Controller

Yu Suzuki looked at Nakayama Takuya with eyes full of admiration and fervor.

"I've been struggling with how to improve the expressiveness of Virtua Fighter characters within the limitations of the game's capabilities; going full 3D is just too difficult! But if I follow your approach, I can focus entirely on character animation design and the artistic details of the sprite sheets!"

"Model 2! My next-generation arcade board, Model 2, can be designed in this direction! The characters in Virtua Fighter 2 can be made ten times more detailed than they are now! The movements will also be much smoother!"

Seeing two top tech experts going wild over his idea, Nakayama Takuya smiled.

This is exactly the effect he wanted.

A future that excites even geniuses and is tangible.

"Very good." He gestured for the excited Yu Suzuki to sit down. "Now that the direction is set, things will be simple."

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His gaze swept over the three men, and he began to issue instructions.

"Zhongjun, the demo is in your hands now. Get the results out as soon as possible."

"Suzuki- kun, you can start brainstorming for your Model 2. You can treat it as a preliminary proof-of-concept for our next-generation console."

"Finally, Minister Nakamura."

Nakayama Takuya turned his gaze to the Hardware Department, who had been silent but listening attentively.

"For the audio source, we will use SEGA-CD as the standard, aiming for CD-quality audio."

We've mastered this technology, the costs are controllable, and the market accepts it. Going any further would significantly reduce the cost-effectiveness, and the improvement in the player experience would be very limited.

Nakamura nodded immediately and wrote it down in his notebook.

This is indeed the safest option.

"Regarding video output," Nakayama Takuya tapped his finger on the table, "I need you to conduct a thorough survey. What are the mainstream display specifications for the TVs in our gaming community's homes right now? Then, based on that, estimate what level this specification will reach by 1994. The graphics performance of our next-generation console will ultimately depend on this output specification, and this will be an important reference for evaluating our graphics chip solutions."

He looked at Minister Nakamura and emphasized, "We're not doing research in a lab; our products are meant to be sold to every household. Talking about picture quality without considering the actual display devices users own is like building castles in the air."

A hint of admiration flashed in Nakamura's eyes; the executive director's thinking was always so incisive, hitting the nail on the head.

Compared to those tech fanatics who only know how to pile up parameters, this kind of reverse-engineering research and development, which starts from the market and users, is the most stable approach.

"I understand, Executive Director. I will contact the Marketing Department immediately after the meeting to assist you and ensure we produce the most accurate report possible."

"Okay." Nakayama Takuya nodded in satisfaction; the core topics of the meeting had all been finalized.

"There's one last thing."

He abruptly changed the subject, drawing the attention of the three people who had just thought the meeting was about to end.

"Since this is the next generation, and since there will be a lot of 3D games, our current Mega Drive controllers are obviously not enough."

He picked up the pen on the table and started sketching on a clean A4 sheet of paper. He wanted to follow Sony's path and make Sony go and design a new controller.

"On the left is the familiar D-pad, the best way to control 2D games, which must be retained." A clear D-pad appears on the paper.

"On the right, there are four function keys: X, Y, and AB. This is the basis of our user habits. Six keys are not very necessary; we can put them in other positions." Four circles were drawn on the screen.

Yu Suzuki and Yuji Naka curiously moved closer, wondering what the executive director meant by drawing this.

Next, Nakayama Takuya moved the tip of his pen to the lower inside of the cross key and function keys, drew two small circles on each, and then drew a cross mark on them.

"These are two joysticks operated with your thumbs. In a 3D world, we need 360-degree free movement, which the D-pad can't do. One joystick controls the character's movement, and the other can be used to control the camera angle."

"Perspective?" Yu Suzuki's breath hitched; the word seemed to cleave his thoughts like a lightning bolt.

"That's right, a free perspective." Nakayama Takuya laughed. "Imagine, Suzuki- kun, in your <Virtua Fighter>..."

In this game, players can rotate the camera themselves to observe their opponent's movements from any angle. What an experience that would be!

Yu Suzuki's eyes instantly turned red; he seemed to have already seen a completely new fighting game world.

Nakayama Takuya's pen didn't stop; he drew four more long stripes above the handle.

"These are the shoulder buttons: LB, RB, LT, RT." He specifically drew curved lines on the LT and RT buttons. "These two will be made into trigger-type buttons. Imagine playing a racing game; the accelerator is no longer pressed all the way down, but rather the acceleration is linearly controlled based on the depth of your press. This part uses analog signal input."

"Buzz!"

Yu Suzuki's mind completely exploded.

He suddenly stood up, braced his hands on the table, and stared intently at the sketch, his lips trembling.

"Joystick—free camera—linear trigger—" he muttered to himself, as if possessed, "My racing game—my fighting game—God! This—this straight—"

He couldn't find the words to describe the shock he felt.

This controller design is far from a simple peripheral; it's clearly a complete set of interaction logic tailor-made for 3D games!

It solved countless operational problems he had encountered during development!

Yuji Naka also came over. Although he wasn't as outgoing as Yu Suzuki, his eyes were also shining with excitement.

He thought of Sonic. What an exhilarating experience it would be if Sonic could run freely in a 3D world using a joystick!

"Nakamura," Nakayama Takuya pushed the sheet of paper filled with futuristic ideas toward him, "first, based on this functional design, have someone in the Hardware Department make an engineering prototype. We can fine-tune the ergonomics, the internal control circuitry, and the button functionality later. Most importantly," he tapped the joystick and trigger button on the paper, "Apply for patents on this design immediately, right now, worldwide! Protect every detail, every functional combination!"

Nakamura solemnly accepted the paper, feeling its weight in his hand.

He knew the value of that thin sheet of paper.

"Suzuki- kun, snap out of it!" Nakayama Takuya couldn't help but chuckle and scold Yu Suzuki, who was lost in thought and muttering to himself.

"Huh? Oh!" Yu Suzuki jumped, his face flushed with embarrassment, but the fervor in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

"Hold your new idea to yourself for now. Wait until the design framework for the next-generation console is finalized before implementing it on your Model 2." Nakayama Takuya waved his hand dismissively. "Take it one step at a time; taking too big a step can lead to trouble."

A crude joke left Yu Suzuki with no choice but to nod helplessly and obediently sit back down.

But his eyes couldn't help but dart towards the design drawings in Nakamura's hand.