In 2022, humanity has finally
created a complete virtual environment.
It's time for this week's MMO Stream.
We began with a promotional video.
Was this the day of last week's launch?
End of Line
What were all these people waiting in line for?
Sword Art Online.
The one at the front of the line waited for three days prior to launch.
Amazing!
Or is this just what any real gamer would do?
Sword Art Online Project Director Kayaba Akihiko
On today's MMO Stream, we'll be covering the
internationally famous Sword Art Online, AKA SAO!
To be honest,
none of the NerveGear software released so far
has really taken advantage of the hardware.
Brother...
Yeah, it's all sucked.
But SAO was made by the NerveGear inventor,
I'm off to practice.
Kayaba Akihiko,
and it's a long-awaited VR MMORPG.
I can't wait!
The beta testers all said it was incredible.
I wanted a copy...
Only ten thousand copies were sold in its first printing.
It sold out online in seconds.
And as you saw,
hardcore fans bought all the store copies.
Link start!
Character Creation Beta test data still available. Would you like to use it?
I'm back in this world!
The World of Swords
Floor 1: Town of Beginnings
So like I told him...
Hey, let's make a party.
Hmm, maybe...
Oh, come on!
Hey, you there!
Me?
You move like you've been here before.
You were in the beta test, right?
Y-Yeah.
Today's my first day.
Show me the basics, okay?
U-Uh...
I'm begging you!
My name's Klein. Nice to meet you.
I'm Kirito.
Floor 1: Town of Beginnings, West Field
Right in the crotch...
Give me a break.
You don't feel any pain, right?
Oh, yeah.
Just habit, I guess.
I told you.
What's important is your initial motion input.
Sure, I get that...
But he keeps moving around.
If you do the motion input right,
and activate a sword skill,
the system will ensure that the technique connects.
Motion input... Motion input...
How should I put it?
Add a slight pause, and when you feel the skill begin to activate,
let it explode.
Explode?
All right!
Congrats.
However...
That boar's about as weak as slimes in other games.
Seriously?
I thought it was a mid-level boss or something.
Of course not.
Pretty exciting, isn't it?
Yeah!
There are lots of skills, right?
Like blacksmithing and stuff?
Yeah.
I've heard there are an unlimited number of skills.
However, there's no magic.
An RPG without magic?
That's a pretty bold decision.
Isn't it more fun to move your body as you fight?
You're right!
Okay, let's head to the next one.
Yeah, let's keep going!
I still can't believe it, no matter how many times I see it...
That we're in a game.
Whoever made it is a genius.
It's really amazing...
Seriously, I'm glad I was born in this time.
You make a big deal out of everything.
It's my first full dive!
Then this is your first time playing a game with NerveGear?
I rushed out and bought the hardware to play SAO.
I was really lucky to get one of the ten thousand copies.
Well, you were ten times as lucky, getting into the beta test.
Only a thousand people got to do it.
I guess so.
How far did you get in the beta?
Over a couple months, only to Floor 8.
This time, it'll only take a month.
You're really into this.
To be honest, during the beta test,
SAO was all I thought about, day and night.
In this world, a single blade can take you anywhere you want to go.
It's a virtual world,
but I still feel more alive here than I do in the real one.
Now then, want to hunt some more?
Of course!
I'd love to,
but I'm really hungry...
I'm logging out.
Eating food here only makes you think you're not hungry.
I already ordered a hot pizza for 5:30.
You're so prepared.
Yup!
Well, once I've eaten, I'll be back.
I see.
Hey,
after this, I'm meeting up with some people I know from another game.
Want to friend them, too?
Of course, if you don't want to, that's okay.
I'll introduce you another time.
Yeah, sorry.
Thanks.
Hey, that's my line.
I'll repay you for this sometime...
Mentally.
Thanks so much, man.
I'll see you around.
If there's anything else you want to know, just tell me.
Yeah, I'll do that!
Huh?
There's no button to log out.
Look closer.
No, it's not there.
At the bottom of the main menu...
See? Not there.
No, it isn't.
Well, it's the first day out of beta.
There are bound to be some bugs.
I'm sure the server people are freaking out...
In a second, you will be, too.
It's 5:25.
My teriyaki mayo pizza and ginger ale!
Just hurry and call the game master.
I tried, but nothing's happening.
Is there any other way to log out?
No, if a player wants to log themselves out,
they have to go through the menu.
That's nuts.
There's gotta be some way.
Return!
Log out!
Escape!
I told you...
There wasn't an emergency logout in the manual, either.
You're kidding, right?
I know.
I'll just rip the NerveGear off my head...
You can't.
We can't move our real bodies.
The NerveGear intercepts anything
we tell our bodies to do here.
Seriously?
So we have to wait for them to fix the bug?
Or for someone in the real world
to remove the NerveGear from us.
But I live alone.
What about you?
I have a mom and a sister.
So I think they'll notice by dinnertime...
H-How old's your little sister?
She's on a sports team,
and she hates games.
She has nothing to do with people like us.
That doesn't hurt.
Right, it doesn't hurt.
More importantly, don't you find this weird?
Sure, I do.
It's a bug.
