Candidate for North American President

Yuji Naka was stopped as soon as he stepped into the Arcade Development Department.

"Naka! Here!"

Yu Suzuki spotted him immediately. This key figure in Sega's arcade division had a scruffy beard, but his eyes gleamed with a kind of fanatical light.

Without saying a word, he dragged Yuji Naka into a corner surrounded by various circuit boards and design drawings.

"I'm currently developing software for CD-ROMs and can't get away from it. Taiko no Tatsujin is still waiting for us; they've run into some problems."

Could you please help me resolve this?

Yuji Suzuki led another group of people, "Your task for today is here."

In the development team, a young man wearing glasses was sketching something rapidly on a drawing board, another person next to him was deep in thought while looking at a map made of a pile of grid paper, and yet another person was wearing headphones and tapping rhythmically on the table.

"Let me introduce them," Yu Suzuki said in a loud voice, "Chief Art Designer: Naoto Oshima; Level Designer: Hirokazu Yasuhara; Music: Masato Nakamura."

The three looked up at the sound, nodded to Yuji Naka, and then immediately buried themselves in their work.

Naoto Oshima drew a blue hedgehog? The design is unprecedented.

Hirokazu Yasuhara's map is as complex as a maze, full of various bends, loops, and faults.

"We wanted to create an unprecedented high-speed platform game." Hirokazu Yasuhara and pointed to the map. "Characters need to move like cannonballs through these multi-layered scrolls, involving high-speed movement, gradient changes, and complex collision detection. Our programming has hit a bottleneck."

Yuji Naka's gaze was drawn to the blue hedgehog.

Speed, passion, challenge.

The tech-geek part of him, after being tested by "Golden Sun," was reignited by this simple and pure technical challenge.

He picked up the complex level design blueprint, glanced at it, and his mind began racing with code.

"I'll take this project."

Meanwhile, in the president's office.

Nakayama Atsuo was personally pouring a cup of tea for a blond, blue-eyed United States.

Tom Kalinske, former president of Mattel United States, is a prominent figure in the toy industry.

He was one of the successors that Nakayama Hayao was looking for for Sega of America.

President David Lawson wishes to step down as president of North America.

Before coming to Japan, Kalinske had conducted a thorough investigation of Sega.

During his final years at Mattel, Sega's Pokémon figures were distributed in North America through Mattel's channels, and the astonishing sales speed impressed him.

He discovered that this Japan company, which used to be dominated by hardware and arcade games, has been undergoing a complete transformation in the past two years.

Software is king, IP comes first.

This is precisely the business principle he has always believed in. He is very curious about who is behind all of this.

When he learned that the mastermind was the president's youngest son, who had only graduated a few years prior, he couldn't hide the surprise on his face.

"I want to see him," Kalinske requested of Nakayama Atsuo.

Nakayama Atsuo picked up the internal phone and dialed his son's office.

"Takuya, come here."

Soon after, Nakayama Takuya was summoned to the president's office. When Kalinske saw Takuya's excessively youthful face, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"Mr. Kalinske, I've heard so much about you," Takuya, his smile bright and cheerful. "You created ' He-Man and the Masters of the Universe ' at Mattel, but I have a complete set of those."

One sentence instantly bridged the gap between the two parties.

Kalinske was somewhat surprised, then smiled and said, "It seems Mr. Nakayama has done quite a bit of research on me."

"Likewise," Takuya said, "I have also benefited greatly from your management style at Universal Matchbox."

Mentioning the matchbox, a barely perceptible hint of gloom flashed in Kalinske's eyes. The Spain counterfeit had already made him suspicious, and his dislike for the internal lining had already made him consider leaving.

Takuya's words undoubtedly hit a nerve, but he managed to control his emotions well.

"Let's talk about Sega," Kalinske quickly cut to the chase. "If I were in charge of North America, my strategy would be very clear:

Differentiate yourself from Nintendo.

He leaned forward slightly, exuding confidence.

"Nintendo caters to children, we cater to teenagers. Their games are all warm and fuzzy, our games are like a dagger, piercing straight to the heart."

"Also, United States love sports, and we need more and better sports games. You and EA did a good job at last year's Olympic Games, but we can't rely solely on those guys at EA."

Finally, North America must establish an independent IP operations center to respond to the market as quickly as possible.

After he finished speaking, the office fell silent.

Nakayama Atsuo looked at his son, wanting to see how he would deal with the industry veteran's fierce offensive.

"I agree," Takuya said firmly.

Kalinske was somewhat surprised.

"I completely agree with differentiation, and aggressive advertising can be a necessary weapon in certain periods," Takuya continued, "But it can't be the norm. Our goal is to win over users, not to portray ourselves as a despicable villain."

"As for sports games and IP management, I even think your ideas aren't bold enough."

"Oh?" Kalinske's interest was piqued.

"I would suggest to the board that the North America division be given full autonomy. You can directly recruit talent in Europe and America, establish development teams, or acquire or invest in promising game studios. After all, no one understands the tastes of United States players better than United States producers."

"Now that the United States has shaken off the shadow of Atari's collapse, it's a time when a large number of young people are entering the game development industry. Sega has done a lot of practical and effective work in development support over the past two years. It's a good time to expand game development capabilities in the United States."

"The same applies to IP operation; we give you the right to acquire IP."

Takuya looked at Kalinske with sincere eyes.

"We are emerging from the shadow of the Cold War, and a brand new era of entertainment is on the horizon. North America and Europe will be our main battlegrounds. We need a general who can stand alone, not a messenger who needs to consult on everything."

Kalinske was completely moved.

He looked at the young man before him, then at the deep, unfathomable Nakayama Atsuo beside him.

This father and son, one drawing up the blueprint, the other striving for progress, are remarkably harmonious.

He knew this was the stage he wanted.

After seeing off a satisfied Tom Kalinske, Nakayama Hayao took another resume from his drawer and handed it to Takuya.

Michael Katz, former president of Atari Entertainment.

Takuya glanced at it only once before putting the resume back on the table.

"Father, the Atari Empire was reduced to ruins under his rule."

"If someone like that goes to Sega of America and is content to be a mouthpiece, that's fine. But if he does something unreliable, it would actually be a step backward."

His voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable certainty.

"What we need now is a general who can lead the army to expand our territory, not a gravedigger who is good at writing summary reports of failures. "Nakayama Hayao remained silent, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.

"A man like Tom Kalinske is capable, ambitious, and hates infighting and backstabbing the most," Takuya continued his analysis.

"If we want to use him, we must give him enough trust and power. Give him a sharp sword to expand his territory, not a bridle to bind him. We retain oversight and maintain communication on major decisions, but in tactical execution, we must let him do it freely."

After a long while, Nakayama Hayao stopped knocking.

He let out a soft breath, nodded to Takuya, picked up the resume belonging to Michael Katz, and decisively threw it into the shredder.

"I'll handle things with the board and David. We'll play the game in the North America market according to your plan!"