Looking at the figure slowly walking onto the stage, a wave of confusion arose in everyone's hearts.
"This time it's Aoki Haruhi, right?"
"Hmm, it should be. I remember the media reported on him, but I'm not entirely sure."
Aoki Haruhi mainly lived in Japan and rarely traveled to Europe and America. There wasn't much visual information about him in Japan, let alone in the Europe and America region.
However, because a set of photos were taken of him when he arrived at the venue yesterday, everyone had some impression of him.
People generally have some stereotypes about East Asians, but Aoki Haruhi gave everyone a very comfortable feeling.
He had sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, with thick eyebrows and large eyes, and although he was over 30, he looked extremely young.
Especially in the eyes of Westerners, some would even believe he was only 19.
When Aoki Haruhi came to Chicago before, local high school basketball players thought he was a middle schooler.
His skin was truly too good, and his features were delicate. In the visual perception of Westerners, Aoki Haruhi's appearance was indeed too deceptive.
There was no other way; that's just how it is when you're handsome.
Everything else can be achieved through effort, but a face like that is truly a gift from God.
Sometimes, Aoki Haruhi even wondered if he could have won over Nao Tsuda without this face.
No, to be precise, Nao Tsuda was completely given to him.
Heaven's favor, he was truly grateful for fate's arrangement.
...
Aoki Haruhi slowly walked to the center of the stage, took the microphone from the host, and then smiled and raised his hand.
"Thank you, Ms. Yoko Shimomura, and thank you, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra."
Aoki Haruhi gave his entire speech in English, so the audience below could understand him.
It saved on a translator.
The key was that Aoki Haruhi's English was good. In his previous life, he also graduated from a prestigious university, and he had no strange accent whatsoever.
He said with a smile, "Ms. Yoko Shimomura, perhaps not many people here know her, but in the hearts of Pokémon staff, she is indeed a well-deserved music master.
The game soundtracks for Pokémon, Diablo, and The Witcher were all completed by Ms. Yoko Shimomura."
Upon hearing this, there was an uproar in the audience.
"Wow, I didn't expect it to be her?"
Aside from a portion of the audience who knew Yoko Shimomura, many people actually didn't recognize her.
But it didn't matter if they didn't recognize her; it was enough that they recognized Yoko Shimomura's music and the games produced by Pokémon.
In the Europe and America region, Yoko Shimomura's musical works, or more accurately, Pokémon's games, hold a certain status. Additionally, due to the games' extremely high popularity and Shimomura's international music style, players deeply remembered her music.
However, it seemed no one expected the composer to be a girl.
"I always thought that someone who could create music as melancholic and dark, yet grand and epic, as The Witcher, would be like Hans Zimmer."
Hans Zimmer was also considered a master of film scoring in the United States. So far, he had scored Rain Man, and for his first film score, he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score. Later, he scored Disney's animated film The Lion King, winning an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Original Score.
Now, this guy was hired by Steven Spielberg as the music Director for DreamWorks Pictures; otherwise, Aoki Haruhi would have very much wanted to poach him.
However, in terms of game music, Yoko Shimomura was truly a god.
"It's truly unexpected; it's impossible to associate such music with a lady."
"Yoko Shimomura's talent is too strong, isn't it? She should be considered a master composer in the game industry, and a goddess at that."
"Such women are truly rare. This is my first time seeing one; she's so charming, a female composer who can achieve this level."
...
Aoki Haruhi pressed his hand down with a smile, and the venue immediately quieted down.
"Music has no country; its language is something everyone can understand, even if you don't understand music or Japanese, it doesn't matter at all.
When the music plays, our joys, sorrows, and all our emotions are stirred."
Aoki Haruhi paced back and forth on the stage, appearing particularly composed.
It was as if he wasn't in Atlanta, but in Japan, in Tokyo, at Pokémon, as if it were his home turf.
"Correspondingly, games, when done to their extreme, actually don't need such complex linguistic expression. Graphics, music, gameplay—these can all be tools for our expression.
When playing games, what everyone can experience will be the purest joy."
"Pokémon is such a game."
Upon hearing "Pokémon," the entire venue immediately erupted.
Through years of effort and development, this game has become one of the most popular games not only in Japan but also in Europe and America and globally, attracting a large number of fans.
To some extent, Aoki Haruhi somewhat understood Hiroshi Yamauchi: only by creating pure game fun and bringing joy to children can a game become the most popular, accepted, and liked.
The super mario series is like this, Kirby is like this, and Pokémon is also like this.
...
As soon as Aoki Haruhi finished speaking, a projection of the new Pokémon game appeared on the large screen behind him.
However, unlike everyone's expectations, what appeared on the screen was not the four starters, but a single Pikachu.
On a sunny morning, Pikachu woke up from a dream to find himself in an unfamiliar world.
This world was filled with wonderful creatures and mysterious landscapes, making Pikachu curious and excited.
It decided to embark on an adventure to explore this unknown world.
Pikachu first arrived at a dense forest.
