Since people are throwing out their ideas, here's mine: Here's how I see it, ntrman could've easily did a parallel story with Kotaro and Satoshi, showing how Kotaro came out better for it versus Satoshi who continued on the cycle. The summer game could've ended with Kotaro confronting Satoshi and they fight. Yeah, Satoshi wins of course, but he's left with a nagging sensation for years to come in the back of his mind, "He fought me. Why didn't I fight harder?" It'd be an interesting opening for short comic showing Satoshi getting redeemed. No idea how people would enjoy this idea. And yes, I know, Kotaro wasn't that type of character. But, that's how I'd handle it.