Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Demon Slayer
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Choose your friends wisely.
It's the kind of nagging parents inevitably give their kids at least once.
"Ahh... slept great."
As I watched Jason stretching and yawning right after waking up, that saying naturally came to mind.
"Why don't you just get your own place?"
"Why spend money on that? We've got beds and showers right here."
Jason gave me a look like I was spouting nonsense, grabbed his toiletries from the desk, and vanished into the shower room.
These facilities—a nap room and shower—were built according to my firm belief that every game company needs them.
Watching Jason treat the place like his own home, I started wondering if I'd built them for nothing.
"Good morning."
"Morning. You're in early?"
"Couldn't stop thinking about the stuff we didn't finish yesterday... Figured I'd come in early and wrap it up."
Right after Jason headed to the shower, the office door opened, and Rogers appeared with a bright smile.
'From his parents' perspective, I must look like the guy turning Jason into this.'
As Rogers clocked in, sat at his desk, powered on his computer, and expertly brewed coffee from the machine in the corner, I recalled three months ago.
'I'm thinking of taking a leave from school.'
'You too? I already submitted mine.'
It had been three months since I'd hired Rogers and Jason with the money from Seton.
With the new semester approaching, they'd both declared leaves of absence, almost like they'd planned it.
'I'm grateful, but... you guys sure this is okay?'
I'd always wanted to bring them on board officially someday.
But that was supposed to be after the company grew more.
This time, it was just pocket change coming in, so I'd called them for some side work.
I hadn't planned on a formal hire, so I was the surprised one.
'If it doesn't work out, we can always go back.'
'If I leave without finishing this program, I'll regret it so much I won't sleep.'
Both were geniuses who got called that wherever they went.
The missions I'd given them had clearly sparked their competitive spirits.
Jason might not have graduated on time anyway, so keeping him here felt like a favor—no guilt there.
'Rogers, did your parents okay this?'
'They said to follow my dreams once in a while. They trust there's a reason I think this way.'
Is this the American parent mindset?
In Korea, they'd probably storm the office, accusing me of ruining their promising kid's future, grabbing me by the collar.
Anyway, thanks to them staying, 'Byte Line' was nearing completion.
As originally planned, it was a simple program with real-time chat and basic file transfer, but the tech inside was astonishing.
'A program this smooth? No company could resist using it.'
Performance that blew existing chat programs away.
It was bound to succeed.
Of course, we'd distribute it free at this stage—no revenue, but that was fine.
– Congrats on Dead Hills breaking 500,000 copies sold.
A few days ago, a call came with a fine bottle of wine.
AE's President Hudson personally informed me that Dead Hills had hit 500,000 sales.
– Hahaha!! You should've seen the guys who ranted about firing me after I gave Savior a million-dollar contract—their jaws dropped!
Savior made good money from Dead Hills too, but AE probably earned even more.
So I understood Hudson's uncontainable joy.
Now, that million dollars he'd given me seemed trivial compared to the revenue.
– It's a little bribe for our continued good relations. Rare vintage—share it with good people on a good day.
I'm no wine expert, but even I recognized the name on the label.
'Romanée-Conti.'
It said 1990 vintage. No Namu Wiki here to check the value.
...Even if I knew, it wouldn't matter.
"Whoa! Huck, this is insane—floral notes in the booze!"
The day it arrived, Jason popped the cork immediately.
We all ended up sharing it, and Scarlett and Fisher happened to be in the office, so I poured them glasses too.
"You... No. Better if you don't know."
Scarlett seemed to recognize it, staring at me like I was crazy.
After prodding her, I learned the 1990 Romanée-Conti's market price... and it was shocking.
'Still, since Jason made it happen, no regrets.'
Jason's Dead Hills RE.
During porting some female characters to the Seton console version, we generated data too good to waste, so we applied it to the PC version too.
Reselling it officially would've been tricky, so I sent CGW's Jamie the floppy with the character patch as a giveaway.
"This month's CGW? I'd pay double. No giveaway, no buy."
The Dead Hills demo issue sold 3 million copies. This fell short but still hit 2 million—a miracle.
Plus, Seton-exclusive Dead Hills RE sold 500,000—an impressive console debut.
Total across PC and console: 1 million.
Unbelievable.
Dead Hills RE's 500,000 was especially symbolic.
PC-to-console ports typically topped 100,000; 500,000 was near-miraculous.
Hudson wasn't buttering me up with pricey wine for nothing.
Console hits broke a million yearly, but PC at 500,000 was god-tier now.
But that record wouldn't last.
"Huck, id Software posted an announcement."
"What announcement?"
Rogers tossed it out while sipping coffee and staring at his monitor.
I rushed back to my desk and hit id Software's homepage.
-The Demon Slayer demo will be posted on the University of Wisconsin's FTP.
To upgrade to full version later, buy a code on our homepage.-
Reading id Software's post, I thought, It's finally here.
Demon Slayer.
The legendary game always in the top 5 greatest ever, regardless of era, genre, or platform.
Full release was three months out, but once it dropped, Savior's 500,000 PC record would shatter.
"Smart move? Skipping distributors entirely."
Rogers finished reading, impressed.
"No packaging costs either—just sell the data. Didn't know it could be this good."
"Eh... not that great."
Rogers's take sounded plausible at first.
Ask game devs their dream? Most would say the same.
'A world without royalties.'
PC devs getting exploited by publishers was industry gospel.
Consoles weren't better.
Nendo and Seton raked royalties even harder.
Worst: ROM cartridges for games had usage fees.
ROMs loaded faster than floppies or CDs but cost more and took longer to make.
Price was killer.
-Below 100,000 sales, it's a loss. Only then does profit kick in—hard to release casually.
Nishimura's director Hiroshi's interview had buzzed the industry.
He targeted Nendo hard.
With 90% of cartridge factories Nendo-owned, yearly hikes made devs' futures bleak.
Distribution woes: eternal dev dilemma.
id Software's direct-to-consumer via net seemed revolutionary.
"Demon Slayer will succeed. But id Software? They'll make no money."
I knew this method—I hadn't overlooked it.
"What? Success but bankruptcy...?"
Rogers tilted his head, confused.
"First, uploading game files online? Like opening the door to thieves."
"File copying?"
"Yeah. Easier than duplicating floppies— a hundred times."
"But they locked it. Full version only for key buyers."
"And that buyer? Copies the full game and shares it."
Copyright awareness now? Nonexistent.
Plus, America.
Land of freedom and rebellion.
Plenty call selling files 'freedom infringement.'
"Once Demon Slayer releases, fans will share files gleefully. Some'll copy to floppies and sell 'em."
"No way... really?"
No "no way."
It'd happen endlessly.
Demon Slayer infamously installed more than Microsoft's Windows once.
But sales? A fraction—1/10th, no, 1/100th.
Tragic legend, yet profitable.
"But... like you said, it'll still be a massive hit?"
"Yeah."
"Then why do I feel like we won't lose?"
Rogers grinned at me.
Truth? I wasn't confident either.
Confident we'd win.
Our new game, 'Village Maker,' was built from day one to take on Demon Slayer.
No yielding on sales or revenue.
Rogers, key playtester over six months, had that confidence.
Grin.
I grinned back at his smile.
"Dude, I told you not to copy my face."
I thought I'd nailed his refreshing grin, but aside from Rogers recoiling in horror, everything was perfect.