Of course, they aren’t as good as you . ”

Yes . I was aiming for them in the first place .

I suppressed my smile and gave my full attention to the store owner . Although Yuki couldn’t understand Korean well, she understood that we were talking about business and patiently waited for me .

“I’m interested in this concept, but there are parts that I’m concerned about . ”

“What are your concerns?”

“The Korean market is the main problem . We can’t predict sales anytime soon even with a Korean version of games because the market is unpredictable . ”

“I’m aware of that . ”

“What software company would give us the license in this situation?”

“There will be at least one company that will . ”

“It wouldn’t be easy unless they were one of the leading figures in the video game industry . What company do you have in mind?”

“Pentagon Soft . ”

“Could you be talking about the Pentagon Soft that developed Final Frontier?”

“Yes . ”

“Eyy~ You must be joking . Why would a major league software company that sold over 150,000 copies in Japan and America be interested in giving a license to Korea where even 1,000 sales would be unpredictable . ”

“I’m close with a high ranking executive from Pentagon . ”

“Even if they were in a high position, would they make a high-risk gamble like this?”

He saw my mouth teeter upwards during the conversation and an unbelievable idea must’ve flashed across his mind as he asked .

“Are you familiar with the president?”

“Well, something like that .

I was the president…

Yuki was looking back and forth between the owner and me with curious eyes . But now the owner’s expression was turning from surprise to fear .

“You don’t have to worry about the funds . Until you start profiting from the sales, I can provide you with the money . ”

“Wow . My deceased father appeared in my dreams last night saying good things will happen to me; it really came true…”

From this point on, the conversation went smoothly . The owner agreed to gather every software developer and businessmen that he knew and contact me again .

“If this works out, we will be able to acquire licenses from other companies, right? Perhaps Super Mario from Mintendo, or the Ise series from Phoenix Soft… “

“I don’t see a reason why we can’t . ”

As long as one had capital, the sky would be the limit . Companies would be diving in left and right to give us the license if we offered more than the expected profits from the sales . Although this was a high-risk venture, I wanted to make this idea into reality . The various masterpieces that I had enjoyed as a child would be translated into Korean for the Korean populace to enjoy…

This little action of mine might the possibility to completely overturn the future of gaming .

“Then, what should we now?”

Nervousness and fear would follow with going out of one’s comfort zone . The owner asked me with a slightly trembling voice . In the past, the company Mintra Soft that he founded with his colleagues would disappear from the gaming industry due to illegally releasing ‘Princess Make 3’ without the appropriate licenses .

They would do whatever they could to stay afloat but eventually went bankrupt from the lack of profits . The store owner’s dream of bringing widespread recognition to masterpieces would evaporate into thin air… And I couldn’t meet him again after this incident .

I analyzed the owner’s face for awhile before opening my mouth .

“Is there something like a professional game magazine in Korea?”

“No . There is a technology magazine . But as for a game magazine…”

From what I knew, the first game magazine wouldn’t be published until the 90’s . It was still too early… Giving the customers the right information was what needed to be done .

‘Let’s start here . ’

&

“Then we’ll publish the first dedicated Video Game magazine . ”

“You meant we should start a videogame magazine instead of a game publishing company?”

“No, we have to do both . But first, we have to change the perception about games . You do something like handing games out for free when you sell your consoles, right?”

“Ah, that’s… I’m embarrassed to say this but yes . If I don’t offer any incentive, no one would be buying . ”

“That’s exactly why we have to change the perspective of game consoles to a positive light . You’ll have to temporarily give up Mintra computers while we start this project . ”

“Hah… This is really… I’m changing my job just like this . ”

“How long are you going to be a slave to your customers and offer free games just so they would buy your product? Come establish a company with me that will be set up by the gamers, for the gamers in Korea . ”

Hey, this was similar to what Steve Jobs said to the vice president of Coca Cola . After hearing my words, the owner seemed to have an epiphany .

