Pokemon Pikachu: A Phenomenon Unfolds

Downloads of "Pokemon Pikachu" continued to surge. 3DM, the most authoritative game media in the USA, quickly posted headlines on its official news website:

"The First Ten Minutes Making Game History!"

Within just ten minutes, "Pokemon Pikachu" had achieved a breakthrough of 2 million downloads, making it the fastest game in history to reach this milestone. The previous record holder, a game developed by Storm, had taken half an hour to reach 2 million downloads. Now, "Pokemon Pikachu" had shattered that record, and in a significantly shorter time.

Soon, other media outlets followed suit with their headlines:

"The Light of Games!!"

"'Pokemon Pikachu' Redefines the Concept of Games!"

"Another Masterpiece from GC, the Pokemon Series Reaches a New Peak!!"

"'Pokemon Pikachu' May Challenge 'Pokemon Red/Green' for Game of the Year?!!"

Many media outlets believed that "Pokemon Red/Green" was a lock for this year's Game of the Year. But with the arrival of "Pokemon Pikachu," that certainty was now in question. Although "Pokemon Pikachu" was a reworked version of "Pokemon Red/Green," its success and player reception were even stronger. It was expected to win various monthly best game awards and be a strong contender in the annual game selection lists.

This situation meant that the place of "Pokemon Red/Green" as Game of the Year was no longer secure. Who would have thought that the game capable of challenging "Pokemon Red/Green" would be another entry in the same series?

On the internet, discussions about GC and its success were rampant. This emerging studio, which had burst onto the scene just two months ago, had delivered hit after hit, surprising players worldwide. "Pokemon Red/Green" became famous with its first battle. The cartoon "Pokemon Special Edition" set monthly sales records. The animated "Pokémon" series set new expectations and viewership records. Peripheral product sales were hot, with many items being hard to find. The GBA console, despite multiple restocks, remained highly priced in the secondary market, maintaining several times its original price. Physical game cartridges were also in short supply, showcasing an exceptional value retention ability.

Now, "Pokemon Pikachu" was breaking records as well. GC seemed to be the most popular game studio of the moment.

"With all due respect, GC games have no competitors!" one player exclaimed online.

"CA and Rubysoft are crawling for GC. This is the era of GC!" another added.

"As far as I know, GC's overseas plan is about to start. There's a high demand for 'Pokemon' from international players!"

Online, many players who frequently bypassed regional restrictions revealed exciting news: the overseas version of "Pokemon Red/Green" would be officially launched soon. Indra had hurriedly prepared this version to tap into the international market, so it wasn't widely advertised.

According to player revelations, the overseas version's price was higher due to exchange rates and taxes. Domestic players welcomed this with humor and pride.

"Hahaha, these international players used to take our money. Now it's our turn!" one player joked.

"The people of our country don't cheat each other!" another declared.

"For this pricing, GC, I say: Well done!"

"That's it? I suggest GC raise the price even higher!"

V-Blog was buzzing with these revelations. The title of "domestic light" for GC wasn't going anywhere soon. Players had no complaints about the pricing of "Pokemon" despite its increase.

Meanwhile, Indra smiled at the thriving international market. With cumulative sales of "Pokemon Red/Green" and "Pokemon Pikachu" exceeding 10 million copies, he successfully used 1 million points to upgrade his game designer level again.

"Congratulations to the host for upgrading the game designer level to B level!"

"Host's current available game memory: 800MB!"

"The host needs to consume 10 million points to upgrade to the next designer level!"

Ten million points seemed daunting. Earning 1 million points required $100 million in income. To reach 10 million points, Indra needed $1 billion. Achieving an A rank would take considerable time, and reaching S rank was an even more distant goal.

Looking at his remaining points, Indra opened the system mall and exchanged for Pokemon series peripheral products. The first generation's IP value development was almost complete. Games, animations, comics, and figures were nearly perfect. The last step was completing the system task's IP value development, which included the movie "Pokémon: Mewtwo's Counterattack!"

However, the film's development and release would take time. Just as Indra upgraded his designer level and exchanged for the Pokémon movie, CA wasn't idle. After completing the final test for WeGame and adapting "The Collection of Cute Pets" for the console, CA spent money to secure the top position on V-Blog's hot search. They published a post:

"The world's first top game console, WeGame, is officially released. All-platform anchors will be streaming the console version of 'The Collection of Cute Pets' simultaneously!"

The competition was heating up, and it was clear that the battle between GC and CA was far from over.