Christmas was approaching, and Akihabara's first offline experience store was already seeing a noticeable increase in foot traffic, with regular customers steadily growing. According to Hideo Kojima's calculations, the store's revenue for the month had already reached nearly 2 million yen.
After deducting the salaries of the two employees and assuming the shop was leased, the venture had finally achieved profitability.
*Just about 100,000 yen in profit.*
Hideo Kojima was quite pleased, but Kobayashi Tetsu wasn't as cheerful as he'd expected.
Developing games was part of the software industry, a field accustomed to easy profits. The thought of the arduous struggle required by brick-and-mortar businesses made Kobayashi Tetsu reluctant to continue.
From the opening of the first experience store in autumn, through multiple game launches and accompanying events, and after substantial investments, they had finally achieved profitability in December.
"Still, we have to keep these stores open even if they're losing money. Without our own distribution channels, we'd have to pay others for theirs!"
Kobayashi Tetsu shook his head inwardly.
*We still need to open more.*
He deliberately posted another job ad and recruited five or six employees to send to Hideo Kojima.
These individuals were mostly high school graduates with no plans for higher education. They were outgoing, articulate, and emotionally stable. After brief training, they could be sent to open new branches.
However, starting with the second experience store, Kobayashi Tetsu decided to lease rather than buy.
It was almost 1986, and after the Plaza Accord, Japanese property prices had been steadily rising. A few hundred million yen was barely enough to buy a residential property, let alone a commercial space.
It wasn't that Kobayashi Tetsu lacked the funds; he simply saw no need to buy. He figured he could purchase everything outright once property prices plummeted in 1992.
With a decisive wave of his hand, he arranged five-year leases for all locations, expiring in 1991. By then, even if he didn't renew, someone would be begging to sell him the properties.
---
It was the eve of Christmas.
Inside the Akihabara experience store, Hideo Kojima stood with several new employees, awaiting Kobayashi Tetsu's training.
"What's this? Some kind of management trainee program?" Kobayashi Tetsu muttered to himself before bowing to the group.
"We'll keep this brief. As the experience store for Atlas's future operations, your primary task is simple: guide people through game experiences, let them play, and selling games is secondary. You must embody a service mindset. To that end, I've specially invited a professional trainer to conduct your training."
The group exchanged uneasy glances, clearly intrigued.
*A server position that requires a professional? Just how specialized is this?*
Kobayashi Tetsu glanced sideways at Anegasaki Nene.
Anegasaki Nene also felt a twinge of nervousness. Kobayashi Tetsu had specifically brought her from Old Dixie today, initially leading her to believe it was for something important. She hadn't expected this.
Disappointment aside, she merely shot Kobayashi Tetsu a quick glance before turning to address the group, bowing respectfully.
"I'm Anegasaki Nene. While I'm not particularly knowledgeable about games, I do have some experience in taking care of people. Please look forward to working with me."
After a brief silence, the game store trainees erupted in a short, though not malicious, yet distinctly mocking laughter.
"No way! Making a girl teach me how to do my job? How humiliating!"
"It's just guiding customers through the experience. I don't need to be taught that."
Suddenly, Kobayashi Tetsu raised his hand and pointed directly at the person laughing the hardest.
"You, get out."
Seeing the stunned look on the man's face, Kobayashi Tetsu stepped forward and gently placed his hand on Anegasaki Nene's wrist.
Nene's arm trembled slightly, but she didn't resist this slightly intimate gesture.
This action instantly brought the group to their senses.
The first person who had laughed reacted quickly, bowing deeply at a perfect ninety-degree angle.
"I'm deeply sorry! Please don't make me leave! I'll study diligently!"
Kobayashi Tetsu replied, "The ability to bend and extend shows basic discipline. Your recent task is simple: study well and observe carefully."
After settling things, Kobayashi Tetsu stayed in the store all day, playing games.
When customers arrived, Anegasaki Nene began teaching them the entire process.
The handles wiped clean in front of the guests, chairs adjusted precisely to each person's height, the TV volume and brightness perfectly calibrated, and the timely cessation of service after a clear indication that it was no longer needed.
These details are rarely noticed by anyone lacking meticulous attention.
Watching the trainees' expressions shift from initial disdain to growing admiration, Kobayashi Tetsu secretly nodded. *This is about right!*
He was particularly pleased that the group maintained proper boundaries and refrained from any overly familiar behavior.
*Two days of training should be enough. Don't they dare try to use their position as manager to pick up girls.*
With the shop securely under control, Kobayashi Tetsu finally relaxed and focused on his game, though his mind wandered.
Japan is a complex country, after all. During the bubble economy, women's status rose dramatically, yet in industries like entertainment and gaming, they remain strictly suppressed.
Female actors never earn as much as their male counterparts, and in video games—especially hardcore genres like fighting games—players are ashamed to use female characters.
Women don't play games!
Even a game like *Street Fighter* didn't introduce Chun-Li until the second installment, and even then, she had short hair and thick legs, making her look almost indistinguishable from the male characters.
"Speaking of *Street Fighter*..."
Kobayashi Tetsu pondered that it was time to develop a major game.
In the second half of the year, they had only released two games: *Bomberman* and *Super Dimension Fortress Macross*. *Macross* was clearly aimed at fans, while *Bomberman* was a straightforward, mid-sized game.
Fighting games had already appeared on arcade machines, but their quality varied widely. When it came to fighting games, *Street Fighter* was the undeniable giant that couldn't be ignored.
Fighting games have a long history in video games, with series like *Tekken*, *The King of Fighters*, *Mortal Kombat*, and *Soulcalibur*—
But the very first was *Street Fighter*.
Current home consoles couldn't handle a fighting game on the scale of *Street Fighter*, but arcades could—and only arcades could. Sega had built its business on arcade games.
"Atlas doesn't have anyone skilled in making arcade games, nor any developers with the right expertise. If we want to create an arcade game, we'd have to start by developing some other project to hone our skills first—"
Kobayashi Tetsu was pondering this when his pager suddenly vibrated twice.
Looking down, he immediately stood up.
*It's here.*
"Sister Nene," Kobayashi Tetsu greeted her, "I'll pick you up tonight."
Anegasaki Nene didn't even turn around, simply giving him an "OK" gesture.
She'd assumed he was asking her out for a date—shopping or a movie. Instead, he was dragging her into unpaid, under-the-table work.
But what choice did she have? Of course, she went along.
Kobayashi Tetsu hurried out of the shop, not even glancing at his pager as he frantically tapped out a message to Naka Yuji.
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