ESRB Established

While everyone's thoughts were still on Nintendo's ruthless betrayal of Sony, the fax machine in the corner suddenly emitted a buzzing sound, followed by the turning of its gears, spitting out a sheet of still-hot thermal paper.

The sound was particularly jarring in the quiet office.

Standing nearby, Tanaka casually tore off the paper, glanced at the English text at the top, and immediately raised his eyebrows. "A briefing from Redwood City regarding the ESRB establishment press conference."

"Read it." Nakayama Takuya twirled the pen in his hand, leaned back, and the Genuine Leather seat made a slight creaking sound.

"It's a big event. The retired Secretary of Education that Tom invited is definitely someone important." Tanaka quickly scanned the densely packed English words, his tone tinged with admiration. "There were a few troublemakers from conservative newspapers present, sticking to the old tune of 'video games poisoning teenagers,' even questioning the committee's independence. But this old man didn't use any public relations rhetoric. He directly presented the detailed rating standards we had prepared and asked the reporter in return—do you think it's more dangerous to give the choice to educated parents, or is it safer to let those Washington officials who have never even touched a game controller decide what their children watch? What's wrong with parents who care most about their children being the last line of defense?" The whole room applauded.

Yu Suzuki, listening from the side, chuckled, "This old United States guy is interesting."

"The important part is at the end." Tanaka pointed to the bottom half of the paper, his expression becoming somewhat strange. "A reporter asked the most sensitive question: As the second-largest Nintendo in the North America market, why wasn't Nintendo on the initial list of members? Does it mean that only Sega's games are full of violent elements?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Suzuki sat up straight.

This is a life-or-death question; a bad answer will backfire, either offending your peers or admitting you're a "perpetrator of violence."

"What did you say?" Takuya, and even had the leisure to pick up his teacup.

"This is what the spokesperson said—" Tanaka cleared his throat, mimicking the tone of American diplomatic rhetoric, "We regret Nintendo's absence. Nintendo has repeatedly stated that their products are family-friendly and will never contain any blood, violence, or inappropriate content. Given their strong internal purification mechanisms, the committee fully respects and trusts them. We expect Nintendo to uphold this purity to the end and become a moral benchmark for the industry."

After reading it, a brief silence fell over the office.

A few seconds later, Yu Suzuki slapped his thigh. "Not bad!"

"That's Tom's brilliance." Nakayama Takuya put down his teacup, a smile playing on his lips. "If we were to publicly criticize Nintendo in this kind of setting, it would be petty and only make the public think that the gaming industry is fighting amongst themselves. But now, we're lifting him up, making him stand out."

He stood up, walked to the huge world map, and gently drew a circle on the North America continent with his finger.

"Once Nintendo accepts this 'family-friendly' label, any game they release afterward, if it shows even a tiny bit of red blood, or if a female character's skirt is even an inch shorter, will have parents' associations and ethics committees across America rushing in with magnifying glasses, pointing their fingers at Minoru Arakawa and calling him a liar, without us even lifting a finger."

Tanaka felt a chill run down his spine. This wasn't respect; it was poison coated in sugar.

Sega willingly put on shackles in order to hand the key to the parents; while Nintendo's refusal to be shackled is tantamount to turning itself into a saint who must be perfect at all times.

"But Takuya, what if Nintendo really only makes games like Mario?" Yu Suzuki asked with some concern. "Then this strategy will be useless?"

"Suzuki -san, you're overthinking it." Takuya turned around, his eyes filled with an unwavering certainty. "If they only make family-friendly games, they'll certainly solidify their position in the children's market, but they won't be able to fully capitalize on the youth and adult markets. Players will be forced to make choices passively. You have to understand, money is in the hands of adults. Since adults can earn money, they need to release the pressure of earning it, and not just any family-friendly game can provide that, especially for those without children."

Tokyo headquarters Iron Plate Formation Building, Namco Ota Ward, Tokyo.

A black Toyota Crown silently slid into the underground parking garage.

The car door opened, Nobuyuki Idei straightened his tie and glanced at Ken Kutaragi beside him.

The guy was clutching the briefcase full of technical documents tightly in his hands.

"Kutaragi," Nobuyuki Idei whispered a reminder, "When we go in later, the technology is yours, the business is mine. Don't start beating up their engineers before you've even exchanged a few words."

Ken Kutaragi chuckled lightly, "After all, you're a company that can make 3D arcade boards that are on par with Sega, so naturally I'll be polite."

The elevator goes directly to the president's office on the top floor.

Nakamura Masaya sat behind a large mahogany desk, fiddling with a Pac-Man model in his hand.

As the founder of Namco, this elderly man, known as the "father of Pac-Man," is now scrutinizing the two guests with a critical eye.

People from Sony.

"How has President Ohga been lately?" Nakamura Masaya put down his model and gestured for his secretary to serve tea. "I heard you signed a good agreement with Nintendo in Chicago."

These words were like a thorn, piercing precisely where Sony and his partner were most vulnerable.

Nobuyuki Idei his teacup and took a sip. "The agreement was indeed signed, but that's just for show. We're here today to discuss the future with Namco."

Nakamura Masaya raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"That agreement is nothing but a piece of waste paper," Ken Kutaragi couldn't help but interject, slamming his briefcase onto the coffee table. "President Nakamura, let's not beat around the bush. Nintendo has treated us like fools, and we've decided to flip the table. Sony is going to make its own console, completely independent, and it has absolutely nothing to do with Nintendo."

These words were so blunt that they made Nobuyuki Idei's eyelids twitch, but they also successfully piqued Nakamura Masaya's interest.

"Making your own console?" Nakamura Masaya chuckled, a smile that betrayed his ignorance. "Sony has money and technology, I admit that. But in the gaming world, you don't even know which way the door leads. Hardware without software is just an expensive CD player."

"So we need Namco," Nobuyuki Idei continued, his tone sincere. "Or rather, we need each other."

He pulled a briefing out of Ken Kutaragi's bag.