Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo-Chapter 1009: It’s Really a Bit Hard to Guess

With the director locked in, the next steps were casting and hiring a screenwriter.

Neither was particularly difficult.

For the lead actor, all they needed was a young performer with decent acting skills — since 90% of the movie would be produced with CGI, the actor's real appearance wasn't all that important.

As for the screenwriter, Takayuki had already provided the story framework, so selecting someone to refine the script didn't take much effort. They simply let the 70-year-old director recommend someone to flesh out the narrative.

Tokarev was pushing forward with great energy, and before long, word began spreading in the film industry: Gamestar Electronic Entertainment was planning another big move into cinema.

In truth, most of the buzz was stirred up by Tokarev himself trying to ride the wave of hype.

But that hype quickly drew the attention of gamers. The media — always eager to exaggerate — jumped on it for clicks. Some even ran headlines like "Gamestar Electronic Entertainment enters deep collaboration with Tokarev's film company."

Some outlets went as far as suggesting that IPs like Super Mario and more were getting live-action adaptations — which thrilled players.

They had been eagerly awaiting live-action adaptations of Gamestar's game IPs for years.

...

...

Countless people had talked about it online.

And this time, it seemed like it might finally happen.

Gamestar Electronic Entertainment didn't step forward to deny the rumors, and Tokarev's film company confirmed the collaboration with a deliberately vague stance — acknowledging a partnership, but not revealing what films were involved.

Within the film industry, the mood was mixed.

Some people had already been selected to join the film projects, meaning they had secured work — and with a well-funded backer like Gamestar, they were naturally pleased.

Others were jealous and bitter.

They resented not being chosen.

Some even tried reaching out to Tokarev to see if there was still a chance to get involved.

But of course, Tokarev was going to prioritize longtime partners and close collaborators.

About a month later, pre-production officially began. At that stage, keeping things under wraps became impossible, and details about the adapted game IPs gradually surfaced.

"According to the latest official report, Gamestar Electronic Entertainment has licensed three films to Tokarev's film studio. The first is a Metal Gear movie."

"Finally! A live-action Metal Gear! I've been waiting so long! If they don't release it soon, my kid will be born before the trailer drops!"

"Don't celebrate too early. I've seen too many adaptations turn into garbage. Let's be cautious."

"But I heard the lead actor will be the same face model as in the game — that guy named Jobb. And the director is one of the best in the spy-thriller genre."

"What?! That's amazing! I'm watching this in theaters on day one!"

Just the fact that the live-action version would cast Jobb — the original face model for Snake in the game — was enough to get fans excited.

A live-action adaptation! Even just seeing that is worth it. If the story sticks to the original, that's even better.

In essence, this was taking the game's cutscenes and transforming them into cinematic storytelling.

And the story of Metal Gear already resembled a film, so as long as the details weren't altered, players were more than happy to experience it again on the big screen in high resolution.

Watching a story in a theater is a very different experience than watching it on a PC or TV at home.

Next, the media revealed the second adaptation: Uncharted. It too would follow the original storyline. While they hadn't decided which specific game installment to adapt, it was confirmed that the protagonist, Drake, and the important supporting character, Sully, would both be portrayed by actors modeled after their in-game counterparts.

The official statement also promised that both movies would remain very faithful to the original narratives — even if that meant lower profits.

And that was exactly what players wanted to hear.

After all, a truly great story isn't easy to write from scratch.

Both Metal Gear and Uncharted already had top-tier storytelling in their original games. Trying to improve upon them would be extremely difficult.

Where the film adaptations could really evolve was in scale and spectacle.

With proper cinematography and post-production effects, the visuals would easily surpass the real-time rendering in the games.

Keeping the original story and pairing it with upgraded visuals and grander scenes — that's what would hook the players.

That guaranteed a strong base for ticket sales. From there, the next challenge would be using blockbuster-scale scenes to capture the broader audience.

In that regard, Tokarev's film company had a solid track record.

After all, they had previously partnered with Gamestar Electronic Entertainment to produce the Infinite Starsea sci-fi film series.

So far, Infinite Starsea had earned over $2 billion in box office revenue for Tokarev's company — and when you factor in books and merchandise, that number could easily double.

So it wasn't surprising that fans were already shouting for early ticket sales — eager to support the film with their wallets.

But of course, seeing the final product would still take at least a year.

Still, with that kind of commitment, Tokarev's confidence surged. With so much fan support, the movie was sure to break even. And a break-even movie is a good movie — a profitable one is even better!

This made him all the more determined to stick strictly to the original game material.

He also found himself appreciating the power of an existing fanbase — it let him move forward boldly, without second-guessing or fearing what-ifs.

It was like having a safety net. As long as he didn't recklessly butcher the story, it was unlikely to flop.

Finally, the media revealed details about the third movie.

Unlike the others, this film wasn't based on any single IP. It appeared to be a crossover film — an IP mashup of sorts. But very few details were released. There were no stills, no trailers, no synopsis. It left fans completely guessing.

And that opened the floodgates to speculation.

"Could it be a massive IP battle royale? Like Final Fantasy's Cloud versus Super Mario?"

"Come on, those two aren't even the same art style! That would be such a weird clash."

"Eh, it's not totally impossible."

"But honestly, making a movie like that doesn't feel very highbrow. There must be a more elegant way to handle it."

"So what kind of style do you think it'll be?"

"Hard to say. It's really hard to guess."