Nayuta Mase began to speak, his tone calm but carrying a quiet weight behind it. "ZAGE really started it all… and honestly, they kind of saved the industry from the ATARI crash. I was a gar long before the rise of ZAGE. I've been an arcade and Atari fan since I was a child, so I still rember how things felt back then—how uncertain everything was, and how the excitent slowly faded."
He paused for a mont, as if revisiting those mories.
"So when ZAGE was established in 1991 and began pushing the industry forward again, I was genuinely happy. It felt like sothing that was dying had been brought back to life. For the first ti in a while, there was hope again. And at that mont, I truly believed the video ga industry had real potential—not just to recover, but to grow into sothing much bigger than before."
He gave a small, reflective nod.
"Back then, I didn't see them as a competitor or even a company to compare with. To , they were more like a symbol of revival… proof that this industry could still move forward."
He then sighed, his expression tightening slightly. "What I hate about ZAGE is that they create unrealistic expectations… since 1991, they keep releasing an insane number of gas every year. And it's not just about quantity—alongside that, they keep introducing new types of genres and consistently delivering strong gaplay. They make it look effortless, like they are always at the pinnacle, as if no setbacks can ever slow them down." He paused briefly, then continued in a lower tone "They don't just raise the bar—they push it to a level that most companies simply cannot reach. And because of that, people start to expect everyone else to do the sa."
He exhaled quietly.
"And that… is where the problem begins."
Aya frowned slightly, clearly puzzled by his tone.
"Hmm? It sounds like you're complinting them rather than hating them, Mase-san. Can you elaborate a bit more?"
Mase sighed and nodded slowly, as if he had expected that reaction.
"Yes… I understand why it sounds that way. The truth is, ZAGE is so perfect—almost beyond perfect—for the video ga industry. They are just… too dominant, and that's exactly what creates the problem."
He paused for a mont, choosing his words more carefully before continuing.
"Despite their boss always encouraging the industry to grow and pushing other developers to beco stronger, ZAGE themselves keep surpassing those expectations again and again. It's like they set a standard… and then imdiately break it on their own."
His voice beca slightly heavier.
"I an, just look at last year… how can a single company—regardless of its size—create more than sixty gas in one year? And not just that… out of those sixty-plus gas, there isn't even a single 'cash grab.' Every one of them is polished, mostly free of major bugs, and genuinely fun to play."
He let out a quiet breath, the frustration becoming clearer.
"And what's even worse… each of those gas has its own identity. They're not just repeating the sa formula. They're all different, distinct, and morable in their own way."
Mase looked toward the hosts, his expression now more serious than before.
"So tell … how are we supposed to compete with that? How can any normal company possibly reach that level, let alone surpass it?"
"They're so dominant that they keep breaking their own records… and honestly, that creates another kind of problem—on the player side."
Mase sighed, then continued more slowly, as if choosing his words with care. "There's even a term for this now. So players call themselves 'ZAGAR.' Basically, they only buy ZAGE gas. They ignore other releases… they ignore anything that isn't from ZAGE."
He shook his head faintly.
"And what makes it worse is that, for them, that's actually enough. I an… more than sixty gas a year. For a single person, that's already more than enough to fill their entire ti, right?"
His tone grew heavier.
"So naturally, their attention, their money… their ti—all of it gets consud by ZAGE. Other developers don't just lose in quality comparison, we lose access to the players themselves."
He continued, his voice quieter but firm. "Even when we create good gas that sohow exceed ZAGE, our nas definitely can't overshadow them. No matter how much effort we put in, no matter how good the result is, the attention still flows back to ZAGE. And because of that… it remains a problem that we can't easily solve."
He exhale quietly before continuing.
"That's why I hate it so much. It's not just competition anymore—it's domination of attention. And the more they keep producing at that level, the harder it becos for anyone else to even be noticed."
Mase glanced down briefly, then added in a more frustrated tone.
"And what I still don't understand is… how can they make gas that fast? They don't even have an absurd number of employees—only a few hundred or maybe a few thousand worldwide. That's large, yes, but not enough to justify this level of output."
He looked back up, his expression tightening slightly.
"So why is their business model so efficient? Why is their developnt process so… insane? That's the part that really bothers ."
Takumi then asked, "So you hate them because they are so perfect…? Is it like a monopoly?"
Mase sighed and shook his head slowly before answering, his expression turning more serious.
"It's quite different from a monopoly. In fact, ZAGE is doing the exact opposite of that. They don't try to block us or push other developers out of the market. Instead, they actually want us to grow and beco like them. They even go out of their way to make things easier for us."
He continued, his tone steady but firm.
"They give us access to their engine—Unreal Engine—and that alone helps developers trendously when creating gas for their platform. Not only that, they charge almost nothing for us to release our gas. The barrier to entry is incredibly low compared to other platforms."
He paused briefly, then added,
"And now, with Steam, it's even more ridiculous… practically anyone can release their ga as long as it ets a certain level of quality. Again, for almost nothing."
Mase exhaled quietly, a hint of frustration slipping through.
"So you see, it's not that they're restricting us. It's the opposite—they're empowering everyone. They give us tools, access, and opportunities."
His gaze shifted slightly toward Takumi.
"But because of that… they also raise the standard to an extre level. That's what I hate."
He leaned back slightly, his voice lowering.
"They create expectations that normal video ga companies like us simply cannot et consistently. And once players get used to that level of quality and output… they start expecting it from everyone else."
A brief silence followed before he finished.
"You should realize that, right?"
