Benjamin balanced a plate piled high with donuts against his stomach. The hand holding a donut hadn't moved for quite a while. A bite of donut, already thoroughly soaked with saliva, sat in his mouth, but his eyes remained glued to the television.
On the screen, the character called Athena Asamiya was locked in a back and forth battle with a boxer named Heavy D! The two sides continuously unleashed flashy combos. Even within the limitations of 2D pixel graphics, the action remained incredibly dynamic.
This kind of high-speed combat, filled with special effects and impossible magic, was something that could never be seen in a legitimate boxing match. Even the WWF, which thrived on exaggeration, couldn't pull off something like this.
Benjamin had originally thought he would be watching one of those shallow, forgettable GG promotional shorts that Atari used to produce. He had only kept watching out of curiosity. But the longer he watched a simple thought came to his mind.
'Why was it becoming more addictive?'
The Hollywood stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Brandon, who had originally been the reason he stayed tuned in, were no longer the center of his attention. What he wanted to see now was what kind of dazzling combos these game characters could unleash next.
Athena in particular, with her innocent, charming appearance combined with her bold and energetic movements, made him want to stare even harder, afraid of missing anything.
At KRBK-TV29, McCoy let out a quiet sigh as he looked at the freshly delivered ratings report.
0.8%.
A pitiful figure that hadn't even reached 1%. By headquarters' standards, it was practically a dead man's number. Yet McCoy wasn't worried at all, instead, he felt an unusual sense of relief.
Before this program aired, Channel 29's average ratings had already fallen to around 0.2% and despite the fact that this was prime time on New Year's Day.
But those factors weren't necessarily advantages for Channel 29. This was the time slot when every major network fought most fiercely for viewers. It was usually also the time when their own ratings hit rock bottom.
But now? Not only had their ratings failed to drop below normal levels, but they had also surged all the way to nearly 1%. So, it was nothing short of a resurrection.
McCoy couldn't tell whether this was merely a temporary spike driven by curiosity, or if GAMENOVA had once again performed the invincible magic for which it had become famous.
But one thing was certain. At the very least, Channel 29's broadcasting license had just bought itself a few more days.
The traffic brought by the name GAMENOVA was undeniably real. Countless players had switched their televisions from NovaBox back to broadcast television for the first time in ages just to watch this program.
McCoy knew the current ratings were inflated. A significant portion of these viewers definitely weren't regular television audiences. They were gamers who had simply come to join the excitement. But could they be converted into long-term viewers?
After removing those temporary visitors, how many genuine new viewers had they actually attracted? Those were the numbers that truly mattered. He looked at Ethan in the commentary booth displayed in the corner of the screen and silently nodded.
"Ethan, my life is in your hands."
"Ah! Brian's combo pressure is absolutely terrifying! Athena has been dragged completely into his rhythm!"
"That's right, and we can see that Arnold inherited the meter accumulated by his previous two characters. He's activated MAX mode; it looks like he's planning to finish Athena off right here!"
"Athena uses Psycho Reflector, but unfortunately! It whiffs! It looks like there's no way to turn this around now!"
Another absurdly fast round unfolded. Thanks to the advantages provided by the Hitbox controller and the combo sequences he had specifically practiced, Arnold, with Brandon deliberately cooperating, executed a flawless combo.
"PERFECT!"
Everyone who had come to watch this grand event in person was an experienced gamer. In just a few minutes, they had already noticed many things.
"No wonder they launched an entirely separate IP..."
"This isn't even the same thing anymore. Can fighting games be played like this?"
After growing accustomed to Street Fighter's style of combat, suddenly encountering a game this extreme was a truly revolutionary experience.
This title GAMENOVA called The King of Fighters was completely different from every fighting game they had known before.
But one thing was absolutely beyond doubt, it was incredibly fun!
"Thirty-one hits! Thirty-two hits! Thirty-thr, Fuck, he's still going!"
As Brandon's hands flew across the Hitbox controller at astonishing speed beneath the camera,
On-screen, Chin Gentsai, Brandon's final character, continuously performed standing C → Suiho → Hyotan Geki → forward dash.
Across from him, Arnold had already removed both hands from the Hitbox and helplessly flashed a bitter smile toward the camera. Inside, however, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness Chin Gentsai belonged to the Psycho Soldier Team. He didn't have to play that character during today's exhibition match. Just learning a few of Brian's combo routes had already taken him quite some time.
If Brandon hadn't possessed a martial arts background, along with excellent reaction speed and precision, he never would have been able to execute such outrageous techniques.
According to Ethan, this combo was called the Chin Infinite. Although extremely difficult and highly prone to accidental input errors, as long as it started successfully, the player could basically sit back and watch.
His Guard Cancel and Assist had both been spent during the earlier exchanges. At this point, Arnold truly had no chance whatsoever to fight back.
Not only the audience in attendance, but even viewers also watching from home were now completely focused on the game. The round itself hadn't started smoothly.
At this moment, Chin Gentsai's health bar was already hanging by a thread. If Brian landed one more confirmed hit, the match would be over. Yet at this critical moment, the seemingly difficult to use Chin Gentsai suddenly erupted with astonishing power after using Suiho to enter his drunken stance.
"Fifth loop, sixth loop! Brian has been stunned!"
"Let's congratulate Brandon on winning the First EVO Championship Opening Exhibition Match!!!"
The moment Brian's health bar was depleted, a flash of black signaled the end of the match. The entire arena erupted in cheers so loud they seemed capable of lifting the roof off the building.
Even John, who had steadfastly supported Arnold, found himself shouting after witnessing such an incredible match. It was amazing!
Brandon's dazzling input speed just moments ago, along with the terrifying combo sequence that had completely locked Arnold down, was burned into his memory and refused to leave.
"Alright then, let's congratulate Brandon! Of course, friends supporting Arnold don't need to be disappointed. EVO uses a double elimination format, and later today we've prepared a redemption match for him."
"That's right! To all the players attending today, we hope you're ready, because tonight you may have the chance to step onto this stage yourselves and compete alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger or Brandon Lee!"
"And before that, please welcome Yui Asaka to perform Athena Asamiya's character theme, 'Psycho Soldier'!"
The barrage of explosive announcements instantly silenced the already stunned audience. When the spotlights once again converged on the center of the arena, Athena Asamiya, dressed in her sailor uniform, appeared.