Among 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 pyed 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 gamepy footage of Forza Horizon 5 on screen, Ichin couldn't help but excim 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 py 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 fwless deflection—she had expertly shifted the bme 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 gamepy footage of Halo Infinite and the test installment of Call of Duty.

  Of course, he was only mildly interested for now. Whether these games would actually be fun to py 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 expin 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, Sy the Spire had already been released on the Nintendo Switch, meaning his studio clearly had a working retionship 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 colboration. If we had been bought out, some of the projects I've pnned 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 Sy 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 vilin 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 bck, followed by the appearance of the Nintendo Switch logo, accompanied by the signature "click" sound of the Joy-Con snapping into pce.

  Then, they immediately dropped a bombshell.

  A figure cd in a powered suit nded 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 gnced at the chat—some viewers had already figured it out, while others were still confused and spamming question marks.

  Ichin ughed and expined, "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 pyable fighter in Super Smash Bros.!"

  Though always cd in her iconic bulky power armor, Metroid's protagonist, Samus Aran, was undoubtedly a stunning beauty underneath it all.

  ...

  ???

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  "So, you knew about this ahead of time, UP?"

  "What else is coming? Spill the details!"

  Ichin chuckled and expined, "Yeah, I knew about Metroid in advance. During negotiations with Nintendo, I got some insight into their upcoming pns. Of course, I couldn't say anything due to confidentiality agreements. But now that it's officially announced, it's fine to talk about it. This is a great game—if you haven't pyed it before, you absolutely should give it a try."

  As he spoke, his eyes remained fixed on the PV (promotional video).

  Although he had known that a new Metroid title would be revealed, he hadn't seen any details beforehand.

  The trailer showed Samus exploring a mysterious facility. As she walked through a corridor, the camera subtly shifted to show a white, mechanical entity clinging to the ceiling behind her. The moment Samus passed by, it began to move.

  Noticing the machine crawling along the ceiling, Samus immediately aimed and fired—but her attacks had no effect.

  The next scene shifted to in-game footage, dispying the familiar side-scrolling gamepy. Samus continued advancing while the mechanical enemy persistently pursued her from behind.

  "So this installment isn't just about cssic Metroid exploration," Ichin analyzed excitedly. "They've added an escape mechanic where you're being hunted! And from the looks of it, if you get caught, it's an instant game over. That means whenever this thing shows up, you have to be extra careful—no room for mistakes!"

  The trailer continued, showing Samus traversing a variety of environments filled with traps, explosions, and intricate level designs. This was followed by a series of intense boss battles.

  While the graphical quality was somewhat hindered by the Switch's limited hardware, Ichin didn't mind. Metroid had never been about high-end visuals—gamepy and exploration were what truly mattered.

  Finally, the game's title was revealed at the end of the PV.

  As the trailer concluded and the screen returned to the presentation stage, the audience erupted into cheers. It was clear just how much excitement this revival of a beloved franchise had generated.

  But that was only the beginning—more interesting games were on the way.

  A remastered version of Fatal Frame: Maiden of Bck Water, a cssic horror game, was announced.

  Then came Mario Party Superstars, a party game perfect for group gatherings.

  Super Robot Wars 30, the 30th-anniversary installment of the iconic mecha crossover series, made a surprise appearance with a new PV.

  Next was Melty Blood: Type Lumina, a fighting game set in the Tsukihime universe.

  There were also third-party ports, including Dying Light 1, which was a notable addition.

  Of course, not every reveal was exciting. Monster Hunter Rise, for example, only announced a new crossover event featuring an Akuma skin from Street Fighter.

  Ichin had already lost interest in Monster Hunter Rise—he had pyed it briefly at unch, but it had long been buried in his backlog.

  Then came Pokémon.

  This part of the presentation dedicated a significant amount of time to Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl and the upcoming Pokémon Legends: Arceus. But despite the lengthy showcase, the actual content didn't seem all that impressive.

  After watching Game Freak's segment, Ichin gnced at the chat, curled his lips, and said, "Don't expect Arceus to be some groundbreaking open-world game. Game Freak doesn't understand open-world design. Instead of hoping for some vast and content-rich world, you'd be better off praying for better optimization. Otherwise, we'll just end up with another game that gs like crazy in the wild areas and has atrocious textures."

  "As for whether I'll buy it? Nah, I don't have time to py it. Neither the Diamond & Pearl remakes nor Arceus are on my priority list. I'll wait until second-hand copies drop in price—maybe then I'll check a used game store and pick one up."

  Of course, people in the chat were quick to joke: "You say you won't buy it, I won't buy it, but watch the remakes sell another 10 million copies anyway."

  "Hahaha, so true!"

  "I have a feeling the remakes will sell pretty well."

  Seeing the discussion about the Pokémon remakes, Ichin nodded in agreement. "Yeah, the sales definitely won't be low. Even if they don't reach the numbers of Sword & Shield, they should still hit at least 5 million, maybe even more. But honestly, what does that have to do with me? It's not like I need Pokémon to survive. Alright, alright, let's move on to the next part."

  With that, the Nintendo Direct moved on to the third-party and indie game section. Ever since the Switch unched, Nintendo had been actively expanding its game lineup, and over time, plenty of great indie titles had found a home on the ptform.

  Ichin watched with a smile as the screen faded to bck, and a title appeared.

  "Here it comes—our game."

  Aoba gasped in surprise. "Huh? We're the first one?"

  At that moment, everyone else in the room stopped what they were doing and gathered around Ichin. Suddenly, the camera feed was filled with a group of girls—each of them a stunning beauty—making the scene almost overwhelming to look at.

  Fortunately, the camera window was small, and everyone was more focused on the studio's new game than the unexpected eye candy.

  As the trailer pyed, the protagonist of the game appeared on-screen. Unlike typical game protagonists, this one had a small, white, bug-like head and stood on two legs. The unique design immediately caught the audience's attention.

  Though it had a slightly dark and eerie aesthetic, the hand-drawn art style was still visually appealing rather than unsettling.

  Then, gamepy footage began rolling, and the audience quickly realized—this was a Metroidvania!

  "A Metroidvania game?"

  Ichin nodded. "Yeah, it does have Metroidvania elements, but we've also added our own innovations. Keep watching, and you'll see what makes it unique."

  As the trailer progressed, the game's distinct mechanics became more apparent. While it retained the cssic Metroidvania structure, it also showcased fluid and engaging side-scrolling combat.

  In one scene, the protagonist was defeated by a massive creature, only to respawn at a specific location and return to the spot of their death to recover lost items.

  "Take note, everyone," Ichin expined. "Dying in the game comes with certain penalties—not too harsh, but enough to make you cautious."

  The footage continued, showing intense battles against a variety of bosses—some towering, some swift and deadly. And finally, the game's title appeared on the screen:

  Hollow Knight

  Below the title, the Nintendo Switch logo appeared, along with a message: Releasing in 2021. Demo avaible now on the eShop.

  "Whoo!"

  As the trailer ended, Ichin grinned. "Alright, that was our studio's new game. The Chinese title is 窟窿騎士, but in English, it's called Hollow Knight."

  "Huh? A Steam version?" He chuckled. "Of course! The Steam version will unch at the same time as the Switch version. But since this is a Nintendo presentation, it wasn't the right pce to highlight other ptforms."

  "As for the demo—it'll be avaible on both the Switch and Steam in about fifteen minutes. Feel free to download it and give it a try. Thanks for all your support!"