E3 Day One (12)

"See? This is Koei's way of doing business. They don't need the whole hall to stand and applaud, they don't need media headlines. As long as the people who should buy it know this thing is out, that's enough."

3:15 in the afternoon.

It was Sega's turn.

The air in the venue had relaxed for less than thirty seconds after Koei left the stage before Sega's logo cut onto the big screen.

The instant the blue "SEGA" letters popped outward, the reporters below, who had been leaning back in their chairs to rest their feet, all leaned two inches forward in unison.

From Konami at 9:15 that morning to Koei's just-finished presentation, more than a dozen manufacturers had taken turns onstage, each with their own approach, but what still drew the most attention was the first-party side stepping into the arena in person.

What else could Jupiter do?

The first producer to take the stage was a Japanese man in his early thirties, wearing round-rimmed glasses, a dark gray jacket of no visible brand, and a black T-shirt underneath.

But when he stood there on the stage, the first sentence of his self-introduction was in English, with a distinct Japanese accent: "I'm Hideo Kojima. I make games that I want to play."

Someone in the Japanese reporters' section laughed out loud.

Everyone who knew him knew this guy's temperament—confident to the point where you almost wanted to punch him.

But the American reporters who didn't know him found it rather pleasing. At the very least, this opening line was far better than the by-the-book recitations given by eighty percent of the Japanese producers today.

Hideo Kojima's English was indeed already at a presentable level within the Japanese game industry.

A few years ago, Sega had sent him to North America