Recaps

Nakayama Takuya pitched Matt Wallace on a John Wick film and a firearms lifestyle campaign, then negotiated Sega’s exclusive game adaptation rights. Matt agreed to give Sega seven years to begin developing a game based on the film series.

• Nakayama Takuya outlined John Wick as a stylish action film centered on a retired assassin and precise, choreographed gunplay.
• Nakayama Takuya proposed promoting firearms as part of a refined home-defense lifestyle, while Tom Clancy questioned whether he was selling guns or a lifestyle and Matt Wallace was impressed.
• Nakayama Takuya framed firearms as part of American history and identity, persuading Matt Wallace that the campaign carried a larger purpose.
• Matt Wallace asked what Sega wanted, and Nakayama Takuya requested exclusive game adaptation rights to the film series for ten years.
• Nakayama Takuya argued that Sega needed time for technology to advance, and Matt Wallace negotiated the term down to seven years.
• Takuya’s Motorola MicroTAC 9800x rang; he answered with a few brief acknowledgments and hung up.

Nakayama Takuya revealed that the patent for the Small Arms Tactical Rail had already been accepted, securing Colt Company’s agreement and leaving Matt Wallace to decide whether Colt would fight for industry leadership. Colt’s board chose to pursue the opportunity, setting an internal struggle across the American small-arms industry in motion.

• Nakayama Takuya told Matt Wallace that the patent application for the Small Arms Tactical Rail had received a notice of acceptance, and Matt recognized that Takuya had controlled the negotiations from the start.
• Matt accepted Takuya’s terms and shook his hand to seal their cooperation.
• Matt considered the difficult conditions Colt would have to meet to lead the tactical-rail ecosystem, then called an emergency meeting of Colt’s board.
• Matt presented Takuya’s marketing concept and demand that Colt unite other firearm companies, prompting the directors to debate the opportunity and its risks.
• Matt explained that the deal was an open scheme that could make Colt the industry’s leader or leave it as an ordinary Rifle Association member.
• Colt Company’s chairman ordered the company to proceed, launching a major internal struggle in the American small-arms industry.

Colt pursued support from gun manufacturers and Hollywood for a film based on Nakayama Takuya’s story outline, while Takuya returned to Redwood City and introduced Hideo Kojima to former Navy SEAL James White as a military consultant. The story left Kojima eager to work with James on an even more exciting project after his stealth game was complete.

• Colt’s technical team praised the simple, practical drawings, while Matt Wallace began asking gun manufacturers to let Colt represent Sega’s voting rights and Remington rejected the proposal.
• Tom Clancy pitched Nakayama Takuya’s hitman story to Paramount producer Bob, who became interested after hearing about the gun companies’ sponsorship and promotional funding.
• Hollywood studios competed for the film, and Universal Pictures won the project with an offer Colt accepted.
• Nakayama Takuya and James White returned to Redwood City and found Hideo Kojima directing programmers as they acted out enemy patrol behavior.
• Takuya introduced James White as Hideo’s military consultant, and Kojima eagerly looked forward to working with him after finishing the stealth game.

Nakayama Takuya finalized the firearms companies’ agreement for the movie, securing Colt’s industry leadership while keeping Sega’s obligations limited. He left Universal’s production team and firearms experts to make the film, then considered what game Sega could build to follow its success.

• Matt Wallace told Takuya that Colt would hold Sega’s one percent of voting rights and had won leadership over industry standards for ten years in exchange for reduced screen time for Colt products.
• Takuya approved Universal Pictures moving forward with the script, reminding Matt that Sega’s game adaptation rights lasted seven years.
• At a Universal Pictures meeting, firearms executives demanded accurate weapon models and screen time while producer Bob proposed changes to the protagonist’s backstory.
• Takuya assigned the firearms experts responsibility for professionalism and the film experts responsibility for excitement, then left them to make the movie.
• On the drive back to his hotel, Takuya wondered what game Sega could create to capture the audience’s enthusiasm for the film’s gun-fighting style.

