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[Game] Chapter 139: The Nintendo Direct Begins
🕑 Added 2025-02-11 18:12:23 +0000 UTCAmong Microsoft's lineup of games, while Halo and Gears of War were excellent, Ichin still preferred the Forza Horizon series the most.
When it came to racing games, Forza Horizon was undoubtedly one of the best in the genre, standing at the pinnacle of the industry in terms of quality.
Aside from the Need for Speed series, which he had played the most in the past, Forza Horizon 4 was his absolute favorite.
The Dirt series was decent too, but its controls were too challenging, making it less enjoyable compared to Forza Horizon 4.
Watching the live gameplay footage of Forza Horizon 5 on screen, Ichin couldn't help but exclaim excitedly, "Finally! This is what I've been waiting for! Of all the games at Microsoft's showcase, Forza Horizon 5 is the one I'm most hyped for!"
"A racing game?"
Utaha, sitting beside him, asked curiously, "Is it really that fun?"
"It's not just about whether it's fun! The visuals in this game are top-tier in the industry. With a variety of environments and dynamic weather effects, even people who aren’t into racing games can still enjoy driving through its vast open world just to appreciate the scenery. And if you pair it with a proper racing wheel setup, the experience goes to a whole new level! Ah, right… I didn’t bring my racing wheel with me. I should buy another one."
"A racing wheel? That sounds interesting!"
Shinoda Hajime, who was also intrigued, asked, "Are you buying it online or from a physical store?"
"Either works." Ichin pulled out his phone and opened a shopping app. "Let me ask the guy who helped set up my studio’s PCs before. If he has it in stock, we can just go check it out. Wait, aren't you not into racing games?"
"Hehe, yeah, I don’t really play them… but I could use it for practice, you know? Who knows, maybe someday I’ll want to buy a car for real?"
Aoba, who was listening in, wasn’t convinced at all. She cut straight to the point, "You? Forget about buying a car. Do you even have enough money to take a driving test? Can you even tell us how much is left in your bank account right now?"
"Uh…"
Shinoda Hajime was instantly speechless, awkwardly shifting her gaze elsewhere, looking utterly embarrassed.
The viewers in the livestream chat saw this unfold and immediately started spamming comments about being "broke by the end of the month."
Noticing the messages on the screen, Hajime turned to Ichin for confirmation. After getting the gist of it, she puffed up her cheeks and huffed, "How could you guys say that about me? I make money to spend it! Instead of calling me broke, you should be questioning Bandai! Why do they have to release so many new figurines and model kits every month?! If it weren’t for them, my money wouldn’t disappear so fast!"
A flawless deflection—she had expertly shifted the blame onto Bandai.
Ichin chuckled and shook his head. He knew that changing Hajime’s spending habits wasn’t something that could happen overnight, so he simply turned his attention back to the showcase.
As the Microsoft presentation continued, they revealed more trailers and new game content. However, the only things that piqued Ichin’s interest were the gameplay footage of Halo Infinite and the latest installment of Call of Duty.
Of course, he was only mildly interested for now. Whether these games would actually be fun to play would have to wait until they were officially released.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the stream, Umiko was getting visibly excited. At first, she had been watching quietly, but the moment Halo appeared, her enthusiasm skyrocketed. Her voice became so loud that even the viewers in the livestream could hear her, causing another wave of "???" messages to flood the chat.
Ichin had no choice but to explain to the audience, "That excited voice you just heard belongs to our studio’s lead programmer. She’s a hardcore fan of survival shooters and absolutely loves all kinds of FPS games."
"That’s right! Umiko-san's collection is insane. I even have some bullet casings she gave me as a gift."
"Tsk tsk tsk, as expected of someone from Okinawa."
At the mention of Okinawa, everyone instantly understood the reference.
Finally, after more than an hour, Microsoft's showcase came to an end. Some games had excited the audience, while others left them confused or uninterested. But overall, it was a solid presentation—at least Ichin got to see what he was looking forward to.
As Microsoft's showcase wrapped up and transitioned into an ad break, it was time for Nintendo’s presentation to begin.
Viewers in the chat started asking when Ichin’s studio’s new game would be announced.
Ichin chuckled and said, "Patience, guys! It’s coming soon—right after this!"
At this point, his words made it pretty obvious: their new game would be making an appearance in Nintendo’s presentation.
That made sense to everyone. After all, Slay the Spire had already been released on the Nintendo Switch, meaning his studio clearly had a working relationship with Nintendo.
"Huh? Were you acquired?"
Seeing that comment pop up in chat, Ichin shook his head. "Nope, we weren’t acquired—it’s just a collaboration. If we had been bought out, some of the projects I’ve planned might not have gone so smoothly. In fact, now or in the future, our studio won’t be acquired by any major publisher."
"As for the new game’s genre? You’ll just have to wait and see. It’s an action game, not a deck-building roguelike like Slay the Spire. And don’t worry, it’s coming to both the Nintendo Switch and Steam. Plus, it won’t have high system requirements, so even if you haven’t managed to get a 30-series GPU, your old graphics card will handle it just fine."
Hearing this, many viewers in the stream let out a sigh of relief.
After waiting for half an hour, the Nintendo Direct finally began.
Taking the stage was Doug Bowser, Nintendo of America’s president, who had succeeded Reggie Fils-Aimé after his retirement.
His name alone was a meme—after all, "Bowser" was the name of the iconic villain from Super Mario.
As expected, Nintendo’s Direct got straight to the point. After a few opening remarks, they jumped right into the game trailers.
The presentation was split into two parts: the first focusing on Nintendo’s first-party titles, a long-standing tradition.
The screen went black, followed by the appearance of the Nintendo Switch logo, accompanied by the signature "click" sound of the Joy-Con snapping into place.
Then, they immediately dropped a bombshell.
A figure clad in a powered suit landed on the screen, facing the audience. Ichin recognized it instantly.
"Metroid! I thought this would be saved as the final reveal, but they’re showing it right at the start?"
He glanced at the chat—some viewers had already figured it out, while others were still confused and spamming question marks.
Ichin laughed and explained, "Some of you might not recognize Metroid right away, but you should know Metroidvania, right? And surely you remember Samus Aran? She’s even a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros.!"
Though always clad in her iconic bulky power armor, Metroid’s protagonist, Samus Aran, was undoubtedly a stunning beauty underneath it all.
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