Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo-Chapter 952: How to Do It?

That was partly because players had a chance to meet the developers.

On launch days, key members of the development team would often visit stores for signing events, which helped boost foot traffic and visibility for the brick-and-mortar locations.

Outside of those special occasions, however, physical stores could feel quite empty.

But recently, that trend had started to shift a bit.

Gamestar had just released a new batch of limited-edition console designs.

Each limited-edition console was crafted by a dedicated design team, tailored closely to the style and atmosphere of specific games.

For example, the Breath of the Wild edition of the Switch featured a dock inspired by the Sheikah Slate. The dock had distinct Sheikah patterns, emitted a signature activation chime when the console was inserted, and included a center-mounted light to simulate the Sheikah Slate powering on.

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The DOOM limited-edition home console resembled a demonic cavern, as if hellspawn could erupt from its casing.

For the Football League edition, professional designers from the UEFA Champions League and other top leagues collaborated to create a sleek, football-themed console.

Each console was explosively stylish and visually striking.

Before this, most "limited editions" felt half-hearted—just a simple game-themed skin slapped onto a standard console. They were lazy cash grabs with little design effort.

These, however, oozed sincerity and polish.

Best of all, the price difference was minimal—just $10–20 more than the standard models.

Hardcore gamers couldn't resist.

However, online purchases were limited to one per customer.

While tens of thousands might rush to buy online, physical stores weren't under the same pressure, meaning some lucky fans could still snag a console in-store.

As a result, Gamestar's retail stores started to see renewed foot traffic.

That said, these editions were still custom products, and mass production wasn't feasible. For most hit titles, only 100,000 units would be produced globally.

Though more batches could be added later, player demand would vary per IP.

Still, in the short term, Switch and home console sales surged by about 15%.

That was still below their historical peak, though.

To truly increase revenue, more ideas were needed.

By the second half of 2015, after looking at the latest revenue data, Takayuki decided it was time to pull out a major trump card.

Of course, this "trump card" wasn't some revolutionary game title. Top-tier games took massive effort and couldn't be mass-produced.

But there were other ways to spur player spending on a large scale.

"President, the limited-edition console strategy definitely gave things a boost," someone commented, "but it still feels like a stopgap. Game sales overall are struggling, and it seems like we've hit the limit of our player base."

Without even looking up, Takayuki asked:

"Have you done any research into how many gamers there are now—including mobile, handheld, and every other gaming-adjacent user?"

"Roughly 1 billion. It's a massive number already. But among them, over 80% play free mobile games. Only about 20% are paying customers, and that ratio hasn't changed much for years."

"1 billion, huh? Still too small," Takayuki muttered, clicking his tongue.

In his previous world, the global gaming population had reached 4 billion.

He'd managed to sell over 100 million FC (Famicom) units just in South Africa.

Total FC sales had reached a staggering 600 million units—a number that was unprecedented, possibly unrepeatable even by Takayuki himself.

Yet despite that insane volume, it hadn't yielded huge profits. In its later years, the FC was sold at a break-even or slight loss, just to expand the player base.

Looking back now, even that pace felt too slow.

"But President, isn't a player base of 1 billion already huge? Maybe we should consider adjusting strategy—invest more into in-game purchase systems. Just look at how successful Dead or Alive: Beach Volleyball has been!"

"That's certainly one option. But I'd still like to explore a few others."

At this stage, Takayuki didn't lack money.

The company could run for years even if he spent freely—the revenue problems were more of a business optimization issue than a financial emergency.

"We should focus on ideas that reflect our identity—things that benefit both us and the players."

But what exactly?

Everyone in the room turned to Takayuki, waiting to see what idea might come next.