Chapter 115: A Craze Beyond Expectations

And this game was especially well received among younger audiences.

Even though both were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠role-playing games, the Land of Adventure series had systems that were somewhat complicated and stories with more depth, so very young children often failed to become interested in them.

But perhaps because Spirit Stone was so simple, or because the themes of friendship and collecting spirits appealed to them, even little children became easily absorbed in it.

“It already sold one hundred thousand copies?”

Because of that, Spirit Stone achieved truly unprecedented sales for software designed for the new-generation computers.

And that result came barely two weeks after release.

And as the software sold well, Communication Cards also began selling because people wanted to use network mode.

After hearing that products were finally leaving warehouses instead of being returned, Ras and Utaro both let out sighs of relief.

The entire time until now had truly been nerve-racking.

Of course, even if this single project failed, Ras would not collapse. But that did not mean failure was acceptable.

If it had merely been something like stocks, Ras alone would have lost money and that would have been the end of it. But manufacturing industries involved many interconnected people.

In any case, once the inventory started selling, many people were able to keep their jobs and the business began functioning properly again.

“However, we’re also receiving requests to export these.”

“Huh? But network play won’t work overseas anyway.”

Ras looked slightly dumbfounded at Utaro’s words.

Since Spirit Stone had been made according to Hammer Computer specifications, Ras had not expected much from overseas sales in the first place. Because of that, they had not made any preparations regarding multiplayer support overseas.

For a neighboring country like the Bryunyad Federation, they might somehow be able to connect through international calls, but countries on entirely different continents across the sea would not even be capable of connecting.

The Communication Card did not support magical communications, and even if it did, it was hard to imagine people paying those absurdly expensive communication fees just to play online battles.

Well, maybe there would still be a few people willing to do it.

Come to think of it, there were legends from the PC communication era about people spending millions of won on communication fees alone. And millions of won in the 1990s was, with slight exaggeration, basically equivalent to tens of millions today.

“We clearly stated that the overseas versions do not support networking, correct?”

“Yes. We explicitly stated that network mode is limited to within the Republic of Smite and that service is not yet available in other regions.”

Utaro was not directly involved with the software side. Still, since Meta Soft was the headquarters company, he paid attention to it regularly, and because the Communication Card was a product linked with Spirit Stone, he had checked things even more thoroughly and could answer immediately.

“Really?”

Normally, such a clear answer should have been reassuring, but Ras scratched the front of his forehead with a somewhat conflicted expression instead.

Utaro carefully observed Ras’s mood and wondered what the issue was. Then he quickly realized what he was thinking.

“Ah! Are you considering overseas network service as well?”

“Yes. If overseas sales are decent, I think it might be worthwhile to establish separate servers there too. Ah, by server, I mean the network system.”

In any case, Ras was already preparing to launch a PC communication service.

His calculation was to establish network systems overseas while Spirit Stone was booming and then use that infrastructure to expand the PC communication service overseas as well.

“That’s not a bad idea. There’s still plenty of inventory remaining anyway, so if we use this opportunity to proceed with exports while looking into additional factories, I think we can handle it without major problems.”

“Ah. Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yes!”

After sending Utaro away, Ras called for the Network Management Team.

At first, Karkov had personally managed everything, but after confirming that the system operated without major problems, Ras had established a separate department and made it independent.

Karkov was far too busy to spend his time managing servers. Even now, he was already overwhelmed with developing the next-generation computers.

“Did you call for me, Chairman?”

A somewhat thinly built dwarf entered Ras’s chairman office.

Most dwarves had thick builds, but in modern times, dwarves had diversified eating habits as well, so dwarves with physiques like this occasionally appeared.

Still, seeing a dwarf without much body fat made him look exactly like a child if one ignored the beard. Moreover, this dwarf named Persple had especially bright eyes, making that impression even stronger.

“Yes. Are there any problems with the server status? Judging from Communication Card sales, the number of users connecting should have increased considerably.”

Persple had originally been one of Meta Hardware’s engineers.

Since this was an unfamiliar product first developed by Meta Hardware, ordinary people would have difficulty handling it, so even if it was not Karkov himself, someone from the development team needed to come. That ended up being this dwarf.

“Yes. There are no problems yet. We prepared such a large capacity from the beginning that it’s unlikely we’ll exceed it anytime soon.”

They had already manufactured network devices, and although hard disks had not yet been officially sold, they had produced a massive stockpile of them already, so they possessed abundant resources.

Because Ras had memories from Earth, he had prepared what seemed like an excessive number of servers from the start.

Just looking at mobile games on Earth showed how players immediately lost interest if servers crashed on the first day and prevented logins.

“That’s fortunate. Anyway, I called you because I have another request.”

Only after checking the server status did Ras move to the main topic.

Since he planned to expand overseas as well, any problems needed to be fixed beforehand.

“Would it be possible to create several more server management teams?”

“Huh?”

Persple looked confused, wondering what Ras meant. He had just explained that they still had enormous excess capacity, so he did not understand why additional management teams were needed.

