Friday 7 May 1996 ZAGE offices.
At the mont, another weekly eting was underway concerning the sales performance of ZAGE products. For the most part, everything remained within expectations—perhaps even slightly better. Sales across all ZAGE platforms had been consistently strong, reinforcing the company's dominant position in the industry. In fact, ZAGE's finance departnt reported increasingly healthier figures quarter after quarter, a testant to their successful business strategy and market hold.
However, there was now a subtle but growing sense of unease creeping into the atmosphere. The situation wasn't urgent yet—but the direction it was heading in was undeniably grim
Shinsuke Yamaguchi, head of ZAGE's marketing division in Japan, let out a long sigh as he leaned forward slightly in his chair. "Well, for the final point of this eting, I want to bring up a certain topic—one that many of you are probably already aware of…"
Around the room, the participants nodded silently, the mood shifting. Even Zaboru, seated near the end of the table, sighed quietly, knowing exactly where this was going.
"Well… it's about you, Boss. That interview with Miya Kato the other night—about the ZUSUGA Reborn 16. It ended up boosting their sales significantly. Apparently, your statent gave them the best possible publicity they could have asked for."
Zaboru could only offer a dry laugh—how could he not? The reporter had claid to be from ZEMITSU, a reputable video ga review outlet in Japan that Zaboru knew well. In fact, he had a friendly relationship with the company's owner, Mitsu Tadano. But when Zaboru later contacted Mitsu Tadano to ask about Miya Kato, the owner flatly stated that no such employee existed.
Worse still, when the interview footage began circulating, it beca clear that the segnt where Miya introduced herself as part of ZEMITSU had been deliberately edited. The deception was intentional. And to make matters worse, the interview had been broadcast across nearly every major television network in Japan. The public saw Zaboru's words as a glowing endorsent—and just like that, it seed like he had officially recomnded the Reborn 16 to the entire nation.
"Well, I honestly thought they were really from ZEMITSU. I assud they just wanted to use the interview for so content in their Famitsu magazine. I had no idea I was being scamd."
Shinsuke could only sigh and offer a faint, resigned smile. His boss was just too kind and too honest for his own good. He thought about shrugging it off, choosing not to make a bigger deal out of it—but before he could say anything, Zanichi Renkonan, the ZAGE CTO and Zaboru's father, broke the silence.
"That's because you're naive—and a pushover, Boss."
Zaboru looked surprised, taken aback by his father's blunt words. But after a mont, he responded earnestly, "Hey, what I said in that interview was honest. Their ga and console are genuinely good. I just said what I really thought, Dad."
Zanichi sighed and shook his head. "That's exactly why you're a pushover. Don't you get it? They did this on purpose. Zaboru, you're a massive celebrity now—especially in the video ga industry. A single word of praise from you is worth more than a billion yen in marketing for so of these gas. Your na alone carries weight, and they used that to their full advantage."
Zaboru tried to defend himself. "But on my business card, I'm—"
Before he could finish his signature line, his father cut him off sharply. "Yeah, yeah, I know it by heart. Business card: Company Owner, Mind Ga Developer, and 'Your heart is a gar,' right?"
Zanichi leaned forward, his voice firm. "That's great and all, really. But you need to think about the impact of what you say and do. You literally just handed our competitor a massive advantage—and this isn't even the first ti! Rember? The sa thing happened with Sonaya a while back."
Zanichi sighed in frustration. The rest of the eting room fell completely silent. No one else dared to speak. Only Zanichi had the authority—or the courage—to scold Zaboru like this.
"Then what do you want to do, Dad? Say the ga sucks just because it's from a competitor? I'm sorry, but I can't do that. That's petty. I'd rather lose millions of yen or let the competitor thrive than stoop to that level. That kind of behavior—slandering sothing good just because it's not ours—is exactly what I hate the most."
Zanichi sighed and said, "You could've just stayed silent, you know? Say sothing like 'No comnt' or deflect with a vague answer. You didn't have to say anything at all. Sure, you loved the ga, but that doesn't an you needed to publicly praise it—especially not right when it launched. Your endorsent gave them a huge surge in montum.
Think about what that ans. Right now, ZAGE is still dominating the market, but what about the future? What happens if one day, our competitors are right behind us—neck and neck in market share? Can you afford to say sothing like that again and risk tipping the scale? What you say has weight, and the timing of your words matters more than you think.
You're not just a passionate developer or an industry voice anymore. You run a company—one with employees, and a market to protect. It's not just about you or your personal opinions now. This is bigger than that."
