"Oguchi-san, changes in hardware are only changes in the carrier. Whether it's cartridges, CDs, future DVDs, or even network transmission, what ultimately attracts players is still the game content you hold in your hands." Nakayama Takuya looked at his deputy, expectation in his tone. "The Hardware Department will build the roads. Your task is to prepare good cars that can run on those new roads."
"The content design logic of online games is completely different from that of traditional single-player games. You also need to start having the Development Department research and adapt to this change. Of course, I'm not demanding that every game become online, but once network interaction functions are added to a game's gameplay, you must be prepared in that regard."
Hisao Oguchi nodded solemnly. "I understand. I'll start organizing discussion boards on online game design on the internal network and prepare our reserves of talent and concepts in advance."
A few days later, Redwood City, California.
A business van slowly drove into Silicon Valley Online's headquarters campus.
Sato Hideki stepped out of the vehicle with three core engineers from Sega's Hardware Department.
Nakayama Takuya's instructions were very clear. They needed to understand how true wide-area network interconnection operated, so they could reserve a suitable network hardware interface for Sega's next-generation console and design a reasonable underlying architecture.
In the reception area on the first floor of Silicon Valley Online, Sato Hideki saw a familiar face.
Mark Cerny wore a simple solid-color shirt and casual trousers, walking toward them with a document in hand.
Mark Cerny had previously served as technical director of Sega North America's game division.
During this period, he had been stationed at Silicon Valley Online. His main task was to coordinate the joint operations between Sega North America and Silicon Valley Online.
Silicon