Mase inhaled deeply before speaking, his expression tightening as the thought clearly weighed on him. "And this will probably make things even worse… because ZAGE will definitely continue to expand. At the rate they're going, there might co a future where the only video ga developer left standing is ZAGE itself—simply because of how dominant they've beco."
He paused, letting that idea settle in the room before continuing, his tone quieter but more serious.
"When one company keeps growing without any real limitation, it slowly starts to consu everything around it. Not directly… not intentionally… but naturally, through sheer influence and presence."
Mase looked down briefly, then added with a faint shake of his head.
"And the others? Smaller studios, mid-sized developers… they won't stand a chance. Not because they're bad, but because they simply can't keep up with that level of consistency and output."
Yasu frowned slightly, then spoke in a calr but confident tone. "I don't think it will be like that. If anything, what I envision is the opposite—video gas will continue to increase in both quality and quantity as the number of gars keeps rising. The demand itself is growing, and because of that, the industry should beco more diverse, not less. Different studios will find their own niches, their own audiences… and the overall ecosystem will beco more vibrant. Don't you think so?"
He leaned back slightly, clearly believing in his perspective, as if trying to balance out the heaviness of the discussion.
Mase nodded slowly, acknowledging the point before replying. "That might be true in the long term… I won't deny that possibility. The market is expanding, and there is room for growth."
He paused briefly, then his expression turned more grounded.
"But for now… it's really hard for us to compete with them. That's the reality we're facing today. No matter how optimistic the future might look, the present situation is still heavily tilted."
Mase exhaled quietly before continuing.
"That's why I end up hating ZAGE so much… or at least, that's how it looks from the outside. And because of that frustration, I often find myself antagonizing them, even if part of understands what they're doing isn't necessarily wrong."
Then Aya asked, her tone gentle but direct, "So what do you want then, Mase-san? What do you think ZAGE needs to do?"
She leaned slightly forward as she spoke, clearly curious about his answer, as if trying to draw out sothing more concrete from all the frustration he had expressed so far.
Mase looked at her for a mont, then smiled casually, though there was a hint of hesitation behind it.
"Well… for example," he began slowly, "could they release fewer gas for a year?"
He let the suggestion linger for a second before continuing, his tone becoming a bit more earnest.
"I know what ZAGE is capable of, and I'm not denying their strength. But if they released fewer gas per year than usual—even just for a while—it would give third-party developers like us so breathing room."
He gestured lightly with his hand as he spoke, trying to explain his perspective more clearly.
"It's not about stopping them completely. It's about creating space. Right now, their presence is so overwhelming that it overshadows almost everything else. If that pressure eased even slightly, we would finally have a chance to let our own gas stand out… to actually be seen by players."
Mase's smile faded just a little as he finished.
"At the very least… it would give us ti to shine as well."
Yasu let out a short laugh, though there was a hint of disbelief in it. "So you want ZAGE to hold themselves back… just so you can rise? Isn't that a bit strange, Mase-san?"
He tilted his head slightly, as if testing the logic of it, while the tone remained light enough to keep the conversation from turning too heavy.
Mase sighed, then gave a small, helpless smile. "Yeah… unfortunately, that's true. I know how it sounds."
He paused for a mont, choosing his words more carefully.
"But that's the only solution I can even think of right now. I've tried to look at it from different angles, but every 'proper' solution always cos back to the sa thing—we, as developers, need to create gas that can truly stand against ZAGE."
His gaze lowered slightly.
"For example, Buriko Soft would have to consistently release gas that can overshadow ZAGE's titles. Not just once, but repeatedly… enough to change player perception. And we both know how difficult that is."
He exhaled quietly, the weight of that reality clear in his voice.
"We can't produce gas of that caliber consistently, not at that scale and not at that speed. It's not just about talent—it's about systems, resources, and sothing else that ZAGE seems to have mastered."
"ZAGE keeps pushing boundaries—delivering great gas one after another, with remarkable quality at a massive scale… and they manage to do it almost every single ti."
Mase shook his head faintly.
"And the frustrating part is… I know they're not doing anything wrong. They're not cheating, they're not blocking us, they're not acting unfairly."
He looked back at Yasu, his expression conflicted.
"But even knowing that… it's still incredibly hard to accept. It's hard to face that kind of gap without feeling frustrated. So yes… it's not a perfect answer. It might not even be a good one."
A brief pause followed before he finished quietly.
"But right now… I don't have a better solution than that."
The discussion continued beyond that point, branching into several related topics that circled back to the sa core issue. The hosts asked follow-up questions, the audience reactions grew more divided, and Nayuta's earlier points were revisited from different angles, each one adding a new layer to the conversation. What started as a simple interview slowly turned into a broader debate about the future of the industry, the pressure on developers, and the expectations placed on everyone outside of ZAGE.
And as all of this unfolded, it didn't just remain a distant conversation on television. The implications of it—the tone, the frustration, the uneasy truth behind Nayuta's words—began to weigh on Zaboru as well. It wasn't just criticism; it was a perspective from inside the industry, sothing grounded and difficult to ignore. Hearing it laid out so clearly made him more concerned than he expected, because for the first ti, the consequences of ZAGE's dominance were being expressed in a way that felt real and unavoidable.
To be continue
AN :This are the trouble that have no solution lol
Please give your power stone and if you want to support and get minimum 50 advance chapter and additional 1 chapter a week for 4$ considering subscribe to my patreon patreon/Zaborn_1997
Or buycoffee sbuyacoffee/Zaborn_1997 which sa with patreon
current Patreon/buycoffe chap 1169
User Comments
0 comments from readers