Eastern European Layout

On November 9th, a news story that transcended time zones was broadcast globally via television.

The Berlin Wall has fallen.

This iconic building, a symbol of decades of Cold War confrontation between the East and West, was reduced to historical rubble overnight.

The atmosphere in the boardroom at Sega Headquarters should have been relaxed.

The good news from the North America market made every director beam with joy, and even the air in the meeting room seemed to carry the sweet scent of US dollar.

"The combined sales strategy of releasing Sonic the Hedgehog and lowering the price of the Mega Drive was truly outstanding."

"That's right. At this rate, by the time Nintendo releases the Super Famicom next year, there should be close to ten million Mega Drives in North America."

"Let them also experience the despair of breaking through a massive existing market."

A chorus of agreement erupted in the conference room, as if Sega had already won the war for 16-bit consoles.

Only Nakayama Takuya sat there quietly, his gaze fixed on the television in the corner of the conference room that was playing the news.

On the screen, countless Germany were scaling the ruins of the Berlin Wall, cheering and embracing.

That's not just the wheel of history.

In his eyes, it was a huge new market with hundreds of millions of people that was about to be activated.

A brand new, thirsty, blank blue ocean.

Nakayama Atsuo noticed his son's unusual behavior and coughed lightly, drawing everyone's attention back to him.

"Alright, let's put the celebration aside for now and continue the meeting."

"Takuya, do you have anything to add regarding today's meeting?"

All eyes instantly focused on Nakayama Takuya.

This young executive director is already the undisputed strategic core of Sega.

The phenomenal sales of one million units in a week in the North America market made every word he spoke carry immense weight.

Takuya turned off the TV volume, but the picture continued to play.

"The Berlin Wall has fallen."

"To most people, this might just be a piece of international political news."

"But in my eyes, this means a promising new world is opening its doors to us."

"Eastern Europe."

Takuya slowly uttered two words.

The board members in the conference room were all momentarily stunned, and then whispers broke out.

Eastern Europe?

Those places that are still under the Warsaw Pact system and not open to outsiders?

What commercial value does it have?

One director couldn't help but ask, "Manager Nakayama, the Eastern Europe market—I'm afraid their purchasing power is very limited, isn't it? Can they afford our MD?"

Another director added, "Besides Poland and Hungary, the others are still under Soviet Union control. Who knows if Poland and Hungary will be dealt with by the Soviet Union?"

Takuya shook his head and pointed to the silent television.

"What kind of place is Berlin? It's a city on the front lines of the Cold War, separated by a wall between the two most powerful countries in the world." Takuya nodded his head.

"Think about it carefully, if the Soviet Union couldn't even stop the East Germany Germans from tearing down the wall in such a city on the front lines of the Cold War, then how did the Soviet Union control other Warsaw Pact countries?"

"You've all heard plenty of stories about how the Soviet Union, through the Comecon (COMECON), forced other Warsaw Pact countries to hand out industrial waste products. Could these countries really be on the same side as the Soviet Union at that time?"

"Just watch, soon, goods from the free world will be flowing from places like East Germany, Poland, and Hungary into all of Eastern Europe, and even into Moscow."

"The Cold War is truly nearing its end."

At this point, Takuya took a sip of tea before continuing.

"As for their purchasing power, they simply can't afford it right now, so we won't sell them the most expensive MD."

We sell them the most suitable ones.

Takuya returned to his seat and distributed a pre-prepared plan to everyone.

"My plan is to employ a multi-pronged approach and achieve comprehensive penetration."

"The first step is to clear out the inventory."

"We can package up and sell our stockpiled SG-1000 mainframes, as well as the second-hand mainframes that are about to be phased out in the North America and Japan markets, to Eastern Europe."

"Using Poland, Hungary, and the newly opened East Germany as distribution centers, we can engage in dumping promotions at extremely low prices. We can even authorize factories with production capacity to produce the SG-1000 themselves. As long as we don't lose money, we can do it."

"What we want to do is, before they even know what video games are, let the first game they play be a Sega game!"

The doubts on the directors' faces gradually faded, replaced by thoughtful consideration.

The second step is software localization and market cultivation.

"We can sell GamePocket handheld consoles and old arcade boards. As for game cartridges, we only provide the core program and data, and let them handle the localization and translation themselves."

"For example, we could create a Russian version and sell it to a wider Russian-speaking region through various channels."

"We licensed them to produce it at a price only slightly higher than piracy. The goal wasn't to make a lot of money in the short term, but to cultivate a large, loyal Sega user base and market ecosystem."

"After all, given the current situation there, discussing copyright is obviously a joke, but Sega cannot allow piracy to flourish."

"As for the profits we're giving up," it lies in the third and most important step: technology transfer and control.

Takuya tapped his fingers lightly on the table, drawing everyone's attention.

"They can make the casing, they can assemble it, but they can't make the chip."

"We import all the semiconductor components necessary for the production of both the main unit and the cartridges."

"This business doesn't have high profit margins, but it's stable and sustainable, although it's a bit cumbersome to operate. I suggest that we hand it over to our controlled factories in Hong Kong and Taiwan."

Takuya's gaze swept over several board members, Terauchi and Hatano, knowing that these individuals had extensive connections and resources in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

"These factories can not only handle exports to Eastern Europe, but also license the production of SG-1000 mainframes and cartridges in Mainland China."

"Helping them expand in Mainland China is also paving the way for Sega's future. Moreover, these sales figures are related to Sega's profit sharing."

After he finished speaking, the entire conference room fell silent.

Kill three birds with one stone!

Everyone present was shrewd and immediately understood the deeper meaning behind Takuya's arrangement.

This is not just a business plan, but a redistribution of interests.

He cleverly connected the company's strategy, the interests of its partners, and the personal networks of the directors present with a seemingly insignificant "waste recycling" plan.

The board members immediately saw a new, almost risk-free, highly profitable opportunity.

Nakayama Hayao had been listening silently, and at this moment, a barely perceptible softening finally appeared on his serious face.

He watched his son, who was speaking eloquently at the conference table, seamlessly blending international affairs, business strategies, and interpersonal relationships.

This kid is no longer a fledgling who needs my support.

"Alright." Nakayama Atsuo gently tapped the table, interrupting the whispering board members. "Do as Takuya says. Takuya will coordinate the specific division of labor."

With the simple statement "Takuya be in charge of coordination," the reins of this massive project were firmly handed over to Takuya.

The board members nodded in agreement, their faces beaming with satisfaction.

So, in the next half hour, Takuya broke down the entire Eastern Europe strategy into several segments and, like dividing a cake, precisely presented them to each of the relevant board members.

For local sales channels, recycling and inventory clearance are naturally their responsibility.

The Arcade Division is responsible for cleaning up old machines in both their own arcades and franchised stores.

The person in charge of overseas channels secured the rights to build a sales network in Eastern Europe.

Those with factory shares in Hong Kong and Taiwan have secured business in exporting electronic components and OEM manufacturing.

Even board members with good relations with Ubisoft received "Pioneer missions" to encourage Ubisoft to penetrate the German-speaking region.

The directors in charge of finance and legal affairs also have authorized fees to oversee a meeting, ensuring everyone benefits and everyone is satisfied.

Everyone tacitly agreed to tie themselves even closer to the ship that Nakayama and his son.

The meeting ended, and the directors left satisfied, each calculating the enormous wealth that was about to be theirs.

Nakayama Atsuo stayed until the end, looking at his son with a mixture of relief and pride.