This time, the person who appeared on screen was Airi Hayasawa. For those who frequently watched showcases, she was a relatively unfamiliar face.
However, the presentation would soon explain her identity.
"Hello everyone, I'm Airi Hayasawa, the host of today's showcase. You might not know much about me, so please allow me to introduce myself."
Below her, a brief description appeared:
"I'm the head of the Engineering Development Department at Gamestar Electronic Entertainment, and I'm also responsible for the development and production of the highly anticipated product we're about to reveal."
"So it's her hosting this time."
At Surei Electronics, inside Micfo headquarters, and at Kazuo Murakami's company—as well as at other game studios—people were all watching the livestream.
Most regular gamers might not recognize Airi Hayasawa, but industry professionals knew her very well.
…
At Gamestar Electronic Entertainment, there were nearly twenty star producers.
Each of them was responsible for different genres and top-tier IPs under Gamestar. But even among these elite developers, they weren't the absolute top of the hierarchy.
At the top stood Takayuki, Misa Matsubashi, Aya Tsukino—and the rarely seen Airi Hayasawa.
She was one of the first people to follow Takayuki. Even in the early days, companies had tried to poach her endlessly.
Thanks to her presence, Gamestar's hardware development had always remained rock solid.
Airi Hayasawa's contributions were undeniable.
No one questioned her capabilities.
That she would personally step into the spotlight to promote a console was a rare event.
At first, gamers didn't know who she was. But after the introduction, they immediately understood.
So she's the one responsible for developing those legendary consoles!
Instantly, everyone elevated Airi Hayasawa to a level close to Takayuki himself.
"My goddess! She's my goddess!"
"She's the one who made those amazing consoles. No wonder they're so good."
"Boss, is this lady really that important? I've barely heard anything about her before."
Next to Ueto Hayakawa, someone asked curiously.
Of course Ueto knew who she was—but in his mind, Surei Electronics wasn't lacking in hardware capabilities either.
They had crushed Gamestar in raw specs back when they developed the PN series.
To him, Gamestar had failed more due to weaker game content. A console, after all, was just about assembling hardware and running it stably—nowhere near as difficult as developing games.
Ueto shook his head. "You're still thinking too simply. Sure, Gamestar wins the market because of their world-class games—but have you ever looked into the quality of their hardware?"
"Uh, no, I haven't."
"Gamestar's consoles are extremely stable. That kind of reliability comes from massive amounts of testing, polishing, and fine-tuning. Bringing a console to full maturity requires just as much effort as making a AAA game."
Ueto continued, eyes on the screen: "Not long ago, we had to issue a small-scale recall due to system compatibility problems. It was manageable, but as far as I know, Gamestar has never had a major issue like that. On average, they sell about 50,000 units before encountering one defective unit. Do you know how insane that is?"
The questioner shut his mouth.
That kind of defect rate was ridiculous.
Most electronics companies don't aim for perfection in defect rates.
A 0.1% defect rate is already considered excellent.
More commonly, defect rates hover around 0.5% or more—especially for complex devices that often have minor issues here and there.
And even when issues are found, most companies won't delay a launch just to fix them. They'll release the product first and fix things later—returns and exchanges are easier than missing a launch window.
In this fast-paced world, slowing down even a little means someone else will eat your market share.
But Gamestar was different.
They had patience—and the confidence to back it up.
With the world's largest player base and a culture that emphasized stability, they were willing to take the time to polish their products.
And gamers accepted that.
Gamestar's dominance couldn't be copied. For many, it was a mountain that couldn't be climbed.
"Good hardware, combined with great games. Sure, people love great games—but if your console constantly gives them trouble, no game is fun enough to make up for that."
Ueto glanced at the earlier questioner and added, "So yes, we need to learn from Gamestar. At the very least, we should stop making such sloppy products."
"…Understood."
The man lowered his head slightly.
Back on the screen, Airi Hayasawa was recounting her many years with Gamestar.
She spoke of the earliest days—the FC prototype, how she and Takayuki worked together sleeplessly in a tiny attic while eating takoyaki, building their very first machine to bring joy to the world.
That moment changed her life.
Originally, she might've simply graduated, married a nice kendo-trained man, and taken over her family's dojo—becoming a housewife.
But video games gave her a new path. They gave her the freedom to choose her own life. She was deeply grateful—and loved games all the more because of it.
"I am Airi Hayasawa. I love video games. And I am thankful for what video games have given me."
She said this from the heart, and that one sentence moved countless people watching.