A Test

Hisao Oguchi looked at the proposal that had been rejected.

"Were the box-office lessons from Japan itself still not enough?" Nakayama Takuya went on. "Last November, how much money did Shochiku Films throw into promotion and distribution? In the end, they didn't even make back their costs. For a work with such a strong sense of personal expression, forcing it to rub up against the mass traffic of theatrical release would only backfire."

Hisao Oguchi took the proposal back.

"If we don't borrow the heat from the movie's release, the game's promotional schedule will be very hard to arrange," Hisao Oguchi said, voicing the difficulty. "This May is E3. Starting in June, every company's major titles will be piling up. Nintendo's N64 is going to launch worldwide at that point. Our own first-party product line is also packed. If we stuff Ghost in the Shell into the summer slot, its voice will be drowned out by the other major releases."

Even a good game feared being squeezed onto a single-plank bridge.

Nakayama Takuya leaned back against the sofa, his gaze falling on the television screen on the coffee table, where Ghost in the Shell was running.

"You treating Shigeru Miyamoto as the biggest hypothetical enemy is very logical," Nakayama Takuya said, lifting his teacup and blowing aside the floating leaves on the surface. "But if you're only staring at that old shop in Kyoto, then why aren't you afraid of Capcom's Resident Evil?"

Hisao Oguchi was stumped.

Capcom's information flashed quickly through his mind.

"Resident Evil?" There was a trace of confusion in Hisao Oguchi's tone. "That project led by Tokuro Fujiwara? I remember the producer is a newcomer called Shinji Mikami. The subject matter is a B-movie zombie routine that Hollywood has already played rotten. They can't make fully