The anime had just ended, and even the credits hadn't finished rolling.
Across countless homes, the sound of chairs being abruptly pushed back echoed.
"Mom, I'm going out for a bit!"
"Hey, Ken, did you see it? Hurry to the arcade!"
"No dinner! I'm going to practice special moves!"
The previously quiet residential streets suddenly swarmed with teenagers in twos and threes, their destination clear: the nearest arcade.
The cold night wind could not deter the heat in their hearts.
Sega's arcades, already overflowing with people, welcomed a second wave, far exceeding the daytime crowd.
As soon as the door was pushed open, deafening clamor rushed out.
The fatal fury machine area was no longer just crowded; it was impassable.
Many of the newly arrived players still had the excitement of having just watched the anime on their faces, their eyes fixed on the screen, muttering to themselves.
"Down, forward, punch!"
"No, no, it's down, down-right, right, punch!"
A boy in a school uniform clumsily mimicked the joystick movements he had seen on TV, his fingers randomly tapping the buttons.
Terry on the screen only threw a few punches in place.
Immediately, merciless laughter came from beside him.
"Hahaha, you're so clumsy!"
"It's ↓ →, it has to be continuous!"
Suddenly, a huge cheer erupted from a machine nearby.
"It came out! Flame Punch! I pulled it off!"
After multiple attempts, a lucky player finally succeeded in making Terry unleash his iconic special move, his face flushed with excitement, almost jumping for joy.
The surrounding crowd also let out gasps of amazement.
"Oh oh oh! So cool!"
"It really works! Just like on TV!"
The success stories greatly stimulated others.
More people began to try.
The sounds of onlookers guiding or cheering. The crisp clinking of coins constantly being fed into the machines. The intense fighting sound effects of the game itself.
All sounds intertwined, pushing the arcade's atmosphere to an unprecedented peak of frenzy.
The queues were longer than during the day, and anxious emotions spread during the wait.
Some players even had minor disputes over cutting in line or snatching machines, which were promptly broken up by quick-witted owners.
The owners were both pained and happy at this moment; while struggling to maintain order, they watched the coin boxes fill up at an unprecedented speed, their faces creased with smiles.
The "tutorial video" at the end of the anime acted as the most precise catalyst, efficiently converting the huge attention brought by the anime into tangible arcade coin-in rates and player engagement.
Many players, referring to the operations they had just memorized, quickly mastered several basic special moves.
The sense of accomplishment from personally executing flashy moves was incomparable to simply watching the anime or previously button-mashing.
The stickiness of the game was infinitely magnified at this moment.
"Terry's move is useful!"
"How do you do Andy's 'Shadow-Slicing Fist'? Will they teach it in the next episode?"
"Joe's 'Hurricane Upper' seems to have a large range!"
Discussing how to perform moves, which character was stronger, and which move was more practical became the core topics at the scene.
Some even took out their small notebooks, awkwardly drawing joystick directions and buttons, afraid of forgetting.
The arcade was steaming with heat, forming a scene of ice and fire with the cold of the winter night outside the door.
The next morning, Sega Development Team 3 office.
Team Leader Shimizu, with two massive dark circles under his eyes, was unusually excited, as if he had just drunk three cans of concentrated coffee.
His desk was covered with reports, like snowflakes, all feedback and preliminary revenue data compiled from direct and cooperative arcades across the country from last night to this morning.
The fax machine was still whirring, spitting out new battle reports, each sheet exuding a mixed scent of ink and money.
"Ikebukuro store's single machine daily revenue exceeded 500,000 Japanese Yen!"
"Shinjuku store's fatal fury area had queues until 3 AM!"
"Players in Osaka almost got into a fight over snatching a machine!"
Every number, every description, screamed of last night's madness.
Team Leader Shimizu picked up one of the reports, his hand trembling slightly uncontrollably, his voice hoarse and excited like a hangover.
"Last night… Oh my god… It was simply… a storm sweeping across the country!"
"All arcades' fatal fury revenue set a new single-day historical high! Note, it was far exceeded! Some stores' data even doubled!"
