The situation seemed to be escalating, with some smaller countries getting involved, claiming that if game companies didn't make adjustments to their rating systems, they would implement a sales ban on games and prohibit their sale in those countries.

This only made more game companies on edge.

Previously, the criticisms from those oddball groups only damaged their reputation.

But a national ban would directly harm their profits.

As a result, under repeated pressure from shareholders, some companies had no choice but to make compromises, adjusting their game creation strategies and becoming more cautious.

For a time, the atmosphere in the gaming industry became somewhat heavy.

Game developers were no longer creating with joy, and players found that the games they wanted to play weren't as engaging as before. Gradually, discontent began to grow.

The controversy surrounding video games, however, brought joy to many other industries.

...

For example, the television industry.

Many in the industry had long believed that video games had stolen a significant portion of their viewership, especially several major Japanese commercial TV stations that had previously been opposed to video games.

Seeing video games in decline, they seized the opportunity to kick them while they were down.

However, only a few dared to do so, because the video game industry had become one of their major sources of advertising revenue.

Television, like an old, dying camel, still held a dominant position, even though it now appeared to be in decline.

Advertising on TV was still one of the most profitable methods.

Video games, with their ample financial resources, always bought up advertising space in large quantities.

Now, TV stations still depended on the gaming industry to make money, and those hoping to capitalize on the situation by kicking them while they were down could not succeed. Anyone who suggested such a thing would face consequences.

Criticizing clients? Do you want to give up your income?

If you don't want money, then forget about your salary as well. We'll all work for free, out of love.

AsGamestar Electronic Entertainmentwas at the center of attention, many people were curious to see how they would respond.

Previously, the president ofGamestarElectronic Entertainmenthad personally confronted those so-called scholars, openly criticizing them for doing nothing but stir up trouble. Many people, eager to escalate things, were eager to fan the flames even further.

However, these events had no effect onGamestarElectronic Entertainment'soperations.

The company continued its work as usual.

Even with the public's loud criticism,GamestarElectronic Entertainmentremained unmoved.

In fact, they took advantage of the situation by increasing the update frequency for games likeMonster Hunter, actively encouraging more players to engage in online gaming.

Since the animal protection organizations were criticizingMonster Hunterfor being too cruel, Takayuki thought, "Well, let's take it a step further and not give these groups any face at all."

As for the issues about character design,GamestarElectronic Entertainmentalso ignored them.

The character models forFinal Fantasy, developed by the peripheral team, were selling like hotcakes.

In particular, the models of Alice and Tifa were big sellers.

The peripheral team even considered creating life-sized models, but due to the high production costs and the potential for loss, they decided to abandon the idea.

These actions fromGamestarElectronic Entertainmentleft the critics very dissatisfied.

Why are they so special?

Other game companies have already begun to compromise, butGamestarremains unaffected. It seems like they haven't learned any lessons.

Well, then we'll just raise our voices even louder, so more people can hear us, and then reject the games they've developed.

"RejectGamestarElectronic Entertainment—a company with no social responsibility. They don't listen to the people's voice and arrogantly make games the way they want. This company has become a proud dragon!"

"Reject all products fromGamestarElectronic Entertainment. Their growth is a disregard for the people's voices, and they need to be made aware of this!"

"Takayuki, should we do something?"

The voices outside were growing louder, and Ayari, who had been keeping an eye on the situation, could no longer stay quiet.

As his close companion, she also wanted Takayuki to pay attention to the voices outside.

At that moment, Takayuki was sitting at his desk, looking at the progress of game development on his laptop.

"Takayuki, I'm talking to you! Shouldn't we take some action?"

Takayuki replied, "It's simple."

"Simple? Do you already have an idea?"

"Sort of. Actually, my people have already started taking action."

"So, what are you planning to do?"

"Of course, we'll slap them in the face," Takayuki said with a smile.

That night, onGamestarElectronic Entertainment'sofficial website, a new page quietly appeared.

It was a sales statistics page.

This page tracked the sales of variousGamestarElectronic Entertainmentgames every week.

Since these people kept calling for a boycott, let's see just howGamestarElectronic Entertainment'ssales are doing.

...

"Haha, our voices are getting louder.GamestarElectronic Entertainmentdoesn't even dare to respond to us directly. Clearly, our plan is a huge success!"

In a conference room, a group of people were discussing with great satisfaction.

They were members of some of the opposing groups.

Recently, they had joined in on the criticism of the gaming industry, seizing the opportunity to make a name for themselves.

"Our website has over 100,000 registered users now. See? This is the power of chasing the trending topics. I think we should continue with this momentum."

"HopefullyGamestarElectronic Entertainmentwill continue to stay tough. The more they resist, the more attention we'll get!"

"I'm sureGamestarElectronic Entertainmentisn't doing too well right now. They've rejected all compromise, so their game sales must have taken a hit."

"That's right. The public has already been influenced by us, and now they believe video games are harmful. Just a few neighbors of mine have stopped buyingGamestarElectronic Entertainmentproducts."

"But do any of you actually know whatGamestarElectronic Entertainment'sreal sales are?"

"Well... I don't think there's ever been a channel to release that, but does it really matter? Just by looking at the people around us, we can tell thatGamestarElectronic Entertainmenthas definitely suffered major losses. Given their current scale, they probably can't last much longer, right?"

"So, does this mean that ifGamestarElectronic Entertainmentcollapses, the video game market will be reshuffled?"

"Definitely! Maybe we can take this opportunity to enter the game industry and make a profit!"

"Hmm? Aren't we the ones boycotting games? Can we still make games?"

"Of course! Why not? After all, the video game industry is quite profitable."

These people were already planning for the profit distribution afterGamestarElectronic Entertainment's collapse.

But just then,GamestarElectronic Entertainment'sofficial sales statistics page was updated...

It showed the recent sales of both games and game consoles.

The GSX console had sold over 500,000 units in just one week.

The GS1 console still had 20,000 to 30,000 units sold.

And most surprisingly, the first generation of the FC console, which was 14 years old, was still selling 100,000 units a week.

This was a game console that had been around for 14 years.

As for games, sales hadn't decreased compared to previous figures.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com