First-Month Sales

Leaving the Development Department, Takuya was in a pretty good mood. Hideo Kojima's demeanor had reassured him, and the energy that had been suppressed for so long, once released, was astonishing.

Back in his office, his assistant had already prepared tea, and a document was placed beside him.

"Executive, this is the first month's sales report that we just compiled." The assistant's tone carried a hint of barely perceptible excitement, but he still tried his best to maintain a professional composure.

Takuya picked up his teacup and took a sip before leisurely picking up the report. He turned to the first page, his gaze falling on the strings of numbers.

Japan region: 1,215,700 units.

North America: 498,300 units.

Europe: 221,400 units.

Global total: 1,935,400 units.

The office was quiet, save for the rustling of papers. Takuya read through the pages, his fingertip lightly tapping the total figure approaching two million, a slight smile unconsciously curving his lips upward.

This start was even better than he had anticipated. With a blockbuster title like Final Fantasy at its launch, the Mega Drive made a huge impact on the entire industry as soon as it appeared.

"How are the reactions from Technosoft and GameArts?" Takuya asked.

"Excellent," the assistant replied immediately. "Thunder Force sold over 100,000 copies in its first week, and GameArts' port of Zeliard from PC sold 60,000 copies. Both companies expressed great satisfaction with the sales figures and will immediately begin development on their next Mega Drive game."

That's right. The core player base of shooting games and platformers has been solidified, proving that the Mega Drive's capabilities and market potential are sufficient to cover mainstream game genres.

With these successful precedents, those third-party manufacturers who are still observing will soon be unable to sit still.

Takuya put down the report, took a sip of coffee, and continued, "I remember that <Shinobi> and <Ace Attorney> are scheduled to be released next week, right? How are the preparations going?"

The assistant flipped through his notebook and replied, "Production and stocking for <Shinobi> has begun, and the advertising campaign has also started."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "But we're still a bit unsure about the initial production quantity for <Ace Attorney>, and the promotional plan hasn't been finalized yet."

Takuya hesitated for a moment, recalling the initial sales performance of Ace Attorney in his previous life, and replied directly, "Let's produce 100,000 copies for the first batch. This game needs time to build word-of-mouth; it's not something that can be quickly boosted in sales just by advertising. As for advertising, let's use slogans like 'You too can become a famous detective' or similar phrases, and focus on the mystery genre as the main promotional direction for the game."

The assistant quickly jotted down Takuya's reply in a notebook.

Seeing that he had finished writing down his arrangements and showed no intention of leaving, Takuya asked, "Any questions?"

"There's one more thing." The assistant nodded and handed over another application document. "There's a company in France called Ubisoft..."

They submitted a development kit application to us. However, according to our review, their company doesn't have independent game development experience; they mainly focus on game publishing.

"Ubisoft?" Takuya hearing the name. He took the brochure; it bore the name "Ubisoft".

The words "EntertainmentS. A." were included.

The assistant added, "Yes, according to our standards, development kits should be distributed to companies with a certain level of development capability. They---"

"Send them to them," Takuya interrupted him.

"Huh?" The assistant was stunned.

"I said, send them the development kit." Takuya tossed the documents back onto the table. "They're distributors, which means they at least know what players want and don't want to play. That's sometimes more important than experience gained from developing in isolation. Is their finances okay?"

"Listen—no problem, very healthy."

"That's fine then." Takuya waved his hand. "Let them give it a try. Consider it an opportunity for them, and also for ourselves. What if they can help us break into the French-speaking market?"

The assistant looked at Takuya, full of doubt, but immediately nodded in agreement. "Yes, I'll take care of it right away."

After his assistant left, Takuya stood up and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window.

With sales of nearly two million units, they can only be considered to have established a foothold and survived.

The next period may see a period of sluggish sales. After all, since the beginning of the year, with the continuous bombardment of big titles from both consoles and the two camps, young people have basically spent all their New Year's money.

MD's conquest has only just begun. He needs more "Hideo Kojima" and more "Ubisoft" figures.

Thinking this, Takuya pressed the button on the internal phone. "Have Mr. Suzuki, the head of the Marketing Department, come to my office."

A few minutes later, Masao Suzuki knocked on the door and came in.

As soon as he entered, he bowed and said, "Executive, you wanted to see me?"

Takuya first asked him to sit down, then said, "With our initial victory, a steady stream of third-party manufacturers will be pouring in. This is a good sign, but if not managed properly, it will become a disaster." Takuya's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable weight. "I need you to immediately go and pull together the Production Department to establish a third-party communication and coordination mechanism."

"A coordination mechanism?" Masao Suzuki leaned forward slightly, listening intently.

"Yes. Starting today, the Marketing Department will proactively maintain contact with all third-party developers to understand the development progress, genre, and estimated release window of their projects. The Production Department will use this information to help third parties plan their production capacity in advance, especially for the small manufacturers who outsource production to us. We can't neglect them just because their output is small. The most crucial point," Takuya held up one finger, "Is that if you find two or more companies with similar major titles that might clash, you'll be responsible for coordinating and helping them stagger their release dates, even if it's just by a week or two."

Suzuki suddenly understood, his mind clearing completely, his eyes filled with admiration. "I get it, Executive Director! We can't just be a platform for collecting rent; we also need to provide good service and guidance. This is indeed something we've overlooked. I'll arrange it right away."

"Go ahead. When communicating with third parties, don't be as arrogant as Nintendo. If necessary, you can even bring together manufacturers that might be involved in a collision to discuss it. Tell them that we don't want to be high and mighty referees, but rather traffic police, ensuring everyone's roads are clear and that no one gets stuck at the same intersection," Takuya carefully instructed.

After all, he knew the nature of these Japan all too well; they became arrogant when they gained power, especially those in high positions—one after another, they were all like that.