I started a business in Detective Conan Chapter 18

Chapter 18: The Highly Anticipated Game Launch

Keita took a break backstage, opened niconico, and saw that the live stream had already reached over 100 million viewers. It seemed that the promotional effect for this launch event was quite successful. After this event, niconico would likely gain many new members.

After several months of development, Niconico had firmly rooted itself in Japan with its unique barrage culture. With the backing of capital, Future Video Corporation had established branches in major cities of Japan, and the N Station had expanded extensively.

The YouTube live stream also had 50 million viewers.

Viewer count algorithms for live streams were complex. N Station could roughly divide its viewer count by 100 to estimate the actual number. YouTube's algorithm was different, and only the parent company of YouTube knew the exact count.

Watching the barrage in the niconico live stream, Keita saw that people were already sharing their Line account names, looking forward to awkward chats with strangers.

Time flew by.

Exactly 3:00 PM.

Keita saw that Sonoko and Ran were already prepared.

Keita took the stage first. "Next up is the highly anticipated game. I believe many of you are here for this game. Without further ado, let's welcome Miss Sonoko Suzuki, the President of Future Technology Game Company, to introduce the game."

Gibberish gibberish~

Keita stepped back and opened the N Station live stream.

As the stage lights shone down...

A green elf girl appeared, carrying a single-handed sword, and confidently stood in the center of the stage, performing a sword dance.

The barrage exploded with "おおおおおおお" (Ohhhhhh!).

Suddenly, a yellow figure dashed out from behind, holding a dagger, and swiped it across the elf's neck. The elf's body went limp and fell at the feet of a cat girl.

The barrage filled with "えええええええ" (Ehhhhhhhh!).

After a brief pause, all the lights in the venue came on.

The elf and the cat girl stood together at the podium.

Sonoko spoke first. "I am Sonoko Suzuki, the President of Future Technology Game Company. This is our costume designer for the game, Ran Mori. The outfits we're wearing are the basic attire for the Cat Demon Clan and Elf Clan in the game, designed by our genius designer, Ran Mori."

Ran said, "Hello, everyone. I'm Ran Mori. I'm mainly in charge of designing attire for fantasy races."

The camera zoomed in on them, showing Sonoko in cat girl attire, an orange cat with a tail hanging behind her, and Ran as an elven swordsman, with a single-handed sword slung across her waist, her green chiffon outfit billowing in the wind.

Certainly, this was Japan, a hub of otaku culture. Both the venue and the online audience erupted in cheers.

The camera panned to the audience, capturing a comical expression on the faces of Shinichi Kudo and Kogoro Mori, a mix of appreciation and reluctance to show it.

Cough cough~

Sonoko cleared her throat, recapturing everyone's attention, and began introducing the game overview.

"Sword Art Online, abbreviated as 'SAO.' It's a VRMMORPG, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game that utilizes complete dive technology for virtual reality. In this world, players possess all five senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—and can experience a unique alternate reality.

The game's stage is the floating city 'Aincrad,' constructed from rock and steel, with 100 floors, each guarded by a bottom-level boss.

In this world, there's no magic, but players can choose from various fantasy races.

It's a world of swords and blades, and players' mission is to clear all 100 floors, defeating the bosses. The first team to achieve this will receive a mysterious grand prize."

Sonoko paused briefly, and Ran left the stage, transitioning to the next segment.

"Next, let's watch a promotional video for Aincrad."

The projector began playing the video.

With the explosive tune of "crossing field," a floating city hovered in the sky amidst blue skies and white clouds. The camera gradually zoomed in, showing the details of Aincrad. It passed through the outer iron walls, layers of forests, and reached the starting town, the central city of the largest floor. The city was circular, centered around a massive square where players would start.

The camera moved further out, showing numerous monsters in the wild—dog-headed creatures, goblins, slimes—all posed aggressively. It delved deeper into the labyrinth, revealing skeleton soldiers, lizard people, and finally, the boss room. The corpulent leader of the dog-headed creatures appeared, wielding a shield, an axe, and a wild sword, emanating a menacing aura even while stationary.

Then the camera rose, passing through layers of terrain, showcasing vibrant flower fields, tranquil lakes, endless snow-covered plains, and boundless deserts. Finally, it stopped atop the 100th floor's red tower.

Large letters appeared: Sword Art Online, Global Launch on September 1st!

The video concluded.

"So, just as the video stated. Tomorrow, September 1st, at 10 AM, Sword Art Online's official launch will take place. We ask all players to look forward to it." Sonoko finished her speech and bowed before leaving the stage.

Keita greeted her backstage, and Sonoko embraced him.

"I was so nervous! It's my first time speaking in front of so many people."

"You did great, Sonoko. Our game is bound to be a huge success. Take a break now; I'll go up and announce the details of the game."

Keita took the stage again. "After watching the video, some of you might doubt its authenticity. That's alright; we have 50 game helmets available for on-site testing. Each person can try it for up to 10 minutes.

This game will have three major servers: US, Asia, and Europe.

Unfortunately, due to production capacity and policies, some countries and regions are not on the global testing list. Please check the official website for specifics. If you really want to play and your country is not included, you can try petitioning your government.

Though it's a global launch, there will be variations in timing due to production capacity.

Game helmets reserved through the official website have been shipped and are expected to arrive tomorrow. The first batch of helmets will also be available at flagship 7-Eleven stores in major cities.

That's it. The meeting is adjourned. The experience server will remain open until 7 PM, so please take note."

7-Eleven stores, owned by the Suzuki Group, were spread across Japan's major cities, totaling over 20,000 stores, with over 1,000 flagship stores. Additionally, 7-Eleven had a significant presence overseas. Future Game Company had been established for less than half a year, so its distribution network wasn't fully established yet. This time, they leveraged the Suzuki Group's channels to launch the game.

Keita stepped down from the stage, and people began queuing up in front of the game helmets.

In the audience, Thomas Sindra, the president of Sindra Corporation, the developer of "Cocoon," was also in line. However, his face was grim

, and he was angrily interrogating his subordinates.

"What's going on? Are you guys just sitting around doing nothing? It's been over a year, and 'Cocoon' still isn't finished? They only got the neural reading technology a few months ago; how did they manage to finish the game so quickly? SAO beat us to the punch; do you know how much I'll lose?"

"Someone's been causing trouble for our company. Just last month, Baker Street, which we'd just finished constructing, was hacked, and the data was deleted." The subordinate seemed wronged as well; they were frequently targeted by hackers, and even gods wouldn't be able to save them.

Soon, Sindra's experience was over.

"Why is Future Company's helmet so much better than our game pod in terms of performance? Why didn't we find out about their technology source earlier? You fools." Sindra was beyond frustrated; Future's helmet technology wasn't even ahead of their game pod technology. Moreover, the helmet technology announced today was impossible for them to investigate.

…

(End of Chapter)