Persona's total sales across all platforms had already broken the ten-million mark during the Spring Festival earlier this year. Now that the spring promotion had passed, total sales had climbed to over twelve million.
On the Switch, Persona's sales only ranked sixteenth, but that alone was already a remarkable achievent. After all, Persona was a brand-new ga released just last year, and it was the very first entry in the series.
And what were the gas ahead of it on the charts?
Mario Kart, Zelda, Super Mario Odyssey, Animal Crossing, Super Smash Bros., Pokémon—each one an industry-famous series.
For Persona to sell over five million copies on the Switch within a single year, catching up to those massive IPs, was more than impressive.
After learning the news, Ichin returned to his office and checked the Switch platform sales report. Sure enough, between digital and physical shipnts, it had surpassed five million. From March through April, sales had steadily climbed until reaching that milestone.
"Not bad, another new achievent."
Looking at the numbers before him, Ichin began thinking seriously about future strategy for the Switch. Big titles were still necessary, but optimization couldn't be ignored—it was hardly an easy issue to solve.
Moreover, there was no sign of Nintendo's next console yet. Even though Ichin was now one of their key third-party partners, Nintendo hadn't sent over any new developnt kits. If he could get one, that would an the reveal of new hardware wasn't far off.
"For now, it's better to focus on developnt and optimization based on the Switch's current capabilities."
The next titles—Fall Guys would certainly launch on Switch, though it would need careful optimization. So of its larger stages, combined with network issues, could cause stutters, and that wouldn't do.
Opening his notebook, Ichin began considering projects for after Titanfall and Dark Souls released next year. First off, small-scale, high-quality titles were a must. Such gas had always had a solid player base and often drew in casual newcors.
Sakura Nene's custom engine was still useful, perfect for developing side-scrolling 2D cartoon platforrs.
And then there was Shinoda Haji, who had been clamoring for a tokusatsu-thed ga. They couldn't get the rights to Kan Rider, Super Sentai, or Ultraman adaptations, but tokusatsu IPs weren't limited to just those.
GARO, for instance—one of the more popular tokusatsu series, running for nearly twenty years now, with solid quality across the board. Its suits, in particular, were extravagant. The glittering golden armor of the Makai Knight GARO was still vivid in Ichin's mory.
This IP was worth approaching. The scale couldn't match sothing like Dark Souls, but a linear, story-driven 3D action-adventure was entirely feasible. The script hardly needed rewriting—just adapt the existing plot, expand a few side stories, and it would be enough.
Turning tokusatsu into a ga was definitely a challenge, but sales potential was uncertain. Still, even if one title didn't succeed, it wouldn't matter much—they weren't a one-ga studio.
By the ti Dark Souls and Titanfall launched next year, the company would easily recover its costs. Add in the steady revenue from Apex and Fall Guys, and there was room to experint.
The more he thought, the more viable it seed. Ichin jotted down GARO in his project notes, alongside the already-planned Tales of Berseria and Castle Crashers, then called Hazuki and Shinoda Haji into his office.
Hazuki glanced at Haji, then at Ichin. "Calling us in like this… this must be about new projects, right?"
Ichin nodded but didn't reveal it imdiately. Instead, he asked about Fall Guys.
"Hazuki, the network test in June—can we make it?"
"Relax, we'll be ready. With our current progress, as long as the network test goes smoothly, the ga can launch between September and October."
She noticed the open notebook on Ichin's desk and smiled. "Another new plan?"
"Quite a few, actually. I just haven't written up full proposals yet."
Tapping the desk with his pen, Ichin turned to Haji. "Haji, rember when we talked about making a tokusatsu ga?"
Her eyes lit up. "We're really starting? Which one? Rider, Sentai, or Ultraman?"
Raising a hand to calm her down, Ichin said, "Those three are tough, so I'm thinking of trying another IP first. How about GARO?"
"Ohhh! GARO?" Haji shot to her feet, practically bouncing. "What kind of ga? Fighting? Action-adventure?"
"Action-adventure, of course. We haven't decided which storyline yet—we still need to talk with the rights holders."
Then Ichin turned to Hazuki. "I called you in because I was hoping you might have so industry connections—soone who could help us negotiate adaptation rights."
"GARO, that would be Toei's Tohoku Shinsha," Hazuki mused. Instead of questioning the feasibility, she went straight to logistics. "I don't know anyone there personally, but I do have friends in the tokusatsu circle. I can ask around. Give a couple of days—if I can line up a eting, we can try negotiating."
Haji's fists clenched with excitent. "Hazuki-nee, I'm counting on you!"
After wrapping up the GARO discussion, Ichin let Haji leave first.
Once the office door closed, Hazuki looked at Ichin. "So what made you think of doing a tokusatsu adaptation?"
"You forgot? I'm a tokusatsu fan myself." Ichin tapped his chest. "I was thinking about next year's projects, and the idea just kept snowballing. Plus, I'd promised Haji we'd try soday, so why not now? Besides, I've got other project ideas too—it's not like we're staking everything on just this one."
Hearing that, Hazuki finally relaxed. "Then there's no problem."
***
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