Japan — Tokyo.
This city was both Japan's political and economic center — the nation's most developed metropolis.
Here lived countless millionaires… but even more ordinary people struggling at the bottom.
Among those countless working-class citizens was Yamada Hideyoshi.
Born in 1954, he was now twenty-three years old. He wasn't originally from Tokyo. His grades in high school had been poor, and since his family couldn't afford for him to repeat a year, he had entered the workforce early. Five years had passed since then.
Every Japanese person knew Tokyo was a big city — full of opportunities, jobs, and money — but that was only true for university graduates from famous schools.
For someone like Yamada, a mere high school graduate, major corporations would never even consider him. Even most medium-sized companies rarely hired people with only high school diplomas. His only real options were convenience stores, supermarkets, and other service jobs — and those paid very little.
Low pay, but high living costs — food, housing, transportation — everything in Tokyo was expensive. After paying the bills, there was hardly anything left.
Those with self-discipline could save a little each month, sometimes even take on part-time jobs to earn more. Those without restraint often spent more than they earned and had to borrow from loan companies — and once they couldn't repay… their lives fell apart.
Yamada was one of the disciplined ones. Every month, he sent part of his earnings back home to support his parents, since his younger siblings were still in school.
He considered himself lucky — two years ago, he had found a stable and easy part-time job. A company from Hong Kong had hired him to research and report on the latest and most popular games in Japan, and to help them contact game developers for licensing deals.
As a passionate gamer, Yamada loved this job. Even without it, he would have followed new game releases out of personal interest. Now, he got paid to do what he already enjoyed — and the pay wasn't bad either.
It was the kind of simple, well-paying work anyone would love. Yamada certainly did. He often prayed that the Hong Kong company would never go bankrupt or change management, so that he could keep enjoying his easy extra income.
But fate had other plans.
A month ago, Yamada learned that the Hong Kong company had changed owners — and that the new boss no longer wanted part-time workers. They told him he could either go full-time, or be dismissed.
The new company planned to develop its own games and even open a branch in Japan. If Yamada accepted the full-time offer, he might one day become a senior member of the future Japanese branch.
That possibility tempted him deeply.
His current full-time job was as a sales clerk in a department store — the pay wasn't high, and promotion opportunities were nearly nonexistent. After thinking for two days, Yamada decided to take the risk and join the Hong Kong company full-time, betting on a better future.
To him, even if the new job didn't work out, he could simply quit after a few months and find something else. The only real loss would be the missed income from his old part-time work — a loss he could handle.
And so, Yamada Hideyoshi became the first full-time employee of Galaxy Games Japan.
Soon after, the company instructed him to recruit two more workers — experienced arcade salesmen — and he was put in charge of managing them.
Suddenly becoming a "manager," even with just two subordinates, made Yamada extremely happy. Maybe, he thought, his decision wasn't so bad after all.
Half a month ago, Yamada learned that the Hong Kong headquarters had finished developing its first game — and had already launched it locally. His heart sank.
Though he had never developed a game himself, he had been a gamer for years — he knew that game development normally took a long time. Finishing one so quickly couldn't possibly yield good results.
That meant the company's first title might be a bad game, unlikely to sell — perhaps even leading to bankruptcy.
If that happened, Yamada would lose his new job almost as soon as he had gotten it.
But just over a week later, Yamada received a call from Factory Director Liu Yihui in Hong Kong. Liu told him that the company's game was selling extremely well and that they were preparing to expand into Japan and the U.S. Someone would soon arrive with ten arcade machines for Yamada to handle and begin local sales.
Yamada remembered Liu from previous communications — he wasn't the type to boast — but still, the news sounded too good to be true.
Then, just yesterday, two employees from Hong Kong arrived. They showed him the new arcade machines — and he played the game himself, several times.
Even after only a few rounds, Yamada's years of gaming experience told him that this title — Hong Kong Blocks — had real potential. It could definitely make money.
If the company succeeded, they really might establish a Japan branch… and he, Yamada Hideyoshi, might actually become one of its senior managers. The future suddenly looked bright.
The next day.
Yamada asked his Hong Kong colleagues to rest at the company and watch over the machines while he himself drove a rented truck, accompanied by his two Japanese co-workers, to visit Taito Corporation, a client he had contacted in advance.
When people today hear the names of great Japanese game companies, they immediately think of Nintendo, SEGA, or Capcom — bright, iconic giants. Few remember Taito, now a subsidiary of Square Enix, or even know its name.
But in this era, Capcom hadn't been founded yet, SEGA hadn't truly risen, and Nintendo was still transitioning into the home console business.
Right now, in the late 1970s, Taito Corporation was Japan's undisputed king of the gaming industry.
Taito had started by importing and distributing foreign games, and later began developing its own titles — becoming a major company handling both self-made and licensed games.
For Galaxy Games to break into Japan, approaching the largest distributor was the fastest and smartest move.
Thanks to prior correspondence, Yamada successfully secured a meeting with a section chief from Taito's marketing department — to introduce him to their game, Hong Kong Blocks.