10-Player Battle?

"No." Ken Kutaragi stood up. "Multi-disc packaging would drastically increase packaging and logistics costs. Square has the financial strength for that; other small and medium-sized developers do not. We can't let Sega lead us around by the nose. Blindly following the trend will only drag down our third-party camp."

He walked over to the simple whiteboard and picked up a marker.

"Go contact Namco and Konami." Ken Kutaragi wrote the two companies' names on the whiteboard. "They're having funding problems during the transition to 3D. We'll provide development funding support, offer low-interest loans, even advance royalties. See if we can buy out exclusivity for a few of their major titles. If capacity isn't enough, we'll make it up with quantity. PlayStation's game library must keep growing at high speed. Use a rich product lineup to hedge against the single-title impact Square is bringing."

The assistant nodded and took it down.

"Does Nintendo's 199 US dollars impact our pricing structure?" the assistant asked.

Ken Kutaragi looked at the whiteboard.

"The physical limitations of cartridges are right there." Ken Kutaragi tossed down the marker. "They can't carry massive amounts of full-motion video and high-quality audio. No matter how fun Mario is, it's still only one game."

On the second floor of the convention center, inside Sega's prefab office.

The soundproofing was very good, shutting out the noise outside.

1:30 p.m., West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center.

David tossed his empty Coke cup into the trash and let out a full belch.

Paul walked ahead, the media passes on their chests swaying back and forth with their steps.

"Hudson's area is up ahead." Paul flipped through the guidebook and pointed to a large area not far away. "They put their main booth next to Sega's booth this year."

After getting used