Up to now, the only famous game creators Kobayashi Tetsu had met—aside from Shigeru Miyamoto, whom he'd only spoken to over the phone—were Hideo Kojima, Yuji Naka, and Satoru Iwata.
Among them, Kojima's fame was unquestionably the greatest. Yuji Naka's reputation was much more modest.
But even the two of them together did not compare to a multifaceted talent like Iwata.
Kojima understood games. Naka could overturn SEGA's fate in a short burst of brilliance.
But neither could properly run a company—especially not a giant like Nintendo.
Iwata could.
The instant Kobayashi confirmed that Iwata was really here, his resolve solidified.
—He had to get Iwata.
If worst came to worst, he'd make Yuji Naka cross-dress to seduce him. One way or another, Iwata must be secured.
"Tou—Iwata-kun."
Kobayashi extended a hand and shook Iwata's briefly, without showing excessive excitement.
Afterward he looked around the little studio.
The place wasn't much bigger than Atlas's old garage—cramped and cluttered with equipment.
Yuji Naka clearly had something to say but held it in.
Kobayashi knew exactly what he was thinking.
Compared to Atlas, HAL's computers and work environment were far inferior.
Atlas used the highest-end Fujitsu machines available. HAL's were ordinary—cheap, modest, nowhere close in price or capability.
A gaming PC could be cobbled together from junk and still play games decently.
But a development machine?
A 200,000-yen PC could never compare to a 2-million-yen workstation.
Not even remotely.
Fortunately, Naka had enough emotional intelligence not to mock them aloud.
Kobayashi only glanced for a moment, then withdrew his gaze.
"It seems your studio already has some scale," he said lightly. "But I still have some doubts about whether you can handle contract development. Do you have samples of your previous work?"
"We do! Absolutely!"
Tanimura Masahito—in high spirits—was about to answer when Iwata stood and bowed.
"I'll bring them."
Two minutes later he returned with several cartridges—MSX cartridges, not home-console ones.
The early MSX machines were weak; only the MSX2 era had better performance.
Kobayashi tested the games.
Not bad.
Not great either.
For the times, they were perfectly average.
HAL had survived more than a decade—obviously they had basic competence.
"A pity…" Kobayashi sighed inwardly.
Tanimura and Iwata were close friends. When Iwata had joined HAL, there were only four people.
If Kobayashi tried to buy HAL but didn't keep Tanimura, Iwata would certainly leave with him.
But if he did keep Tanimura—the man had no major works, committed embezzlement in the future, and ultimately saddled HAL with two billion yen in debt before going bankrupt.
He could not be kept.
Looks like I'll have to wait.
For now, contract work—or taking a controlling stake—then finding the right timing to remove Tanimura…
Having decided, Kobayashi spoke again.
"Not bad. It seems you can make games. But… do you have any development experience on SEGA or Nintendo platforms?"
Everyone shook their heads.
Originally HAL should have handled Nintendo outsourcing this year, but because Kobayashi had secured the light-gun project earlier, Nintendo's plans changed—so HAL lost that chance.
Right now, their experience was a blank slate.
Tanimura scratched his head anxiously.
"We don't have that experience… but if you entrust us with work, we'll try our best—"
Kobayashi rolled his eyes.
This little chick… how do you "try your best" with zero experience?
Iwata suddenly spoke.
"If we had SEGA or Nintendo development kits, we could learn quickly. We already understand the development flow thanks to our MSX experience. If you're willing to entrust us with work, we'll learn the new environment and support the project as much as possible."
Tanimura echoed quickly. "Yes, we can learn!"
Kobayashi fell silent.
He already had a plan, but now he pretended to ponder.
Yuji Naka glanced at him, caught the cue instantly, and stepped forward as the designated bad cop.
"I don't think this will work," he said. "Atlas is a very successful company. Every one of our titles now sells hundreds of thousands. If your studio isn't up to that standard, we really can't work together. How can an eagle fly with a flock of chicks, my friends?"
He rapped the nearest computer monitor.
"Can equipment like this handle development? Our president came personally—and this is the best you can offer? I'm disappointed. I don't see any reason to entrust work to you."
Tanimura's face darkened; he looked ready to punch Naka.
Kobayashi abruptly cut in.
"That's enough! Naka-kun, step outside. You're not needed for the rest."
"But, President—!"
"Out."
"…Yes."
Perfect teamwork.
Once Naka left, Kobayashi turned to Tanimura and bowed politely.
"My apologies. Naka isn't good with words. But I believe HAL is sincere, and any difficulty can be solved. How about this…"
He raised one finger.
"I'll try to acquire a SEGA development kit for HAL. You can pay it back slowly from future profits. And since you lack home-console experience, choose someone to come to Atlas for a while—learn the workflow, then return to teach the rest of your team. In that time, you can familiarize yourselves with the SEGA environment. How does that sound?"
Tanimura finally let out a breath, excitement returning to his face.
That bespectacled guy earlier looked like a frog and was incredibly annoying!
But this—this was a true president's demeanor!
He grabbed Kobayashi's hands gratefully.
"If that's the case, we gratefully accept!"
Kobayashi nodded, then looked toward Iwata.
"Iwata-kun, right? For the upcoming period, please come to Atlas and assist with development. Afterward you can return to HAL and teach the others."
Iwata glanced at Tanimura, who nodded vigorously.
A development kit costs several million yen!
If someone's offering one for free, why refuse?
Go! Go right now!
Iwata bowed deeply.
"Understood. I'll do my best. I won't disappoint Atlas."
Kobayashi nodded.
Disappoint?
Far from it.
Now that the man was coming over—he wasn't going anywhere.
Even if Yuji Naka had to put on a grass skirt and dance in drag, Kobayashi would never let Satoru Iwata slip away.
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