Sega’s three-week campaign made Pokémon Gold/Silver a nationwide sensation, and the games sold over two million copies in their first week. As players explored Johto, they uncovered a Lugia movie teaser and learned about a new blank electronic pet device for hatching and transferring Eggs, leaving Japan’s gaming world caught up in Pokémon through June.

• Sega promoted Gold/Silver with item-based evolutions, the release of Larvitar, a release-date announcement, and a lottery for limited Entei, Raikou, and Suicune electronic pets.
• On May 26, players lined up to buy Gold/Silver, and first-week sales exceeded two million copies worldwide, including more than 1.5 million in Japan.
• Kenji connected his Scizor electronic pet to his game and successfully transferred it into Johto.
• After a player ran from the Legendary Birds, trainers discovered that the event triggered a radio warning and opened a new pier in the Whirl Islands, where a sign advertised Lugia's Explosive Birth.
• Sega and Toho released the film’s first television trailer, showing Lugia confronting the Legendary Birds amid a storm.
• Sega announced blank electronic pet devices that players could use with Pokémon Centers to produce and transfer Eggs, prompting renewed queues at Pokémon Centers.

TV Tokyo’s Supermarket Battle became a ratings and merchandising hit, while Nakagawa Jun considered Takuya’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire proposal. At Bandai, Mitsui Chuta backed Mobile Fighter G despite criticism and ordered Shining Gundam production accelerated after its later ratings improved.

• Nakagawa Jun reviewed Cooking Master Boy’s strong sponsor conversions as TV Tokyo prepared to replace it with Supermarket Battle.
• Supermarket Battle’s premiere nearly doubled Cooking Master Boy’s peak rating, and viewers flooded stores with inquiries about a featured rapid shredder.
• Nakagawa Jun revisited Takuya’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire proposal and wondered if it was his true killer move.
• Bandai staff criticized Mobile Fighter G’s 5.1% premiere rating and its departure from Gundam’s familiar style.
• Mitsui Chuta pointed to the stronger second- and third-week data and ordered Shining Gundam put into full-speed production.

Nakayama Takuya learned that Picatinny Arsenal had adopted his rail design as a military standard and named it the Picatinny Rail. Early sales were modest, but enthusiastic customer feedback showed the rail was changing how gun owners viewed firearms, and Takuya said their movie needed to move faster.

• James White told Nakayama Takuya that the Pentagon and the Rifle Association had approved the design and awarded its production license to Picatinny Arsenal.
• Picatinny Arsenal named the design the Picatinny Rail and prepared to propose it as a standard for U.S. military and NATO small arms.
• In a Phoenix gun store, a young customer demonstrated how quickly the rail let him attach accessories, while Jimmy inspected it and asked about its price.
• Matt Wallace reviewed modest sales but enthusiastic feedback from buyers and called Nakayama Takuya to share the reactions.
• Nakayama Takuya said their movie needed to move faster.

Nakayama Takuya left Hollywood’s firearms-inspired film project in Bob’s hands, then returned to Japan after confirming Sega’s marketing success in Europe. Seeing Pokémon Gold/Silver’s strong sales, he ordered Satoshi Tajiri to plan Ash Ketchum’s retirement and a future protagonist handover for the anime.

• Nakayama Takuya told Bob that Hollywood’s film project could proceed without his continued involvement.
• Nakayama Takuya told Tom Kalinske the firearms project was on track, confirmed the GG placements at the Italian World Cup had boosted Sega’s European brand awareness, and said he was returning to Japan.
• Nakayama Takuya reviewed the Pokémon Gold/Silver report, which recorded over three million first-month sales in Japan and over four million worldwide.
• Nakayama Takuya called Satoshi Tajiri and instructed him to plan an ending for Ash Ketchum and introduce a new anime protagonist.
• Satoshi Tajiri agreed to organize the writing team to discuss the plan.

