Port

At the next day's regular meeting, Team Lead Shimizu reported that development work on the arcade version of Tetris had already been completed.

The head of the Sales Department was a middle-aged man, his hair combed with immaculate precision, his gaze behind his lenses sharp and shrewd.

He listened to Team Lead Shimizu, his fingers tapping lightly on the tabletop, and pondered for a moment.

"Team Lead Shimizu, I've already seen the game demo, and I also organized people from our department to try it out. It really is quite fun."

He affirmed the quality of the game itself. The level of completion on the arcade version of Tetris far exceeded his expectations.

It seemed he had already glimpsed the tip of the iceberg of the potential this game could bring.

Then his tone shifted, carrying a trace of doubt.

"But can a puzzle game like this really be popular in arcades?"

"The mainstream in arcades right now is still action games and shooting games."

His concern was not without reason.

In an arcade market that generally pursued sensory stimulation, a "simple" block game seemed somewhat out of place.

Team Lead Shimizu seemed to have expected this question long ago, and a confident smile appeared on his face.

"Minister Takahashi, you can rest completely assured on that point."

His tone was firm.

"This Tetris is not just a puzzle game. More importantly, it has a very strong competitive element."

He emphasized his tone, stressing the game's core selling point.

"When we were testing it internally, you didn't see how heated the two-player battle version got. We optimized the game's competitive nature, and if the players are skilled, its coin-eating efficiency in battle mode is not low at all."

Team Lead Shimizu paused, then continued.

"And this game has another very major advantage."

He smiled mysteriously.

"It can attract female players. I'll reveal something to everyone: before this game was sent to the company, President Nakayama's daughter took part in testing it and gave it her approval."

"Think about it. If a batch of female players appeared in the arcade..."

Team Lead Shimizu's words made Minister Takahashi's eyes light up.

The arcades right now were almost entirely filled with male players. If there really was a game that could attract female players, that would absolutely be an entirely new blue ocean.

"Female players..."

Minister Takahashi muttered to himself, seeming to seriously consider the possibility.

"This game is very easy to operate, so female players can pick it up very quickly." Team Lead Shimizu struck while the iron was hot. "And Tetris's gameplay of stacking and clearing blocks fits women's aesthetics better than the guns, cannons, fighting, and killing of the past."

"Add in the graphics and music we've optimized, and it will absolutely make their eyes light up."

"Most importantly, the two-player battle mode allows couples to play together, friends to play together, and can even attract women who originally didn't play arcade games into the arcade so they can play together with their boyfriends or close girlfriends."

The more Team Lead Shimizu spoke, the more excited he became, as if he had already seen the grand spectacle of men and women, old and young, all lost in Tetris together inside the arcade.

Minister Takahashi's doubts had already been washed away considerably by the beautiful prospects Team Lead Shimizu had painted.

He pondered for a moment, then finally nodded.

"All right. Since Team Lead Shimizu is so confident, we'll fully cooperate. I'll arrange the order fair as soon as possible. As for publicity, that also needs to be planned carefully, highlighting this game's characteristics and advantages. We'll strive to push this Tetris onto the market before the summer season."

The Marketing Department supervisor also nodded and said, "Then I'll arrange for the Pricing Section to calculate the costs and set the sales price as soon as possible."

The Arcade Production Department supervisor refused to fall behind either. "Please have Development Group Three submit the bill of materials. We'll immediately begin inventorying and calculating the materials."

Team Lead Shimizu looked at the stances expressed by the heads of the various departments, and the corners of his mouth were even harder to suppress than an AK.

Third Development Department, conference room.

Takuya stood before the whiteboard and wrote several large words on it with a marker.

"Tetris, multi-platform development plan."

He turned around and looked at everyone in the conference room.

"Everyone, development work on the arcade version has come to an end for now. Next, we're entering a new stage. That is the multi-platform development of Tetris. Aside from the arcade version, we also need to simultaneously develop the home console version and the handheld version."

Takuya's words caused a low murmur of discussion to rise in the conference room.

Developing games for two platforms at the same time was absolutely an unprecedented challenge for the Third Development Department.

Team Lead Shimizu asked with some concern.

"Deputy Team Lead Nakayama, won't developing two platforms at the same time be a little tight?"

Takuya waved his hand, indicating for Team Lead Shimizu to stay calm.

"Team Lead Shimizu, there's no need to worry. Development for these two platforms is not completely independent. The arcade version is the foundation. The console version and handheld version are both ports and simplifications based on the arcade version. So the development difficulty isn't as great as imagined."

Takuya paused, then continued.

"As for the console version, our goal is to port the arcade experience as quickly as possible, so players can enjoy the original, authentic Tetris on a home console too. However, considering the hardware performance of our Sega console, the graphics may need some simplification. The sound effects will also have to be adjusted according to the console's audio chip. This task will be handled by several colleagues who are more familiar with console hardware."

Takuya looked toward several of the more senior programmers.

"Any problems?"

The programmers exchanged glances, then answered in unison.

"No problem!"

Takuya nodded in satisfaction, then turned his gaze to Sasaki Nozomu.

"Mr. Sasaki, we'll still need you to put in extra effort on optimizing the console version's graphics."

Sasaki Nozomu gave a slight nod.

"I'll do my very best."

Takuya smiled, then pointed at the words "handheld version" on the whiteboard.

"Next is the focus of our multi-platform development plan this time."

"The handheld version of Tetris. It will have only Tetris built in."

"First, it has to be portable—small and light, convenient for players to take out and play anytime, anywhere."

"Second, it has to be low-cost, with a price friendly enough that more players can afford it."

"Most importantly, it has to save as much power as possible. One battery change should last a long time, so players won't be disappointed when they take it out and find it dead."

Takuya paused, his tone growing excited.

"And our handheld version of Tetris also has to bring over the battle mode. We'll design a simple communication interface so two handhelds can connect and enable two-player battles. Players can use a link cable to face off against friends in Tetris in person. The link cable will be used to trigger two-player mode, and it can transmit 'garbage line' signals."

Takuya's concept for the handheld version left everyone in the meeting room somewhat stunned.

They began to digest the feasibility of Takuya's plan.

Sasaki Nozomu pushed up his glasses and analyzed it from a technical perspective.

"Deputy Team Leader Nakayama, the handheld version proposal is indeed very interesting."

"Technically speaking, implementing single-player mode and two-player battles shouldn't be much of a problem."

"The game logic of Tetris itself isn't complicated, and it doesn't demand much hardware performance."

"For the communication interface, we can refer to some existing handheld solutions, then simplify and optimize them."

"What remains is to test as much as possible with the Hardware Development Department, adapt a design that is cheap and power-efficient enough, and figure out how to create an appearance and control feel attractive enough."

Sasaki Nozomu's analysis gave everyone a little more confidence in developing the handheld version.

Takuya said with a smile.

"As for cost, I'll communicate with the hardware development department as much as possible and strive to keep it at the absolute minimum."

"As for appearance and control feel, I'll provide some design proposals. Everyone can discuss them together and pool our wisdom."

"In short, our goal is to create a handheld that can become popular quickly."

Takuya's words were full of passion and confidence.

That confidence of his also infected every person present.