It isn't just a bug.
If we can't log out,
that'll pose a serious problem for the game's future.
Come to think of it, you're right.
If they wanted to,
they could just shut down the server and log everyone out.
But there isn't even an announcement...
What's going on?
I don't know.
A forced teleport?
Up there.
That's...
What is that?
A game master?
Why doesn't he have a face?
Is this an event?
I'm scared...
It's fine.
It's just another part of the opening ceremony.
Attention, players.
Welcome to my world.
"My world"?
My name is Kayaba Akihiko.
As of this moment, I am the sole person who can control this world.
Is that really him?
He must've spent a lot of time on this.
I'm sure you've already noticed
that the logout button is missing from the main menu.
But this is not a defect in the game.
I repeat...
This is not a defect in the game.
It is a feature of Sword Art Online.
A-A feature?
You cannot log out of SAO yourselves.
And no one on the outside
can shut down or remove the NerveGear.
Should this be attempted,
the transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit a powerful microwave,
destroying your brain and thus ending your life.
What?
Come on, enough already.
Let's go.
Hey, I can't get out!
What's he talking about?
He's gotta be nuts.
Right, Kirito?
He's right that the transmitter's signals work just like microwaves.
If the safety were disabled, it could fry a brain.
Then, if we cut the power...
No, the NerveGear has an internal battery.
But this is crazy.
What's going on?!
Unfortunately, several players' friends and families
have ignored this warning,
and have attempted to remove the NerveGear.
As a result, two hundred and thirteen players
are gone forever, from both Aincrad and the real world.
Two hundred and thirteen?
I don't believe it...
I don't believe it!
As you can see, news organizations across the world
are reporting all of this, including the deaths.
Thus, you can assume that the danger
Multiple Victims in Online Game Incident
of a NerveGear being removed is now minimal.
I hope you will relax and attempt to clear the game.
But I want you to remember this clearly.
There is no longer any method to revive someone within the game.
If your HP drops to zero,
your avatar will be forever lost.
And simultaneously,
the NerveGear will destroy your brain.
There is only one means of escape.
To complete the game.
You are presently on the lowest floor of Aincrad,
Floor 1.
If you make your way through the dungeon
and defeat the Floor Boss, you may advance to the next level.
Defeat the final boss on Floor 100, and you will clear the game.
Clear?
What's he talking about?
Y-You're just making that up!
Clear all hundred floors?
That's impossible.
The beta testers never made it anywhere near that high!
Finally,
I've added a present from me to your item storage.
Please see for yourselves.
Mirror
Mirror?
Klein?
You okay, Kirito?
Y-Yeah...
Who are you?
And who are you?
You're a guy?
You were lying about being seventeen?
Which means...
You're Kirito? You're Klein?
How?
That scan...
The NerveGear covers your entire head with a high-density signaling device.
So it can see what your face looks like.
But our height and body shape...
When we first used the NerveGear, it had us calibrate it, right?
You had to touch your body all over.
O-Oh, right...
That must be where it got the data.
But... But...
Why?
Why do all this, anyway?
I'm sure he'll tell us.
Right now, you're probably wondering, "Why?"
Why would Kayaba Akihiko,
developer of Sword Art Online and the NerveGear, do all this?
My goal has already been achieved.
I created Sword Art Online for one reason...
To create this world and intervene in it.
Kayaba...
And now, it is complete.
This ends the tutorial for the official Sword Art Online launch.
Good luck, players.
This is real...
The genius who created the NerveGear
and created a completely virtual space,
Kayaba Akihiko.
I admired him, so I can tell...
Everything he just said
is true.
This is a game, but it isn't something you play. —Sword Art Online Programmer Kayaba Akihiko
If I'll die in the game,
I will die in real life!
No!
Screw you!
Let me out! Let me out of here!
I can't stay here... I have a meeting after this!
What are you thinking?
Let us go!
Tell us it's a lie!
Someone!
Can't anyone do something?
Come with me, Klein.
Listen to me.
I'm heading to the next village right now.
Come with me.
If what he said is true,
the only way to survive in this world is by making yourself as strong as possible.
The resources within a virtual MMORPG,
in other words, the money and EXP we can earn, are limited.
The fields surrounding the Town of Beginnings will soon be hunted clean.
To do this efficiently,
we should head to the next village now.
I know all the paths and dangerous areas.
Even at level 1, I can get there safely.
But... But you know...
I spent a whole night in line to buy this with my friends from the other game.
They're out there, in the plaza.
I can't leave them.
If it were just Klein...
But two more...
Or even one more...
Sorry.
I can hardly ask you for anything else, can I?
So don't worry about it. Go to the next village.
I used to run a guild in my last game.
I can use what you taught me to get by!
All right.
Then let's say goodbye here.
If something happens, send me a message.
Will do.
Okay, goodbye, Klein.
Kirito!
Hey...
Kirito.
You were actually pretty cute.
That's my type.
And that unkempt face of yours suits you ten times better.
I'm... I'm...
I'm going to survive...
In this world!
In the game's first month, 2000 died.
Floor 1 has yet to be cleared. 12/02/2022
Next Time: Beater