Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo-Chapter 714: The Right Game

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"So ugly."

"So ugly."

"So ugly! Why are they so ugly?! Weren't the characters in these games cool and stylish before?!"

In someone's home, a young man was endlessly complaining.

He was a veteran gamer.

...

...

His favorite pastime was simply playing games.

He didn't have a specific genre or franchise he loved most—he just loved gaming itself.

What game he played didn't really matter, as long as the game's quality wasn't terrible. He was happy to buy and give it a good review.

This kind of player was exactly what game companies loved.

But recently, he had noticed more and more games were starting to change.

The most obvious change was that the character designs were getting uglier.

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He didn't mind characters being less attractive—but now they were all uniquely ugly in the same way, and that was something he couldn't accept.

That's when he realized—he was actually a huge fan of beautiful, stylish characters.

As long as a character looked good, he could enjoy the game.

Now, though, many of the games he played had made changes in the opposite direction.

Main characters and side characters alike were becoming increasingly unattractive.

And the explanations game companies gave left him completely baffled.

"To reflect reality, since real life doesn't have that many good-looking people. Most people look average. This is about human rights..."

He stared at this reasoning, totally confused.

"Why would I want realism in a game?"

Does real life have magic? Brave heroes fighting dragons? Alien invasions?

Why not make those realistic?

He just couldn't understand.

It was as if all the companies had come to an agreement at the same time—to rework their games like this.

Characters were being made ugly, and players were being forced to accept it. It was unacceptable.

He couldn't take it.

And yet... he still bought those games.

Because he had a high tolerance. As long as the gameplay was solid, he figured he could just play them casually and ignore the rest.

Still, it annoyed him. These characters could have been designed to look so much better.

With today's advanced technology, game characters should be more detailed, stylish, and visually appealing.

And yet now, the trend had reversed. It was frustrating.

But the opposition from players didn't seem to matter much.

On the internet, a certain group kept shouting loudly about video games.

In truth, they weren't just targeting games—but also movies, and animation.

Ugly character designs were everywhere.

The term "human rights" had, at some point, been twisted into a kind of warped political correctness.

And video games, along with other entertainment media, were becoming victims of this trend.

"Mr. Murakami, have you picked a favorite for this year's Game of the Year?"

On a talk show, the host had invited one of the most well-known figures in gaming—Kazuo Murakami.

He was a veteran in the field of game reviews and journalism, one of the earliest voices in the industry. Backed by Gamestar Electronic Entertainment, he was extremely popular.

Some even considered Murakami's words to reflect the views of key figures in the industry.

The once-shy middle school kid had now grown into a calm and composed professional, a big leap forward.

Facing the camera, Murakami smiled and answered, "Our evaluation and voting process is still underway. We welcome everyone to cast their vote for their favorite game."

The host pressed further: "But do you have a personal favorite?"

Murakami continued smiling. "I can't really say right now. Maybe after the results are announced, I'll talk more about it. It's a sensitive topic at the moment."

Not giving up, the host tried again. "What do you think about Deep Space Exploration? It's been getting a lot of attention lately—seems like a strong contender?"

Murakami's eyebrows twitched slightly.

He knew the game.

It was a very obvious "politically correct" title.

The developer was a long-established American studio, known for making high-quality games.

He actually liked the studio.

But lately, they had become obsessed with using intentionally unattractive characters as protagonists.

Murakami personally didn't agree with this direction, though he couldn't say whether it was right or wrong.

With a noticeably colder tone, he replied, "The game is decent, but I won't give an evaluation just yet. Let's wait until the awards are finalized."

The host didn't get any useful info from Murakami, and looked a bit disappointed.

But this also showed how experienced Murakami had become.

He had made plenty of mistakes in the past. The real world was far more dangerous than anything in games.

Now that he was a public figure in the industry, the issues he faced were way more complicated than any plot in a game.

At this point, he wasn't going to be led into saying something inappropriate by a few suggestive questions.

Still, he was frustrated with some of the strange trends in the gaming world today.

But this wasn't the right place to say so. He'd wait for a better time.

After the interview, Murakami returned to work at his company, doing his usual game reviews.

Meanwhile, preparations for the 2007 Game of the Year awards were underway.

It was all part of a long-established plan.

But recently, he'd been troubled.

That interview kept nagging at him. And shortly after the show aired, his email inbox started getting flooded with anonymous messages.

These emails asked whether he would choose certain games as Game of the Year.

They claimed those games were "correct" and hoped he would help them win the title.