Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo-Chapter 963: Buy, Buy, Buy!

Dude, after sprinting home, was met with disappointment—he had rushed back for nothing. He turned on his computer and entered the BattleNet platform, but everything on the U.S. version of the site was calm and uneventful.

He quickly jumped over to Facebook.

Now the platform was abuzz with discussions about the discount event.

Many longtime Facebook users who rarely posted had suddenly reappeared.

Facebook's rise had gone hand-in-hand with the rise of video games. At the time, there had been a huge overlap in user bases. freewebnøvel.com

Gamers loved sharing their gameplay experiences online and were always looking for others with the same passion—something that was hard to find in real life.

Even today, gamers made up a massive portion of Facebook users and were among its most active communities.

Earlier, around 4 or 5 a.m., Facebook's trending topics were the usual mix—celebrity gossip, regional incidents, or protests in different parts of the U.S.

...

...

But within an hour, one unexpected topic shot to the top:

Summer Sale.

A strange phrase at first glance.

Many didn't even know what it was. They assumed it was some kind of local street market or retail pop-up.

But clicking in, they realized—it was about video game discounts.

Some people immediately lost interest.

But for gamers? It was electrifying.

Night owl gamers in the U.S., much like Dude, had immediately rushed to check BattleNet or their console digital storefronts.

But everything remained eerily quiet.

Well—not entirely quiet. On the store's homepage, there was a countdown timer.

It showed how much time was left until the sale went live.

When they saw there was still time to wait, players flooded Facebook and Gamestar Electronic Entertainment's official forums with complaints.

Why had Japan gotten early access?

Was Gamestar looking down on U.S. gamers?

But the outrage didn't last long. People realized it was a global, region-based release—time zones explained the staggered launch, and that was perfectly reasonable.

This was a gamer's holiday. Everyone was hyped.

Some tech-savvy players tried to sneak past region locks and access the Japanese store early to grab those god-tier discounts.

But most were promptly blocked.

Gamestar Electronic Entertainment had tight restrictions on cross-region purchasing—both to protect themselves and their business partners, and to avoid gray-market resale issues. It was a common industry practice.

So U.S. gamers had no choice but to wait.

Still, the hype didn't die down in the slightest.

People like Dude went through their workdays completely distracted, mind filled with thoughts of the Summer Sale.

How deep would the U.S. discounts go?

Would they be Japan-exclusive?

No—that couldn't be. If Gamestar was running the event, it wouldn't treat regions unequally.

Still... it was agonizing. The desire to rush in and buy games was overwhelming.

Time ticked by slowly. Meanwhile, even people who didn't usually care about video games began noticing the buzz.

Gamers had typically been quieter online—sharing thoughts within their own communities, occasionally recommending games to non-gamers, but rarely stepping outside their bubble.

Today was different.

They expressed their love for video games boldly and openly, praising the gods of gaming for this divine gift.

Game gods. Discounts. Celebration day.

One keyword after another began piling up—and for non-gamers, it was impossible to ignore.

Passively, they started absorbing the news.

Discount.

Takayuki had long believed that the word discount had power far beyond the gaming world.

Discounts could sway anyone, gamer or not.

It was basic psychology.

A gamer hears about deep game discounts? They're thrilled. They celebrate.

A non-gamer hears the same thing? At first, maybe they're confused or mildly curious—but then they learn that games that used to cost full price can now be bought for a third—or less—and realize gaming really isn't that expensive.

Even if they don't usually play, buying one to try out becomes tempting.

Even just having something to talk about with gamer friends could be reason enough.

So why not take a look?

And with that mindset, the Summer Sale began reaching entirely new audiences.

People who had only ever played free mobile games—because console or PC games were too expensive—were now tempted.

Now, they weren't hesitating anymore.

At 8:00 PM U.S. time, the second the clock struck the hour, traffic to BattleNet and console storefronts exploded.

100,000.1 million.3 million.5 million.

By 8:10 PM, real-time access in the Americas surged past 5 million users.

Millions of gamers—and even non-gamers—had flooded the digital storefronts.

And along with the traffic spike came skyrocketing sales numbers.

To mark the occasion, Gamestar Electronic Entertainment launched a live-updating sales leaderboard.

But this leaderboard wasn't made for the public.

It was for partners, and for those skeptical developers and publishers who had hesitated—or even scoffed—at the event.

At 8:10 PM, the best-selling game in the U.S. region was GTA: San Andreas.

For American gamers, it held a special place in their hearts.

The game's city was based on the U.S.—playing it felt like living another version of the American dream.

Second place? Uncharted.

With its cinematic presentation and breathtaking visuals, it had even been cited by filmmakers as a reference for visual storytelling.

And now? It was only $8.

Buy, buy, buy!