Following the news of the Sega esports tournament, it was mid-April.
Nintendo, in conjunction with Enix, officially announced the new Nintendo FC game, dragon quest.
The promotional slogan was simple and direct:
"Character designs by Akira Toriyama!"
"A brand-new game genre—RPG!"
"A world where you can play as the protagonist and embark on an adventure!"
The announcement of dragon quest caused a greater and more far-reaching shock to the entire gaming industry than Sega's esports tournament.
The esports tournament was merely an innovation on existing game modes.
dragon quest, on the other hand, was paving the way for an entirely new game genre.
RPG? Role-playing game?
For Japanese home console players at the time, this was an unheard-of concept.
But the name "Akira Toriyama" held an unparalleled appeal.
The man who drew Dragon Ball.
His name was a guarantee of quality.
The industry was instantly in an uproar.
the legend of zelda had already proven the potential of deep games with its large capacity and save function.
Now, Nintendo was releasing a brand-new game genre bolstered by a top-tier IP.
Third-party developers felt suffocated.
Their previously postponed games now faced even greater release pressure.
the legend of zelda was selling extremely well.
dragon quest was coming soon.
The window of opportunity left for them between the two was so narrow it was almost negligible.
A chaotic and anxious atmosphere spread through the market.
Many developers hastily decided to rush the games they were holding onto to market before dragon quest was released.
Just to recoup some funds.
Lest they be completely overwhelmed by Nintendo's continuous heavy blows.
Tokyo, Sega Headquarters, large conference room.
The time was mid-April.
The air seemed to solidify, carrying a heavy pressure.
The huge oval mahogany conference table, with its polished surface, reflected serious faces.
Even David Rosen, from the American branch, had made a special trip back; his eyes showed clear signs of jet lag, but he sat up straight, highlighting the extraordinary importance of this meeting.
In front of each seat was a thick stack of documents.
On the papers were the steeply rising sales curve of the legend of zelda since its release.
An analysis of the astonishing penetration rate of the Nintendo FC Disk System in Japanese homes.
The almost fanatical praise for the "save" function in player interviews.
The desire for a deep gaming experience that could involve dozens of hours.
And news of Nintendo and Enix teaming up to release dragon quest, as well as the panic selling it had already triggered among third-party developers.
Hayao Nakayama sat at the head of the table, his fingers silently tapping the desktop.
He did not first mention the esports craze triggered by fatal fury; that success seemed somewhat subtle at this moment.
He swept his gaze across the directors present, his voice low.
"You've all seen it."
"Nintendo is using the Nintendo FC Disk System and the legend of zelda to dig a deep and wide moat for their home console empire."
"The 'save' function, seemingly simple, has completely changed player habits."
"It cultivates long-term immersion and emotional investment."
"This kind of user stickiness is unprecedented."
"Once players get used to spending dozens or hundreds of hours exploring a world on a home console, how long can our arcade's brief thrills keep them?"
"This is fatal to our Master System, which temporarily lacks equivalent functionality."
"In the long run, it will even affect our arcade business, which we consider our foundation."
His words were like cold stones dropped into water, causing silent ripples.
Seeing that no one spoke, he distributed the information on his arcade business and esports projects to the shareholders.
"The initial response to the first Sega Electronic Esports Tournament was unprecedentedly enthusiastic! The number of registrants at designated arcade halls nationwide has far exceeded our highest expectations! Social attention is extremely high, with multiple TV stations reporting on it, and even strange anecdotes similar to martial artists traveling to challenge dojos have appeared. The lifespan of fatal fury has been greatly extended, and Sega's brand image has received an unprecedented boost!"
Seeing these documents, the shareholders' expressions softened slightly.
David Rosen cleared his throat and added in accented Japanese.
"We have observed similar enthusiasm in the North America market."
"The animation combined with game tutorials model has been initially validated as feasible."
"I believe that the esports tournament model can be fully replicated in North America to further expand our influence."
However, the optimistic atmosphere was quickly broken.
