Sport Games

The surge in KS1 sales resulted from the widespread news about the zombie outbreak, Resident Evil virus theories, and even those initially uninterested in video games developed an interest due to recent intriguing theories and news.

While Resident Evil theories first surfaced in Japan, the intensity was not as high as in the USA, where newspapers and media outlets started covering it.

Though the possibility of a pharmaceutical company developing a virus exists, it won't be to the same extent as the T-Virus in Resident Evil.

Despite differing beliefs in the USA, many still thought a T-Virus could be possible.

Regardless, while discussions and overthinking persisted, it only contributed to the popularity of KS1 and Resident Evil.

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The Tora-Suzuki Alliance organized a conference room where Itori Tanaka and Tora executives discussed matters with Shiko Suzuki and Suzuki executives.

They discussed the negotiation process for the FIFA Association licensing agreement, aiming to adapt their football FIFA sports into a video game.

"We've heard that KiShin is ahead in negotiating with the FIFA Association for the licensing agreement," an executive stated with a serious expression.

"It's KiShin. They're planning to exclusively own the licensing rights for FIFA adaptation games. Fortunately, we contacted FIFA expressing our interest before KiShin's negotiations with FIFA were finalized," another executive added.

"It's a good thing we have Mr. Itori Tanaka to suggest negotiating with FIFA," another executive nodded.

"Football is the most popular sport globally, so it's not surprising for KiShin to negotiate with the football association for licensing with the intention of adapting it into their video game," Itori Tanaka said with a smile.

Shiko and Seki, also in the meeting, exchanged glances, acknowledging Itori Tanaka's competence.

In fact, long before KiShin had KES and SKES, they signed an agreement with football associations in Japan for video game adaptations.

While Tora and Suzuki had already adapted football video games into their consoles, KiShin aimed to negotiate a licensing agreement with the FIFA Association on an international scale, involving millions of dollars in licensing alone. Tora-Suzuki Alliance later joined the negotiations with the same intention of adapting FIFA into a video game in the future.

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Upon receiving the report that Tora-Suzuki Alliance had joined the negotiations to acquire FIFA licensing rights, Shin smiled.

Well, it doesn't matter if KiShin doesn't become the exclusive partner and adaptation provider for the FIFA sports game. Regardless, even if FIFA signs licensing agreements with both KiShin and Tora-Suzuki for video game adaptations, it will be a competition to see whose football game quality prevails between KiShin and Tora-Suzuki.

Besides, FIFA isn't the only organization Shin has KiShin negotiating for sports games adaptations into video games.

"Did they just forget about basketball and wrestling?" Shin muttered as he shook his head.

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In Zürich, Switzerland, at the FIFA Association Headquarters, a KiShin representative negotiates with the FIFA representative.

They negotiate the licensing agreement for video game adaptations, and KiShin also negotiates for the manufacturing of FIFA merchandise with their KiShin Merchandise.

While FIFA aims to maximize profits by securing agreements with both KiShin and Tora-Suzuki, they attempt to raise the price for the licensing.

The negotiations extended over a few weeks before finally signing a licensing agreement with both KiShin and Tora-Suzuki for video game adaptations.

The difference is that KiShin will be able to sell FIFA merchandise under their KiShin Merchandise, but, of course, this entails another licensing agreement, resulting in KiShin paying additional fees.

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While the Tora-Suzuki alliance focused on FIFA negotiations, KiShin was engaged in talks with the NBA, the currently popular basketball association in the USA.

Undoubtedly, the most popular basketball player in the world at the moment was Michael Jordan. Even those unfamiliar with basketball knew Michael Jordan.

The peak of Jordan's popularity in basketball was probably in 1986-1987 and 1992. In 1986, Michael Jordan's gravity-defying dunks in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest became globally popular, even inspiring a certain mangaka in Japan. In 1987, Jordan led the Bulls to a championship, and in 1992, he played for the Dream Team in the Olympic basketball team.

As time passed, now in 1994, although the NBA, Michael Jordan, and basketball remained popular, the global discussion about them had diminished compared to before.

With Michael Jordan's retirement, the basketball superstar stepping down from the spotlight, even though basketball remained widely popular and fans continued to follow NBA updates, those less interested in basketball gradually stopped talking about it.

Currently, KiShin seized the opportunity presented by this situation.

Shin understood that negotiating with the NBA in 1992 or 1993, when Michael Jordan hadn't retired, and the NBA was still hot with Jordan's presence, would have cost KiShin a few million dollars more for licensing rights.

However, anticipating Michael Jordan's return in 1995, Shin planned to negotiate an exclusive licensing agreement for video game adaptations and merchandise, possibly extending the contract for a few more years.

Until then, even when the NBA regained popularity due to Michael Jordan's return the following year, KiShin would maintain an ongoing contract with the NBA, eliminating the need for renewal.

In a few more weeks, while the Mortal Kombat box office success steadily rivaled The Lion King, with screenings in Europe and Asia, the global gross reached about 680 million.

Despite some countries banning the film due to its violence and gore, Mortal Kombat still achieved significant success.

Warner Bros. and Universal Studios could only share a moment of silence as they witnessed the box office results of Mortal Kombat.