Theater Tie-In with Hook
Long lines formed at the checkout counters of game stores, department stores, Toys "R" Us" R" Us across the United States.
Countless families who had longed for the Sega Mega Drive over the past year, yet still clung to a last vestige of nostalgia for Nintendo, completely gave up all resistance the moment they saw Mario and Link.
"Dad, I want this new Mario!"
"Shut up, I only bought your NES two years ago!"
"But—but this is super!"
Similar conversations have played out in countless families, and the final result is often that the father reluctantly takes out his wallet and throws a brand-new SNES console, along with cartridges for Super Mario World and the Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods, into the shopping cart.
Veteran players didn't hesitate at all, buying the entire set immediately.
In Minoru Arakawa's office, the air was so quiet that you could hear the ticking of the second hand on the wall clock.
Howard Lincoln paced back and forth restlessly, like a lion trapped in a cage.
Finally, the Marketing Department director forgot to knock and barged in, clutching a report he had just taken from the fax machine. The edges of the paper were trembling slightly with excitement.
"Gentlemen—the first week's data is in."
Lincoln lunged forward and practically snatched the paper from the other man's hand.
His gaze swept rapidly from top to bottom, his mouth gaped wider and wider, and finally, an uncontrollable low growl escaped from his throat.
My God--
He turned around abruptly and slammed the report onto Minoru Arakawa's desk with a loud "bang".
"Arakawa! See for yourself!"
Minoru Arakawa slowly picked up the paper.
There is only one simple yet incredibly weighty number above.
Two million.
First-week sales exceeded two million units.
That steep curve that once belonged to Final Fantasy IV and stung his eyes has now appeared on Nintendo's sales reports in an even more ferocious form.
Minoru Arakawa felt his nerves, which had been taut for a whole year, finally relax at this moment.
He leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh, a sigh that contained exhaustion, release, and the relief of surviving a close call.
"It's not over yet." The marketing director handed over another report, his excitement barely concealed. "Our informants in the arcades have reported that starting from the third day after the SNES's release, foot traffic in arcades across North America has noticeably declined. Even the two new Sega games—what are they called—<Metal Slug> and <Virtua Fighter>, have seen varying degrees of drop in coin-operated rates."
"Haha!" Howard Lincoln couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter. "I knew it! I knew it! Those kids were just doing it for the novelty! What 3D, what hardcore, it's all nothing compared to Nintendo's SNES!"
He walked to the wine cabinet, took out a bottle of his prized champagne and two glasses, and boldly pulled out the cork.
A crisp "bang" resounded, as if a salute had been fired to celebrate this long-awaited victory.
"Come on, Arakawa," Lincoln poured two glasses of wine, handing one over with a triumphant grin, "A toast to ourselves. A toast to those damn blocky people, they can go back to their production lines now!"
Minoru Arakawa took the glass, but didn't touch it.
He watched the golden bubbles rising in his glass, but the image that flashed through his mind was that of Nakayama Takuya, young yet composed.
No, this is just the beginning.
He knew very well that the man wouldn't give up so easily.
But at this moment, he needs this victory, and the entire Nintendo needs it.
"No," Minoru Arakawa raised his head, a rare and intensely aggressive smile curving his lips as he raised his glass and lightly clinked it against Lincoln's.
"A toast to Tom Kalinske. Hopefully, he won't be upset that we've overshadowed him."
Did Tom Kalinske get angry?
Of course not.
While Minoru Arakawa celebrating his victory in front of the champagne tower, Kalinske was standing at the exit of San Francisco International Airport, a smile brighter than the California sunshine on his face.
He opened his arms and gave Ono, the head of the development team, a warm hug as he walked out of the passage.
Welcome to United States, my friends!
Ono and the development team members who had traveled all the way from Japan wore the weariness of a long flight, but their eyes sparkled with barely suppressed excitement and curiosity.
They looked at the overly enthusiastic United States CEO in front of them, and then at the completely different environment around them, and were momentarily reserved.
"Kalinske, Lu Ku, you've come to pick us up." Ye bowed slightly and said in somewhat broken English.
"Not at all! Not at all!" Kalinske patted Ono's shoulder forcefully. "It's my honor to bring you all here this year! From System 16 to System 32, I heard you practically remade the game, and made it even better! You're not developers, you're magicians!"
This straightforward and exaggerated praise made the entire development team members a little embarrassed, but they could no longer hide their smiles.
I still vividly remember the feeling of falling from heaven to hell when I was told that the project had to be scrapped and started over.
But now, standing here, about to attend the global premiere of a Hollywood blockbuster, all their hard work has paid off.
Back at Sega North America headquarters, Bernard was already waiting. He handed Kalinske a document, looking excited.
"Tom, it's all taken care of. AMC Theatres, Cinemark, Regal Entertainment —all the top ten theater chains in North America, not one of them was spared. They've already started making room for us in their ticket halls."
Kalinske took the document, glanced at it, and whistled with satisfaction. "Of course they won't refuse. We're giving them money; who would turn down money?"
He turned to Ono and the others, who were still somewhat confused, Nakayama Takuya had prepared for their masterpiece.
"Gentlemen, your masterpiece won't just be confined to arcades." Kalinske opened his arms as if to embrace the whole world, "On December 11th, the premiere of * Hook *, the first batch of 5,000 brand-new * Hook * arcade machines will be available in the ticket halls of all major theaters across the United States!"
Ono's eyes widened instantly.
"The first thing every child who buys a ticket to see a movie will see is your game. Every family waiting for the movie to start has a chance to drop a coin into your machine. Games and movies are seamlessly integrated, a direct form of advertising!"
Kalinske became more and more excited as he spoke, his voice growing louder and louder. "Once the movie is out of theaters, these machines will be bought back by our distributors at a very favorable price and then resold to arcade owners who missed out on the initial release. The theaters earn extra rent, we promote the game, and the distributors get cheap, not-too-outdated secondhand goods."
A perfect closed loop!
The development team members looked at each other, their faces filled with shock.
They only knew how to focus on making a good game, but they never thought that a game could be sold in this way.
Kalinske felt an immense sense of satisfaction seeing their shocked expressions.
He could almost picture the horrified expressions on Nintendo Minoru Arakawa's and Linkin Park's faces when they saw the media reports.
SNES sold two million units? That's impressive.
Nintendo, however, is still fighting the battle in the traditional way, methodically distributing products and filing lawsuits.
Meanwhile, under Nakayama Takuya's strategic planning, Sega had already extended the war to places they couldn't see or even imagine.
Kalinske walked to the window, looked down at the bustling street below, and grinned widely.
"Arakawa, we hope you like the Christmas gift we prepared for you."