Zanichi then continued, "What if, in the future, you keep doing this? You praise every competitor's product just because it's good. Don't you think other ga developers will start to catch on? They'll realize they can exploit your honesty to boost their launches. And then what happens? The public starts questioning your credibility. People might say, 'Why is the ZAGE CEO always praising rival gas? Is his opinion even valid anymore?' That kind of perception can erode trust not just in you—but in the brand itself. It's not impossible, Boss. It's a very real possibility we might face if you're not careful."
Zaboru sighed and gave in, his tone subdued. "Fine… I won't say things like that in public anymore. I understand now. And… I'm sorry, everyone."
He bowed his head in apology. Around the room, the employees exchanged glances, clearly caught off guard. It wasn't every day their boss—the Chairman of ZAGE—offered a public apology like this. Most of them didn't even know how to respond. After all, he was still their boss, soone they deeply respected, even if he had made a misstep the ZAGE are still owned by him.
After a while, the eting ca to an end, and Zaboru returned to his office, refocusing on the work ahead. He had a flight scheduled to the United States later that night. Despite the earlier tension, his schedule moved forward as usual.
anwhile, elsewhere in the building, Zanichi received a discreet phone call from Akechi.
"Zanichi-san, should I eliminate this Miya Kato?" Akechi asked in a calm but serious tone.
Zanichi chuckled lightly on the line. "Hahaha, no need, Akechi-san. She actually did us a favor. She gave Zaboru a real lesson—one that he badly needed. Let's hope that brat starts taking things more seriously. He's too honest for his own good and besides if this ever went out the one who suffers the most are ZUSUGA itself."
"Very well," Akechi replied. "Let know if you ever change your mind."
anwhile, at the ZUSUGA offices, Zanki Zagashira burst into hearty laughter. "HAHAHA! Just as I expected! Zaboru actually did it—and it's giving us exactly the kind of positive buzz we needed for our sales."
He clapped his hands together in satisfaction, the room echoing with his amusent. The footage had gone viral, and public opinion had shifted almost overnight. He couldn't have planned it better himself. This was the kind of accidental PR every competitor dread of—but only a few ever received. And for ZUSUGA, it was gold.
Following the late-night interview where Zaboru praised and recomnded the ZUSUGA Reborn 16, the console's sales began to skyrocket. His endorsent, seen by many as a trusted and genuine opinion from one of the industry's biggest figures, triggered an imdiate surge in consur interest. By the end of the first week, ZUSUGA Reborn 16 had sold approximately 60,000 units in Japan alone—a staggering figure compared to its modest performance before the interview.
To put it into perspective, just this past Monday, total sales had only reached 8,000 units. That ans in a matter of days, sales jumped by more than 700%, an explosive growth that caught even the most optimistic analysts by surprise. Retailers reported selling out of their initial stock, and demand continued to climb as clips of the interview spread across television and word-of-mouth buzz amplified.
Zanki grinned. "Well, this strategy might not work again in the future. Sure, Zaboru is naive and a bit of a pushover, but I'm certain soone on his team warned him not to do this kind of thing again. Whether he listens or not—that's sothing we'll see in ti. Hahaha."
This strategy had worked brilliantly because there was no need to worry about backlash from Hamazou or any other watchdog. After all, it wasn't so shady marketing stunt—it was Zaboru himself who had praised their product, willingly and publicly. That made all the difference.
Zanki leaned back, savoring his wine with a smug sense of satisfaction. Players who had the extra cash to spare and picked up the 16-bit handheld ZUSUGA Reborn 16 were, in fact, pleasantly surprised. The performance was impressive, the released gas compelling, and overall, the device delivered a solid gaming experience. Sure, it was a bit more expensive than its 8-bit counterpart from ZAGE, the ZGB, and yes, it did consu more batteries—but the general consensus among early adopters was that it was worth every yen.
Zaboru's unexpected endorsent had added an extra layer of credibility to their purchase. It felt less like a gamble and more like a smart investnt. After all, when soone like Zaboru—the face of ZAGE—praised a rival console, it made people stop and pay attention. And clearly, many of them did.
With all this montum, ZUSUGA has now officially erged as a formidable competitor to both ZAGE and Sonaya in the video ga sector. Their unexpected surge in visibility and sales—largely thanks to Zaboru's unintentional endorsent—has positioned them as a serious player in the market. What once seed like a distant and failure underdog now might able to stands toe-to-toe with industry giants.
To be continue
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