prynovel Chapter 167: Not even enough for pre-orders!
Chapter 167: Not even enough for pre-orders!
Chapter 167: Not even enough for pre-orders!
In December, Christmas arrived as scheduled.
If you were to ask who was the most excited this Christmas, the answer would undoubtedly be the gamers who packed the parking lots in front of the malls to capacity.
America, cities on the highway.
Unlike neon-lit areas with towering buildings and dense crowds, most areas maintain sparse clusters of buildings connected by roads.
However, this shopping plaza, which should be far from residential areas and downtown, was surprisingly packed with customers from nearby areas.
These people have gathered here, clearly for the same purpose.
"GAMENOVA's new console is on sale!!!"
The NovaXeno, a new console that has been promoted for almost half a year, and the next-generation game Civilization are finally going on sale today!
Is over three hundred US dollars very expensive?
Please! That's a 16-bit, next-generation device with a built-in CD drive, internet connectivity, and thousands of colors displayed on the same screen!
Let alone nearly $400, even if it were just about offering a kidney, some people would probably get carried away and rush over.
GAMENOVA has this kind of influence in the United States.
However, unlike the players' enthusiastic enthusiasm, Lin Lixin was extremely busy.
Production capacity is severely insufficient!
Whether it's Micron, which is still adapting to the new SDRAM architecture, or OEM foundries, they are all operating around the clock.
Even so, despite starting to stock up early, they could only manage to produce 50 units.
If this had happened back when the Notebooks were first released, 50 units would have been enough to keep the market going for several days.
However, the current GAMENOVA is not the same as the arcade company that didn't even have its own platform back then.
NX's immense popularity led to sales of over one million units during the pre-sale period.
Not to mention, there are still a large number of players waiting for feedback from the first batch of users before handing over the $400.
50 units—not even enough for pre-orders!
Three o'clock in the morning.
Mike Mohan, Frank Pierce, and Aaron Adhan set off from UCLA and arrived at the already crowded shopping mall under the cover of darkness.
Faced with this disastrous scene, the three of them were not surprised at all.
This is how GAMENOVA's new product launches should look.
Mike deftly pulled out a picnic mat, while Frank handed drinks to the two of them. Aaron tossed the NP handheld console and a bunch of batteries onto the picnic mat.
This means they are prepared for a protracted battle.
"Speaking of which, I never thought that extended floppy disk drive would still come in handy. I thought that once the technology was replaced, that thing would only be kept as a collector's item."
Mike opened the soda bottle, gulped down two mouthfuls, and gazed at the posters pasted at the mall entrance in the distance.
The next-generation game console, called NovaXeno, maintained GAMENOVA's consistent design style: simple and modern, without any unnecessary elements.
Apart from a prominent circular drive for holding optical discs, the machine maintains a rectangular casing.
According to the promotional materials, NovaXeno can be used as NovaBo simply by connecting an external floppy disk drive via a universal interface, allowing users to play older games already released on notebooks without any issues.
This is a simulation function implemented using a CPU in dual-width mode.
This entire NovaXeno can be considered a new device with a built-in 8-bit notebook emulator.
"Come on, Mike! After today, it's the 16-bit era. Stop thinking about those old 8-bit games."
Frank made no secret of his fickle nature, and he was the most excited of the three.
After all, only he had pre-ordered the NX console, so the other two could only sit there dumbfounded with a CD and grin like idiots.
"It's hard to say. Nobody has ever seen what a 16-bit game will actually look like. Maybe the improvement won't be that significant?"
Aaron habitually poured cold water on the idea.
"What nonsense are you talking about? That's 256KB of memory, Aaron, 256KB!!"
This kind of configuration is not only found in home consoles, but even in high-end arcade machines.
Only high-end IBM multi-purpose PCs are qualified to use such powerful memory.
"The configuration doesn't explain anything."
Aaron shrugged. "Tetris and Pokémon are so fun, people can still play them on handheld consoles."
He was holding the NP in his arms, without even raising his head.
"I'm actually a little worried that GAMENOVA might neglect the refinement of details because of the improved configuration."
"Tch—you're being aloof again now. If you're so capable, take NX back and don't play with it."
"9
"One thing at a time, I definitely need to play with it critically."
"Shameless!"
"Okay, sir, let me check your pre-order information—okay, that's all."
The shop assistant, with a professional smile, deliberately flaunted her looks.
No matter how hard she tried, the people in front of her, or rather the long line of people behind her, all kept their eyes glued to the cardboard box in her hand, not even glancing at her.
This really annoyed her.
"This is the Civilization DVD you pre-ordered. Please keep it safe."
Frank swallowed hard and nervously took the card case.
-
The plastic-sealed casing faintly reveals the disc inside, which reflects a strange light.
The cover features the same image as the original promotional video: the colossal Atlas with an Earth.
The title area features a sculptural font with swirling, three-dimensional shadows.
CIVILIZATION
This is it! This is it!
After months of waiting, it has now become a reality, manifested in this disc, and is now displayed before him.
The magnificent song "Flying Dream" could no longer be suppressed and resounded in his mind.
Supported by the two men, Frank turned and walked unsteadily toward the door.
As he walked, he heard the shop assistant's voice from behind him.
"I'm sorry, sir, we're out of NX units in stock. That was the last one. We'll call you via the number you provided as soon as it arrives. However, we still have Civilization in stock—"
The last one —
Frank shuddered as he glanced back at the man pounding his chest in despair.
Not long ago, he was having a great time chatting with the three of them, and they even played a game of Street Fighter together online.
However, it seems that from this moment on, the other party is likely to hate him.
Inside the school building.
Mike and Aaron sat to the side, watching Frank carefully take the NovaXeno out of the box and connect the cables one by one.
He then inserted the Civilization disc into the NX and pressed the power button.
"squeak-
The CD drive spun rapidly, emitting a barely perceptible noise, and the CRT television screen flickered with stripes.
Then, the song "Flying Dream" began to play.
Although the sound quality is far inferior to the vinyl version, and it's completely electronic, the three people, who were already hooked on this song, could still recognize it instantly.
As if to show off its advanced graphics performance, the game's main title screen uses a lot of blue gradients and accent colors in combination.
The center section offers several options for players to choose from.
[Single-player game]
Online multiplayer battles
[Game Settings]