Handheld Development
Having just finished dealing with the follow-up matters at Sunrise Animation, and before he even had a sip of water, Nakayama Takuya's internal phone rang urgently.
On the other end of the phone was the Hardware Development Department, and Department Head Nakamura's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement.
The Z80 compatible chip they had been eagerly awaiting, the first engineering sample, has been successfully released.
Nakayama Takuya perked up, immediately put down the documents in his hand, and strode towards the Hardware Development Department.
Nakamura saw Takuya, the pride that belonged to a technician was almost overflowing on his face.
He carefully took out a black chip the size of a fingernail from an anti-static box, held it in his palm as if displaying a rare treasure.
"Nakayama Sang, the first version of the plan was a success."
"Thanks to your insistence on conducting 'preliminary research,' our project had a very clear objective after it was approved, and we hardly took any detours."
Nakayama Takuya took the still-warm chip. Although it was light in weight, it carried the heavy hope that Sega would open up a second front.
He was generous with his praise, expressing his sincere admiration for Minister Nakamura and his team's efficient work.
However, this joyful atmosphere did not last long.
Takuya changed the subject, his expression turning serious.
"Minister Nakamura, I've just received important information."
Takuya examined the tiny chip, but his next words chilled the air.
The smile on Nakamura's face hadn't even completely faded before it froze on its face.
"Nintendo has also secretly launched their handheld console development project."
"Nintendo?" Nakamura repeated almost subconsciously, as if to make sure he wasn't hearing some insignificant name.
He carefully placed the Z80 chip back into the anti-static box, closed the lid, and was even more cautious than when he had taken it out.
"Yes, it's Nintendo." Takuya's tone was calm. "Although the specific progress is still unclear, we can make a reasonable assumption. At this stage, the technical bottlenecks encountered in the industry are roughly the same, and we can get the same components they can get. The final hardware level of the finished product will most likely be roughly the same."
Nakamura fell silent. He rubbed his hands together and then put them back into the pockets of his white coat.
The smell of solder and flux in the lab seemed to become even more pungent with the silence. He looked up, his eyes no longer showing the ease they had before, but instead the focus and frustration of a technician facing a difficult problem.
"I knew it, those flower card sellers wouldn't let us make things in peace," Nakamura muttered to himself, more as a way of encouraging himself than complaining.
Nakayama Takuya's lips twitched, revealing an expression that could hardly be called a smile.
Therefore, we must seize the initiative.
"Time is now the most precious resource." He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.
"From now on, we'll consider any measures that can accelerate the development process. Even if it incurs some additional costs in certain areas, we must ensure the schedule is met."
He took a step forward and looked directly into Nakamura's eyes.
"I'll give you maximum authority. Do whatever the Hardware Department needs. If they need more staff, I'll coordinate with the Human Resources Department; if they need to purchase more expensive testing equipment, I'll handle the Finance Department; and even, if we need to outsource some non-core circuit designs to speed up the process, or do some parallel development that can accelerate the process, I can agree to that."
Takuya's voice wasn't loud, but every word struck Nakamura's heart like a hammer blow. It was as if he were announcing the start of a war and handing him a gun loaded with bullets.
"I have only one request," Takuya, holding up one finger, "No compromises on the schedule."
Nakamura's tightly furrowed brows relaxed. Under immense pressure, the veteran technical expert's fighting spirit was completely ignited.
He nodded, his tone serious.
"Understood. I'll reassess all processes and compress the development cycle into days." He glanced at the workbench behind him, where various blueprints and tools were scattered. "Tonight, I'll get the first version of the development board running."
Seeing Nakamura's instantly tense expression, Nakayama Takuya reached out and patted him on the shoulder, softening his tone slightly in an attempt to offer him some comfort.
There's no need to be overly nervous.
"We have our core strengths."
He reminded him.
"We have our own chip development capabilities, and we have top semiconductor giants like Toshiba as deep partners."
"Nintendo, on the other hand, currently relies primarily on Sharp."
"Sharp certainly has unique strengths in LCD screens, but in the core field of chip design and manufacturing, their experience and investment are lacking."
They are not comparable to Toshiba.
"If we have the right strategy, this will be the key to our victory."
These words were like a shot in the arm, causing Nakamura's tightly furrowed brows to relax slightly.
That's right, that's definitely Sega's advantage.
After calming himself down a bit, Nakayama Takuya began asking more specific design questions.
"Have you come up with a preliminary design for the overall shape and layout of the handheld console?"
Minister Nakamura turned around and picked up a very detailed design drawing from the workbench.
It was a very simple rectangular shape.
Centered on the screen.
On the left is the round "Dry" button, which is very familiar to Sega players.
On the right side are the Start button and the AB action buttons.
"The horizontal layout aligns with the operating habits of mainstream gamepads; this direction is correct."
Takuya expressed his approval of this basic layout.
But he then pointed out a deeper problem.
"However, we need to do more in terms of visual distinctiveness and grip comfort."
"It must be clearly distinguished from other electronic calculators or other conventional electronic products on the market."
His fingers lightly traced the blank spaces on both sides of the drawing.
"We can design curves on both sides of the handheld console, in the area where the hand naturally grips it, to conform to the curve of the hand, and even some anti-slip grooves."
"This not only improves comfort during long gaming sessions, but also allows players to hold the grip more steadily."
Nakamura immediately took out a pencil and quickly sketched on the drawing.
Takuya continued.
"And visually too."
"We can design a very eye-catching contrasting color trim around the edge of the handheld console, such as white or yellow."
Nakamura paused, his pen poised. To a pragmatic technician like him, this purely decorative design seemed somewhat superfluous.
"Don't underestimate this line." Takuya noticed his hesitation. "It not only instantly enhances the product's visual impact, but also lays the groundwork for us to release limited edition models in different colors in the future."
Nakamura Nakamura's eyes lit up, and he immediately wrote down Takuya's request.
"We could even add a lanyard hole in one corner of the fuselage."
This suggestion surprised Minister Nakamura for a moment.
"It allows players to hang their favorite personalized trinkets or lanyards."
"We want to make this handheld console more than just a simple gaming device."
"Let it blend into fashion and become a trendy item for young people to express their individuality."
Nakamura put down his pen and looked intently at Nakayama Takuya, his eyes filled with amazement.
Ergonomics, visual recognition, fashion elements, and consumer psychology.
These insights, stemming from actual user experience and even touching upon details of consumer psychology, can indeed give a product a completely different appeal beyond cold technical specifications.
"I see."
Nakamura nodded solemnly. He put away the pencil he had used for sketching, took out a fountain pen from the pen holder, and meticulously wrote down every suggestion Takuya. These were no longer casual suggestions, but design guidelines that had to be strictly followed.
"I immediately arranged for the industrial design team to try incorporating these elements into the next version of the prototype design and evaluate the effect as soon as possible."
Seeing Nakamura's positive feedback, Takuya nodded in satisfaction.
He patted Nakamura the shoulder again, gave the staff some more encouragement, and then left the Hardware Development Department.