Suzuki Yu, who had specifically come over from Team 2 to inquire about the first day's sales report, also nodded vigorously in agreement, looking at Takuya Nakayama with utmost admiration.
"Nakayama-san, your move is brilliant! Directly putting a tutorial at the end of the anime! It's simply a textbook-level cross-media collaboration!"
"I also snuck to an arcade near my home last night to take a look; wow, that crowd was even more exaggerated than the daytime peak! All kids who had just finished watching the anime and rushed over.
"Their goal was too clear; they came and looked for fatal fury, put in coins to practice. The potential players among the anime viewers were all caught in one fell swoop! The conversion rate is terrifyingly high!"
Takuya Nakayama had a faint smile on his lips as he picked up the steaming teacup from his desk and gently blew on it.
He could somewhat predict last night's situation, so he unplugged his apartment's phone line and went to bed early.
The bustling scene before him was not far from his expectations.
"This is just the first step."
He put down the teacup, his voice calm, yet like a calming needle, it instantly suppressed the somewhat out-of-control fervent atmosphere in the office.
"The anime's popularity is the fuse, the tutorial video is the spark, successfully igniting the market."
"But for the flame to continue burning, new kindling needs to be constantly added."
"Subsequent promotional materials and activities will be released step by step according to our previously scheduled plan."
…
Meanwhile, Kyoto, Nintendo Headquarters.
The atmosphere was even more oppressive than yesterday.
An urgent report regarding the premiere of the fatal fury anime, especially how its end-credits "in-game tutorial" sparked a second wave of arcade frenzy, was delivered to Hiroshi Yamauchi's desk with the speed of an urgent military order.
The report was extremely detailed, not only describing the packed arcades across various locations last night but also including preliminary revenue increase estimates from some arcades and an analysis of changes in player behavior.
The report particularly emphasized the immediate conversion effect of the "tutorial video"—a large number of anime viewers who had never or rarely played games, guided by the tutorial, rushed into arcades at the first opportunity to try playing, and quickly mastered basic special moves, with both their coin-in willingness and continuous play time showing explosive growth.
Hiroshi Yamauchi clutched the report, his fingers of his other hand unconsciously tapping on the smooth mahogany tabletop, tap, tap, tap, at a noticeably faster frequency than usual, as if calculating something, or perhaps suppressing something.
His iconic thick eyebrows were tightly furrowed, his gaze sharp as an eagle, scrutinizing every word on the report.
The office was silent, with several executives even softening their breaths, afraid of disturbing the tyrant.
Their previous internal judgment of Sega's "money-burning marketing" and "creating bubbles" now seemed somewhat laughable in the face of this report.
This was no longer simple publicity, nor was it some illusory bubble.
Sega, or rather, Takuya Nakayama, had opened up a completely new front in an almost "cheating" manner, precisely and efficiently converting the virtual anime popularity into tangible arcade revenue and user stickiness.
The remarkable effectiveness and novel methods even made Hiroshi Yamauchi, a industry giant accustomed to major storms, feel a hint of unexpectedness.
For the first time, he genuinely took this seemingly rash cross-industry collaboration by Sega seriously, and… a hint of indescribable vigilance.
"Closely monitor Sega's subsequent actions."
Hiroshi Yamauchi finally looked up, his gaze sweeping over every executive present like a tangible force, his voice still low but with undeniable authority.
"Especially the content they release at the end of their weekly anime episodes."
"Have the Market Department and Technical Development Department jointly form a temporary team."
"Analyze clearly for me the specific impact of this 'anime tutorial driven traffic' model on player psychology, consumption habits, and the potential impact on our existing promotional strategies and FC ecosystem."
"I want to see a detailed assessment report."
Although deep down, he still firmly believed that the home console platform was the ultimate destination and the rightful path of the gaming industry.
But this opponent, who had suddenly become extremely "clever," was clearly much more difficult to deal with and… cunning than he had initially expected.
One executive seemed to want to say something, attempting to ease the atmosphere, and had just opened his mouth.
Hiroshi Yamauchi's cold gaze swept over him.
"Do not underestimate any opponent who can take money out of players' pockets, especially in ways we haven't seen before."
The executive immediately closed his mouth, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.