“Ah, I don’t mean increasing the number of servers. Have you heard about the overseas sales situation for Spirit Stone?”

“Ah. Yes. I heard it’s selling very well.”

Persple was technically a hardware engineer, but he actually liked games quite a bit too.

One reason he joined this company was because it was connected to Meta Soft, which he liked.

Though naturally, the working conditions had been an even larger ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠factor.

“Yes. Contrary to expectations, overseas sales are not bad at all. But I’m not bringing this up just to brag.”

Ras joked lightly, gave a short laugh, then continued.

“Not only the game itself, but demand for the Communication Card is also becoming fairly significant.”

At that point, Persple realized what the conversation was about.

Of course, he still did not interrupt the chairman and simply listened more comfortably as Ras continued.

“So we plan to provide network services overseas as well, which means we’ll need to establish branch offices.”

“Yes. Then how many branches are you planning to establish…?”

“For now, I’m thinking about three locations: the Bryunyad Federation, the Pluta Constitutional State, and the Nuchin Kingdom.”

Of course, if they had the capability, Ras wanted to expand into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠other countries too and seize the PC communication market first.

But this world still held strong resistance toward foreigners, so he planned to start with places where they already had some foundation and the excuse of Spirit Stone.

“Yes… The current management team personnel have already completed their training, so it’s possible. But it will take some time. At least a month…”

“Hmm.”

Ras did not irrationally demand that technicians appear out of nowhere.

Still, a month was somewhat longer than he expected.

But that was simply because he had not fully considered overseas expansion before suddenly deciding to pursue it.

Thinking about it again, creating three separate teams capable of operating overseas independently would naturally take that much time.

However, he could not be certain that overseas players would wait an entire month.

Games naturally lost momentum over time, after all.

Still, Ras believed Spirit Stone possessed especially high potential, so he thought the boom would last longer than usual.

“For now, proceed with it.”

“Yes. Understood.”

After thinking for a moment, Ras instructed him to begin training the technicians.

Even if the Spirit Stone craze eventually died down, they still planned to launch PC communication services overseas anyway, so overseas servers needed to be established regardless.

However, contrary to his worries, the Spirit Stone craze did not die down.

No, it only burned hotter and hotter.

Word of mouth had begun spreading.

And understandably so, because Spirit Stone was the kind of game that gave players endless things to talk about.

It did not end with simply saying it was fun.

Players talked endlessly about what spirits they collected, which ones they evolved, obtaining spirits with the stats they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wanted, exchanging spirits through network mode, and how they defeated someone in battle.

“I told you I’d definitely win once I got Tutu!”

One middle school boy excitedly bragged after successfully taking revenge the previous night against a friend he had previously lost to. Meanwhile, the other boy sat there with his lips tightly shut and a resentful expression.

When conversations became this noisy everywhere, even children who originally had no interest often grew curious.

And since the gameplay quality itself was already guaranteed, that directly led to a wave of new players.

“We sold out!”

“What? Didn’t you say we produced another batch recently?”

“Yes! We produced another two hundred thousand copies, but they sold out in just one week!”

Paul Roxy shouted into the telephone in a voice filled with excitement.

Even for him, this kind of phenomenon was unprecedented.

“At this point, it feels like everyone who owns a computer is going to buy this!”

“Haha. Surely not.”

Of course, that was an exaggeration.

Even on Earth, the Game Boy sold over one hundred million units, yet the first Pokémon series, despite being considered a massive hit, sold only around ten million copies.

Roughly one-tenth.

Moreover, Ras had released this on computers rather than dedicated gaming devices, so he could not expect those kinds of numbers.

Still, the momentum truly was terrifying.

Less than a month after release, total sales had already reached eight hundred thousand copies when overseas sales were included.

Everyone predicted it was only a matter of time before it set a new record in the computer game market.

But Ras did not simply celebrate strong sales.

Since the tide had come in, he began rowing aggressively.

The first step was character merchandise.

He had already instructed the stationery company, toy company, and plush factory prepared during the Bubble Bobble period to begin producing related goods.

And that was not all.

Ras had also contacted a bakery company.

It did feel a little like directly copying memories from Earth, but he simply could not resist Pokémon bread.

When he remembered children throwing away the bread itself just to collect the stickers, he became convinced this was an item that absolutely could not fail.

“A bakery company?”

Naturally, to people in this world who lacked those memories, the idea sounded completely random.

Even Georg from the IP Management Team responded with a look that suggested he wondered whether he had misheard.

Ras wanted to maintain a serious expression, but a smile kept trying to escape onto his face.

Still, he forced himself to endure it while explaining the plan.

“I’m planning to include spirit stickers inside bread.”

“Stickers?”

The plan was, honestly speaking, simply a direct copy of Pokémon bread: create stickers of every spirit appearing in Spirit Stone and include them inside the bread packaging.

But people here viewed stickers merely as cheap toys that only children liked, so even after hearing the full plan, Georg still did not seem particularly impressed.

“Yes. Proceed with it.”

Of course, even so, if Ras said “Go,” then they had to proceed.

“Yes! Understood!”

It probably would not be very difficult.