ROSGT Chapter 165: We Came for Street Fighter II
### Volume 1, Chapter 165: We Came for Street Fighter II
Ye Chui uploaded the match videos of Wang Shiyu and Robert online, initially intending to promote the game's sales. However, he never anticipated the overwhelming response that ensued.
The buzz reached a fever pitch overnight.
People couldn't stop commenting after watching the series of fighting videos.
"Street Fighter II can be played like this? How are those flashy combos executed?"
"Awesome, I can't wait to give it a try!"
"Were these videos posted by Professor Ye? Are these recordings of him playing the game?"
"No way, these videos are practically tutorials. It must have been done using some program by Professor Ye."
"Even if they're tutorials, when will I be able to play with such finesse? Those flashy combos are incredible!"
"By the way, these videos seem to be recorded from arcade machines. Playing Street Fighter II on arcade machines seems way cooler!"
Overnight, Ye Chui experienced what it truly means to go viral.
Of course, Street Fighter II was already a popular and highly anticipated game, but its success was initially based on the reputation of Professor Ye's previous games. It was like movies starring big celebrities that people flock to see, regardless of the movie's actual quality.
Street Fighter II, however, got an additional boost from the series of videos. They showed players what it truly meant to play the game correctly.
By midnight on the day of release, Ye Chui was stunned by the online discussions about the game's explosive popularity. The response exceeded his wildest expectations. Most importantly, the videos even drove up sales, causing a significant spike in the otherwise steady game sales.
"How could this happen?" Everyone in the studio was baffled by the phenomenon.
After some thought, Ye Chui began to understand.
A classic truly is timeless.
While Ye Chui always revered the King of Fighters series as the ultimate fighting game classic, in terms of sales and influence, the best fighting game title undoubtedly belonged to Street Fighter II.
Street Fighter II was a milestone that defined the "fighting game" genre. In another world, it started off unnoticed but exploded in popularity almost overnight as players delved deeper into the game. Arcades saw queues forming to play Street Fighter II, with some owners even replacing all their arcade machines with Street Fighter II units.
The same phenomenon was now unfolding in this world.
That's the charm of a classic!
Understanding this, Ye Chui felt that his anger towards Zhang Xing was unnecessary. Was it worth getting upset over?
The charm of such a masterpiece was beyond the comprehension of a businessman like Zhang Xing.
Breaking ties with him right when Street Fighter II was launching—what timing.
Even if Ye Chui hadn't uploaded Wang Shiyu and Robert's match videos online, Street Fighter II would have still caused a massive sensation after a period of fermentation. The videos were merely a catalyst.
"Seeing this craze, I wonder how much Zhang Xing regrets his decision?" Ye Chui mused before going to bed.
...
Zhang Xing was indeed filled with regret.
Based on his initial projections, Street Fighter II's total sales would max out at about a million units. While impressive, it would merely maintain Ye Chui's standard. Wu Haotian's game company had more potential for growth.
Zhang Xing had built his business from a small shop into his current entertainment center through bold decisions and calculated risks. Abandoning Ye Chui to partner with Wu Haotian was another high-stakes gamble.
He believed he would succeed, as he had in the past. However, just a few hours later, he realized he had lost this gamble.
By 11 PM that night, Street Fighter II had already sold a million units.
Street Fighter I, Ye Chui's best-selling fighting game, had only sold about 500-600 thousand units on its first day.
Street Fighter II had far exceeded Street Fighter I!
Where would its final sales reach?
Three million units?
Four million units?
Five million units?
Six million units?
Zhang Xing couldn't even imagine it.
Thus, he spent the night sleepless and frustrated. But what ultimately pushed him to seek Ye Chui's forgiveness was what happened the next day.
At 8:30 the next morning, Zhang Xing, exhausted, arrived at the Tian Di Mall. Taking the elevator, he walked dejectedly to the entrance of his entertainment center, only to be stunned by the sight before him: people, a massive crowd of people!
These people were evidently waiting for the center to open, eager to play the games inside.
This unexpected enthusiasm slightly alleviated Zhang Xing's regret.
The entertainment center's business was unexpectedly good. Even without partnering with Ye Chui and losing arcade game revenue, he still had the center itself as his main business.
