Thursday, May 29, 1992.
After a casual yet loaded conversation with Sonaya's Hikaru Kurata and Junpei Hoshida yesterday, Zaboru made his way back to ZAGE HQ, brushing the tension off his shoulders. There was no ti to dwell on rival sches. June was coming fast, and his team had six new titles in developnt, all demanding attention. May's releases were still performing strongly in sales, holding steady in sales and staying in the public spotlight. Even the controversy around Base Wars was fading under the weight of continued praise and strong community engagent.
Zaboru's phone buzzed. It was Yasu from YaDo Animation Studio calling to update him on the SpongeBob ani project. Voice actor auditions were officially scheduled for early June. Zaboru took a ntal note and promised to attend in person—he wouldn't miss the chance to cast the iconic voices of Spongebob himself; he also needed to ensure the quality of VA..
Back in his office, he dove into one of his daily rituals: scanning through the newest batch of CVs submitted to ZAGE. The HR departnt knew this was sacred to him, almost like a treasure hunt. Zaboru didn't just want good employeeshe wanted visionaries, the hidden gems, the nas no one knew yet but would soday or in short Famous ga Dev from his previous world!. That's how he had found Hideo Kojima, and Kojima was already proving his valuesharp mind, fast learner, excellent collaborator.
As he scrolled through resus, sothing caught his eye.
His pupils dilated.
"No freakin' way... Satoru Iwata?"
He leaned forward, scanning the docunt with laser focus.
Na: Satoru Iwata
Born: December 6, 1969 (Age: 22)
Experience: Recent college graduate
Attached were pages listing technical accomplishnts, personal projects, programming accolades, and custom-built tools. He had even helped create a handful of independent gas while still in school. There was brilliance written all over it.
"So in this tiline, he's ten years younger than I rember him being... sa quirk as Kojima. Unreal," Zaboru murmured, grinning wide. He didn't hesitate. He picked up his internal line. "Get Satoru Iwata in here. Fast. Today."
Just a few hours later, Satoru Iwata stood in the ZAGE lobby, looking around, trying to take it all in. He had imagined the inside of ZAGE's office many tis, but seeing it in person was overwhelming. He wasn't expecting the president himself to conduct the interview. And he definitely wasn't expecting the president to look like a college student.
Zaboru t him with an easy smile. "Iwata-san, welco. Please, have a seat."
"Thank you, Renkonan-san," Iwata replied, bowing politely before taking his seat.
Zaboru leaned forward. "So—you just graduated. But from what I see here, you've been doing so wild work in programming. You're already deep in developnt tools. That's rare."
Iwata nodded. "Yes. I've been fascinated by how gas work since I was a kid. I started making basic gas in high school. Since then, it's been my dream to build experiences that inspire people the sa way gas inspired ."
Zaboru nodded. "Why ZAGE, though?"
Iwata didn't miss a beat. "Because you've made ZAGE the beating heart of gaming innovation. You revived the industry. I followed the fall of other companies, but ZAGE kept creating not just gas—but experiences that felt alive. I want to learn from that. And frankly, I'm a fan of yours, Renkonan-san."
Zaboru grinned. He tried to hide the spark in his chest, but inside he was beaming. In my last life, he was my hero. And now he's telling that i`m his hero.
They talked for over an hour. It stopped feeling like an interview and more like two creators geeking out. From ga engine architecture to mory allocation hacks to design philosophies—Zaboru threw the full gauntlet at Iwata, and he crushed every question with quiet confidence.
Finally, Zaboru leaned back.
"You've got the green light from . You're hired. Can you start tomorrow night?"
Iwata's eyes lit up. "Yes! Of course. Thank you so much."
"Head outside and talk to Yumi, my secretary. She'll walk you over to HR. They'll sort the boring stuff—salary, benefits, work hours."
Iwata stood and bowed again. "I'm honored. I won't let you down."
He walked out the door with a spring in his step, a grin tugging at his lips. He already researched ZAGE. He knew ZAGE didn't offer the highest base pay, but the bonus structure was generous, and the working environnt was known to be fiercely creative, tight-knit, and employee-focused. Zaboru often bought als for his teams, checked in with devs, and made sure everyone felt seen. Also Overti is strongly not recomnded here , the boss himself usually doing overti.
Back inside, Zaboru let out a long exhale and slumped in his chair.
"Heh. Satoru Iwata—secured."
He stared out the window for a mont, watching the fading evening light glow against the Tokyo skyline. This wasn't just another hire. This was Satoru Iwata. In his old world, this man had beco president of Nintendo, led them through innovation after innovation, and inspired millions. He had been humble, smart, funny, and endlessly curious. Even Zaboru stole his iconic line "In my Business Card i'm company owner, in my head i`m ga developer and in my heart i'm a gar".
Zaboru leaned back, folding his hands behind his head.
"I wonder... Can I change what happened to him? In my world, he passed away not really of old age. He still had so much left to give."
He sighed. "I'm no god. But maybe... just maybe, this ti can be different."
With that thought lingering in his chest, Zaboru turned back to his monitor. June's schedule wasn't going to build itself. And now, he has Iwata on the team. The future looked brighter than ever.
Another Rare GET!
To be continued
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