The Name "GAME POCKET"
In mid- March, the chill in Tokyo was gradually receding.
In the top-floor conference room of Sega Headquarters, a demonstration of the handheld console's launch lineup is underway.
The long conference table was filled with board members and heads of various core departments.
Most of them were veterans who had followed Nakayama Hayao in building his empire, but at this moment, there was no joy on their faces; instead, their brows were all furrowed.
The continued financial drain on the arcade business is like a dull knife, cutting at the nerves of everyone present day after day.
They had mixed feelings of anticipation and deep apprehension about the handheld game console project that was about to consume a huge amount of the company's resources.
Nakayama Takuya walked to the front of the conference room and personally projected the screens of two unassuming gray engineering machines onto the projection screen.
"Let's begin," he said calmly to his assistant.
The first screen lights up.
The wild screams and rousing heavy metal music were transposed into unique 8-bit electronic sounds, instantly dispelling the dullness of the conference room!
On the screen, three barbarian warriors wielding sharp blades are fighting a bloody battle against the skeleton soldiers.
"Golden Axe -" a director from the Arcade Division muttered to himself, his tense body unconsciously relaxing a little.
This is one of the most popular money-printing machines in Sega's own game center.
Then, the scene shifts to a deep cosmic background, where a man in armor, wearing a jetpack, is dodging a barrage of missiles.
<Space Harrier>, another of their trump cards!
The tense atmosphere in the meeting room finally began to dissipate when the board members saw these most familiar and successful arcade masterpieces running smoothly on that small black-and-white screen, retaining their core gameplay and selling points.
Many people's furrowed brows gradually relaxed.
It turns out it wasn't just a castle in the air.
First of all, the arcade games that Sega relied on to make its name have been packed into this little machine.
This first step temporarily appeased the board members.
Nakayama Takuya noticed the change in their expressions, and without lingering, signaled his assistant to switch to the next game.
On the screen, accompanied by rousing background music, one after another, giant robots slowly rise from the bottom of the screen, assuming classic battle stances, and gather in the center of the screen.
"This is the second installment in the Super Robot Wars series, not a port. The participating characters and the storyline have been updated."
"Although the handheld's performance and screen cannot compare with the Mega Drive, we have still retained the core combat presentation style."
Nakayama Takuya's gaze swept across the room. "It will appear on commuter trains, during short lunch breaks, and even in children's beds after the lights are off."
These words prompted many in the audience to try to imagine themselves in the scenario he described.
What they saw was no longer a "miniature version of arcade games," but a completely new and ubiquitous entertainment world!
Then, he personally picked up two prototypes and gestured for Shimizu, the team leader of the Pokémon project, to come forward and assist.
"Ladies and gentlemen, next, please allow me to demonstrate the communication capabilities of this machine."
Takuya controlled his game character and teleported an "Kadabra" into the game's communication center.
The team leader, Shimizu, was receiving the data on another machine.
A virtual data cable connects the screens of two machines.
The Kadabra transformed into a stream of data, flowing along the data cable from Takuya's screen to Shimizu's screen, little by little!
The moment the transmission was completed, the Kadabra that had just received the data on Shimizu's machine suddenly burst forth with a dazzling light of evolution!
Under everyone's focused gaze, its body was elongated, the spoon in its hand became two, its eyes became sharper, and finally, it evolved into a completely new form— Alakazam!
"Communications have evolved!" one of the directors couldn't help but exclaim.
"This is the embodiment of the communication evolution in the anime in the game!"
The meeting room was filled with soft, excited chatter.
Nakayama Takuya and Team Leader Shimizu continued demonstrating other communication-related content.
Then, Nakayama Takuya held up his handheld console and summarized. "The communication gameplay we designed is to add new topics and tools for social interaction among players, which is why this game was designed with two versions."
Its vitality will surpass any of our previous works. This is a social fuse about to ignite a new wave of popular culture among young gamers!
The whispers in the meeting room had turned into a heated discussion. One director excitedly raised his hand. "I propose! The initial production run should be fifty cubic meters! We must fill the market as quickly as possible!"
This number would have been considered quite bold in the past.
However, Nakayama Takuya slowly shook his head.
He held up two fingers and uttered a number that instantly chilled the entire conference room.
"For the initial order, I suggest two million units."
"Two million?!" The finance director practically jumped out of his chair, his voice trembling. "Manager Nakayama! Do you know how much start-up capital is needed for two million handheld consoles, plus the stock of the first six game cartridges?! The Arcade Division's cash flow is almost depleted! You're putting the entire company on the gambling table!"
"This is too radical. Is it really necessary to rush things?" Another director, who is usually conservative, frowned and expressed his opposition.
Questions arose one after another, and the situation almost spiraled out of control.
Despite all this, Nakayama Takuya remained remarkably calm.
He walked step by step to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, pointing out to the desolate and bleak Tokyo outside, which appeared particularly bleak and gray under the atmosphere of "self-restraint".
"Gentlemen, what do you see?" He didn't turn around, but his voice carried clearly to everyone's ears, "What I see is a perfect screen."
"This 'self-restraint' barrier not only bought us valuable time for research and development."
His voice suddenly rose, filled with soaring confidence, "It has cleared out the entire market for us! It has rekindled players' anticipation for the new game!"
"When our rivals, when Nintendo, wake up from their silence and wants to stock up on their new games, they'll be surprised to find that a brand new platform has emerged that has captured the attention of all players."
Nakayama Takuya turned around and looked directly at the board members who were still processing his words.
"We're not going to compete with them for the existing market! We're going to build a completely new market that belongs to us, using two million machines, before they can even react!"
"Two million units is not a risk!"
"It is the first and last saturation attack we will use to end this war!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the entire conference room fell silent. Stealth, surprise attack, blitzkrieg, saturation attack!
One link leads to another, forming a logical closed loop—utterly audacious!
After a brief silence, someone started clapping.
The applause quickly grew from sparse to thunderous.
Except for a few conservative directors who abstained with complicated expressions, everyone else voted in favor.
With the biggest production problem solved, the atmosphere in the meeting room finally Panasonic completely.
President Nakayama Hayao smiled and said, "Well then, it's time to name our new baby."
How about calling it "SEGA-GO"? Simple and straightforward!
"How about MINIMASTER? A mini master system, sounds amazing!"
"I think 'HANDY-GAME' is good; it emphasizes portability."
Everyone offered suggestions, but these names always felt like something was missing.
"I suggest we call it 'GAMEPOCKET'," Nakayama Takuya's voice rang out again, drawing everyone's attention.
He explained with a smile, "It has two meanings."
"Firstly, it's simple and straightforward; it's a game console that can fit in your pocket."
Secondly, I would prefer—.
His eyes sparkled with anticipation for the future.
"It can be like Doraemon's four-dimensional pocket, continuously providing players worldwide with an endless supply of fun games."
GAMEPOCKET.
A game console in your pocket.
Endless fun in your pocket.
This name is both approachable and easy to understand, and it also evokes boundless imagination.
"Great! Let's call it GAMEPOCKET!"
Every director voted in favor of the name, and it was approved unanimously.