Recaps

Nakayama Takuya advanced Sega’s BBS plans by arranging for Tokyo Institute of Technology to become its first university installation. Hideo Kojima returned from abroad with the completed master copy of Clear and Present Danger.

• Nakayama Takuya checked the BBS team’s progress and learned its core functions were ready for testing on the Tokyo intranet.
• Nakayama Takuya offered Professor Yonezawa a BBS for Tokyo Institute of Technology, and Professor Yonezawa agreed to raise the installation with the university president.
• Nakayama Takuya told Team Leader Nohara and the development team that Tokyo Institute of Technology would be their first customer, and Nohara promised to complete the system within two months.
• Hideo Kojima returned to Nakayama Takuya’s office and delivered the finished master copy of Clear and Present Danger.

After completing Clear and Present Danger, Hideo Kojima returned to the company and told Nakayama Takuya he wanted to develop Metal Gear 2. Nakayama persuaded him to give an exclusive interview about the game and its creation, building recognition for Kojima as a creator before his next release.

• Hideo Kojima told Nakayama Takuya that Tom Clancy had approved Clear and Present Danger after a demanding review and that Mark Cerny had taken over the U.S. development team.
• Hideo Kojima said he wanted to rest, write a story for Metal Gear 2, and return to his workstation on the Game Review Team.
• After resting for two days, Hideo Kojima returned to the company, where Nakayama told him the Marketing Department had arranged an exclusive interview.
• Nakayama explained that players wanted to hear Kojima's firsthand account of making Clear and Present Danger and that the interview could strengthen his creator brand.
• Hideo Kojima understood Nakayama's plan and agreed to approach the interview as a chance to speak with his fans.

A Famitsu interview with Hideo Kojima sparked excitement for Clear and Present Danger and boosted sales of Tom Clancy’s novels. After the game launched, its difficult gameplay and advanced AI earned strong word of mouth and critical acclaim, leaving it a celebrated classic despite modest first-week sales.

• Readers flocked to Hideo Kojima’s Famitsu interview, and the interview drove Japanese sales of Tom Clancy’s novels.
• Nakayama Takuya named the unexpected cross-industry surge the “Kojima Effect.”
• Hideo Kojima saw his cover feature and reader letters, then realized what Nakayama Takuya meant by managing a brand.
• Clear and Present Danger launched nationwide, drawing determined fans who came to test its ambitious Mega Drive gameplay.
• The game sold 300,000 copies in its first week, while players praised its clever AI despite finding it difficult and slow.
• Famitsu awarded Clear and Present Danger a score of 38 and admitted it to the Platinum Hall of Fame, prompting more players to try it.

Hideo Kojima saw players’ enthusiastic response to his game review, while Nakayama Takuya prepared to launch Sega’s BBS at Tokyo Tech. The University of Tokyo then asked to adopt the system too, expanding Nakayama’s plan across Japan’s academic world.

• Hideo Kojima read Famitsu’s 38-point review of Clear and Present Danger and felt that players understood the effort behind the game.
• Nakayama Takuya reviewed the successful stress test and chose two Tokyo Tech students to serve as the BBS’s first administrators.
• Nakayama Takuya assigned Team Leader Nohara to coordinate the BBS installation at Tokyo Tech.
• Professor Yonezawa connected Nakayama Takuya with Aoyama Yuki of the University of Tokyo, who asked to buy a BBS system.
• Professor Yonezawa explained that Tokyo Tech and the University of Tokyo would each launch a BBS focused on different academic fields and exchange resources.
• Nakayama Takuya promised Professor Yonezawa that Sega would complete the project.

Nakayama Takuya oversaw the launches of Tokyo Tech’s and the University of Tokyo’s BBSes, where Yonezawa and Aoyama traded teasing posts. After the deployments succeeded, Nakayama announced that the team would take the system to America and finish developing ICQ there.

• Yonezawa launched Tokyo Tech’s BBS with a post celebrating that it had gone online before the University of Tokyo’s.
• After the system ran smoothly for two days, Nakayama assured Aoyama that it had passed a forty-eight-hour stress test and sent Sega’s team to deploy the University of Tokyo’s BBS.
• Aoyama launched the University of Tokyo’s BBS, and Yonezawa posted a congratulatory message that mocked the school for being two days late.
• Aoyama challenged Yonezawa to compete through academic work, and Yonezawa replied that his next paper would come soon.
• Nakayama gave the development team two paid days off, then announced their next assignment: deploying the BBS at Sega’s Silicon Valley Online and completing ICQ in America.

