First Day of E3 (11)

"Square still had this many games in development for the Mega Drive?" the reporter from PopularMechanics said, a little surprised.

"The Mega Drive's install base is still there. What needs to be made still has to be made," someone beside him explained. "And think about it—only one project on the scale of Final Fantasy VII can be done. Stuffing all your development resources into one big project is a gamble. Filling out the product line with mid-sized titles is how a normal company operates. The development costs of these Mega Drive games combined are probably about on par with Final Fantasy VII."

"But that also means Square still hasn't completely given up on 16-bit platforms."

"No kidding. The Mega Drive has an install base of tens of millions worldwide. If you were Square, would you give that up? It's not like the money burns your hands."

Square's presentation lasted twelve minutes from the moment they took the stage to the moment it ended.

Five titles: one next-generation bombshell, four current-generation standard moves.

The structure was so clear it was beyond reproach—first use Final Fantasy VII to pull everyone's expectations to their highest point, then use four sequels in mature genres to prove the company's output and stability.

This kind of approach gave Sega the kind of face it wanted for Jupiter, without saddling the company with too much risk.

The buzz of discussion below the stage reached one of today's peaks after Square left.

That Final Fantasy VII trailer was brought up again and again.

Several photographers gathered together, flipping through the screen photos they had just taken, calculating which shot had the best composition and could be used for a magazine cover.

"That CG overhead panorama of the city," the photographer from NetGeneration said, tapping the camera screen. "This