Chapter 16: The Matter is Settled and the Signing Ceremony is Decided!

  "The game sales have stopped!?"

  This is a conversation between Saku and TYPE-MOON's president Takashi Takeuchi on the phone after lunch.

  Walking on the street towards the station, facing the scorching sun's heat, the tone here seems even more 'passionate' than the fierce sun.

  According to the content of the previous phone call, Sakuji is somewhat dissatisfied with TYPE-MOON's temporary change of mind. After all, the sales revenue of "Fate/stay night" will be his first pot of gold, and if it is cut off directly, it will affect all subsequent schedule arrangements, so Sakuji cannot easily agree to the other party's decision.

  She dodged to the side to avoid the crowd. Since it was a holiday, many students were wandering around on the streets. A group of boys and girls chattered and laughed as they passed by her side.

  Is it time to start 'post-holiday teatime'?

  Unless it's about five girls, Sosuke can't get interested.

  Holding the phone, Sosuke walked onto the platform and glanced at the train schedule next to him.

  Kitazawa Station to Karakida Station takes about five minutes by train, and since it's on the national railway line, it might be even faster.

  This road can go directly out of the city, passing through beaches and tunnels, heading towards Okinawa.

  Sosuke responded to Naotsugu's call while waiting on the platform.

  "Mr. Nai is joking, right? Since the contract has been signed and the sales time has been set, if the plan is changed temporarily, it will not only cause inconvenience to the players who have purchased, but also cause considerable trouble for the logistics service side. What do you plan to do with those orders? Return them all?"

  Taking a high-handed attitude, Sosuke has no intention of being underestimated by his opponent.

  The final pre-order quantity for "Fate/stay night" was 280,000 copies. After subtracting some unexpected situations and non-delivery cases, there were about 250,000 copies sold. This number is undoubtedly enough to take the top spot this year.

  The current Japanese doujin game market is in a slump, with few good works being released except for TYPE-MOON's past hit "Tsukihime", causing the industry to decline.

  The difference between game production and light novel adaptation may lie in the impact of word-of-mouth on performance.

  If a game has a bad reputation, then future products will also be affected; however, if the popularity of a lightly adapted anime is poor, it can still rely on voice actors and future new works to regain popularity, which is more convenient than games.

  Even if Ziyu doesn't quite understand the subtle differences between them, she roughly gets it.

  No matter what, Sōichirō believes that the game's sales should be conducted within today to make Fate/Stay Night penetrate deeper into people's hearts and gain even more popularity.

  Then, with this popularity, the sequel to "Fate/Stay Night", which is a fighting game, was created and sold again, laying the foundation.

  However, Sosuke's purpose is certainly not just to occupy a place in the game industry. He will take a slow and steady approach to walk his own path.

  Since we've come to this world, it's time for the anime industry to undergo a transformation.

  Staring at the bus schedule, Sosuke calculated that there were still three minutes until the next bus and decided to take a short break during this gap.

  "Don't worry, we have a new plan on our side, so sorry, but we will still terminate this sales meeting."

  "Is this a one-sided decision? As contracted parties, don't we both have the right to make statements about the game 'Fate/Stay Night'?"

  "Yes, but sales are what we're here for. Your speaking rights are limited to opinions only. Also, let me finish talking."

  Nishizono Mika across from her seemed to be searching for words, and fell silent for about five seconds.

  Just as Sosuke thought the other party had quietly hung up, he heard Natsuki Takashi's voice.

  "Have you seen a post in the 'Night of Destiny' forum?"

  "Huh? About that, I did see it."

  That's easier said than done, but Nishizono Maki and the others raised their voices in response.

  No, his volume didn't change, it's just that Sosuke felt the other person raised their voice, probably because he realized the other person was right.

  Many people will subconsciously find that if there are leaders and ordinary people in front of them, their bodies will instinctively show approval of the leader's decisions and voices, which is also a conditioned reflex to recognize 'correctness' in human subconscious.

  It was through this reflection that Sosuke could hear Natsuki's words clearly.

  "Some people on that forum mentioned your work, saying that 'Fate/Stay Night' is a plagiarized work. Our company has also conducted an investigation and made a decision, finding that there are indeed some similarities."

  "...Do you also think it's plagiarism? If so, then there's no need to discuss further."

  "You seem to have misunderstood."

  Natsuki's voice on the other end of the phone had genuinely risen in volume, and I knew that because my eardrum was transmitting a slight pain from being shaken.

  The other party's voice is indeed very loud.

  "We highly appreciate your work, and cancellation is not possible. Due to the plagiarism incident, the temporarily added reservations exceeded 300,000, and the increase rate rose to the original number."

  "Has the number increased? It seems that a public opinion has played a role in promoting it, so should I be happy?"

  "Of course."

  Naruto's voice slowed down quite a bit.

  As expected, Sōichirō knew that if the plagiarism incident was perfectly resolved and not expanded upon, it would only increase the popularity of "Fate/Stay Night".

  Thanks to the administrator [Horizon]'s support for Fate/Stay Night, many players and ordinary members have become interested in it and want to experience other storylines rather than just the trial version.

  Isn't canceling sales rather foolish?

  "I want to ask again here, why cancel the sale."

  "It's simple, due to too many sales, except for a portion that will be dispatched, all others are cancelled, the actual date will be changed to noon in two days."

  "Oh? The day after tomorrow at noon?"

  "Yes, the day after tomorrow at noon. Didn't I just say that there will be a large number? For this game, we plan to go all out in our support, so on that day, we will respond to the players' calls and hold an autograph session."

  "On-site signing and selling? So it's where I go on site to sign, then sell?"

  "Yes, I hope you will definitely attend at that time, and we can also meet up then, Mr. Sosuke."

  His tone did not allow for refusal, and also carried a hint of request.

  Isn't it too fast to hold an autograph session just after debut?

  And is this what players are asking for? Is popularity really that high?

  Holding his phone, Sosuke saw the car he was supposed to ride in stop in front of him, but he didn't get on.

  Originally intended to go directly to them for a showdown, did not expect it to develop into a signing situation.

  Looking at the exhaust fumes emitted by cars in the distance, Sosuke rubbed his hair with his hand after hanging up the phone. No need to think about other things, since it's already been decided, he might as well go to the signing event and take a look around.