Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo-Chapter 970: Real-Life Inspiration

This time, Liberty City Stories showcased even more detailed gameplay elements.

Among them, one of the highlights was the AI-calculated NPC pedestrians.

However, that was merely a method to make the game world richer.

What truly mattered was still the gameplay itself and the main story.

Once again, the protagonist was someone on the fringes of American society—Niko Bellic, a war veteran from Eastern Europe who comes to Liberty City in pursuit of the American Dream, only to become entangled in an inescapable web of crisis and crime.

A marginalized man with a dark past.

The GTA series has always challenged players' sense of values.

In video games, it's not always about heroes, warriors, or Mario saving a princess.

It's not always about spies or super soldiers either.

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Just like movies, video games can tell stories that closely reflect reality.

For this game, the development team emphasized not only the content but also the extensive real-life research they conducted.

Anyone who's seen the game's trailer can tell that the game's world is modeled after New York City.

The 2,000-person dev team for GTA: Liberty City Stories practically all went to New York for reference trips.

At the press conference, one of the producers, Yukai Shiratori, cheerfully shared this with players.

He even proudly revealed that for inspiration, he personally lived among the city's homeless population—eating leftovers with them, warming up by fires in alleys, chatting with them about their past dreams.

This left a deep impression on him.

New York—admired by millions—symbolizes the pinnacle of global modernity.

Yet even this place has poverty, crime, and every kind of person imaginable.

The upper class lives in decadence, while the lower class suffers. And their only connection is that they all live in the same city.

Shiratori joked that if he ever had the chance, he'd love to write a memoir about these research experiences.

But for now, game development was the priority.

The rest of the team was equally devoted—some drew musical inspiration from NYC and continued composing music that matched the game's atmosphere.

Others dug deep into criminal case studies to understand real-world crime stories.

Everyone did their part, all in service of the game.

Shiratori then introduced the core gameplay.

Just like in GTA: San Andreas, players in Liberty City are free to do almost anything they want.

But this time, the game offered even more areas to explore. Many buildings that were previously just background textures could now be entered and explored, thanks to cutting-edge AI technology that procedurally generated unique and non-repetitive interior designs.

All of this combined to create soaring player anticipation for GTA: Liberty City Stories.

After unveiling the major titles, the team announced the opening date of Gamestar Park.

By 2016, based on progress, at least one themed area would open—the Mario Zone.

Here, visitors could experience pure Super Mario elements in real life.

The opening date was strategically scheduled to follow the end of the Rio Olympics, in partnership with the Japanese government. The idea was to attract tourists returning to Asia to stop by Japan and experience the world's first theme park dedicated to video games.

This announcement made fans even more excited.

Because unlike GTA, Mario appeals to a broader audience.

GTA is obviously rated 18+, filled with crime and mature content—not suitable for kids. Unless parents approve, it's considered risky.

So the GTA fan base is mostly adult.

But Mario? Mario is loved by all ages.

In fact, four of the top ten best-selling games worldwide are Mario titles—proof of its cultural impact.

By contrast, GTA: San Andreas had only just passed 10 million in sales. It would need continued momentum from sequels to catch up with a 20-year-old franchise like Mario.

The Rio Olympics closed on August 22, and Gamestar Park's grand opening was set for August 30, Pacific Time.

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As the park's opening approached, Takayuki focused solely on overseeing the development of 2077 and GTA: Liberty City Stories.

One was a long-term project, now entering the world-building phase.

The other was a key showcase of new technologies, a test to see if this new AI-driven development approach would be well-received.

Though Takayuki had faith in AI's future, he understood that applying AI to video games wasn't guaranteed to succeed—caution was essential.

Naturally, during all this, Gamestar also prepared another Summer Sale.

This time, it coincided with the Rio Olympics.

Only a small portion of people could attend the Olympics, and even fewer followed every event—so why not leverage the global attention for some extra profits?

Earlier that year, Gamestar also accepted a government contract from Brazil—to make an Olympic-themed video game.

The game didn't need to be amazing—just good enough to get gamers interested in the Olympics.

Since it was an official, paid project, it was easy work for Gamestar. Within just a few months, the game was finished and delivered.