Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo-Chapter 1039: As Expected, We Can’t Let Our Guard Down

This host wasn't exactly an industry insider—he was a last-minute outsider brought in by Mickford.

He had experience hosting product launches and was moderately well-known, but clearly lacked the pressure tolerance needed for an event of this scale.

Most of his past events had been stress-free, with minimal technical complexity.

Myron Case shook his head. "He doesn't need to go on stage. We'll handle it ourselves. Clearly, this kind of thing can't be entrusted to outsiders."

The host had actually been recommended by a few shareholders—shareholders Myron didn't particularly care for. They were meddlesome and frequently interfered with internal affairs, but as major investors, he couldn't ignore them completely.

Now that the host had cracked under pressure, there was no need to debate. Those shareholders wouldn't have the nerve to protest.

Time to take matters into their own hands.

The conference was about to begin. A large crowd was already gathering outside Mickford's exhibition hall—fitting, since Mickford's venue was the biggest of all this year.

...

Size wasn't just for show—they planned to release the most impactful products and content possible.

Seeing that the host had mentally collapsed, Myron felt oddly relieved. At least now his team could directly control the presentation.

He glanced at his watch—just 30 minutes to go. Time to let people inside.

He spoke up decisively: "Let's stop wasting time. This host is out. Sir, you may rest now. Your payment will still be honored, even if you won't be presenting. We'll take over from here."

The overwhelmed host looked visibly relieved, as if he'd just been rescued from drowning.

To him, this whole press event had been a nightmare. These engineers were monsters—short-tempered and intense. They only seemed to respect Myron Case.

Once Myron gave the order, everyone quieted down. He quickly assigned tasks to each expert—if they were going to outshine the previous three presentations, they needed to bring out their most impressive tech.

Meanwhile, outside, the crowd was growing impatient.

It was a hot day. The venue was still sealed, and the guests were stuck waiting outside, grumbling.

"Seriously? We've been waiting forever. What's Mickford hiding that needs this much secrecy?"

"Yeah, at least let us in already. We're melting out here!"

Just then, the venue doors slowly opened.

The restless crowd perked up—the event was finally about to begin.

People flooded inside.

They were curious. Whatever Mickford was hiding must be big.

Inside, they found the venue styled like a futuristic cyberpunk city—glowing neon everywhere, dazzling lights streaking across the room. Light pollution, but done tastefully. Bright, but not harsh.

Still, most players weren't that impressed.

Many immediately thought of another event—Gamestar's Cyberpunk 2077 showcase.

The futuristic city style was strikingly similar.

In the center of the venue, a rock concert was underway.

"Look—it's Duns! The legendary guitarist!"

Rock fans in the crowd instantly recognized him—a famous musician with tons of fans.

Mickford had clearly brought him in to warm up the audience. A free, up-close rock concert? Not bad at all.

Soon, more people began pouring in just for the show. Within minutes, the venue was packed.

"Boss, we've got over 6,000 people inside now," someone reported to Myron backstage.

And more were still arriving.

This was exactly the kind of crowd Myron had hoped for.

"Good. Then let's begin."

As the rock set ended, the press conference officially began.

"Thank you all for coming. I'm Myron Case, CEO of Mickford. On behalf of everyone at Mickford, thank you for joining us."

With no host, Myron naturally stepped into the role.

He'd done it many times before. No script needed.

He began with warm thanks to the fans, then shared the company's journey in the gaming world.

Back when he first entered the market, it was out of necessity—if he hadn't, Facebook would've crushed them in the mobile sector.

That bastard Bob always rode Takayuki's coattails to success. Myron had only himself to rely on.

But after years of effort, Mickford had earned its place in the gaming industry. Their devices now supported high-quality titles and had cultivated a loyal user base. Myron expressed sincere gratitude for their support.

Then he revealed the first product:

Mickford was launching a new graphics processing chip—entirely self-designed.

The chip's key feature: low power consumption, with the ability to run high-end games like Civilization and Uncharted on tablet devices.

He announced that their tablets would now offer full support for high-fidelity gaming.

Then came the demo.

He showcased their newest tablet: a sleek, high-resolution 10-inch display—slightly larger than a handspan—running an exclusive Mickford dungeon crawler.

The visuals were nearly on par with a full-scale MMORPG.

Instantly, the crowd was captivated by the rich graphics on this portable device.

Clearly, Mickford had poured serious investment into chip design. Myron's goal was obvious—bring premium visuals to mobile gaming.

Takayuki was watching the livestream too.

And he had to admit: this was a solid direction.

Back in his original world, Apple had nearly monopolized the tablet market.

While Apple wasn't dominant in smartphones or PCs, they owned tablets.

There was an old saying: "There are two kinds of tablets—iPads, and everything else."

Even up to Takayuki's departure, that hadn't changed.

But despite that dominance, Apple had never truly invested in gaming. They preferred to manage platforms and skim profits from app sales via the "Apple Tax."

To Takayuki, this was a waste.

iPads had amazing performance and displays, yet lacked great games.

Technically, they could run Civilization or Divinity: Original Sin just fine. But Apple didn't seem to care.

This world was different.

Myron did care.

Unlike Jobs or Cook, he was taking gaming seriously—making it a pillar of his hardware business.

And with in-house chip design, Mickford was a real contender.

If Takayuki let his guard down, Mickford could very well reclaim the mobile entertainment space.

Even now, the graphics on this tablet far surpassed Gamestar's newest handheld console. Granted, it was much more expensive—but that's not necessarily a weakness.

As long as the games are good enough, players will buy it.