Smiling, Zhang Xing squeezed through the crowd and took out his key to open the door.
But then, overhearing a conversation between two people nearby, his good mood plummeted again.
"What time does this place open? I can't wait to play Street Fighter II. I played it on my desktop computer yesterday and found that it feels much better on an arcade machine!"
"I practiced all day too, but some combos are hard to pull off on the computer. The arcade machine is definitely better!"
"When will I be able to execute those flashy combos like in the video?"
"I've decided. I'm coming here every day to practice until I reach that level."
Zhang Xing's hand froze.
He suddenly realized that these people were waiting outside early in the morning just to play Street Fighter II!
They had seen the fighting videos and were eager to try the game on the arcade machines.
But...
Zhang Xing's forehead broke out in a sweat. There were no Street Fighter II machines in the entertainment center anymore!
Not only was Street Fighter II absent, but even Ye Chui's previous games had been replaced the day before with Goddess of Sirius and other games from small studios.
In fact, Zhang Xing had replaced all the games on the arcade machines. Now, none of Ye Chui's games were available.
And these people outside were here just to play Street Fighter II?
His hands trembling, Zhang Xing opened the entertainment center's door.
It wasn't business hours yet, so after slipping inside, he quickly locked the door again. He hurried to his office, his regret intensifying. He wanted to contact Ye Chui but restrained himself. Yesterday, he hadn't even spoken to Ye Chui directly, instead informing Fang Xi and terminating the contract electronically.
Now, reaching out to Ye Chui... where would his pride go?
"No... don't be rattled by the current situation! Goddess of Sirius is also an excellent game. Even if they can't play Street Fighter II, they won't be disappointed with Goddess of Sirius..." Zhang Xing tried to reassure himself.
Half an hour later.
The staff arrived and opened the doors to the entertainment center.
The crowd surged in, heading straight for the arcade machines!
Watching from his office, Zhang Xing wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Then, a commotion broke out at the arcade machines. Two players started a physical altercation over who got to use a machine.
"I got here first. Get lost!"
"No way, I was here first! Do you want me to Hadoken you?"
"Screw you, you think my Spinning Bird Kick is for show?"
The faint sounds of their argument reached Zhang Xing's office.
Everyone had been waiting anxiously and was now eager to try out the combos they practiced last night, leading to the scuffle.
Security quickly calmed the situation.
Someone turned on an arcade machine, ready to showcase their skills.
Then, another commotion erupted.
"What's going on? There's no Street Fighter II!"
"Are you kidding me? Not only is Street Fighter II missing, even Street Fighter I is gone!"
"I want to play Street Fighter II!!! What is this Goddess of Sirius? Who wants to play this?!"
"Where's the boss? Boss, what the hell is going on?"
"The boss needs to explain why none of Professor Ye's games are here!"
"If we can't play Street Fighter II, you can forget about doing business today!"
The crowd went wild.
Goddess of Sirius was of no interest—they were there for Street Fighter II!
Zhang Xing kept wiping his sweat, watching on the monitors as the security tried to calm the angry crowd to no avail.
Can you imagine the disappointment and rage of people who eagerly waited all night to play on the arcade machines, only to find none of the games they wanted were there? That kind of intense disappointment and anger was driving them to madness.
The worst part was that this scene wasn't isolated.
Zhang Xing's secretary rushed into his office, informing him that similar incidents were happening across all arcade venues in Huaxia where Street Fighter II was supposed to be available. Violent confrontations were breaking out everywhere, leading to a serious situation.
Zhang Xing realized he had made a colossal mistake—a 24k pure one.
Desperate, he applied to communicate with Ye Chui.
The call connected quickly.
"Hello, Mr. Ye, what are you up to?" Zhang Xing tried to keep his voice steady.
"Eating," Ye Chui's tone was cold. Zhang Xing and Wu Haotian had one thing right: Ye Chui wasn't a businessman. He didn't care about business strategies. If he didn't like someone, he wouldn't waste words. "Mr. Zhang, calling me so early, are you here to apologize?"
Zhang Xing forced a laugh. "I was drunk and confused yesterday. Don't mind those small things. You want an apology? Sure, however you want it!"
"Your apology seems sincere," Ye Chui laughed lightly, "but I refuse."