23 Interesting topic

A few days had passed since the interview. Now, all Shin had to do was wait for it to be broadcasted all over Tokyo. Math, or Shin as he was known in this world, had officially been in this new reality for two months. In that short time, a lot had transpired, and his company had even surpassed 100 million yen in revenue. It felt incredible, but a significant portion of that money had to be spent on creating departments, distributing salaries, hiring more workers, renting spaces, purchasing materials, organizing employee positions, and establishing a governance structure.

Nonetheless, there was still a substantial amount of money left. Since Shin fully owned the company, all the earnings were his to control. He hadn't taken the route of having investors or shareholders yet, as his company remained unlisted on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE).

Shin didn't have any immediate plans to list his company publicly. He preferred to keep it private unless there was a compelling reason to go public. Going public would mean relinquishing some control over the company, as investors would demand transparency. This could potentially expose the company's secrets and confidential future plans to the public, something Shin, with knowledge from his previous life, wanted to avoid. Revealing his advanced knowledge would make him vulnerable, and that was a risk he wasn't willing to take.

In just a day, his significant Seikatsu video game console production factory would commence operations. Until then, he'd have to wait to see the impact of TBS covering their products.

And now, in just a moment, the video game machines featured by TBS would begin.

---

At a random household in Tokyo.

A chubby man named Takashi Murakami was eagerly preparing to watch his favorite movie. He was about to insert the VHS tape into the VCR and had even prepared some popcorn and a coke. Takashi was an enthusiast of movies, novels, manga, and anime, although the latter two were still in their early stages in this era.

"They finally dubbed my favorite Western movie!" Takashi exclaimed with excitement, holding the VHS tape. He had a ritual of watching the movie right after opening it.

However, an antagonist arrived.

"Takashi! All you do is watch movies. Go outside and get some fresh air!" scolded a middle-aged man.

"Ugh..." Takashi stopped in his tracks, frozen.

The middle-aged man, Takashi's father named Makoto, plopped down beside him on the sofa. "I'll watch some news. Move over!" he declared.

"Father, I'm about to watch my favorite movie, dubbed in Japanese! Please, watch the news later!" Takashi pleaded.

His father snorted and replied, "Can't you wait? You can watch it anytime! Don't bother me..."

Takashi felt the urge to cry. He sobbed, "But I already opened it! I have a ritual of watching the movie after I've opened the package!" he begged once more.

Makoto, irked, retorted, "You're already this old, and you're crying? Are you really my son?"

"Father, please!"

"Don't bother me! Unlike you, the program I'm watching can't be seen again. Unlike your movie tape, which can be watched anytime-"

"But our VCR has a recording feature! You can record it anytime—"

"Nah! I want to watch it live!" Makoto stubbornly insisted.

Takashi muttered in frustration, biting his pillow, "How can I have such an oyaji as you!?"

"Same to you," Makoto simply replied.

Sighing, Mei, Takashi's mother, intervened, "You two are at it again."

"Mom, can you shoo Father out-" Takashi attempted to seek help from his mom when Makoto interrupted him.

"Shh! The TBS program is starting!" Makoto gestured for everyone to be silent, took Takashi's popcorn and coke, and settled in to enjoy.

Takashi couldn't do anything but wait for his news-obsessed father to finish watching TV.

[Good morning! It's Monday, July 3rd, 1990. The 24-hour news channel, JNN News Bird, is here to bring you the latest news. Today's broadcast starts now.]

The familiar sounds filled Makoto's ears as he happily munched on popcorn and sipped his coke.

Takashi was already bored.

After the weather program ended, an interesting topic captured not only Makoto's attention but also that of Takeshi and Mei.

[The next topic is covered by one of our journalists, Koji Nishida.] 

The scenes on the TV shifted from one mall to another, and Koji Nishida's voice came through, saying, [If you look at it, it's just an ordinary mall. This mall, as well...]

[But it's more than that.]

"More than that?" Makoto said curiously as he kept eating popcorn and drinking coke.

Takeshi gritted his teeth silently. It was his treats, after all.

[An influx of young people, especially students, have come to these malls with a purpose in mind.]

"Are they dating? Poof, the country's future is bleak," Makoto lamented with a sigh, making an assumption without thinking.

"The narrator didn't even finish talking!" Takeshi said irritably.

[All for one thing.]

They waited for the announcer's revelation. Why did it have to be suspenseful, anyway?

[To play on relics of the past—the arcade machines.] Koji stated.

"Arcade machines?" Takeshi said, confused.

Makoto chuckled as he patted Takeshi's shoulder. "It truly was a relic of the past. The arcade machines had games, with popular ones like ping pong and Tetris. Tetris, in particular, was quite popular," Makoto explained.

"I see," Takeshi nodded thoughtfully.

"I remember playing ping pong before getting bored," Mei said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, it brings back memories," Makoto agreed. He then added, "Are young people interested in those arcade machines now?"

"No way... It was so unpopular even in the past, right? It was only briefly popular before declining..." Mei shook her head.

The scenes on the TV continued, now showing the previously unpopular arcade section bustling with activity.

[This once unpopular and empty arcade section is now bustling with activity, filled with people, mostly young people.]

The camera focused on a young man sitting in front of an arcade machine, with many people watching him play the 2D pixelated game.

The camera zoomed in on the arcade machine screen, which appeared odd for a moment.

[What you see on that arcade machine screen now is the game that has captured the attention of many young people while the old remain unaware...]

The scene showed the young man continuing to play Mario, oblivious to the camera recording him.

[This is the new game that could possibly revive the arcade era of the past.]

The title appeared on the screen: [The Glory of the Past: Will It Come Back?]

"Oh! This is an interesting topic for today!" Makoto exclaimed, rapidly eating popcorn.

Takeshi, begrudgingly, had to admit he was hooked. It was a different topic from the others.