Booth Arrangements
After a few muffled beeps, the phone was answered, and a strong, resonant voice with a thick American accent immediately rang out.
"Takuya? I knew you'd call right away."
"Tom, it sounds like there's a war going on over there," Nakayama Takuya said with a laugh, leaning back in his chair.
"It's more troublesome than fighting a war!" Tom Kalinske on the other end of the phone didn't sound like he was joking at all. "The CES organizers just finalized the booth layout, and I faxed it to you immediately. We got a good location, but the area—is only a little over 500 square meters."
"Five hundred square meters?" Nakayama Takuya calculated for a moment. This area was neither too big nor too small, but it was indeed a bit insufficient for what Sega was preparing to send to the exhibition.
"That's right, only 500 square meters!" Tom emphasized.
Nakayama Takuya tapped lightly on the small "Sega" area on the fax paper, his face showing no sign of impatience.
"Five hundred square meters is a bit small," he said into the microphone, his tone as casual as if he were commenting on the weather. "But Tom, we don't need to cram all our games in; we just need to put in the core ones."
Tom Kalinske on the other end of the phone visibly paused for a moment. "Which models?"
"Let's talk about your side first," Nakayama Takuya leaned back in his chair, shifting to a more comfortable position, "How's the progress on Mark Cerny's * John Wick *? Could you take a single level and make a playable demo to show at the expo?"
"A demo version?" Tom's voice immediately rose. "Of course! Mark and his guys are already in the final testing phase. They're practically bringing the whole game over, let alone just one level! That thing is just... amazing!"
"That's good. Also, did Universal Pictures agree to let us promote the film at the exhibition before its release? Or do we have to wait until the film's release to promote it simultaneously?"
"I haven't asked about that yet," Tom replied quickly. "I'll have Bernard communicate with them right away. Don't worry, the synergy from the Hook collaboration is still fresh in our minds. I reckon they're eager for us to generate buzz for them as soon as possible, so this shouldn't be a problem."
"Very good." Nakayama Takuya received a satisfactory reply, and then slowly and deliberately threw out his own cards.
"I'll bring three things with me from Tokyo."
"First, the Sega-CD console."
"Secondly, the first trailer for Chrono Trigger."
Third, a live hands-on demo of <The King of Fighters>.
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.
Takuya could almost see Tom Kalinske frowning as he divided the booths.
"Takuya, with so much stuff, our 500 square meters won't be enough, will it?"
"Of course we won't pile them all up there." Nakayama Takuya laughed. "Tom, there's a main stage at the exhibition, right?"
Yes, but—
"Give us half an hour of stage time," Nakayama Takuya interrupted him, his tone leaving no room for argument. "We'll go up there and do only two things: release the Sega-CD, then play the trailer for Chrono Trigger. Just say a few things, whet everyone's appetite, and then we'll leave the stage."
Tom understood instantly.
"You're going to hold the Sega-CD launch event and the Chrono Trigger game launch on the main stage, leaving the exhibition booth for demos?"
"That's right!" Nakayama Takuya snapped his fingers. "The stage is for the media and peers, for them to write reports, analyze, and marvel at. Our booth, however, is for the players."
He pointed to the booth layout on the table. "Clear that 500 square meters, put half of it with light gun arcade machines for ' John Wick,' and the other half with ' King of Fighters of Fighters' battle stages. We don't need to say anything; let the players line up, let the roar of the machines and the screams of the players be our best advertisement."
Tom Kalinske on the other end of the phone fell silent.
Nakayama Takuya's plan sounded ingenious, but something just felt missing.
It lacks the flamboyant, over-the-top style that Sega used to have, the kind that seemed to want to tear the sky apart.
"Takuya, it's that simple?" Tom Kalinske was somewhat surprised. "Hiding the good stuff in the booth and waiting for players to discover it themselves? That's not like you. I remember when we released the Mega Drive and Game Pocket, the commotion was so big, we wanted the whole world to know."
"Times have changed, Tom." Nakayama Takuya's voice remained steady. "I have a feeling something big will happen at this year's CES."
"Event?"
"Yeah, didn't you say last time that Trip Hawkins and his gang started a new company called SMSG?"
Oh, they call it 3D0 now, right? I bet they're going to bring their precious console this time. And Nintendo, their Super Famicom-CD project is almost finished, they might bring it out to show off too."
"Then shouldn't we put in even more effort and completely overshadow them?!" Tom Kalinske's voice immediately rose, this was his familiar rhythm. "We have Sega-CD, Chrono Trigger, and two arcade games that are obviously going to be blockbusters! We should rent the biggest GG deck, extend the showtimes to two hours, and steal everyone's attention!"
"We can't compete with that." Nakayama Takuya chuckled. "Tom, our content is solid. Once players try it out, word-of-mouth will spread naturally. Spending more money on drinks is less effective than preparing more machines, letting players play for a few more minutes, and selling some limited-edition merchandise. That's more worthwhile than anything else. Besides, I have a guess."
What guess?
"Don't rush, take a look at that booth map. Where is Sony's booth?"
"Sony?" Tom Kalinske paused, then muttered, "Isn't that what they sell—TVs and Walkmans? Let me see—"
A rustling sound of papers turning over came from the other end of the phone.
After about ten seconds, Tom's voice rang out again, but this time, his signature loud voice was gone, replaced by a suppressed look of surprise.
"Wait a minute, something's not right."
"You saw it?"
"Sony's booth—they didn't squeeze in with the appliance manufacturers like Panasonic and Toshiba. They went to the very edge of the appliance section, right next to—right next to our game company area!"
"Is that so?" There was no hint of surprise in Nakayama Takuya's voice.
Tom Kalinske's mind raced, and a startling thought popped into his head, "Takuya, you said before that Sony is developing SFC-CD for Nintendo and can develop SFC-CD compatible consoles, but they're also poaching our people—could it be?"