Mitsui Chuta visited Nakayama Takuya to seek Sega’s financial support, a share swap, and more character licenses as Bandai struggled with declining toy sales. Takuya persuaded Sega’s board to offer limited assistance rather than take over Bandai, leaving Director Yoshikawa to negotiate the deal.

• Mitsui Chuta told Takuya that Bandai’s traditional toy business was shrinking and asked for a share swap, financial support, and more licenses from Sega and Sunrise.
• Takuya told Mitsui Chuta he would submit the proposal to Sega’s board and support it.
• Takuya presented Bandai’s proposal to Sega’s directors and argued against taking over the troubled company outright.
• Takuya recommended a small share swap and financial injection while Sega focused on its own development and North American growth.
• Nakayama Atsuo and the directors approved Takuya’s cautious approach and assigned Director Yoshikawa to handle negotiations.

At the Mobile Suit Gundam 0083 planning meeting, Nakayama Takuya criticized the story framework’s character motivations and proposed a broader plan to expand and manage the Gundam universe. Sunrise’s team embraced his ideas, and Yoshiyuki Tomino agreed to review fan works for possible inclusion in Universal Century history.

• Nakayama Takuya praised 0083’s place in the Universal Century timeline but criticized Kou Uraki’s reaction to Anavel Gato and the shallow motives given to the Zeon leaders.
• Nakayama Takuya proposed a Gundam Universe Completion Plan using manga and novels to develop Axis, Cima Garahau, and other backstories while keeping the OVA focused on Operation Stardust.
• Nakayama Takuya argued that each generation should have its own Gundam, with lighter alternate settings attracting younger viewers who might later explore Universal Century works.
• Nakayama Takuya suggested professionally adapting suitable fan creations into official Universal Century history, with Yoshiyuki Tomino as the final reviewer.
• Yoshiyuki Tomino accepted the proposal in principle, and the Sunrise team and Bandai representative Mitsui Chuta grew enthusiastic about the plan.

Nakayama Takuya rejected Toho’s expensive, flashy campaign for Lugia’s Explosive Birth in favor of mysterious posters, while Sega’s World Cup sponsorship drove strong European sales. He learned Nintendo was preparing a million SFC consoles and a new Super Mario game, leaving Sega facing a major rival challenge.

• Matsuoka proposed an over-budget promotional campaign for Lugia’s Explosive Birth, but Nakayama Takuya rejected it and presented understated, mysterious posters instead.
• Nakayama explained that Toho should keep Pokémon in the minds of students during exam season and let the movie become a reward after finals, and Matsuoka agreed to proceed with the plan.
• Yves Guillemot called Nakayama to celebrate the World Cup sponsorship’s success, saying Sega’s European warehouses were emptying as Mega Drive consoles and games sold rapidly.
• Nakayama told Yves that Pokémon would soon arrive in Europe and urged him to prepare for the next wave of expansion.
• Nakayama reviewed a confidential report revealing that Nintendo was nearing shipment of its first million SFC consoles and that Shigeru Miyamoto’s Super Mario World was in final testing.

Lugia's Explosive Birth premiered to packed theaters, and its connection to Pokémon Gold/Silver's Whirl Islands emergency broadcast sparked a nationwide hunt for Lugia. Nakayama Takuya's team then opened a game event at Pokémon Centers, sending fans rushing to unlock the route to the Sacred Cave.

• Toho revealed Lugia's final promotional poster, while Sega announced a lottery for a limited-edition Lugia electronic pet tied to movie tickets.
• Fans lined up for advance tickets, and Lugia's Explosive Birth premiered amid crowds of Pokémon players and families.
• A boy connected the film's story about the Legendary Birds to Pokémon Gold/Silver's Whirl Islands emergency broadcast, spreading excitement through player circles.
• Matsuoka told Nakayama Takuya that the film had earned nearly two billion yen in its first week and attracted praise for its environmental message.
• Nakayama's team posted a notice inviting players who triggered the Whirl Islands broadcast to bring their Gold/Silver cartridges and Game Pockets to Pokémon Centers to unlock the Sacred Cave route.
• Children and their parents rushed to Pokémon Centers to try to see Lugia, creating new queues and a surge in merchandise sales.