Nakayama Takuya established Silicon Valley Online and planned a BBS that would draw academics with heated tech debates and attract business users with a startup and venture-capital section. After provocative flyers drove thousands of client downloads, Nohara warned that the launch traffic could overwhelm their servers and bandwidth.

• Nakayama Takuya welcomed the Japanese development team to Silicon Valley Online and urged them to recruit top talent and build revolutionary software.
• Harry presented research on America’s early internet users, and Nakayama Takuya proposed academic forums built around controversial tech debates alongside an Industry section for startups and venture capital.
• Tom Kalinske supported Nakayama Takuya’s BBS plan, and Nohara agreed to handle the technical deployment.
• Silicon Valley Online’s Japanese and American engineers joined forces while the marketing team posted provocative Vi-versus-Emacs and operating-system-war flyers around universities and tech companies.
• Roy reported that the BBS client had surpassed five thousand FTP downloads in two days, prompting Nakayama Takuya to tell Nohara and Harry to prepare for launch traffic.
• Nohara warned Nakayama Takuya that download activity had already surpassed projections and that simultaneous logins might overwhelm the servers and bandwidth.

Nakayama Takuya and Tom Kalinske expanded Silicon Valley Online’s servers and bandwidth before the BBS launch, then watched its first day draw thousands of users and prompt venture capitalists to contact a startup founder. The chapter ended with the office celebrating as Sequoia Capital and KPCB showed interest in the first funding request.

• Nakayama Takuya treated the initial 5,000 downloads as early market feedback and ordered the system’s capacity doubled, while Tom Kalinske secured more Sun servers and PSInet bandwidth.
• Nohara and Harry worked through the night to install the equipment, completing the BBS expansion before dawn.
• Nakayama Takuya launched the BBS, and Harry’s team posted provocative arguments that quickly drew users and sparked heated debates.
• Roy reported that registrations had exceeded 6,000 within an hour, while the Industry section hosted technical discussions among engineers and researchers.
• A Stanford graduate team posted a seed-funding request for TaWiz, and Sequoia Capital and KPCB responded within minutes.
• Tom Kalinske and the staff celebrated the BBS’s first-day success as Nakayama Takuya confirmed that the interested firm was the Sequoia they recognized.

Nakayama Takuya explained how Silicon Valley Online’s user traffic, industry discussions, and venture capital activity formed a self-reinforcing ecosystem, then arranged media coverage of the BBS. The next morning, newspapers celebrated its popularity and technical discussions, while the Wall Street Journal focused on its potential to reshape venture capital.

• Nakayama Takuya connected user traffic, industry value, and capital convergence as the three forces that could make Silicon Valley Online a major presence in Silicon Valley.
• Nakayama Takuya asked Tom Kalinske to find media coverage, and Tom agreed.
• Harry brought in newspapers reporting that Silicon Valley Online had made the front page, highlighting its lively debates and technical exchanges.
• Harry read that TaWiz had sought financing through the BBS and attracted attention from Sequoia Capital and KPCB.
• Tom Kalinske presented the Wall Street Journal’s front-page business commentary, which described the BBS as a valuable hub for technology talent and venture capital.

After Silicon Valley Online drew attention from The Wall Street Journal, Nakayama Takuya told Tom Kalinske to use venture capitalists’ interest to build the platform’s influence and pursue investments of their own. He entrusted Tom with handling the investors and shaping the company, including recruiting a CEO, and Tom accepted the responsibility.

• The Wall Street Journal’s coverage of Silicon Valley Online impressed Harry and the gathered engineers, while Team Leader Nohara learned the paper’s reputation from a Japanese colleague.
• Tom Kalinske told Nakayama Takuya that KPCB and Sequoia Capital had asked whether Silicon Valley Online would accept investment.
• Nakayama Takuya advised Tom to let the investors wait, seek favorable terms, and use their connections to find promising companies to fund.
• Nakayama Takuya told Tom to recruit an investment director and send frequent investment briefs to Japan’s investment department.
• Nakayama Takuya said Silicon Valley Online needed a CEO to oversee operations and future projects, and Tom accepted the responsibility.

Nakayama Takuya handed ICQ’s development to Harry’s team, emphasizing that its secure account system would serve as a universal Silicon Valley Online Passport. As he prepared to return to Japan, he countered headquarters’ objections to unapproved spending by ordering them sent newspaper coverage of Silicon Valley Online.

