Excitement

A few days ago, just before KiShin's advertisement aired on a broadcasting channel, Shoji, a middle-aged man who had applied to work at KiShin a few weeks earlier, initially had doubts about the company. His uncertainty stemmed from Shin's young age. However, as he continued working there, he realized that the company was steadily growing, and Shoji began to see its potential.

With this newfound confidence, he wholeheartedly embraced his role as the marketing specialist, tirelessly promoting the company's arcade machines in various stores and malls around Tokyo. When the arcade machines became a trending topic on TV news, profits soared. Shoji seized the opportunity to further hype up their arcade machines.

His dedication and contributions didn't go unnoticed, and as a result, Shin promoted him to the position of Chief Marketing Officer. Along with the promotion came a well-deserved salary increase, leaving Shoji overjoyed. However, in the midst of his excitement over the company's and his personal success, Shin summoned him to his office.

Shoji promptly arrived at Shin's office, where he was greeted with a smile and invited to take a seat.

"I'm here to discuss our promotional strategy for the FamCom consoles with you," Shin said, crossing his fingers while resting his elbow on his desk.

Shoji smiled thoughtfully. This product fell under his marketing responsibility, and he had already discussed it with his team. However, it seemed that the CEO didn't fully trust their capabilities yet. Nevertheless, he respectfully stated, "I've already laid out a strategy and plan for the marketing of our product, sir. But if you have any suggestions, please feel free to offer your insights, sir."

Shin nodded and inquired, "Have you already decided on the channel where our advertisement will air?"

Shoji nodded and explained, "Given the company's tight budget, my team believes it's more cost-effective to secure a time slot on a channel with affordable rates."

Shoji was confident that their arcade machines, already popular around Tokyo, would draw attention even on an underrated channel.

Observing Shin's silence, Shoji added, "Fortunately, we have valuable contacts and beneficial connections with several stores and malls. This will make it easier to reach mutually beneficial agreements for promoting our product and securing prime shelf space within their respective establishments."

Shin nodded and suggested, "I recommend that we rent a time slot on an anime and cartoon channel."

Shoji was somewhat surprised and asked, "Isn't it true that almost no adults or even young adults watch anime or cartoons, except children, sir?" He thought that if children were the primary audience, they might not fully understand their product.

With a smile, Shin replied, "That's precisely the point. Many children will have the opportunity to see our advertisement."

"As you can see, our company has grown significantly by attracting children," Shin continued. "We are a game company, and apart from young adults, the primary audience for our game consoles is children."

Shoji nodded thoughtfully and engaged in a brief conversation with Shin before departing.

Upon arriving at work, he organized his department and the team under his responsibility.

Shoji also coordinated the shooting of the commercial and provided the script that Shin had prepared to the director.

The director happened to be a relatively inexperienced young man, so he didn't object when Shoji offered his input on the shoot.

After these preparations, in just a matter of days, everything was in place. KiShin's Retail Director had also managed the necessary connections with various stores and malls. However, they encountered a minor hiccup during this process.

Store and mall managers expressed concerns that selling the KiShin SKT (Seikatsu) family computer might negatively impact their arcade businesses, especially considering the significant purchase price they had paid for the machines. In response, Shin personally contacted these managers to alleviate their concerns.

Shin successfully persuaded them by highlighting that the popularity of the SKT video game consoles would not harm their arcade machine business. Instead, it could potentially attract even more enthusiastic players to their arcades.

With the assistance of his employees' calls, Shin managed to convince them that once the SKT video game consoles were available, the arcades could thrive and potentially become a central hub for passionate gamers.

---

The KiShin advertisement didn't create any buzz on its first day, but that was exactly as Shin had anticipated. That's why he decided to delay the release of the SKT game consoles by a few more days before people began to take notice.

As expected, after the second day of the KiShin advertisement airing on the kids' channel, households all across Japan started to pay attention. Not just in Tokyo alone, but throughout the entire country. Although the audience of the kids' channel primarily consisted of children, these children spanned beyond Tokyo and covered all of Japan.

---

In a random house in Tokyo, a high school student named Naruki, who frequented the arcades to play Mario, hastily called his friend over the telephone.

"Hello?" came the voice on the other end.

"Tanaka! Hurry up and switch your channel to Asahi!" Naruki exclaimed with excitement.

"Why? I'm not into kids' stuff, Naru—" began Tanaka.

Naruki interrupted Tanaka with urgency, "Just switch it to Asahi channel!"

Tanaka was perplexed but relented, saying, "Fine, fine. No need to shout; you'll deafen my ear. What's this all about, anyway?"

Naruki quickly explained, "Just switch to Asahi and wait for the KiShin advertisement!"

Tanaka nodded but caught a familiar word, "KiShin?"

Tanaka changed the channel on his TV while still holding the portable telephone.

"KiShin has an advertisement, Naruki?" Tanaka asked as he settled in front of the TV.

Naruki hurriedly clarified over the phone, "At first, I was annoyed because my younger brother switched the channel from the sports channel to the kids' channel. But then, I was completely shocked to see a KiShin advertisement on it!"

"Really?" Tanaka felt intrigued. What did an arcade company have to do with advertising, anyway? He couldn't understand why Naruki was reacting so strangely.

Naruki shouted through the phone, "Look! The advertisement is starting!" Naruki had never been excited about an advertisement before.

Tanaka watched the KiShin commercial closely.

It began with a child entering a house, formally greeting their parents, and then...

Tanaka paused as his eyes widened.

"What's this!? An... An arcade... In a house!?" Tanaka stood up in astonishment.

After finishing the commercial, he urgently asked his friend Naruki, "What's today's date!?"

Naruki, puzzled by Tanaka's urgency, asked, "How could you not know—"

"Just answer!!!" Tanaka demanded.

"July 21," Naruki replied simply.

"There are still 4 days left!!!" Tanaka roared excitedly.