208 Competition

In the Marvel Comics office, Shin and Stan Lee discussed film projects for Marvel characters.

Shin shared, "I believe Spider-Man would make a great movie."

Stan Lee agreed, "I think so too. He can connect with both young people and adults." Pausing, he added, "Though the film will be expensive, and if it fails..."

Shin reassured, "Don't worry; I'm confident it won't fail." Meanwhile, Orio Masayoshi observed the discussion from the side.

---

At Suzuki Financial Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, in Shiko's CEO office, Shiko, Seki, and their uncle, Shito Suzuki, the current vice chairman of Suzuki Group, gathered.

"Looks like your little brother has some plans again," remarked Vice Chairman Shito Suzuki, observing the Suzuki brothers, Shiko and Seki.

Shiko stroked his chin, commenting, "Seems like it."

Seki added, "By buying Marvel Comics, there's no doubt he intends to bring Marvel characters to the cinema."

Vice Chairman Shito Suzuki nodded, saying, "So far, I haven't seen your little brother fail terribly. He hasn't experienced defeat yet, which is why he's so confident in everything he does."

Shiko, still stroking his chin, remarked, "It's nearly impossible for a person not to face failure at least once in life." Pausing with sharp eyes, he added, "I believe he should experience failure; he can't stay carefree forever."

Seki chuckled and said, "Let's see. I heard Marvel Comics was a failing company with declining sales, so KiShin likely acquired it at a low price."

Shiko and Vice Chairman Shito Suzuki nodded. The Vice Chairman commented, "Even if it's acquired at a low price, it holds little significant value unless we confirm whether KiShin can truly profit from the company's comic stories."

Then, Vice Chairman Shito Suzuki remarked, "Speaking of KiShin's acquisition of Marvel Comics, I've also been considering acquiring a comic company in the USA."

Shiko and Seki were a bit surprised, and Shiko inquired, "Oh, for the Suzuki Group?"

Vice Chairman Shito Suzuki nodded, confirming, "Exactly." He paused, adding, "While I may not agree with your little fourth brother's methods, I acknowledge that he has some good ideas. Acquiring a comic company for his film studio..."

Shiko and Seki nodded, and Seki continued, "So you intend to acquire a comic company for Suzuki Picture Entertainment?"

Vice Chairman Shito Suzuki affirmed, "Exactly. With the comic company, we can showcase the characters in cinemas." Pausing, he continued, "But what I intend to acquire is not a struggling and declining company like Marvel Comics; rather, I aim for Image Comics, which was recently founded in 1992."

Shiko and Seki nodded, and Shiko commented, "Image Comics? I've heard that company even surpassed Marvel Comics in sales, so I assume Image Comics boasts better comic stories compared to Marvel."

Vice Chairman Shito Suzuki concurred with Shiko's observation.

This time, Vice Chairman Shito Suzuki saw an opportunity to enhance the reputation of the Suzuki Group subsidiary, Suzuki Picture Entertainment. He aimed to make a significant contribution to film making, thereby adding to Suzuki Group's success and garnering more support than the Suzuki Group Chairman, Shiro Suzuki.

---

In early January 1994, KiShin once again released a variety of video games. As the number of video game players in Japan grew, estimated at about 15-20 million people, the tournament initiated by KiShin in 1992 also gained popularity.

KiShin started a video game competition, surprising the business world as the competition led to an increase in their video game sales. Subsequently, Tora-Suzuki also initiated their own video game competition for their players.

Following Tora-Suzuki's initiation of a video game competition, they observed a notable increase in their video game sales, particularly when a TV channel broadcasted the competition.

People who were previously unaware of the allure of video games found themselves compelled to watch players compete on television.

Gradually, individuals who hadn't had time for video games due to work or school commitments began to develop an interest. Consequently, they started purchasing video game consoles.

Over time, Tora-Suzuki's video game consoles and video games experienced a modest rise in sales.

Tora-Suzuki ceased the production of their own 16-bit consoles, opting instead to replace them with the ToRaKi and ToSuKi consoles.

Due to their more affordable prices compared to SKES and Gameboy, individuals who had recently developed an interest in video games began purchasing the ToRaKi (16-bit console).

To be honest, those new to video games had heard about them for quite a while but were not genuinely attracted, preferring to watch sports games rather than engage in pixelated cartoons.

People who hadn't yet tried video games were confused about why several media outlets were giving so much attention to something they found uninteresting.

Meanwhile, observing the sales rise after initiating a video game competition, Tora-Suzuki announced regular competitions every three months. Not to be outdone, the employees and executives of KiShin, without Shin's instructions, also organized occasional video game competitions.

These competitions offered cash rewards and other valuable items, such as rare or uncommon Pokémon cards, for those at the bottom of the rankings.

Meanwhile, Itori Tanaka, the influential figure in the Tora-Suzuki alliance's video games sector and the eldest son of Asahi Tanaka, was not to be outdone. He had initially suggested the video game competition tournament to the Tora-Suzuki alliance. Observing KiShin using items to reward and entice players, he proposed incorporating Tora-Suzuki mechs action figures and cards as additional incentives.

This time, Itori Tanaka aimed to compete with Shinro Suzuki in the video game industry. However, Itori was unaware that Shin wasn't overly concerned about the competition with Tora-Suzuki and didn't pay much attention to the video game competition tournament for players.

Shin already had broader plans for the future of the video game competition tournament, but the time for unveiling those plans had not yet arrived.

During this period, Shin focused on developing the game engine for both video game consoles and computers.

Recognizing the gaming potential of computers and mobile devices, Shin invested in Apple. Aware of Apple's commitment to advancing technology, especially in phones, Shin engaged in discussions with Steve Jobs. Shin suggested exploring IBM's "Angler," a concept that Steve Jobs was already familiar with and found quite fascinating due to its advanced features ahead of its time.