The Race

"My God!" Kevin was completely numb. He slumped on the sofa, muttering to himself, "Were the gods on the track randomly selected today? Whoever was unlucky was eliminated?"

Finally, when the waving checkered flag fell, the first to cross the finish line was Gato Patres, a veteran driver from the Williams Team.

The McLaren Team did not come away empty-handed.

Gerhard Berger, the joking Austria, remained steady and composed amidst the chaos of his teammates and a host of strong rivals retiring from the race, securing a valuable second place for his team and successfully stepping onto the podium.

When Berger sprayed champagne on the podium, the McLaren technicians in the pit area finally managed a smile.

After the game, Nakayama Takuya and his entourage watched the television broadcast of Senna being interviewed in the locker room, looking dejected.

Mark Cerny was about to suggest going to offer his condolences when Nakayama Takuya shook his head first.

"Never mind, don't bother them," he said softly. "At this point, any words of comfort would be superfluous. Let them have some peace and quiet."

Mark nodded.

As a sponsor, celebrating Berger's runner-up finish is their duty, but touching on Senna's disappointment at this moment is clearly not a wise move.

The next day, at Nagoya Airport.

Mark Cerny, dragging his suitcase, glanced back at Kevin and the others behind him.

Although these guys were somewhat disappointed with the result of the competition, the thought of the container full of "holy relics" that was about to be shipped back to the United States brought an undisguised silly grin to their faces.

Nakayama Takuya came to see him off.

"Mark, you did a great job. The VR Racing debut was a great success."

"It was your execution that made it perfect." Mark extended his hand. "Then, we'll return to the United States."

"Have a safe journey." Takuya grasped Mark's hand.

The excitement and passion of the F1 Japanese Grand Prix gradually dissipated over the Suzuka Circuit as the teams and spectators departed.

Nakayama Takuya's life also shifted from the roar of racetrack engines back to the offices at Sega's headquarters.

A review report on the F1 Japanese Grand Prix lay quietly on his desk.

In just three days, sales of the limited edition Pikachu toy and related merchandise exceeded 100 million Japanese yen.

This figure required the Finance Department to verify it three times during the accounting process.

More importantly, the stunning debut of VR Racing at F1, amplified by the media, successfully sparked a buzz among gaming and racing fans worldwide.

"When technology embraces speed," this headline, written by journalist Watanabe, has now become a favorite slogan used by major gaming magazines when quoting <VR Racing>.

The high cost of the Model 1 board has indeed limited the availability of VR Racing.

Many small and medium-sized arcade owners can only look on with envy, but this does not prevent large chain arcades from regarding it as their new "flagship business".

At Sega's Building No. 1 in Akihabara, the two VR Racing simulators placed side by side were almost always busy from opening to closing time.

Even though it costs two 100-yuan coins for one insertion, double the price of other games, it can't stop players' enthusiasm for experiencing that ultimate sense of speed.

The office door opened, Yu Suzuki walked in, holding a printed report in his hand, his expression as focused as ever.

"Special Secretary Nakayama."

"Suzuki- san, please sit down." Nakayama Takuya gestured to the sofa opposite him, smiling as he pushed the debriefing report on the table towards him. "Our collaboration with F1 and McLaren was a huge success. Your <VR Racing> deserves much of the credit."

Yu Suzuki merely glanced at the astonishing 100 million yen sales figure on the report before setting it aside, clearly showing little interest.

He handed the report he had brought to Nakayama Takuya: "This is a summary of player feedback data from Akihabara Hall No. 1."

Nakayama Takuya took it, he saw that the densely packed records were not sales data, but rather the average values of players' game time, top speed, cornering choices, and even steering wheel rotation angles.

"Most players gave the highest rating to the sense of speed and the steering wheel's force feedback," Yu Suzuki said calmly, as if stating a fact rather than boasting. "However, 12 percent of experienced players reported that the steering wheel's force feedback was slightly stiff when taking 130R corners at high speeds, and the feedback on the critical point of tire grip was not linear enough."

Nakayama Takuya was somewhat bewildered.

All he knew was that the game was a success and players loved it, and that was enough for him.

As for the technical details reported by the 12% of players, which even he couldn't quite understand, they can only be described as nitpicking given the current hardware capabilities.

"This shouldn't affect the fact that it's a great work, right?" Nakayama Takuya asked tentatively.

"It doesn't matter." Yu Suzuki shook his head, but his eyes behind his glasses revealed an unwavering determination. "It could have been more perfect, but this is all we can do for now."

Yu Suzuki shook his head and continued, "The development of the Model 2's substrate hasn't gone smoothly. There are too few affordable components available on the market, and their performance is not satisfactory. We can only test them one by one."

Nakayama Takuya comforted him, saying, "Technological iteration always takes time; we can't rush it. We'll just proceed steadily. You're developing too fast; some people on the board are even complaining that we haven't made enough money from MD yet."

Yu Suzuki stood up and said, "That's the only way."

Then he left Takuya's office.

Nakayama Takuya's office returned to silence.

He spun around in his chair, his gaze falling on the calendar on the wall, where a red circle marked the end of October.

November is just around the corner.

Nintendo, on the other hand, hasn't been idle.

The release of Super Mario Kart this summer was like a bombshell, exploding in the living rooms of countless homes.

Nakayama Takuya just saw the data a couple of days ago; that seemingly cartoonish kart racing game has sold over four million copies worldwide since its release.

This is a staggering number, meaning that Nintendo's Super Famicom (SFC) console, after the initial growing pains of a limited game lineup, has fully recovered and is once again conquering the market.

Nakayama Takuya's fingers tapped lightly on the table, producing a rhythmic, soft sound.

It's time.

He picked up the intercom. "Have Mr. Tanaka, the head of the Marketing Department, come to my office."

Soon, a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looking slightly anxious, knocked on the door and came in.

"Executive, you wanted to see me."

"

"Minister Tanaka, please have a seat." Nakayama Takuya gestured to the sofa opposite him, his expression unreadable. "Nintendo's Mario Kart is selling very well."