The True Model 2 Prototype

Hisao Oguchi nodded, closed the folder, and a glint of shrewdness flashed in his eyes behind his glasses.

"Very good. The executive director has approved the development budget for the next phase. Now that the Mode|2 board is in place, we need to speed up development and strive to deliver a truly next-generation shock to the market around the summer."

He walked up to the Model 2 prototype and reached out to touch the still slightly warm casing.

"Once this thing is released, those old relics in arcades still using low-resolution 2D graphics will probably have to step aside."

Yu Suzuki smiled, gripped the joystick again, and his eyes regained their fervor.

"It's not just an arcade machine. This is Jupiter's own sibling. If it runs like this on the arcade, what about on the home console—"

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone present understood.

"Alright, enough with the sentimentality." Sato Hideki clapped his hands, pulling everyone back to reality. "This is just a prototype; there's still a ton of hardware testing to do before mass production. Get some rest tonight, and we'll start stress testing tomorrow!"

The celebration banquet can wait until everything is finalized.

A round of applause erupted in the laboratory, and everyone's face was filled with a kind of excitement called "making history".

Nakayama Takuya closed the folder and rubbed his slightly throbbing temples. The deep roar of the Boeing 747 engines continued to echo in his ears, but he didn't immediately fall asleep to adjust to the time difference.

The word "Blizzard" stood out prominently in the presentation.

Those talented yet unconventional individuals finally shed the tongue-twisting and geeky "Silicon & Synapse" label, replacing it with the still somewhat immature "Blizzard" of this era.

Blackthorne is indeed a good game.

The tough guy wielding a shotgun, the dark-style side-scrolling game – this vibe really appeals to North America gamers.

But in Nakayama Takuya's eyes, this was nothing more than an appetizer, not even a proper starter.

What he was really craving was the main dish that hadn't been served yet.

One of the pioneers of PC real-time strategy games, the beginning of the Azeroth.

If these guys are allowed to figure things out step by step, who knows when Warcraft will be completed, or if some key designs will be cut due to funding constraints.

Now that Sega has invested, he doesn't mind giving it a push from behind, making this blizzard even more intense.

Redwood City, California.

This is Sega of America base; the air is filled with the scent of freedom and the US dollar.

After adjusting to the time difference overnight, Nakayama Takuya, full of energy, pushed open the door to the president's office.

Hey! Look who's here!

Tom Kalinske, beaming with excitement as he looked at the sales report, saw Nakayama Takuya enter and immediately came out from behind his desk to give him a hearty American bear hug. "I just received news from Japan yesterday that the test results of the Model 2 prototype are very encouraging. Many things that previously couldn't run smoothly now run efficiently and effectively."

"Of course, it was worth spending so much money on custom chips and putting in so much effort to advance development using soft commands. This gives our Model 2 games a good chance of making it to the summer release schedule." Nakayama Takuya nodded, smiling as he playfully punched his capable lieutenant on the shoulder. "But don't just focus on Model 2 and the new Jupiter console; the PC market is making quite a splash too."

--

Tom shrugged, turned, Nakayama Takuya a cup of coffee. "You mean Blizzard? Mike Morhaime and his crew are really something. The sales figures for Blackthorne are impressive. What, did the executive director fly all this way just to praise these young guys?"

"Praise is necessary, but it's not enough." Nakayama Takuya took the coffee, his eyes gleaming. "I think their potential is much greater than this. Remember the RTS genre I asked you to pay attention to before?"

"You mean something like Dune II, made by Westwood and his crew?" Tom frowned. "That stuff is too hardcore, too complicated to play, only PC geeks like it."

"It's cumbersome now because no one has figured out the interaction logic yet," Nakayama Takuya said confidently, taking a sip of his coffee. "Once someone does it, it'll be the next gold mine. Blizzard has that potential."

Tom looked at Nakayama Takuya thoughtfully.

In recent years, this young executive director has developed a very keen eye; if he says it's a gold mine, then there must be gold buried underneath.

"Okay, since you're so optimistic about it, I'll have the finance department approve some extra budget for Blizzard?"

"Money is a minor issue; the key is the direction." Nakayama Takuya waved his hand. "I'll go take a look myself. By the way, where are those people in the Development Department? I need to tell them the test results of the Model 2 prototype."

Mentioning the Development Department, Tom smiled helplessly, "It's downstairs. Ever since they heard that the R3000S chip in Japan was successfully taped out, these tech fanatics have been blocking my door every day asking when they can get their hands on the actual device."

The two arrived at the Development Department downstairs. The previously noisy office area fell silent for a second, followed by a commotion.

"Executive!"

"Mr. Nakayama!"

Several senior programmers with messy, unkempt hair surrounded them, their eyes gleaming like wolves that hadn't eaten for three days seeing meat.

"I knew you guys didn't care about me, only about the machines," Nakayama Takuya joked, then became serious. "Don't worry, the Model 2 development kit is already packed and on its way. It should be on your desks as early as next week."

"Yeah!"

A cheer erupted from the crowd, and some people even threw their Coke cans into the air.

"Not only that," Nakayama Takuya raised his voice, silencing the crowd, "The prototype of our new home console, codenamed Jupiter, will be completed in a few months. Once the Model 2 development kit arrives, you'll all be busy. Don't complain about insufficient performance or lack of interest then."

This caused an uproar throughout the entire Development Department.

In an era where hardware performance determines the limits, giving programmers more powerful capabilities is equivalent to giving soldiers the most advanced assault rifles.

They've had enough of being confined to 16 bits and now they can finally unleash their full potential.

Looking at the developers who were caught up in the jubilation, Nakayama Takuya's lips curled into a slight smile.

This is Sega's current confidence.

After calming down the restless group of tech geeks, Nakayama Takuya checked his watch.

"Tom, I'm leaving this to you. I need to go to Irvine."

"So urgent?"

"There's no way around it," Nakayama Takuya straightened his collar and looked towards the southern sky, "I've been getting excited and impatient ever since I saw their plan."

Tom was completely bewildered. "Is it really that bad? What good game can't you develop?"

"The interaction logic is different on PC, and the experience is completely different. You'll understand when the game comes out."

Nakayama Takuya smiled mysteriously, offered no explanation, and turned to walk out the door.