Flower Viewing
At this point, Nakayama Takuya stood up, walked to his desk, picked up the calendar page that Tom had just covered with circles on, and casually tore off a page.
"The rest of the dirty and hard work will have to be done by you, the North America president."
"I knew it wouldn't be good." Tom gave a wry smile and spread his hands. "So, who do you want me to fool?"
"The first one Minoru Arakawa from Nintendo."
Tom's expression became somewhat subtle upon hearing this name.
After all, Sega and Nintendo are locked in fierce competition in North America, and their mutual sarcastic remarks are commonplace.
"Don't look at me like that." Nakayama Takuya patted him on the shoulder. "Minoru Arakawa is a pure businessman. Although his vision is just so-so, he's much more flexible than that stubborn old man in Kyoto (Yamauchi Hiroshi). As long as he sees that leaving CES will save him a lot of exhibition fees and give him better exposure, he'll agree. With him and us jointly initiating this, the resistance from those old fogies within Nintendo will be much less."
"Fine, Minoru Arakawa do anything to save money." Tom shrugged, taking it as an agreement.
"And then there's EA and 3DO," Nakayama Takuya continued, naming names. "Tripp Hawkins ' ambition has grown wildly these past two years. His move to 3DO is just a ploy to establish his own empire. These kinds of people are most susceptible to the 'co-founder' tactic. Give him a vice-chairmanship or board member title, flatter him, and he'll be more enthusiastic than anyone else."
What about Europe?
"Notify the Guillemot Brothers at Ubisoft and have them contact those Europe game developers. They've started developing games now anyway, so this is a good opportunity to boost their standing in the industry. They'll be happy to do the legwork."
After outlining the plans for North America and Europe, Nakayama Takuya straightened his tie and looked eastward. "As for Tokyo, leave Sony and Panasonic to me. Sony is probably working on a new console right now, and they're more eager than anyone for a stage to showcase it. Bringing them in will significantly boost our overall presence."
Tom Kalinske looked at his boss, who was much younger than him, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
This guy, he was just drinking soda and burping a moment ago, and in the blink of an eye he's got his hands on half the gaming industry.
"Takuya, you're treating me like a human mule!" Tom complained, but his eyes grew brighter. "We have to deal with the hearings, win over those arch-enemies to form an association, and prepare for next year's big exhibition."
"The capable should do more," Nakayama Takuya said, picking up his briefcase and turning back with a smile as he walked to the door. "Just imagine, next May, when we hang up the 'Electronic Entertainment Epo' sign at the Los Angeles Convention Center and see the sea of players, you'll realize that all the running around now was worth it."
"Electronic Entertainment Expo— E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo." Tom chewed on the name, then grinned, revealing a set of white teeth. "That name sounds way sexier than 'Consumer Electronics Show.' Alright, hurry back to Tokyo, don't keep me from calling Minoru Arakawa."
As the office door closed, Nakayama Takuya's trip to the United States came to an end.
The air in Tokyo carries the damp scent of earth, a unique aroma of spring.
Nakayama Takuya had just tossed his suitcase into the entryway of his home, and before he could even adjust to the time difference, he was swarmed in the face by a mountain of sales reports piled up on his desk.
"Manager, these are the first-week sales figures for the Sakura Wars Mega Drive cartridge." The sales manager, holding a sales report, knocked on Nakayama Takuya's office door. "450,000 copies were shipped in the first week, and additional orders are already booked until next month."
Nakayama Takuya casually flipped through the data, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Last year's Sega-CD version of Sakura Wars received rave reviews, but the expensive peripherals were still a hurdle.
To cater to those Mega Drive players who are short on cash, porting the cartridge version is imperative.
Although the original gorgeous cutscenes were reduced to static CGs due to cartridge capacity limitations, and the voice lines of Mayumi Tanaka and Chisa Yokoyama were cut down to just a few shouts during battles, this did not dampen the players' enthusiasm in the slightest.
After all, as long as the story continues, and as long as the LIPS System that captivates people's hearts remains, these die-hard fans are willing to spend money.
"How's the rebroadcast going on TV Tokyo?" Takuya put down the report and picked up his teacup.
"The viewership ratings are two points higher than the premiere!" the section chief exclaimed excitedly, gesturing wildly. "Especially in conjunction with this cartridge release, the GG Department replaced the anime's interlude with promotional material for the Mega Drive version, and the effect was immediate."
Nakayama Takuya nodded. This is the benefit of a complete industry chain layout.
My father-in-law's TV station provides the drinks, while his own factory handles the cash—it's a comfortable business deal.
Since the data looks good, it's time to enjoy life. After being busy in the United States for a while, it's time to take a good rest.
On weekends, Ueno Park is more crowded than cherry blossoms.
Pink and white petals fell like snow, covering the stone path.
The air was filled with the aroma of takoyaki sauce and the smell of cheap beer.
"Slow down, Kazuki!"
Nakayama Eri, dressed in an elegant beige trench coat and holding a freshly bought cotton candy, kept her eyes glued to the figure darting around like a small cannonball.
At two and a half years old, Nakayama Kazuki is at an age where he has boundless energy. He toddles through the crowd with his short little legs, curious about everything.
Nakayama Takuya carried a heavy picnic basket filled with tamagoyaki and rice balls that Eri had made early that morning, and reluctantly followed behind, acting Eri her protector and laborer.
"This isn't flower viewing, it's like a military march." Takuya found a relatively flat patch of grass, spread out his picnic blanket, and plopped down. "It's more tiring than negotiating with old Turner in United States."
Eri smiled and sat down beside him, taking a bottle of oolong tea from the basket and handing it to him. "You should be content. If the people at the company saw the usually decisive and efficient Executive Director Nakayama like this, their jaws would probably drop."
"Daddy! Daddy! Look at that older sister!"
Kazuki suddenly stumbled back, her little hand excitedly pointing to an old cherry blossom tree not far away.
Takuya followed his son's finger and almost spat out the oolong tea he had just drunk.
Under the cherry blossom tree, a girl dressed in the iconic red and white hakama, with a long wooden sword at her waist and a huge red bow in her hair, was posing as if drawing her sword for her companions to take pictures.
Although her clothes were a bit rough and her grip on the wooden sword was somewhat unnatural, her spirit and energy did have a bit of Sakura Shinguji's feel to them.
Even more outrageous, there was a boy next to him wearing the uniform of the Imperial Combat Revue, clumsily imitating Ichiro Ogami's salute, which attracted the attention of passersby, and a few of the bolder ones went up to ask for a photo.