Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo-Chapter 713: Why Care About Them?

"Sometimes, battles between large monsters can also be used by hunters to their advantage," Takayuki said. "When two large monsters fight, it creates an opening for hunters. This also makes the ecosystem in the monster world feel more real."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

They had actually felt, even from earlier versions, that the game world was a little off in terms of logic. But they couldn't quite put their finger on it at the time and just assumed it was how games were.

Now, with Takayuki's explanation, they realized—it was only natural for large monsters to have territories, and it was only natural for them to fight over them.

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In real-world animal kingdoms, territory and hierarchy are a given. So in a world like Monster Hunter, not having that made things feel inconsistent.

"President," someone raised their hand, "how many inter-monster rivalries are we expected to design this time?"

The one asking was one of the level designers.

...

...

Clearly, he was already thinking about his upcoming workload.

Takayuki replied decisively, "The more, the better. As long as everything is logically consistent. You should study real-world examples of animal territorial behavior and dominance structures. Then, combine that with our Monster Hunter world to create a unique ecosystem system that fits our lore."

Looks like another trip to the countryside for field research was in order.

Still, that was part of the fun.

Takayuki asked, "Any other questions?"

"Um, President, I have a question," another person raised their hand a little nervously.

"Go ahead," Takayuki looked at him.

"President, is it really a good time for us to release a new Monster Hunter game right now?"

The moment he asked, everyone turned to look at him.

Takayuki responded, "Go on. Why do you ask that?"

"Well, we're still under intense scrutiny. If we develop a game like this now, won't it trigger animal rights activists?"

Takayuki stared at him. "So what if it does?"

"Uh..."

Takayuki said calmly, "Do we need permission from people who don't even care about video games to decide what kind of games we make?"

"Sit down already! Don't embarrass us!"

The person next to the questioner yanked him down by the collar.

How could he ask such a clueless question?

As the president said—why should we care what those people think?

We're game developers, not animal rights activists. And certainly not those busybodies always looking for a fight. Why should we ask for anyone's approval?

If we're going to listen to opinions, it should be from our players, not some random moral crusaders.

People started whispering among themselves. Most agreed with Takayuki, but a few did feel they should tread more carefully.

Takayuki interrupted them. "In any case, your job is to develop the game—not worry about irrelevant distractions. You can debate animal rights all you want, but none of that is more important than development progress. While I've been outlining this plan, the marketing materials have already been assigned. Once you reach 30% development, we'll begin the full marketing campaign."

He then began laying out the core gameplay of Monster Hunter.

The foundation remained the same: intense grinding, armor sets, gem combinations.

The lowered difficulty was intentional—to expand the player base.

Previously, only a few million players worldwide enjoyed Monster Hunter, and that wasn't enough. Takayuki wanted many more people to experience this unique game.

Once the development schedule was set, the Monster Hunter team went full throttle.

Thanks to their existing base, the team quickly produced a prototype demo.

This time, Takayuki emphasized online functionality.

The feature would be closely tied to Gamestar Electronic Entertainment's online membership program.

Today, the profit ceiling for video games had nearly been reached. Without pivoting to free-to-play and microtransactions, the single-player model could only grow so far.

The membership model was designed to bridge that gap.

Subscribers would receive bonus services and free games each month.

It was another revenue stream.

After another three to four months, Monster Hunter reached the minimum milestone Takayuki had set.

At the same time, promotional campaigns began.

Old advertisements were replaced across major media platforms with new game promos.

Some ads were for third-party games, but most were for Gamestar's own titles.

And Monster Hunter was one of the major titles being heavily pushed.

But as soon as the ad for Monster Hunter went public, it was like lighting a powder keg.

Gamestar had already angered many moral watchdogs by ignoring their previous complaints.

They were especially enraged by what they saw as a betrayal—someone from their side had switched teams.

Now, Gamestar was blatantly promoting a game about hunting monsters.

It was a direct slap in the face to animal rights activists.

They immediately launched a counterattack, using every channel they could to accuse Gamestar of lacking social responsibility—accusing them of encouraging cruelty toward innocent creatures.

What upset them more was how Monster Hunter's world now appeared even more realistic and believable.

Soon, groups emerged claiming they wanted to "protect the monsters of Monster Hunter" from harm.

They vowed to do everything they could to stop people from buying the new game.

Takayuki couldn't help but wonder if this was some elaborate prank or if someone had actually paid trolls to pretend to care.

Were there really people so foolish that they wanted to defend digital creatures made from 1s and 0s?

Even with his experience living two lives, he struggled to understand.

But it didn't slow down development at all.

Although the controversy stirred up a lot of noise in the public, it didn't affect their internal pace.

Still, there were plenty of voices predicting doom.

They believed Gamestar's provocative behavior would alienate much of their audience.

"No way players would support a game that so blatantly disregards the value of life," they said.