“Keuheuk… for the gamers… Alright . If a game developer as good as you is willing to work with me, there’s no reason not to take a gamble . Anyhow, I haven’t got the slightest clue on how to start a game magazine . ”

“Have you heard of Japan’s FamiTong magazine?”

“Ah, of course, I did . ”

“We will model ours in a similar style to that . There will be a section about the latest news in the market, as well as the reviews for the latest games . Our main focus for the magazine will be reporting on the latest news . ”

“I have one question . To establish a startup of this scale, we’ll need a sizable amount of capital and bilingual Japanese speakers to write reviews about the newest Japanese games . And we’ll also need a building to print the magazine…”

“When I return to Japan next week, I will wire you 10,000,000 Wons ($10,000) as a series An investment . You can use this money to acquire a new office and the necessary equipment for printing . ”

“10,000,000 Wons!? You’re sending an enormous sum like that to me so easily . Are you not worried about me running away with the money?”

“If you run off with a mere 10,000,000 Wons when an opportunity to make a larger amount presented itself to you, your value as a human being would only be 10,000,000 Wons . It would only be a slight hindrance to me to find another person to be my business partner . ”

In response, the owner swallowed and nodded his head up and down . Although I might have sounded a bit harsh, I trusted the integrity of the man I knew as a child . He was one of the last ones fighting on when his company was losing money . I will not let that happen to you again .

“If we start a new magazine, we’ll need an event to peak the interests of readers and draw them in . The PC magazine also did an event for their subscribers . ”

“You possess that special ‘something’ already . ”

“Me? What do you mean? I don’t have anything even remotely interesting to offer . . ”

“No . I just gave them to you . ”

I gestured to the Dragon Emblem cartridges on top of the table and smiled .

“That…?”

“You will put these up as prizes to give out over the next 6 months . ”

“Ah~ A brand like Dragon Emblem will definitely be able to attract gamers . And a Korean copy at that…”

“6 months later, I will have the Korean version of Final Frontier available for you . ”

After hearing my words, he grabbed my hands tightly and spoke,

“Mr . Junhyuk… I will do my best!”

&

4 P . M

After a long day of discussing the specifics of setting up the business with the owner, I left Yuki in the Mintra Computer shop and headed out to meet my younger self .

As I entered through the glass door of the convenience store, I was greeted with the narrow aisles stacked full of various snacks . Amongst them were snacks that would withstand the test of time and still be in production in 2015 .

Shrimp chips and ‘Potato King’ . . . The Indian rice snack that went with milk to produce a wonderful combination, banana punch, etc… There were several that faded from my memories that I saw again as well .

‘But, nothing will beat this . ’

I looked at the children’s gift sets stacked in the corner and grinned .

“Hello~”

A lady walked into the cash register from the adjoining room as I called out .

“Welcome . ”

“I’ll have the gift set number six . ”

I pointed to the largest box with the most variety of snacks . It was 5,000 Wons compared to the 2,000~3,000 Won price ranges of other gift sets,

‘It’s easy to pick gifts because I know what I liked back then . ”

The cashier beamed as she rang up the gift set .

“Do you need anything else?”

“Ah… do you have a pack of spam?”

“Of course~”

“Then I’ll have the biggest pack of spam as well . ”

(TL Note: Spam is considered a luxury item in Korea and is unbelievably expensive compared to America . People gift spam sets on holidays)

I remember hesitating to buy the expensive pack of spam that I would eat maybe once a year or so . This would be a great breakfast for my father . As I took out my wallet to pay, a little girl scurried into the store and grabbed a bag of Cheetos off the shelf .

“Youngnam, I told you not to touch things in the store . ”

“But mom, I won the coupon for a free bag from the Cheetos bag that I ate earlier!”

‘She’s exactly the way I remembered her . ’

I secretly grinned at the little Youngnam that I haven’t seen since I was a kid . A while later, after completing the transaction I ripped the rappers off and hid a Gamboy in between the bags of chips . After meticulously rewrapping the box, I prepared the spam set along with an envelope of money and a letter for my parents .

At this moment, I saw the little Junhyuk pop his head inside the store .

“Oh? Mister, you really came?”