Square at Its Lowest Point
After reaching an agreement with the person in charge of the Marketing Department, Masao Suzuki, on the key strategies for the <The First Super Robot Wars> copyright battle, Nakayama Takuya immediately changed the battlefield. Time is the most precious resource for him.
Copyright negotiations are important, but to shake Nintendo's industry dominance, one game alone is not enough. Sega needs to establish a strong third-party developer camp, which will not only bring more high-quality games to the new console, but also fundamentally weaken Nintendo's moat. This strategy occupies a core position in Takuya's plan.
His next target has been locked - Square company located at Tokyo Ueno Ward.
He came to the underground parking lot, drove his RX7, and drove towards Square.
Outside the car window, Tokyo's street scene passed by quickly, but Takuya's thoughts had already flown to the game company that was in deep trouble.
At this time, Square was stuck in a quagmire just as he remembered in his previous life.
The few games they previously launched on the PC and FC platforms had a mediocre response in the market, and the sales were disappointing. Not only did they fail to recover the research and development costs, the company's capital chain has been stretched to the extreme. It has even become a problem to pay employees' wages on time.
RX7 stopped in front of an inconspicuous office building. Takuya looked up and saw that the Square sign on the third floor window looked a little dim, and even a few letters on the sign were a little skewed. It was obvious that it had not been maintained for a long time. He turned off the engine, straightened his suit, and walked into the building.
In Square's office, the atmosphere was suffocating. Several employees were sitting in their respective positions, with confusion and uneasiness in their eyes. Some people were immersed in modifying the code, but the frequency of their fingers tapping the keyboard clearly lacked rhythm. A printer in the corner made intermittent noise, which seemed to be protesting against this working environment.
When the receptionist at the company's front desk saw Takuya, surprise flashed in her eyes - few outsiders took the initiative to visit Square at this time, let alone well-dressed business people. She subconsciously arranged her work clothes, for fear of embarrassing the company.
"Who are you looking for?" Her voice was a little nervous.
"I am Nakayama Takuya from Sega. I want to see President Miyamoto. I made an appointment yesterday."
The receptionist's expression instantly became complicated. Sega? What are you doing to come to them at this time? Various possibilities flashed through her mind, but she quickly restored her professionalism and showed a standard service smile.
"Please wait a moment, I will notify President Miyamoto immediately." She stood up and walked to the internal office area, her footsteps being very clear in the quiet office.
Takuya was introduced into a simple reception room. The coffee table in the room was a bit old, and there were a few game posters hanging on the wall, but the color had faded a bit. The receptionist made tea for him. The quality of the tea was obviously not high quality, but under the current economic conditions, this was the best treatment Square could give.
A few minutes later, Takuya was introduced into Miyamoto Masashi's office.
This office was much smaller than he imagined. The desk was filled with various documents and reports, and the edges of some of the papers were yellowed. There were also several cardboard boxes placed in the corner, which contained some samples of game cartridges. The writing on the labels was a bit blurry.
Miyamoto Masashi is a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses with some scratches on the lenses. The collar of his shirt is a little loose, and the cuffs are slightly burred. It is obvious that he has not bought new clothes for a long time. The fatigue on his face is not only caused by work, but also due to worries about the company's prospects.
Seeing Takuya come in, he forced a smile, but the smile seemed a bit stiff.
"Specialist Nakayama, I didn't expect you to come to visit in person." His voice was a little hoarse as he introduced Takuya into the reception area inside the president's office.
Takuya sat down opposite Miyamoto Masashi and scanned the scene in the office. Several game screenshots hanging on the wall had faded, and one of them was even a little curled. He could feel that the company was under tremendous pressure. This pressure was almost tangible, making the entire space seem heavy.
"President Miyamoto, I'm here today to discuss a business deal with you." Takuya got straight to the point without any small talk. In this case, polite words would only appear hypocritical.
"Sega is willing to invest 1 million US dollar to obtain 15% of the equity of Square."
The tea cup in Miyamoto Masashi's hand trembled slightly, and the tea almost spilled. One million US dollar? For Square now, this is simply an astronomical figure. This amount of money is enough to support the company's operations for more than a year, and even allow them to restart several shelved projects.
But he calmed down quickly, and the businessman's instinct kept him alert. There is no free lunch in the world, especially in the business world. A cautious light flashed in his eyes.
"Specialist Nakayama, what are your conditions?" His voice became more careful.
Takuya smiled slightly, leaned forward, and his tone became more sincere. "Our conditions are extremely favorable. Sega only provides strategic advice and necessary support, and will never interfere with Square's internal business decisions and freedom of game creation."
This sentence made Miyamoto Masashi's eyes twitch. Not interfering in business decisions? This is almost impossible in the Japan business world. Most investors will ask for control rights, or at least the right to participate in major decisions. Some investors will even directly send managers to the company.
But Takuya's words sounded so good that people doubted their authenticity. Miyamoto Masashi has been in the business world for so many years and knows that no one will invest unconditionally.
Miyamoto Masashi was silent for a moment, tapping his fingers on the table unconsciously. The hesitation and uncertainty in his eyes were obvious. He quickly calculated various possibilities and risks in his mind.
Takuya was keenly aware of this change in mood. He calmly looked around at the senior Square executives attending the meeting, and then looked at Miyamoto Masashi.
"President Miyamoto, could you please step aside? I have more important things to discuss with you alone."
Miyamoto Masashi nodded and said to other people in the office, "Everyone go out first."
Several people didn't know what was going on, but they were ready to leave. At this moment, Takuya suddenly spoke.
"Wait." His eyes fell on a young man, "Mr. Sakaguchi, please stay."
Sakaguchi Hironobu is the core developer of Square and one of the main leaders of the <Final Fantasy> project. He is a young man in his early thirties, wearing a somewhat faded plaid shirt, and his eyes still retain his enthusiasm for game development, although this enthusiasm seems a bit dim amid the company's difficulties. Hearing Takuya's name, he stopped in surprise.
Soon there were only three people left in the office. The tension in the air became even stronger.
Takuya took out a photo from his briefcase and solemnly placed it in front of the two of them.
"President Miyamoto, Mr. Sakaguchi, this is our Sega's sincerity in hoping for in-depth cooperation with your company, and it is also where our confidence in the future lies."
Miyamoto Masashi and Sakaguchi Hironobu looked down at the photo at the same time.
The next second, their expressions froze at the same time.