• Tom Kalinske rushed back to Sega headquarters and began recruiting a CEO and investment director for the new company.
• Nakayama Takuya brought the Japanese and American teams together and assigned Harry’s team to finish and launch ICQ.
• Nakayama Takuya told Harry to build an independent, highly secure account system that could serve as a passport for all Silicon Valley Online services.
• Tom Kalinske assured Nakayama Takuya at the airport that he would push the business forward and sell games to North American players.
• Nohara received a finance department inquiry about unapproved server and bandwidth expenses, and Nakayama Takuya ordered newspaper coverage faxed to Tokyo in response.

Nakayama Takuya returned to Sega Headquarters after his U.S. venture drew praise from major American newspapers, leaving the finance department unable to challenge his spending. He explained Silicon Valley Online’s ambitions to Director Ikeda, who agreed to support him on the board.

• Nakayama Takuya returned to Tokyo and learned that the finance department had made no calls about his spending.
• Finance Director Kuroda read U.S. newspaper coverage praising Silicon Valley Online and dropped plans to question Nakayama Takuya.
• Director Ikeda visited Nakayama Takuya and asked whether Silicon Valley Online truly had the potential described in the newspapers.
• Nakayama Takuya said Sega would use Silicon Valley Online to become a rule-maker in the networked world and planned to work with American venture capital firms.
• Director Ikeda accepted Nakayama Takuya’s explanation and promised to keep the board steady.

Nakayama Takuya reassured Finance Director Kuroda that his scrutiny of an unbudgeted expense was proper and promised to complete the paperwork after his vacation. At home, Takuya reunited with his pregnant wife Eri and mother Nakayama Miyuki, then played music for the baby.

• Nakayama Takuya told Kuroda that the finance department had done its job well by questioning the expense.
• Nakayama Takuya promised to file a detailed report after vacation and to take responsibility for similar United States branch expenses in the future.
• Nakayama Takuya returned home and found Eri reading a parenting magazine while Nakayama Miyuki scolded him for being away during Eri's pregnancy.
• Eri defended Takuya and told Nakayama Miyuki that the baby had kicked, shifting her attention to her grandchild.
• Nakayama Takuya played Debussy's Clair de Lune on the record player as Eri continued her prenatal education.

Nakayama Takuya celebrated Golden Sun 3: Dark Dawn’s strong launch and encouraged Rieko Kodama’s team to gather inspiration for Chrono Trigger and materials for Square. He then inspected Yu Suzuki’s polygon-based arcade fighting game prototype, where development continued through extensive optimization and hitbox testing.

• Nakayama Takuya learned that Golden Sun 3: Dark Dawn had sold over 1.7 million copies in Japan within ten days and congratulated Rieko Kodama.
• Nakayama Takuya gave Rieko Kodama’s team two extra weeks to travel and gather inspiration for Chrono Trigger, asking them to collect materials for Sakaguchi Hironobu and Square as well.
• Sakaguchi Hironobu called Nakayama Takuya to complain that Kodama’s requests had distracted his Final Fantasy IV team and inspired Uematsu to think about a future project.
• Nakayama Takuya visited Yu Suzuki’s development team and watched a polygonal character perform boxing moves on an arcade prototype.
• Yu Suzuki explained that his team had cut more than eighty percent of the polygons and was still importing motion data and tuning attacks, hitboxes, and hurtboxes.

Nakayama Takuya inspected Sega’s ambitious arcade projects as Nintendo struggled with delayed ports and Masayuki Uemura pressed Shigeru Miyamoto for progress on Triforce of the Gods. At Sony, Ken Kutaragi secretly transformed the Super Famicom-CD project into the PlayStation, and Ryoji Chubachi set plans to recruit game developers and approach Konami.

• Nakayama Takuya saw Yu Suzuki set a fall deadline for a playable 3D game, then praised the Hook team’s System 32 visuals and Uchida Minoru’s painstaking Metal Slug death animations.
• Masayuki Uemura reviewed Super Famicom sales and third-party releases, grew frustrated with ports that had already appeared on Mega Drive, and called Miyamoto to ask when Triforce of the Gods would be finished.
• Ken Kutaragi used Sony’s tested Sega-CD research to advance the Super Famicom-CD work while feeding Nintendo reports about problems Sony had already solved.
• Ken Kutaragi expanded the project into a standalone PlayStation with upgraded memory, geometry processing, and sound hardware.
• Ryoji Chubachi urged Sony to establish a first-party game team and recruit experienced producers, while Ken Kutaragi proposed approaching Konami first.