Here, it encountered many strange Pokémon, such as Grass Skirt Snake and Unicorno.
In the forest, Pikachu also learned some new skills, such as climbing and jumping, which made it more adept during its exploration.
After leaving the forest, Pikachu came to a vast desert.
In the desert, Pikachu encountered various difficulties and challenges, such as sandstorms and venomous snakes.
But with courage and wisdom, Pikachu successfully overcame these difficulties and finally found the ancient city.
...
The game's animated footage showed a portion of it, including different terrains and natural landscapes, as well as the difficulties Pokémon encountered in these places.
For example, having to cross fallen tree trunks blocking the path, then jumping up high slopes, climbing cliffs...
Fighting different enemies and monsters, collecting items and other Pokémon, uncovering the truth of the world, and so on.
The latter half, however, was a demonstration of actual gameplay.
However, Pokémon's games are already quite exquisite now. Although the first part was animated, it was also processed based on the game content.
It can be said that the actual gameplay experience is not much different from what was shown.
pokémon: mysterious adventure is a single-player game.
Players can control Pikachu to fight throughout, able to jump, run, and use skills.
At the same time, they can also switch by continuously collecting other Pokémon.
However, only one Pokémon can be controlled as the main character at a time.
How to choose different Pokémon and operations for different situations during the adventure to make the game smoother is a question players need to consider.
...
At the very end of the entire video, Pikachu and its companions ran quickly, defeating various enemies along the way, and then ran up a poppy-covered hill.
Finally, the Pokémon stood in a row on the mountaintop, gazing into the distance.
The sky in the distance was blue, and below were dense forests and a small town within them, all signaling beauty.
["pokémon: mysterious adventure" will be available soon. Please look forward to it.]
"Wow, it's too cute, isn't it?"
A collective gasp immediately arose from below.
"Sure enough, once Pokémon appears, I have no resistance at all. I really wish I could buy a copy now."
"It should be available for experience at the upcoming exhibition. I'm already eagerly anticipating the official display."
"I wonder if Pokémon will have merchandise giveaways this time. I really want to get some for my daughter to play with."
"Me too."
"Pokémon wouldn't have spent all their money on hiring the orchestra, would they? It would be such a pity if there's no merchandise then."
Giving away merchandise at electronic exhibitions became a trend started by the century-long battle between Sega and Nintendo.
So now, game exhibitions, complete with cosplayers and merchandise giveaways, have almost become standard.
This was Pokémon's first time participating in the exhibition, and players had great enthusiasm and expectations for them.
Especially the Pokémon series—not to mention anything else, merchandise like plushies, figures, cat bags… a whole lot of things that players wanted, which were more appealing than merchandise from other games.
Let's put it this way: in the merchandising market, Pokémon completely overwhelms Nintendo's super mario, and now it even shows a subtle trend of surpassing Hello Kitty.
...
"A large part of this animation can be experienced during actual gameplay," Aoki Haruhi said, raising the microphone after the promotional video finished playing. "You can think of this game as a real-time 3D Pokémon battle game."
"What?!"
Aoki Haruhi's words caused an uproar, like a stone stirring a thousand waves, as soon as he finished speaking.
Everyone thought that the animation just now was merely for promotion, and that it would be impossible for the game to be so smooth. They didn't expect him to actually deliver on it.
"Is it real or fake? Were there real-time gameplay scenes in the short film just now?"
"I couldn't tell at all. I thought the entire thing was a pre-rendered animation."
"What does a real-time Pokémon game mean? Like pokémon 3d world?"
"Didn't he just say in the video that this is a game where you can control Pokémon to explore, battle, and collect items?
I feel like it's more similar to princess mononoke, which Pokeni previously produced.
Except the main characters are Pokémon."
"What?! Pokémon made into an RPG? Is that right?"
"It looks like it, and it's an action-adventure game."
...
It doesn't matter if you don't understand, or if you have doubts, or if you can't believe it.
Because afterward, Pokeni conducted a live demo.
The demonstration was still given by Lisa Asano, the Producer of the Pokémon series and also the Director of Pokémon.
Although this girl is very young, she has already achieved things that many people cannot accomplish in their entire lives, reaching a height that countless people dream of.
Many people felt envious when they saw her appear.
"Is the Producer of Pokémon really that young?"
"And she's a girl?"
"Oh my goodness, I can't even imagine. This girl looks like she hasn't even graduated from high school, yet she's already the Producer of a globally renowned game like Pokémon?"
At today's event, Lisa Asano gave a live demonstration. As she controlled Pikachu, jumping through mountains, battling, unleashing Thunderbolt, then picking up fallen berries from the ground...
Making Apple jam, then finding new companions...
The shock in everyone's eyes grew stronger and stronger.
"It really is... a real-time Pokémon."
"Not only is it real-time, but it also has a very distinct Pokémon feel, even surpassing Pokémon itself. This is completely an action-adventure game."
Yes, Pokémon battles in the game are only a small part of the content.
