America: The Godfather of Game Development

Chapter 47 Departure from the Juvenile Detention Center

Is Kung Fu fun?

To be fair, it is undoubtedly a masterpiece in terms of visuals, sound effects, and design in all aspects.

Among all the arcade games, it's a pretty good one.

But simply being "good" is not enough to compete with Street Fighter.

Because it is so ridiculously strong.

When it comes to graphics, which of Contra, Metal Gear Solid, and Street Fighter is inferior to it?

In terms of novelty in terms of subject matter, Street Fighter happens to be a fighting game.

This is truly disastrous. A collision from every angle means that only one side can ultimately win and take all the spoils.

The winner is Street Fighter.

Inside Konami's North American branch.

The vice president's expression shifted between light and dark.

Within just one day, the newly sold "Kung Fu" received numerous return requests.

But it wasn't due to quality control issues.

After playing Street Fighter in those arcades, I actually returned their machines just to make room for Street Fighter.

Some even use the refund money to buy more Street Fighter games.

This is outrageous!

"Boss, we've also received returns from two stores in Phoenix, Arizona."

"I see……"

The vice president let out a long sigh, picked up the inventory list, and frowned deeply.

Losing face is a minor matter; businessmen have no use for that stuff anyway.

The problem is, what should I do with all this stock of Kung Fu Hustle in stock?

This is all real money.

"Have you gotten the Street Fighter machine yet? Take me to see it."

He could only put these troublesome matters aside for the time being and follow his men to study the new machine that was putting them in a tough spot.

Before he could even push open the door and step into the house, standing outside in the corridor, he could already hear the lively shouts coming from inside.

"Use a auger pile driver, you idiot!"

"No, we can't use the Shattering Gold Palm technique; he already knows how to defend against that!"

……

"Bang!"

The vice president, his face dark, pushed open the door and saw a group of engineers gathered around a Street Fighter arcade machine with cartoon images of Brandon Lee and Arnold Schwarzenegger painted on its casing.

"Zangief—win!"

The engineer controlling Zangief mimicked Zangief's movements on the screen and struck a pose.

"Stop winning, the boss is coming."

"Boss? I'd like to see who dares to call themselves 'bo' in front of me, Zangief..."

When he turned around, he saw his boss with a long face.

The vice president stared at him intently for a long while before letting out a helpless sigh.

It seems there's no need to research anything further.

Even the people in my own company who develop and produce games can get so immersed in it, which is enough to show how amazing its quality is.

We should arrange for manpower to deal with the backlog of inventory as soon as possible and stop factory production.

He doesn't want Konami to become the next Atari.

Within a week, the market performance of "Kung Fu Hustle" and "Street Fighter" underwent a stunning 180-degree reversal.

You can find long lines of players in any arcade.

While Kung Fu did attract many players in its early days, the vast majority switched to Street Fighter after playing a few rounds.

The design of the PK mechanism, in particular, is simply ingenious.

Skilled players can sit in front of the machine for a whole day, which is completely different from the previous situation where they had to queue up again after each game.

Many people have started to focus on studying combo strategies.

Besides these core players who are focused on honing their skills, there is another type of fan.

"Bruce Lee is the one everyone deserves! Ah! Jeet Kune Do, do you even understand, you bumpkin?"

"Weirdo, if you ask me, Guile is the real tough guy, the American tough guy is my favorite."

"I think Chun-Li is quite a beauty, with such beautiful legs."

"Wait, nobody likes Cammy? I really want Cammy to trap me between her legs, hehe..."

Since players can choose their characters, the battle of strength becomes an inevitable part of the game.

The most popular are naturally Bruce Lee and Guile, who are featured on the cover as brand ambassadors.

Even the influence of Street Fighter sparked a kung fu craze across the country.

……

"Guohao, Arnold, we really owe you a lot for your help this time."

Lin Lixin sincerely thanked the two of them one by one.

The current influence of Street Fighter is inseparable from the initial traffic and hype brought by the two main characters.

Many new video game players are drawn to the T800 or Bruce Lee's image.

"No, Mr. Lin. This time, I'm indebted to you."

Li Guohao shook his head, his tone serious.

He wasn't joking.

Street Fighter's influence exceeded everyone's expectations, even impacting Hollywood.

"I've received offers for two kung fu films, Mr. Lin."

Prior to this, Brandon Lee had only appeared in one film, and that was as Bruce Lee's stunt double.

This opportunity became the key to his official debut and entry into the film and television industry.

As for Schwarzenegger, he was already a hot star after Contra and Terminator.

Guile is just another halo superimposed on him.

Although every day people take their anger out on Guile because of his shameless turtle wave...

"Well... I'll take my leave now. I have another flight to Kansas later."

Lin Lixin shook hands with the two men, preparing to say goodbye.

Just as he was about to leave, Lin Lixin suddenly remembered something, stopped and looked at Li Guohao.

"By the way, Guohao, please be careful while filming. Mr. Arnold, you too, I've heard that the safety measures on set have become increasingly perfunctory lately."

He recalled that in the original timeline, when Brandon Lee was filming the movie "The Crow" in 93, a prop bullet actually fired due to a mistake by the props team, causing Brandon Lee to be shot and killed.

There are many different opinions about this matter, with various conspiracy theories flying around.

Lin Lixin couldn't figure out the truth of the matter, but he could change the outcome in his own way.

"Mr. Arnold, Guohao is just starting out, and he will need your help in many areas."

"That's natural."

Schwarzenegger, of course, had no objection to this.

Guile and Bruce Lee, as representative characters of "Street Fighter", have created a popular meme about their seemingly destined rivalry.

Lin Lixin smiled, said goodbye to the two, and headed to Los Angeles Airport.

In addition to Street Fighter and Metal Gear Solid, he also prepared another launch title for NovaBox.

However, he first needs to go to a juvenile detention center in Kansas to find a "prodigy".

"Mr. Lin, are you sure you're looking for John Carmack?"

The caregivers looked at the young entrepreneur with suspicion, not understanding why he would go looking for a wicked thief.

Especially since Carmack is only 15 years old this year, he's basically a little rascal.

"This kid stole an Apple II computer from their school, that's why he was sent here. You must have the wrong person."

"You've got the right person, it's him."