Nakayama Takuya prepared for his purification ceremony and wedding while learning that SNK had launched its expensive NeoGeo console. During the ceremony, he received news that Lugia's Explosive Birth had earned 6.08 billion yen and become the year's box-office champion, leaving him poised to negotiate with Toho.

• Nakayama Takuya reviewed a report on SNK's NeoGeo launch and predicted that its high price would make the console a risky gamble.
• Nakayama Miyuki finished adjusting Takuya's formal robes and ordered him to stay away from company business before his purification ceremony with Nakagawa Eri.
• Matsuoka learned that Lugia's Explosive Birth had finished its theatrical run with a 6.08-billion-yen box office, making it the year's top film, and sent Takuya the news.
• Nakayama Takuya and Nakagawa Eri completed their shrine purification ceremony and shared a laugh over the cold sacred water.
• Takuya showed Eri Matsuoka's message and said Toho would have to pay a price to secure promotion and distribution rights for the Pokémon theatrical-film series.

Nakayama Takuya visited Sega’s Hardware Development Department and approved the completed System 32 arcade board. He assigned Arcade Group Five a new side-scrolling shooter project built around a chibi military style, a rideable tank, and destructible environments.

• Nakayama Takuya returned to Sega Headquarters and visited the Hardware Development Department, where Director Takahashi welcomed him and teased him about his wedding.
• Nakamura reported that the System 32 Board had passed testing, with powerful graphics capabilities and development tools ready for mass production.
• Nakayama Takuya dismissed concerns about SNK’s NeoGeo AES and confirmed that the System 32’s costs were manageable for arcade operators.
• Nakayama Takuya asked Director Takahashi to select a skilled team for a major project, and Takahashi recommended Arcade Group Five, led by Uchida Minoru.
• Nakayama Takuya assigned Arcade Group Five a side-scrolling shooter featuring a humorous chibi military style, a versatile tank, and destructible scenery.
• Director Takahashi hurried off to tell Group Five about the project.

Takuya recruited Uchida Minoru and Arcade Group Five to develop a game built around comic-style soldiers, vehicles, and destructible environments. After revealing the powerful System 32 Board and approving Uchida’s demands for authority, staff, budget, and time, Takuya named the project Metal Slug.

• Director Takahashi brought Uchida Minoru and Arcade Group Five to meet Takuya.
• Takuya sketched a comic-style soldier and tank, then described a game full of destructible scenery, explosions, and detailed character animations.
• Uchida Minoru warned that Sega’s existing boards could not handle Takuya’s vision without severe slowdown.
• Takuya showed Group Five the System 32 Board, whose dual 68000 CPUs and processing power convinced them the game was feasible.
• Uchida demanded creative authority, top artists, and sufficient budget and time, and Takuya granted his requests.
• Takuya announced that the project would be called Metal Slug.

Takuya organized Arcade Group Five’s ideas for Metal Slug into a plan for a game series, then approved the launch of the MD’s external CD-ROM drive project as the Mega-CD. The chapter left both projects moving forward.

• Arcade Group Five proposed a flood of Metal Slug features, but Uchida Minoru insisted that the first game focus on tanks and destruction.
• Takuya agreed with Uchida Minoru and told the team to sort their ideas across Metal Slug 1, Metal Slug 2, and Metal Slug X.
• Uchida Minoru gathered the team’s ideas as Arcade Group Five eagerly began planning the series.
• Director Nakamura told Takuya that a new file system and tiered resource loading could make an inexpensive 1x CD drive feel nearly as efficient as a 2x drive.
• Takuya approved the MD external CD-ROM drive project and named it Mega-CD.

Nakayama Takuya and Eri held a traditional wedding attended by leaders from the gaming and media industries, then completed the Nakayama family’s final wedding rites. The chapter ended with the newlyweds alone together in the bridal chamber.

