Sega's New Arcade Board
After the purification ritual, Nakayama Takuya returned to his work.
Back at Sega Headquarters, still thinking about the arcade board that Sega was developing, he went straight to the Hardware Development Department.
Pushing open the door to the R&D lab, dozens of engineers were busy at their respective workstations, the green light bars on the oscilloscopes constantly jumping. The entire department was like a high-speed brain, full of tense yet orderly vitality.
As soon as he stepped in, Director Takahashi, who had been looking gloomy and wishing he could treat the company like his own home, greeted him with a radiant face. He looked more than five years younger than he did at the last meeting.
"Executive Director Nakayama, has the wedding date been set yet?" Director Takahashi punched Takuya on the shoulder right off the bat, the punch not light, his tone full of practiced teasing. "Remember to send us the invitations!"
Takuya rubbed his shoulders, a smile on his face, "Director Takahashi is right. How could I forget the pillars of the company? Besides, I still have to come back and work hard to earn money for baby formula, don't I?"
A joke made Nakamura, the head of the Hardware Development Department, laugh as well.
Director Takahashi was clearly very satisfied with the answer. With a wave of his hand, he led Takuya directly to a machine that had been assembled and was undergoing its final performance demonstration.
"See? Executive Director! We've done everything you asked for!"
On the screen, a demo program specifically designed for testing is running.
Countless brightly colored graphic modules move at high speed across a complex background without the slightest lag. The richness of color and the sense of depth in the image visibly surpass any 2D game on the market.
Nakamura of the Hardware Development Department adjusted his glasses, his tone suppressing the excitement and pride typical of technical personnel.
"Special Advisor, the System 32 Board has completed all testing and is ready for mass production."
"The hardware configuration is exactly as you envisioned: dual Motorola 68000 CPUs, one 16MHz and the other 12MHz. We conducted simulations and comparisons using Capcom's CPS1, SNK's latest NeoGeo board, and Namco's System21. Whether it's the number of colors displayed on screen, the number of scroll layers, or the processing power of active blocks, the System32 is far superior to them."
"More importantly," Minister Nakamura added, "We have optimized the underlying function libraries and development kits based on the 'ease of development' principle you previously mentioned. Once third-party vendors have these, the development cycle can be shortened by at least 20%!"
"Great! That's wonderful!" Director Takahashi slapped his thigh excitedly.
He now admires Takuya to the point of complete awe. The goal of "leaving other arcade manufacturers far behind" that he once set out to achieve sounded like bragging, is now a tangible reality.
This means that in the next year or two, the top 2D arcade games will be exclusively from Sega!
Director Takahashi seemed to remember something and changed the subject. "By the way, the executive director... SNK's NeoGeoAES has recently started shipping in Akihabara. I went to check it out, and it really does bring arcade games home; it's making quite a splash."
His tone held a hint of inquiry, but the anxiety he once felt was gone.
Takuya glanced at the powerful System32, then smiled dismissively.
"Director Takahashi, in your opinion, given the current economic downturn, how many people would spend 58,000 Japanese yen to buy a game console that can only play arcade games?"
"SNK is in a panic. Their real estate investment losses are too huge, and they're caught in a bind with this game platform; they have no choice but to launch it. We don't need to worry about them; who knows when they'll destroy themselves?"
"How's the cost control for our System 32 Board?" Takuya turned to ask Department Head Nakamura.
"Excellent!" Minister Nakamura replied immediately, "Because it's a mature upgrade of existing technology, and the chips are also mature products."
Cost control is excellent, and the amortization costs for R&D are not high. For arcades, the revenue from a few popular games can easily cover these costs.
"That's fine then." Takuya nodded.
Director Takahashi, watching Department Head Nakamura fill out the final test report, couldn't hide his excitement. He rubbed his hands together and turned the conversation to Nakayama Takuya.
"Executive Director, the new substrate is so impressive, shouldn't it be paired with a great project to kick things off?"
"Of course." Takuya looked up from the test screen and smiled at Takahashi. "Otherwise, why would I rush back like this? It couldn't just be to earn that little bit of money for baby formula, could it?"
Upon hearing this, Director Takahashi's eyes lit up instantly, like a hungry wolf smelling meat.
"Executive Director, do you have a plan in mind?"
"Of course." Takuya said confidently, "You pick a production team for me. They need to be technically proficient and have a distinctive art style. I'll find them a project that can sustain them for life."
"Eat---half a lifetime?" Director Takahashi gasped, his heart skipping a beat.
He knew all too well the weight of Takuya's words.
This isn't just about a game; it's about a super IP that can continuously generate value, just like Pokémon!
Director Takahashi's mind raced, the names of various production teams flashing through his mind. Finally, he clapped his hands.
"Got it! How about Arcade Group Five?"
"Although their projects haven't been particularly successful, their artistic skills and technical expertise are definitely top-tier in the company. They just lack a chance to take off! Team leader Uchida Minoru is a very insightful person, but he's a bit stubborn and inflexible."
"Great choice! Only craftsmen with ambition can create truly excellent things." Takuya immediately decided, "They're the ones."
Director Takahashi's face flushed with excitement. He rubbed his hands together, looking at Takuya with expectant eyes like a child waiting for a lottery draw. "So—Executive Director, what's the project?"
Takuya's gaze returned to the powerful System 32 Board, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
"A side-scrolling shooter game."
"Shooting games?" Director Takahashi was taken aback. Although this genre was classic, there were already quite a few on the market, and it wouldn't be easy to come up with something new.
Takuya noticed his hesitation and explained calmly, "But it's unlike any other shooting game on the market."
"Our System 32 Board has such powerful performance that we can afford to use it recklessly. Therefore, the game's visual style shouldn't be realistic; instead, it should be a cute, cartoonish military style bursting with detail and a touch of humor."
"Secondly, and most importantly, is the core gameplay—vehicles." Takuya held up one finger. "Besides running, jumping, and shooting, players can also drive a versatile little tank. This little tank can jump, fire shells, and even lie down to dodge bullets. Players can jump in and out at any time, instantly making the gameplay more three-dimensional."
"Can drive tanks..." Director Takahashi muttered to himself, his eyes growing brighter.
"That's right." Takuya snapped his fingers. "And destruction! Thanks to the powerful capabilities of the baseboard, everything on the screen except the player and enemies—buildings, bridges, GG cards—can be blown to smithereens! We want that exhilarating feeling of constant flames and explosions from start to finish! It'll make players' palms sweat, their adrenaline surge, and they'll wish they could insert another coin and get another life!"
"Hiss—" Director Takahashi gasped. He could almost picture the scene in the arcade, with players shouting and yelling around a new machine, the crisp, pleasant sound of coins being inserted, and a constant stream of people coming and going.
Exquisite graphics, unique style, innovative gameplay, and explosive action! These aren't just cannonballs, they're nuclear bombs!
"I understand! I understand!" Director Takahashi slapped his thigh, his face flushed with excitement. "This project must be handed over to Group Five! Those guys love making a Oba of things! I'm off right now! If they knew about this good thing, they'd probably be staying at the company all night!"
After saying that, he turned and left in a hurry, forgetting to even say goodbye, as if if he were a second later, this project that could sustain him for half his life would fly away. Watching Director Takahashi's hurried back, Takuya shook his head helplessly.