The Hand-to-Hand Ad War as Release Drew Near

Yamauchi Hiroshi's order, like a cold imperial edict, spread from Kyoto to every distributor and retailer of Nintendo.

Thus, a war without gunpowder suddenly broke out in the most primitive and barbaric way.

The giant Sega GamePocket poster was hung on the streets of Shibuya the next day.

The Nintendo Game Boy poster was stuck right next to it like a leech.

Same size, same prime location.

The two gaming giants, like shirtless boxers, pressed their foreheads against each other before the match began, their eyes burning with an all-consuming flame.

The battle for TV quality was even more brutal.

One second, the audience was smiling knowingly at the pink and white handheld console in GAMEPOCKETGG that connected the hearts of lovers.

The next second, Nintendo's Game of Thrones will burst in, rudely interrupting your reverie with the familiar image of Mario carrying question mark blocks.

Close-quarters combat!

This was a strategy personally ordered by Yamauchi Hiroshi!

However, Sega's counterattack was swift and ruthless, completely defying expectations.

Their second batch of "GG" (gifts/gifts) surprisingly included the most popular idol girl group at the moment.

In the video, several young and beautiful girls are chatting and laughing in the back seat of a van, pulling out colorful game pockets covered with various cute little pendants from their bags.

They weren't playing games; they were simply showing off their "fashion items" to the camera.

Fashion!

These two words, like a poisoned dagger, precisely pierced Nintendo's Achilles' heel.

They can promote games, they can promote quality, but how do they connect with fashion?

The Game Boy's brick-like gray and white exterior has absolutely nothing to do with the word "fashion".

Then, Sega unleashed its second attack.

At the end of GG, next to the slogan "Your pocket is another world," there was an extra line of small text, accompanied by a very seductive voice-over.

"Purchase a device and receive the globally popular Tetris for free!"

Free game!

And it's Tetris!

In Nintendo's conference room, the head of the Marketing Department looked ashen.

They simply can't compete! Game Boy's launch game cartridges were independently produced and sold; the costs were fixed, so how could they possibly distribute them?

In their own game library, there isn't a single casual game that can rival a monster like Tetris.

We can't just give away our own son, Mao, for free!

Even worse, Sega brazenly set the release date for April 8th!

A date that Nintendo's production line simply couldn't catch up with.

Faced with disadvantages in both production capacity and marketing strategies, Nintendo was forced to reveal its last trump card: its game lineup.

As a result, gameplay footage of Super Mario Land, Tennis, and Mahjong began to appear in Game Boy's GG.

The familiar game and classic characters truly excited countless veteran FC players, reigniting their pent-up consumer desires that had been suppressed for so long due to "self-restraint."

The players were absolutely thrilled.

The media also sensed the impending bloodshed and began predicting the outcome of this epic showdown.

Everyone clutched their wallets, waiting for the release date to buy their favorite games!

However, Sega's offensive had only just begun.

They gave Nintendo no chance to breathe, dropping one launch title a day after another, like bombshells hitting the market one after another.

The first day featured "Golden Axe" and "Space Harrier," hardcore arcade games that ignited the hormones of male gamers.

The next day was Sega New Record, a game focused on online multiplayer competition. In Game of Thrones, a group of friends were laughing and shoving each other because of a controversial call. The phrase "friendly communication with friends" was full of mesmerizing implications.

On the third day, the ending of "The Second Super Robot Wars" brought back the ultimate romance born from steel and passion, evoking the emotions and memories of countless robot fans who first encountered it last year.

On the fourth day of the GG offensive, when Pokémon Red and Green were to make their grand finale appearance, everyone inside Nintendo Headquarters sensed an ominous atmosphere.

Through the popularity of animation and related products, this IP's fame is now on par with Mario!

Really!

After the usual game promotion on the first day, Pokémon on the second day, and something completely unexpected happened.

In GG, a child connects his Electronic Pet to a GamePocket with a data cable.

On the screen, a high-tech data transmission animation flashed by.

Immediately following in the GAMEPOCKET game screen, Pokémon exactly like the one in the Electronic Pet is following behind the protagonist!

Collaboration!

A cross-platform interaction between reality and virtuality!

This idea, like an armor-piercing bullet, instantly pierced through the last psychological defenses of everyone at Nintendo.

"They—they truly brought the two products together—" Shigeru Miyamoto murmured to himself, his eyes filled with undisguised shock.

"How is this possible? This is a product from two and a half years ago!" A development manager clutched his head, letting out a roar of disbelief.

"So, when Nakayama Takuya was planning this series more than two years ago, he had already envisioned this outcome?"

This terrifying speculation made Shigeru Miyamoto's heart skip a beat.

However, this is not the end.

April 7th, the day before the release date.

All TV stations were airing GamePocket's final version, GG, during prime time.

In the video, a teenager is engrossed in playing a Mega Drive game at home.

Sudden!

With a snap, the screen went completely black—the power went out.

In the darkness, only the sound of a boy frantically groping could be heard.

The next second.

A soft beam of light shone in the darkness.

A small LCD screen was held in the boy's hands. On the screen, the pixelated protagonist of Pokémon stood spiritedly in the grass.

A satisfied smile spread across the boy's face as he continued his adventure, only this time the gaming platform changed from the Mega Drive to a game console.

POCKET.

The image freezes, and a line of text slowly appears, like a final judgment.

"It has its own light source! We can play all night long!"

A blow to the head!

For Yokoi Gunpei, that faint light shining on the television screen was nothing short of a judgment from hell!

Kyoto, Nintendo Headquarters.

The office of the head of the Development Department 1 was deathly silent.

Yokoi Gunpei was alone, watching the videotape of the power outage scene repeatedly, over and over again.

His eyes, which had always been full of confidence and pride, were now filled with nothing but endless despair.

To extend battery life, he sacrificed the color screen.

To improve battery life, he went to great lengths, spending over a year customizing that low-power CPU.

To improve battery life, he even personally scrapped a screen backlight solution that he had tested and found to be quite effective.

Battery life is the strongest barrier he built for Gameboy, and it's something he's very proud of.

But now, Sega has used the simplest, most brutal, and even somewhat "foolish" method to instantly shatter all his hard work and pride.

He recognized Sega's screen light source immediately; it was exactly the same as his.

only--

Sega added a tiny, insignificant switch.

He felt that the advertised horizontal grip and stylish appearance were just underhanded tactics that couldn't dictate the course of the battle.

Even with the free Tetris, he believed that Nintendo could regain its footing with the quality of Mario.

But this light switch shattered his spirit.

There are already over 300,000 Game Boys in the warehouse; it's impossible to go back and adjust the design.

His brows furrowed deeply, and he unconsciously repeated the word "GG" under his breath.

"Built-in light source -- play until dawn --"