• Nakayama Takuya and Eri exchanged vows at the shrine, and Eri took the name Nakayama Eri.
• Nakayama Hayao and Nakagawa Jun shared a ceremonial cup, marking the union of their families and industries.
• Takuya and Eri entered the wedding banquet, where they gave speeches and Eri thanked both sets of parents.
• Takuya and Eri returned to the Nakayama estate, crossed a brazier, and drank water mixed from both families before the family altar.
• Takuya and Eri removed their wedding clothes, shared their feelings, and began their married life together in the bridal chamber.

Nakayama Takuya and Nakayama Eri traveled across Europe on their honeymoon, sharing quiet moments and witnessing German reunification while Takuya calmly prepared Sega for Nintendo’s upcoming Super Famicom. They returned to Japan closer than before, ready to begin their married life.

• Nakayama Takuya and Nakayama Eri drove through Norway’s fjords and spent a quiet night together at a family inn.
• Takuya and Eri traveled through Denmark to Berlin, where they witnessed East and West Germany reunify on October 3, 1990.
• In Vienna, Takuya received a call from Sega Headquarters and instructed the company to continue its plans, study the Super Famicom, and learn about its development environment.
• Takuya and Eri continued their honeymoon through Italy and other European cities, enjoying a football match in Naples and sharing romantic moments.
• Takuya and Eri returned to Narita Airport and drove to the Nakayama family’s main residence, holding hands as they arrived home.

Nakayama Takuya studied Nintendo’s Super Famicom launch plans and decided Sega would avoid competing with Mario in Japan and instead dominate North America before the console arrived. He recruited Tom Kalinske to concentrate Sega’s upcoming games and promotional budget on the American market.

• Nakayama Takuya reviewed Nintendo’s Super Famicom promotion plans and learned that its North American launch had no major campaign underway.
• Takuya concluded that Sega should focus on North America and spend its upcoming game releases and advertising resources before the Super Famicom arrived.
• Takuya called Tom Kalinske and outlined a plan to seize American players’ attention and spending ahead of Nintendo.
• Tom agreed enthusiastically to mobilize Sega North America’s resources and monitor Nintendo’s plans.

After Nintendo sold two million SFC consoles in five days, Nakayama Takuya reassured Sega’s staff that its large installed base, strong finances, and third-party relationships could withstand the launch. He ordered the Marketing Department to exploit the SFC’s coming shortage of games by promoting Mega Drive’s older titles.

• Nakayama Takuya learned that Wednesday’s SFC launch lines were smaller than expected because schools and companies had discouraged people from skipping work or classes.
• Nintendo announced that SFC sales had exceeded two million units in five days, while Kirby on the Game Pocket sold about four hundred thousand copies in its first week.
• Nakayama Takuya argued that Sega’s diversified income and thirty-million-unit Mega Drive installed base would help it compete for players and third-party developers.
• Nakayama Takuya said Capcom and Koei received their SFC development kits only after launch, while Enix had received an early kit to work on the next Dragon Quest.
• Nakayama Takuya predicted that SFC owners would face a game drought after exhausting the launch titles and ordered the Marketing Department to promote Mega Drive’s older games during that window.

Nintendo’s Super Famicom sales exceeded 2.5 million in half a month, but production shortages limited further sales. Nakayama Takuya saw Nintendo’s supplier troubles and developer relations as opportunities for Sega to strengthen its alliances.

• Yamauchi Haku demanded increased production after learning the Super Famicom had sold 2.5 million units, but suppliers lacked the confidence and funds to expand.
• Sega employees worried about Nintendo’s sales, while Nakayama Takuya noted that Nintendo’s second-week slowdown came from production capacity rather than weak demand.
• Nakayama Takuya argued that Japan’s economic troubles were undermining Nintendo’s suppliers and said Sega should focus beyond the Japanese market.
• The assistant reported that many developers had obtained Super Famicom development kits, while Square’s Miyamoto Masashi and Sakaguchi Hironobu had stayed away.
• Nakayama Takuya defended Sega’s accessible development-kit policy and said Sega had refunded Konami’s original kit fee through royalty offsets.