Exploring different areas, unlocking more content, and digging into the story behind the world—these are the most interesting aspects of pokémon: mysterious adventure.
It's like truly placing players into a Pokémon world, taking their Pokémon on an adventure.
Besides raising Pokémon, players also have to go through many levels and challenges, and at the same time, they need to learn certain life skills, allowing Pokémon to make big meals with fruits, stone pots, etc., to fill their bellies...
The game suddenly became much richer.
Moreover, this game is rapidly evolving at a visible speed. From pokémon 3d world to the current pokémon: mysterious adventure, the differences between the two are already clear in terms of graphics quality, character model precision, and game fluidity.
pokémon: mysterious adventure has seen a very significant improvement.
This also indirectly proves one point—
Pokeni's technology is also improving at an unprecedented rate.
"This company, Pokeni, is terrifying."
Miyamoto Masafumi, sitting in the audience with his arms crossed, was once again shocked.
An incredible expression appeared in his eyes. "How is this called an Incredible Adventure? This is clearly called an Incredible Pokeni."
If they keep making games like this, who will play our games in the future?
The gap is too obvious, isn't it?
Miyamoto Masafumi wasn't the most pained; the most pained was undoubtedly Mr. Miyamoto Shigeru, the legendary Producer of Nintendo, who was sitting in the middle seat.
The live broadcast cameras, secondary cameras, intentionally or unintentionally focused on Miyamoto Shigeru, and his shocked expression always appeared on the large screen on the right.
In the end, Miyamoto Shigeru felt embarrassed and covered his face the whole time, only revealing his eyes.
...
Whether the outside world knows about the conflict between Nintendo and Pokeni is debatable.
However, at least everyone is clear that Pokémon and Nintendo's many games are definitely in competition.
And it's a direct competition.
It's just short of throwing Pokémon in Hiroshi Yamauchi's face.
The same family-friendly games, the same all-ages appeal, the same cute style...
But Pokémon's expressive power, game richness, playability, etc., all seem to have a crushing advantage over Nintendo.
No one explicitly stated this, but as long as a camera shot landed on Miyamoto Shigeru's face, everyone present would make the connection.
Upon seeing Miyamoto Shigeru's shocked face appear on the secondary screen again, the media reporters couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Amazing. The Director on site really knows how to cut shots."
"Now all the material is there. I'm not worried at all about how to write the news when I go back today. My only worry is not writing as well as others."
"Hahaha, the Director is a bit too mean, directly making Nintendo a background. Cutting to Mr. Miyamoto Shigeru like that is too bad.
But it's so funny."
"What did Mr. Miyamoto Shigeru do wrong to be used for comparison like this, hahahaha, let me laugh a little longer."
This way, all news media could get the material, instead of actively capturing shots themselves, which indeed reduced some exclusive competitiveness.
So, many people were planning in their minds that after today's pre-exhibition press conference, they must interview Miyamoto Shigeru.
The inexplicable gazes from around made Miyamoto Shigeru involuntarily clench up.
Such terrifying stares.
...
The next game Aoki Haruhi introduced was still Pokémon.
As soon as the image appeared on the big screen, a roaring engine sound filled the venue, and the scene erupted in an uproar.
Countless players immediately stood up from their chairs, excitedly watching the scene before them:
On the big screen, Pikachu, Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur were each sitting in a go-kart.
The go-karts were also shaped like various Pokémon.
This scene felt somewhat comical, making everyone laugh out loud.
"Good heavens, is that Pikachu riding Charmander?"
"And Squirtle riding Eevee."
"..."
In short, it was incredibly funny. This kind of scene was probably something no one had ever thought of, or perhaps some had, but not to this absurd extent.
Directly turning Pokémon into race cars and racers.
Just as everyone was discussing animatedly, the go-karts in the video began their fierce race with the sound of a gunshot.
The rules of Pokémon Racing are very simple: players need to drive a go-kart and compete with other players on various tracks.
Each track has different terrains and obstacles, and players need to cleverly use these elements to gain an advantage.
The game also has various items that can help players accelerate, attack opponents, or defend against attacks.
Pokémon Racing has a very rich roster of characters, including various characters from the Pokémon series, such as Pikachu, Charmander, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, etc.
Each character has their own characteristics and skills, and players can choose characters according to their preferences.
Different Pokémon vehicles also have different skills. For example, the Squirtle go-kart is more suitable for driving on water and can get a buff bonus.
As for the Pikachu racing car, it discharges electricity after a certain period, and if it can be pulled by an electromagnetic field, it can gain huge acceleration...
The entire video made the audience on site laugh out loud, creating an exceptionally joyful atmosphere.
...
If the previous Pokémon series games still had some reservations, then the Pokémon Racing video, once released, was truly a direct challenge.
After all, super mario Kart had already been released a few years ago.
The live Director immediately cut the camera to Miyamoto Shigeru's face again.
Miyamoto Shigeru's eyes showed immense shock—
What is Pokeni trying to do?!
Are they going to make racing games too?
Don't you even consider if Pokémon are suitable for racing?!
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