Aerobiz Supersonic

Aerobiz Supersonic
Aerobiz Supersonic box cover
Developer(s)	Koei
Publisher(s)	Koei
Series	Koei Executive Series
Platform(s)	Super NES, Mega Drive/Genesis
Release date(s)	^JP April 2, 1993 ^NA 1994 for both Super NES and Sega Genesis
Genre(s)	Business simulation game
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer (up to 4 players)
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone
Media	Cartridge
Input methods	Super NES or Sega Genesis controller (1 controller is used for all 4 players)

Aerobiz Supersonic, known as Air Management II: Kōkū Ō wo Mezase (エアーマネジメントII 航空王をめざせ^?) in Japan, is a business simulation game released by Koei in August 1994, available on the Super Nintendo and the Mega Drive/Genesis. It is a semi-sequel to Koei's previous airline simulation game, Aerobiz.

In the game, which is essentially the same as its predecessor, the player is the CEO of a start-up international airline. The player competes with three other such companies (either AI-controlled or other players) for dominance in the worldwide travel industry. Such dominance is obtained by purchasing slots in various airports around the world, and flying routes to and from those slots. Once a route is created, the player has control of what type of planes fly the route, the price of airfare, and numerous other variables.

The game includes numerous historical events (see below) that can help or hinder airline performance. Four different eras of play available for the player to choose. They include 1955-1975 (which depicts the dawn of jet airplanes), 1970-1990 (which depicts a period of unstability, oil crises, and the end of the Cold War), 1985-2005 (which depicts the present day of economic prosperity and relative stable peace), and 2000-2020 (which depicts the replacement of jet planes with supersonic airplanes, the European Union extending to Russia, and countries trying to get airlines to fund alternative fuel research).

Airlines must be able to achieve the goals assigned to them within 20 years; only one airline can achieve this victory with no draws permitted. If none of the airlines can achieve the goal, then all airlines lose because stalemates are not permitted at the end of the game. Tiebreakers are also not permitted because games are not usually designed to be in ties at the end of the 20-year contest. In the rare instance that all airlines go bankrupt simulatenously, then all airlines would also lose.

Though not a great commercial success in its initial release^{[citation needed]}, the game gained a cult following, in part due to its appearance on the Sega Channel. In recent times, it has become a staple amongst users of video game emulators.^{[citation needed]}

Icon color	Relationship status	Consequences
Green	Excellent	Prices for airplanes and businesses are at their lowest; negotiating takes the shortest amount of time
Blue	Friendly	Prices for airplanes and businesses are reasonable; negotiating times are also reasonable
Yellow	Normalized	The cost of airplanes and businesses are normal; negotiating times are relatively long
Red	Tense	Cannot purchase planes from this country. In addition to this, businesses are expensive to purchase and negotiating times are extremely long due to diplomatic tensions between the two countries (sometimes to the point of being being impossible).

Events

Historical events

The simulation includes numerous historical events, including:

Summer Olympic Games
The downfall of colonialism
The secession of Singapore from Malaysia
The Rise of Fidel Castro (1959)
Suez Crisis
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Yom Kippur War
1973 Oil Crisis
Iran–Iraq War
Peruvian Civil War
Operation Desert Storm
Perestroika
Destruction of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany
Fall of the Soviet Union
Return of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China
Growth of the European Union

Hypothetical events

The simulation also includes hypothetical events, including:

Russia joining the European Union
Civil war in Brazil
The introduction and quick obsolescence of commercial supersonic aircraft (2007-2016)
Global oil crisis in the mid-late 2010s
The nations of the world asking the airlines for money to find alternatives to fossil fuels

Major players in the game

Eastern Bloc

From the beginning of the game until 1992, the Eastern Bloc countries are stuck with tense relations with Western Europe, North America, and countries in the British Commonwealth. However, they have normal-excellent relations with African countries, Middle Eastern countries, countries in Central America, South America, and some Asian countries. Airplanes from Eastern Bloc countries are small inefficient gas-guzzlers that can only do medium-range flights at best. After 1992, airlines from these countries can purchase more efficient Boeing planes from the United States of America. These airplanes become even cheaper when one of the Eastern European countries joins the European Union.

However, Russia cannot benefit directly because they join the EU sometime in the year 2015. Since this year is near the end of the fourth scenario, this would give the Russian-based airline a limited to time use the cheaper airplanes from Western Europe before time runs out in the scenario.

Western Bloc

Western Europe

With normal-tense relations with Eastern European countries until around 1985, airlines that are headquartered in Western European countries must either purchase cheap airplanes from the "local" market or order slightly more expensive planes from the United States of America. After Perestroika, they can purchase from any plane manufacturing company. Joining the European Union in the mid 1990s makes airplanes cheaper or more expensive depending on relations with the United States prior to the founding of the EU.

North America

North America's situation is identical to Western Europe's. The only difference is that planes from American companies are cheaper than planes from Western European countries. Since North America has a higher tourism rating than Europe until the 1990s, North America-based airlines can afford more airplanes and routes for a better risk-profit potential than European-based airlines.

People's Republic of China and other countries

Normalized relations with both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. allows all planes to be purchased by airlines headquartered in the People's Republic of China regardless of the year. However, improving relations with either country will reduce the price of the airplanes - giving a player a choice of having inefficient Soviet-made planes or efficient American-made planes. Like the People's Republic of China, countries that are not strongly affiliated with either NATO or Warsaw Pact may purchase from any manufacturer as long as relations are not tense (red). Relations with the country must be at least normal (yellow) in order to purchase airplanes from that country.