Ryoji Chubachi met Kozuki Kagemasa to recruit Konami as a partner for Sony’s plan to build its own game console, and Kozuki saw through the plan immediately. Kozuki revealed that Matsushita was also pursuing a similar venture and that Trip Hawkins had left Electronic Arts to seek investment, leaving Ryoji unsettled by the competition Sony faced.

• Ryoji Chubachi met Kozuki Kagemasa at Quiet Moon and tried to steer their dinner toward a possible partnership in CD games.
• Kozuki Kagemasa deduced that Sony planned to use the SFC-CD project as cover while developing its own console, and Ryoji Chubachi admitted it.
• Ryoji Chubachi offered Konami generous royalties, technical support, and Sony’s distribution network, but Kozuki Kagemasa refused exclusivity and launch priority.
• Kozuki Kagemasa told Ryoji Chubachi that Matsushita had also discussed the future of gaming with him, alarming Ryoji.
• Kozuki Kagemasa added that Trip Hawkins had resigned from Electronic Arts and was raising funds for a new company, leaving Ryoji to wonder what alliances might be forming.

After Kozuki Kagemasa warned Ryoji Chubachi that Panasonic and Trip Hawkins might be entering the console business together, Sony planned acquisitions and pressed ahead with PlayStation development. Nakayama Takuya learned of Hawkins’s plans and ordered Sega to investigate Matsushita Electric and Samsung as the next-generation console race intensified.

• Kozuki Kagemasa revealed that he knew Sony’s plans and warned Ryoji Chubachi that Panasonic was entering the game industry and Trip Hawkins was preparing a new company.
• Ryoji Chubachi reported the news to Norio Ohga and Ken Kutaragi, and Ohga proposed acquiring financially strained Japanese game companies, including Technos Japan.
• Norio Ohga assigned Chubachi to investigate rivals and acquisition targets while ordering Ken Kutaragi to focus on developing the PlayStation.
• Nakayama Takuya read an intelligence report about Trip Hawkins leaving Electronic Arts and considered the possibility that Matsushita and Samsung would support a new console venture.
• Nakayama Takuya ordered Matsuda to track Hawkins’s contacts and funding, monitor Matsushita Electric and Samsung, and circulate weekly updates under the file name “Hawkins New Console Factory.”

Nakayama Takuya attended the premiere of Only Yesterday, where he drew Shueisha into talks about adapting Jump manga into games and advised Sunrise on Cyber Formula merchandise. He then pitched Hiroi Ouji a new project combining girls, swords, steam-powered super-deformed robots, and stage plays, arranging a meeting at Sega headquarters.

• Nakayama Takuya praised Isao Takahata's Only Yesterday at the premiere and greeted Kazuhiko Torishima, Yoshihiro Togashi, and Takehiko Inoue.
• Nakayama Takuya proposed adapting Yu Yu Hakusho into a Mega Drive fighting game and discussed Slam Dunk's potential for games, prompting Kazuhiko Torishima to seek a business meeting.
• Ito Nobutatsu told Nakayama Takuya that G Fighter Legend had boosted Sunrise's returns and Gundam videotape rentals, then discussed Cyber Formula's upcoming merchandising.
• Nakayama Takuya advised Ito Nobutatsu to partner with Tamiya rather than choose a toy maker based chiefly on licensing fees, and Ito accepted his guidance.
• Nakayama Takuya met Hiroi Ouji of RedCompany and pitched a project combining young girls, swords, steam-powered super-deformed robots, and stage plays.
• Nakayama Takuya arranged for Hiroi Ouji to visit Sega headquarters the following Tuesday to discuss the project, and Hiroi eagerly agreed.

Nakayama Takuya commissioned Hiroi Ouji to develop a game about an all-female combat troupe, naming the project Sakura Wars. Afterward, he reviewed progress on ICQ and prepared Sega’s campaign against Nintendo’s expected SNES launch in North America.

• Nakayama Takuya pitched Hiroi Ouji a game set in a fictional Taisho Era, where spiritual-power-wielding girls performed in the Imperial Opera House and fought demons in steam-powered Spirit Armor.
• Nakayama explained that players would control a young male naval officer leading the girls’ Flower Division, and Hiroi enthusiastically agreed to develop the project with RedCompany.
• Nakayama proposed researching the Takarazuka Revue as inspiration for the fictional troupe and named the game Sakura Wars, which Hiroi accepted with excitement.
• Nakayama read a Silicon Valley Online report saying ICQ’s main framework was built, urged the team to prioritize account security, and learned internal testing was expected to begin the following month.
• Nakayama reviewed signs that Nintendo was preparing a North American SNES launch and resolved to use Sega’s games to compete for players’ money during the winter season.

