Jojima and his fellow executives popped open bottles of the most expensive vintage champagne and drank a toast to their success. It was the eve of the game’s global release. The publicity campaign had guaranteed that the first delivery of stock to stores around the world would be sold within twenty-four hours. Advance orders alone were worth more than $1 billion. It was a marketing triumph - the must-have product of the year. All the mainstream news media were running the story, with TV camera crews staked out at computer shops to provide live coverage of the midnight release. The only other big news in Tokyo was that the Samurai had struck again - his fifth attack in as many weeks. The serial killer picked up young women at bars and clubs, then drove them to isolated areas outside the city where he beat them unconscious, raped and beheaded them. His predatory presence had added a buzz of paranoia to Tokyo nightlife. Newspapers had come up with the name after forensic scientists identified the type of weapon used to kill his victims.
