The Return of the Promotional Playbook

"Let's do it again, following that plan." Nakayama Takuya tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "Send letters to all third parties. Same old rules, participation is voluntary. Sega will lead the way, offering a few of our own million-selling classic games as a discounted bundle. Whether they want to clear out inventory or want to hitch a ride, we welcome them all."

"Yes!" The assistant turned to get to work.

"Wait," Nakayama Takuya called out to him, "Raise the bar a bit. Say that to thank players for their unprecedented support of Sega during the release of Chrono Trigger, we've decided to launch our New Year Grand Thank-You Festival early. Let players feel that this is our response to their enthusiasm."

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" The assistant understood immediately and dashed out.

The news sent shockwaves through the entire industry once again.

The presidents and department heads of various third-party manufacturers almost simultaneously recalled that winter of 1990, when Sega used a promotional storm to help them clear out their backlog of inventory and bring in unexpected profits.

It was a feast where everyone made money.

The phone in Nakayama Takuya's office became a hotline almost within half an hour.

"Executive Director! Nakamura Masaya, President of Namco, called personally to ask about the specific details of this event!"

"Executive Director! Kozuki, the president of Konami said that they are willing to offer the utmost sincerity, and the discount will definitely satisfy you!"

"Executive! A fax from Taito and IREM; they're asking if we can include last summer's game—"

The assistant, beaming with joy, clutched a stack of newly received faxes. He had now completely become Nakayama Takuya's straight man. "Executive Director, I think they're even more eager than we are. This isn't promotion; it's practically a tribute!"

"Of course they're enthusiastic about making money for us," Nakayama Takuya, leaning back in his chair and watching the city lights gradually illuminate the view outside the window.

What he wanted was this momentum of universal support.

"Go tell them that Sega's stage is set. Whether they can put on a good show at the end of the year depends on their own sincerity." Nakayama Takuya turned his gaze to the calendar on the wall, his eyes landing on the red circle for December 25th.

"And by the way, let Yamauchi Hiroshi see what a real third-party camp is like."

Nintendo Headquarters, Kyoto.

Yamauchi Hiroshi sat in the main seat, expressionless as he flipped through the market report that had just been faxed from Tokyo.

The report's title, in bold, read: <Sega's New Year Grand Thank-You Festival: A Nationwide Promotional Storm>

The report details how Sega cleverly used Chrono Trigger to whet players' appetites and then launched a massive promotional campaign covering all third-party developers.

Namco, Konami, Taito —familiar names like these are like armies obeying orders, tightly united under Sega's blue flag.

"Just a clearance sale." A minister tried to break the silence with a nonchalant tone, but his dry voice betrayed his unease. "They have too many games piling up on their MD platform, so this is a good opportunity to sell them off."

"A clearance sale?" Another executive pushed up his glasses, revealing bloodshot eyes behind the lenses. "Look at the photos of those stores in Akihabara. Sega's shelves have almost doubled in size, while our SFC shelves have been squeezed quite a bit. This isn't just a clearance sale, this is a demonstration."

Whispers arose in the conference room.

"Should we follow suit?"

As soon as the question was asked, everyone instinctively looked at Yamauchi Hiroshi.

follow up?

These two words pierced the hearts of every Nintendo executive like needles.

What does this mean?

This means admitting that Nintendo has fallen behind in marketing strategies, and that it has to imitate its rival, which it has always regarded as "unorthodox".

"Follow up? What are we going to use to follow up?" A section chief in charge of distribution channels asked with a bitter face. "The Super Famicom has only been out for a little over a year. How can its game lineup be as deep as the Mega Drive's? We can count the number of old games that are worth offering on a hand. Super Mario World is our trump card. We can't just offer it on sale ourselves, can we? That would be lowering our own value, wouldn't it?"

"What about FC games?" a young employee suggested quietly. "We have countless classic titles on the FC—"

Before he could finish speaking, he felt a cold gaze fall upon him.

Yamauchi Hiroshi slowly raised his head, his sharp eyes devoid of any warmth. "What are we selling now? Super Nintendo," he said, emphasizing each word. "Are you trying to tell all gamers that we still have plenty of worthwhile games on an obsolete machine?"

The young employee's face instantly turned bright red, and he wished he could disappear into the ground.

The meeting room fell silent once again.

This is Sega's open strategy. They used Chrono Trigger, a "masterpiece" that everyone wants to play but most people can't play for the time being, as their banner, and then used a massive promotional campaign to channel players' enthusiasm and New Year's money into their huge game library.

Nintendo, on the other hand, is like a martial arts master who has mastered only one move. Faced with a dazzling combination of punches from the opponent, it is momentarily at a loss as to how to counter them.

After a long while, Yamauchi Hiroshi threw the report in the center of the table.

"They're willing to pay to help third parties clear their inventory, and so are we." His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable decisiveness. "Moreover, we can pay even more than they do."

Everyone suddenly looked up.

"Pass the word down, Nintendo will also be holding New Year Appreciation Campaign." Yamauchi Hiroshi's gaze swept over everyone. "Since there are few games for the Super Famicom, let's make the discounts bigger! Tell those third parties that for all games participating in our event, Nintendo's share of the discount costs will be the same as Sega's!"

"On Sega?!" An executive gasped. This was practically throwing money away to gain publicity.

"Sega is winning people over, and so can we." Yamauchi Hiroshi's lips curled into a cold, hard smile. "Isn't Nintendo's money money? I want to see how much that so-called tacit understanding is worth in the face of real profits."

For Yamauchi Hiroshi, money was ultimately more important than his pride.

When Nintendo's "New Year Appreciation Campaign was launched in a manner almost identical to Sega's, many in the industry were waiting to see it fail.

But in Nintendo's meeting room, the atmosphere, which was initially oppressive, gradually became subtly strange.

"President, the sales report for the first week is out—" A department head carefully handed over the document, even his breathing was barely audible.

The conference room was completely silent.