Meeting with Colt Company
A week's wait wasn't too long.
For James White, this was a leisurely time where he traded a few phone calls and a Kung Fu for an advance payment far exceeding his previous commission.
For Nakayama Takuya, this was more like an unplanned short trip.
He spent two days exploring the Owings and then drove to Washington, D. C.
At the National Museum of Natural History, he stood for a long time in front of the huge dinosaur skeleton, but what he was thinking about was how to create more imposing monster models for future games.
At the National Gallery of Art, he stood before Leonardo da Vinci's original work, "Ginevra Benci," and felt the art that spanned five hundred years.
He showed no signs of pre-battle tension, as if he were about to meet not a powerful figure from a military-industrial empire, but an ordinary business partner.
This relaxed state continued until he sat down in the conference room at Colt Company's headquarters.
The time is 10:00 AM on Monday of the second week.
The walls of the conference room are adorned with oil paintings of classic Colt products throughout history, from revolvers to M16 Automatic Rifle, silently recounting the company's century-long glory.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries with James, Takuya, and Tom Clancy, Matt Wallace, the marketing manager, got straight to the point and gestured for Takuya to produce his design proposal.
Tom Clancy leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, completely at ease.
He was just there to watch the excitement and satisfy his curiosity.
He was eager to know what this young man from Japan had prepared that would prompt someone like James White to personally act as a go-between.
The conference room was so quiet you could hear the central air conditioning blowing.
However, Takuya did not pull out blueprints or models from his briefcase as Matt had expected.
He simply interlaced his fingers and placed them on the conference table, leaning slightly forward.
"Before presenting the proposal, Mr. Wallace," Takuya said calmly, yet with an undeniable authority, "I think..."
We need to discuss the cooperation plan first.
Matt Wallace's professional smile faltered slightly.
Cooperation proposal?
James White, standing beside him, seemed to be asleep, his eyes closed, but Clancy keenly noticed that the corner of the former special forces soldier's mouth seemed to twitch slightly upwards, a movement so subtle as to be almost negligible.
"I think Mr. Wallace understands," Takuya continued, "What I'm about to present isn't valuable because of the technology itself, but because it can establish a 'standard.' And a standard requires the joint efforts of the entire industry, even the militaries of NATO countries. Sega is a game company; we have neither the ability nor the right to lead this."
His words seemed like a show of weakness, but they only made Matt more wary.
He leaned forward, placing his hands on the table in a negotiating stance. "Mr. Nakayama, what do you mean?"
"What I mean is, Sega should voluntarily give up this piece of the pie."
As soon as Takuya finished speaking, Matt was completely stunned.
Even Tom Clancy, who had been watching the whole thing unfold, couldn't help but sit up straight. Giving up voluntarily? That doesn't make business sense.
"We'll be setting up a brand new company, which we can temporarily call ' Firearms Data Company.'" Takuya ignored their surprise.
He continued, seemingly oblivious to the situation, "The patents for this standard will be registered under this company's name. Sega will only symbolically own one percent of the shares and will relinquish all decision-making and voting rights."
"As for the remaining 99 percent," Takuya's gaze swept over Matt Wallace, "We suggest that the National Rifle Association NRA) take the lead in allocating it to the small arms manufacturers of NATO countries. Sega will not participate in how it's divided, or who gets more or less."
Matt Wallace was completely dumbfounded.
His mind raced with calculations.
Why ask for money or control?
Is he doing charity work? In his more than ten years in the industry, he had never encountered a negotiating opponent like this.
To have no desires is the greatest form of greed.
"What are Sega's demands?" Matt's voice was a little hoarse; he had to figure out what the Japan was up to.
"It's simple." Takuya finally smiled. "We only have one request."
He held up one finger.
"The specifications of all light weapons produced using this standard, as well as performance test data after adding various accessories, are recorded."
A complete backup must be kept at the "Firearms Data Company."
"And Sega, as the originator of the standard, will have the permanent, free right to use this data in game development."
Takuya's map of the Yan Kingdom has finally come to an end.
If you were to ask what the best-selling games were in North America in the past, most players could answer quickly and easily—cars, guns, and sports!
Now, Takuya needs to lay the groundwork for Sega's "gun".
"Of course, other video game developers can also apply for a license from this company if they want to use it. As for how the licensing fee is determined, Sega will not participate in the decision-making process, as I said before."
Finally, Takuya casually added, "To ensure data security and impartiality, the Pentagon could be invited to participate in the oversight of the entire data filing and usage process."
"Pfft-"
Tom Clancy nearly spat out his coffee; he choked and coughed repeatedly, his face turning red.
God!
He handed over a golden project that could have influenced the entire industry, in exchange for the right to view the data on the products involved in the project.
For arms dealers like Colt, data is merely a byproduct of the testing and production process. But for game companies, this data, accurate to the millimeter and millisecond, obtained from real-world testing, will be crucial in determining the quality of games involving firearms shooting in the future!
What's even more ingenious is the last sentence, which drags the Pentagon into the mess.
This immediately elevated the matter from a commercial cooperation to a matter of NATO's military security!
This actually provides Sega with a safety net for Sega data, and also raises the bar for other competitors.
Matt Wallace frowned.
He finally understood.
Logically, such a requirement does not pose a conflict of interest for gun manufacturers; the only cost would be the testing of byproducts during the production process, without incurring additional expenses.
However, Nakayama Takuya directly handed all the benefits to the National Rifle Association, which caught him somewhat off guard.
To prevent any unforeseen problems, he decided to play it safe.
Matt Wallace rose and left the meeting room. The moment the door closed, Tom Clancy couldn't resist leaning in, his voice low but brimming with excitement. "God, Takuya, you've plucked all the feathers from a golden hen and are now telling them, 'As long as you raise it well, I only need to see the eggs it lays later?'"
James White, holding his coffee cup, gave a rare, upturned smile, his assessment succinct. "He'll agree; no one can refuse that."
Takuya just smiled and didn't say anything.