Another Year, Another Discount Season

At this point, the expressions on their faces softened considerably.

In this economic downturn, everything else is meaningless; only cash flow is truly essential.

Sega has an unwritten good reputation in the industry—they pay up quickly.

As long as you participate in promotional activities, the settlement period is so short that you'll be incredibly grateful.

For small factories that have been repeatedly teetering on the edge of bank loan limits, Sega's check is a lifeline.

In contrast, the "Nintendo boss" in Kyoto, despite the continued strong momentum of the Super Famicom, essentially shifted all the risk onto the manufacturers with his strict royalty system and long payment terms.

Previously, people had no choice but to swallow their anger. Now, with Sega, the "Barbarian 73" waving its money, things have changed.

Who would want to fawn over Nintendo?

Even large, well-funded companies like Konami and Capcom have begun to quietly adjust their strategies.

Although it's officially still running on both platforms, behind the scenes, the development priority of the MD version has been moved above that of the SFC.

The reason is simple: quick payments allow one party to support the other.

Kyoto, Nintendo Headquarters.

Yamauchi Hiroshi looked at the report submitted by the Sales Department, his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly.

This year has been unlucky, with ace Shigeru Miyamoto taking a break for more than half a year due to health reasons, resulting in an unusual gap in Nintendo's first-party lineup.

Originally, we were hoping that third-party developers could fill the gap, but now it seems that several major titles that were originally scheduled for release at the end of the year have been inexplicably postponed to January next year.

"These opportunists." Yamauchi Hiroshi snorted and threw the report back onto the table.

"President, the distributors are causing trouble too." The Sales Department wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "They say that once the promotion starts, Sega's shelves will be packed with people. If SFC doesn't follow suit with their promotions, they'll reduce our display space—"

Threat. A blatant threat.

Three years ago, these distributors wouldn't have dared to speak to Nintendo like that, even if they had ten times the courage.

But now, Sega has fed these profit-driven businessmen with real money, and they've naturally become more assertive.

Yamauchi Hiroshi remained silent for a long time before finally waving his hand helplessly.

"Let's follow up."

Those three short words seemed to drain a lot of his energy and spirit.

"Tell the staff below that we're also having a New Year's promotion." "Also—" Yamauchi Hiroshi paused, a ruthless glint in his eyes, "Go check on those manufacturers who defaulted on their payments. Make sure they take good care of next year's royalty audit."

Down."

With Nintendo forced out of the fray, the year-end sales war of 1993 completely devolved into a price war.

The happiest people are the players and the retailers.

The store managers in Akihabara were practically grinning from ear to ear as they watched the two companies splurge money in their quest for market share.

On one side were blue Sega promotional posters, and on the other side were red Nintendo reward banners. Amidst this red-blue showdown, the cash registers never stopped jingling.

With the end of the 1994 New Year holiday, the Christmas and New Year sales in the gaming industry finally came to a close.

Players took home piles of cards they'd snagged during the sale and went into seclusion to hone their skills, making the bustling streets of Akihabara unusually quiet.

Finance departments at major manufacturers are working overtime to calculate the losses and gains from this price war.

In the Managing Director's Office at Sega Headquarters, Sato Hideki, who had just been appointed director of the Hardware Development Department, strode confidently through the door to Nakayama Takuya's office, clutching a still-warm transoceanic fax in his hand.

"Executive, a letter has arrived from the United States —it's done!"

Upon hearing this, Nakayama Takuya immediately took the fax.

The paper was covered with obscure technical parameters, but he immediately spotted the most crucial line. "MIPS R3000 Custom Version, Tapeout Successful, All Indicators Meet Expectations."

"Great! That's fantastic!" Nakayama Takuya slammed the papers down, making a rustling sound. "This CPU is finally done!"

Although Ken Kutaragi from Sony also cleverly approached SGI and used the MIPS R3000 architecture, the differences between them are significant.

Sega not only placed its order early, but also had Mark Cerny lead a team of top Sega developers who took into account Sega's experience in game development tools when designing the chip.

In the early stages of a new console's release, Sega's consoles are definitely easier to develop, which greatly helps save development costs and improve game performance in the early stages of the console's release.

This will also help attract more third parties to join the game development team for Sega's new console early on.

"From now on, we'll call this one the R3000S," Sato Hideki said, pointing to the spec sheet, his face crinkling into a wide smile. "That 'S' is reserved for Sega."

Nakayama Takuya put the fax in the drawer, in a great mood.

With the CPU ready and other hardware architecture largely complete, all that's left is to give this soon-to-be-born new host a catchy name.

"I'll send a notification to the board in a bit. Next week's routine board meeting will include discussions on the naming of the new console. I'll also have my assistant inform the group's brand department to research and provide several naming options and their meanings, so we can submit them to the board for a final decision." Nakayama Takuya picked up his coffee, his eyes gleaming with ambition. "I'll trouble Sato- san to arrange for the Hardware Development Department to handle the assembly and debugging of the Model 2 using the R3000S and the new console prototype."

"No problem." Sato Hideki agreed and left the Managing Director's Office.

A week later at Sega Headquarters, the routine board meeting was held.

The meeting room was filled with smoke, as several old-school directors habitually puffed on cigarettes while thinking.

Nakayama Takuya gently waved away the smoke in front of him and placed a thick technical report in the center of the long table.

"Ladies and gentlemen, good news. The R3000S has been successfully taped out."

Nakayama Takuya's voice wasn't loud, but it instantly drowned out the hum of the exhaust fan. "This means our new host already has a CPU. The next step is to assemble the other components. The Hardware Development Department has entered the final assembly and testing phase, and firmware development has also started simultaneously."

Sitting at the head of the table, Nakayama Hayao nodded slightly and tapped his knuckles lightly twice on the mahogany table.

Those familiar with the president's temperament know that this is a sign that he is in an extremely good mood.

"Now that we have the CPU, it's time to give this new host an official name." Nakayama Hayao's gaze swept across the room. "We can't keep calling it 'Next Generation Project,' it sounds like some empty promise that may never come to fruition."

The brand manager, who had been waiting nearby, quickly stood up, wiped the sweat from his brow, and handed over a naming proposal.

"President, Executive Director, these are a few alternative proposals that the brand department brainstormed overnight."

Nakayama Takuya casually flipped through the pages, raising an eyebrow slightly.

The first one is "Dreamaker".

"Dream weavers?" A sales director scoffed, stubbing out his cigarette. "Sounds like selling a Simmons mattress. We're selling excitement and thrills, not putting players to sleep."