Handheld Launch Lineup
After a month of intensive development, the handheld console development tool has finally reached the final stage of acceptance testing.
The programmer in charge of testing ran the last piece of data that needed to be processed by the tool through the tool. The generated code was reviewed by everyone and found to be error-free, passing the acceptance test perfectly.
"Well done!"
Someone shouted first, and the entire project team instantly erupted in pent-up cheers.
At this point, the development tools for this batch of handheld consoles have been completed.
Takuya told all the programmers to go home and rest, and granted them three days of paid leave.
The next day, the conference room of the company's Software Development Department was filled with people.
They are all team leaders who currently have no development work to do, or whose development work is about to be completed.
Several of them wore signs of exhaustion from finishing a project, rubbing their temples, but their eyes held a mixture of anticipation for new tasks, like a group of veterans who had just won a battle and were waiting for new orders.
Takuya looked around and began the meeting.
"Ladies and gentlemen, our handheld console has been completed, and the development tools have also been developed. Next, we need to prepare the launch lineup of games for the handheld console's release."
Upon hearing this, everyone instinctively sat up straight.
"Everyone here knows very well how we won last year's MD release." Takuya spoke slowly, his tone full of certainty.
"With a diverse and high-quality launch lineup, we not only withstood the onslaught of two major titles from our competitors, but also quickly expanded our console rollout and maintained our momentum, securing a foothold during the most vulnerable period of console launch. This laid the most solid foundation for our subsequent console sales and competition with third-party developers."
Takuya paused for a moment.
"Now, we're going to do it again. We'll develop another launch lineup to support the release of our handheld console."
Then, Takuya turned on the projector, and the lights in the conference room dimmed, with only the light reflected from the screen illuminating the focused faces of everyone present.
The first slide was displayed, showing several colored squares and a very familiar name: Tetris.
A slight commotion arose in the room, and someone chuckled softly before falling silent again.
This choice was both unexpected and perfectly logical.
"This game will be released as a cartridge and included with the handheld console as our first gift to all players." Takuya's voice was clear in the quiet conference room.
"We've already released a Tetris handheld console before. So we don't make money from that; we want everyone who gets the handheld to be able to experience the fun from the very first minute they turn it on, even if they haven't bought any other games."
No one raised any objections. Bundling a nationally popular game directly with a console is a seemingly foolproof strategy that is almost guaranteed to succeed.
Takuya pressed the page-turning button.
The second slide featured two logos with strikingly different styles: a red silhouette of Charizard and a green silhouette of Venusaur. Below them was a title: <Pokémon Red /Green>.
"RPG, our flagship title." Takuya tapped the title on the screen. "The protagonist's adventure theme is collecting..."
Raising, trading, and battling are all included. The two versions differ slightly in content; to collect all Pokémon, players must trade them online. A special activation method is required to experience the storyline consistent with the anime. Additionally, there's a feature that integrates with Electronic Pet.
The words had barely left his mouth when several gasps came from below. That was a brilliant move.
With two versions, online-only mode, and a special storyline to unlock, combined with the high popularity of the original anime and collaborations with extremely popular merchandise, it's practically leaving Pokémon fans with absolutely no way out.
To launch a brand new game with two versions right away requires tremendous courage.
Of course, everyone here understands Takuya's confidence, after all, the scene of the Pokémon movie "Mewtwo Strikes Back" taking the year's box office crown with unstoppable momentum three months ago is still fresh in everyone's mind.
This animated film has raised Pokémon's popularity to unprecedented heights.
This project has been assigned to Group Three.
The Shimizu leader, Shimizu, understood Takuya.
He understood that this would be Sega's flagship title for a handheld console, and it couldn't afford to fail.
"Group 8." Takuya's gaze shifted to a corner of the conference table.
The group leader immediately straightened his back.
The slideshow transitioned, revealing the title of "The Second Super Robot Wars" on the screen, with several brand-new mecha design sketches in the background, two of which were the main characters from this year's hit anime.
"Your ' The First Super Robot Wars ' played a crucial role in the Mega Drive's initial release," Takuya acknowledged their contribution, then changed the subject, "This time, let's replace it with several new robot anime from this year to update the lineup. The handheld's capabilities are significantly weaker than the Mega Drive's, and its storage capacity is much smaller, but we can't be careless."
"Yes! Please leave it to us!" The leader of Group Eight answered decisively, his face showing no sign of ease, his eyes burning with fighting spirit.
"Very good. Let's begin after you've finished testing the <Shining Force: Legacy of the Gods> you have. It should be soon, right?" Takuya nodded and added.
"At most two weeks," the group leader replied confidently.
So Takuya switched to the next card.
<Sega New Record>.
"This game sold very well during the Olympic Games, and it's also very interactive and fun, making it easy for our handheld console to become popular within players' social circles."
"The original development team will handle the porting directly."
Finally, Takuya's gaze fell upon the heads of the Arcade Division.
"Finally, there are arcade port titles." The screen doesn't show specific games, only two categories: "Action/Platformer" and "Shooting/Flight Game."
"Everyone in the arcade department, you know your own work best. You know better than I which games are most popular and have the highest player demand. Each of you, pick two games and put the porting evaluation report and preliminary plan on my desk within a week."
After saying that, Takuya turned off the projector and turned on the lights in the conference room.
"Gentlemen, this is the first wave of ammunition we've prepared for the new handheld console. Any questions?"
The conference room was completely silent, save for the soft breathing of the attendees.
Everyone's mind was racing, calculating the tasks they were about to face.
"I will also send the first batch of development kits for the handheld consoles to the game developers in which we hold shares, including the toolkits we developed earlier."
"With the first-party lineup plus the additions from the third-party teams, there's enough content for players to digest for a while."
After Takuya finished speaking, he adjourned the meeting.