Nakayama Takuya learned that Sega’s MD ecosystem was generating strong royalty revenue and that its games were dominating the Christmas sales charts. Nintendo had restored SFC supply, but Sega’s promotions and third-party releases were drawing players toward the MD.

• Nakayama Takuya’s assistant reported that the MD software-to-hardware ratio had surpassed 5.2 to 1, GamePocket’s had reached 3.6 to 1, and quarterly royalties exceeded Sega’s previous-year console hardware and first-party game profits.
• Nakayama Takuya contrasted Sega’s developer-friendly strategy with Yamauchi Haku’s restrictive policies, while the assistant reported more than three hundred MD games and twelve million-selling titles.
• Yamauchi Haku’s advance payments restored SFC production, but Nintendo’s supply stabilized only after the initial rush had cooled and the Christmas shopping season had begun.
• The Marketing Department section chief reported that seven of the top ten games on Famitsu’s weekly chart were MD titles, including Konami’s Contra and Capcom’s Final Fight.
• Nakayama Takuya praised the MD Old Game Promotion Plan, which offered discounted older Sega games with Sonic and encouraged new SFC owners to buy MD games.

Nakayama Takuya turned Sega’s Mega Drive old-game promotion into a wider campaign by inviting other publishers to join and offering limited support in exchange for inventory protections. The campaign filled Japanese stores with discounted Mega Drive games, and children planned how to pool their New Year money to buy them.

• Nakayama Takuya received cooperation requests from Namco, Taito, Irem, and other publishers seeking to join Sega’s promotion.
• Kozuki Kagemasa called Nakayama Takuya, and they agreed that Sega would cover thirty percent of allies’ discount costs while helping return unsold cartridges to manufacturers.
• Nakayama Takuya told his assistant to present Konami’s agreed terms as the best available offer, prompting other publishers to cooperate.
• Publishers shared the discount costs, retailers gained return protection for unsold stock, and Mega Drive shelves expanded across Japan.
• At Yamada Electronics Store, a group of children planned to pool their New Year money to buy discounted games, including Art of Fighting, Contra, Final Fight, and Sonic.

Children’s group buying of discounted Mega Drive games helped Sega’s New Year promotion undermine Nintendo’s first third-party Super Famicom release. Yamauchi Haku responded by threatening third parties that worked with Sega and ordering Shigeru Miyamoto to expand Nintendo’s development staff.

• Kenta and the other children bought a large pile of discounted games, celebrating their haul as they left the store.
• A report showed Yamauchi Haku that Sega’s promotion had boosted Mega Drive cartridge sales while Quintet’s ActRaiser had sold far below expectations.
• Yamauchi Haku blamed Nintendo’s staff and ordered them to warn third parties against participating in Sega’s promotions.
• Yamauchi Haku raised development-kit prices for third parties that joined Sega’s New Year promotion and sent them to the back of the development-kit queue.
• Yamauchi Haku ordered Shigeru Miyamoto to double or triple the Development Department’s manpower and declared that Nintendo would provide its own game lineup.

Sega’s successful promotion strengthened third-party manufacturers’ loyalty, while Nintendo’s threats failed to persuade them to develop for the Super Famicom. Yamauchi Haku turned to Shigeru Miyamoto, demanding more first-party games to support the struggling console.

• Yoshiji Nishida reassured another manufacturer that it could keep profiting from Famicom and Sega games while waiting for the Super Famicom to gain a larger user base.
• Nintendo’s Marketing Department head reported that Taito, Namco, Capcom, and Irem were delaying or avoiding Super Famicom development.
• Yamauchi Haku recognized that third-party manufacturers were waiting for Nintendo to build the Super Famicom market on its own.
• Yamauchi Haku summoned Shigeru Miyamoto and told him that Nintendo needed to expand its development team and produce more first-party games.
• Shigeru Miyamoto felt the weight of Yamauchi Haku’s demand that first-party games become the Super Famicom’s only pillar.