A white-haired, deeply experienced director slowly spoke, his tone carrying obvious caution.
"The success of esports is commendable."
"However, this does not solve the fundamental dilemma of our home console market."
"The gap between our Master System and the Nintendo FC in the global market, especially in Japan itself, remains vast."
"Now Nintendo is flourishing with the FDS and the legend of zelda, and dragon quest is poised for release."
"At such a time, is the risk of investing astronomical sums in developing a brand-new 16-bit console too high?"
"Should we consider a more conservative strategy?"
"We could concentrate resources on developing a few competitive blockbusters for the Master System."
"No, we should find a different path and develop some inexpensive and practical peripherals to enhance the experience for existing users."
Each shareholder had their own ideas, but most were relatively conservative proposals.
They worried about huge investments that might fail to shake Nintendo's dominant position, ultimately dragging down the entire company.
The air in the conference room became stagnant once more.
Hayao Nakayama saw the shareholders' indecision, took a sip of tea, and slowly said, "It seems everyone has their own considerations regarding the current situation, but opinions don't seem to be unified."
Everyone's gaze focused on Hayao Nakayama.
Hayao Nakayama narrowed his eyes and continued, "Would you like to hear the advice of the person who has generated the most revenue for the company in the past year?"
Many shareholders remembered that the president had a younger son who was particularly good at making money for Sega.
"I also believe in appointing the capable, even if they are family. If no one objects, I'll call Takuya in to speak to you all."
In the face of the continuous and hugely profitable successes of tetris and fatal fury, no shareholder raised any objections.
So Hayao Nakayama sent someone to call Takuya into the conference room.
Soon, Takuya arrived in the conference room. His youthful face stood out among the mature and steady countenances, but his gaze was calm, showing no sign of nervousness.
He first nodded slightly, showing respect for the old director's opinion, and then spoke, his voice clear and strong.
"Before I came in, I heard the concerns and proposals of a few directors, and I completely understand. But as my father just said, Nintendo is building a new ecological barrier based on 'saving' and 'deep content'."
"The success of the legend of zelda is not just because it's an excellent game, but because it proved that players are willing to invest time and money in more complex, grander experiences. The upcoming dragon quest will push this experience to a new dimension—role-playing, a genre that allows players to truly 'live' in the game world."
"Facing such an opponent, merely relying on patching up existing platforms or porting arcade games is far from enough. We cannot defeat them on the battlefield Nintendo has defined. The only way for Sega to break through is to achieve a 'generational' lead!"
"A 16-bit console brings much more than just better graphics and sound. It means more powerful computing capabilities, larger memory, capable of supporting entirely new game genres and gameplay that we cannot imagine right now. This is the key weapon to open up a new battlefield outside of Nintendo's 'moat'!"
"In addition, we have already completed the development of a new generation of mature 16-bit arcade boards, System 16, through the development of fatal fury!"
"On one hand, we can develop a series of arcade games around this board with game mechanics and skills far exceeding 8-bit machines, to consolidate our arcade business. At the same time, this can also, to a certain extent, offset the impact of disk systems + savable games on us. On the other hand, during the time our console is being developed, hardware manufacturing processes are constantly improving. By the time our console development is complete, the Motorola 68000 CPU used by System 16 will certainly have dropped to a very affordable price. And if our new console happens to use the Motorola 68000, then the arcade games developed on System 16 can be effortlessly and quickly ported to the new console. At that time, there will be a huge range of game genres in the console's launch lineup, which will be very beneficial for us to quickly accumulate a sufficient player base, reaching a safety threshold that ensures the survival of the new console! Then, we can start poaching Nintendo's customers! Look at pac-man at the beginning of the year, and then look at the stampede-like releases by game software developers these past few days. I believe they have been suffering under Nintendo for a long time!"
"As for the problem of potential financial strain due to the high investment in developing a new console, I have already prepared a new project that can create new revenue streams!"
His words were powerful and resonant, his gaze sweeping across the room with undeniable confidence.