He never expected to be able to play Bayonetta here.
Without a second thought, the white-collar worker stepped forward.
At the moment, his supervisor was struggling to get through the game.
He was a beginner, someone who had only recently started developing an interest in video games.
Starting from simple mobile games like Candy Crush, he was gradually drawn to more complex, large-scale games.
Originally, the plan for tonight had just been to go out for drinks.
But when they saw the promotion offering free drinks and additional prizes for completing certain games, the team leader couldn't resist. He boldly claimed he'd beat the challenge and earn the prize.
What he didn't expect was how hard the game actually was.
Because of the prize incentive, the difficulty was naturally a notch higher—no way they'd hand it out on easy mode.
(Of course, if you just wanted to play casually, you could lower the difficulty.)
Now, the supervisor was stuck in an awkward position.
He couldn't clear the level, and after bragging earlier, he was beginning to feel embarrassed.
In his head, he was desperately wishing someone would step in to help. Come on, you guys—how can you leave your team leader hanging like this?
But the others had no idea how to play. Seeing their boss fail made them even more reluctant to embarrass themselves.
Safety in numbers—if no one volunteered, the boss couldn't really blame them all.
"Boss, mind if I give it a try?"
Finally, he heard the words he'd been hoping for.
He turned and saw one of his subordinates—not someone he knew well, but a vaguely familiar face.
"You sure? This game isn't easy."
The white-collar worker thought for a moment. "I think I can handle it."
"Alright, go ahead!"
Without hesitation, the team leader handed over the controller.
He was overjoyed. Bayonetta, one of the games he'd wanted to play most, and it was free? What a dream.
For beginners, a game on high difficulty can be brutal.
But this guy was a seasoned gamer.
He quickly got a feel for the controls and mechanics—and just like that, he sailed through the level that had stumped his boss.
"Whoa! That move was awesome! I didn't know this game had such flashy combos!"
"This is way better than Angry Birds on my phone!"
The coworkers around him were amazed. His skill was genuinely impressive.
Even the boss started to cheer up.
If someone on his team was this good, it made him look good too.
With a smug grin, the boss couldn't resist boasting, "Told you! Beating this challenge is easy for us!"
"Boss, you're amazing!"
"Seriously though, this game looks so cool and real. The graphics blow any mobile game I've seen out of the water."
Just then, a slightly sarcastic voice chimed in.
"Mobile games are beginner-level. Their budgets don't even come close. If you want a real experience, you need to try console games."
"Console games?"
"Yeah—what you're playing now. And by the way, that guy is seriously good. Clearly a true gamer. And if you're a gamer—hey, we're friends."
Before long, the white-collar worker cleared the level required for the challenge.
He was now eligible to pick from a selection of prizes: free game cartridges, exclusive merch, and more.
One prize in particular caught his eye—a collective autograph from the Bayonetta core dev team.
An absolute treasure!
He really wanted that prize.
But he hesitated—technically, his boss was in charge.
To his relief, the team leader didn't care about the rewards. He was too busy basking in his subordinate's glory and already enjoying drinks with the others.
After a brief pause, the white-collar worker respectfully asked the boss if he could have the prize.
The team leader, still riding the high, agreed readily. He wasn't interested in the reward anyway, and it was a good way to win some loyalty points.
Ecstatic, the white-collar worker rushed to claim the prize.
"Hey, you into games too?" a voice asked.
It was the guy who'd earlier mocked mobile games. He approached, now much friendlier.
The white-collar worker nodded.
"Then we're friends! We should totally share game tips sometime."
"Sure!" he replied, smiling brightly.
Tonight's work gathering had become something unexpectedly wonderful.
For the first time, he actually enjoyed spending time with his coworkers.
If only we could have more events like this, he thought.
Meanwhile, across the world—in the U.S., Japan, Europe—similar street promo teams from Gamestar Electronic Entertainment were hard at work.
They went to high-traffic areas, set up game stations, and used prizes and perks to draw people in to try video games.
And once people tried?
At least half developed a real interest in gaming.
And of those, another half seriously considered buying a console to play at home.
The conversion rate was shockingly high.
Gamestar Electronic Entertainment was growing its player base at record speed.
On the streets, people were talking more and more about video games.
Gaming was becoming the trendiest thing to do—just like how film exploded in popularity decades ago.
Now, playing video games was seen as modern, social—even stylish.
Back in a Tokyo park, a group of kids clustered together playing the latest games.
Nearby, someone dressed in a Super Mario mascot suit was introducing the games to curious children.
What no one realized was that the person inside that costume… was none other than Takayuki himself.
After all these years, he wanted to relive that feeling of showing someone their first game.
And seeing the joy on these kids' faces—the way their eyes lit up, unable to look away from the screen—he felt a deep sense of fulfillment.
This was the whole reason he'd come to this world.
To share the magic of video games, and bring joy to everyone.