Yamauchi Haku postponed the SNES launch in North America because Nintendo lacked a strong launch lineup and ordered English versions of SFC games while pressing Shigeru Miyamoto to finish The Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods. Nakayama Takuya welcomed the delay and told Sega’s team to keep polishing its games.

• Yamauchi Haku rejected Nintendo North America Division’s proposed mid-August SNES launch because its lineup relied on games American players had already seen.
• Yamauchi Haku postponed the launch and ordered third-party partners to develop English versions of their SFC games for the new release date.
• Yamauchi Haku called Shigeru Miyamoto, who promised that The Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods would be finished soon.
• Nakayama Takuya learned of the postponement and credited Sega’s strategy of securing third-party games with weakening Nintendo’s launch plans.
• Nakayama Takuya told his assistant to have Yu Suzuki and the development team polish their game until it was perfect.

Trip Hawkins presented the 3DO System as an open gaming and home-entertainment standard that would charge low licensing fees and let multiple companies make consoles. Matsushita, Samsung, Time Warner, and Universal Pictures joined the venture, leaving SMSG with a powerful new alliance poised to challenge Sega and Nintendo.

• Trip Hawkins pitched the 3DO System to executives gathered at SMSG in Redwood City.
• Hawkins said manufacturers could build their own 3DO consoles and pay a small per-game authorization fee.
• Lee Jae questioned whether the platform would have enough games, and Hawkins cited his industry connections and engineers Dave Riddle and Robert Mical.
• Kenji Aso committed Matsushita to the venture, and Lee Jae expressed Samsung's interest.
• Time Warner and Universal Pictures agreed to support the platform's content, and the companies formed an alliance around 3DO.

Nakayama Eri went into labor at Sugiyama Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital while Nakayama Takuya and their families waited anxiously. After a long delivery, she gave birth safely to a healthy son, and Takuya held her hand as their family welcomed the baby.

• Nakayama Takuya rushed Eri to the hospital, where he comforted her with family photos, scripts, and toys while she waited for labor to begin.
• On the third morning after her admission, Eri's water broke, and nurses took her into the delivery room as Takuya called their families.
• Takuya and both sets of parents waited through hours of labor, growing alarmed when Eri's cries stopped before the baby cried out.
• A nurse announced that Eri had safely delivered a healthy 2.93-kilogram boy and that both mother and child were safe.
• Takuya returned to Eri's room, cared for her, and joined their families in welcoming their newborn son.

Nakayama Takuya and Eri welcomed their son, named him Nakayama Kazuki, and brought him home after Eri recovered. At Kazuki’s seventh night ceremony, the family celebrated his birth, while Takuya and Eri adjusted to their new roles as parents.

• Nakayama Miyuki decided that Nakayama Takuya and Keiko would stay with Eri and the baby, and Nakayama Hayao told Takuya to care for his wife and child.
• When the baby cried, Takuya and Keiko helped Eri feed him, and Takuya proposed the name Kazuki, which Eri accepted.
• Eri and Kazuki recovered well, and Nakayama Takuya carefully prepared to take them home on the fifth day after the birth.
• At Kazuki’s seventh night ceremony, Nakayama Hayao formally wrote and explained his grandson’s name before Kazuki broke the solemn mood by spitting out a milk bubble.
• The relatives celebrated at the banquet as Nakayama Takuya and Eri received parenting advice, and Nakayama Maruji excitedly touched Kazuki’s fist and announced that his little brother had moved.

Silicon Valley Online launched ICQ, and college students quickly discovered its instant messaging, friend, emoticon, and group features, spreading it through the BBS. During the first day, registrations passed five thousand, while Tom Kalinske urged Frank Marshall to give the service's viral growth more time.

• Harry finished testing the ICQ and Passport systems with help from hackers, and Tom Kalinske approved the launch.
• Philip registered for ICQ at Stanford, added Matt as a friend, and tested instant messages and FaceWord emoticons with him.
• Philip posted his ICQ number on the BBS, accepted requests from students at other universities, and created the Cola Challengers Alliance group.
• Philip read that ICQ messages were temporarily stored on the server and could be managed locally, then watched the group's membership grow.
• At Silicon Valley Online, Harry reported more than five thousand registrations during ICQ's first twenty-four hours, and Frank Marshall ordered the server capacity expanded as Tom Kalinske defended the service's gradual viral growth.

ICQ’s viral growth convinced Sega’s board to pursue a first financing round for Silicon Valley Online, while Nakayama Takuya urged Sugiura to protect the company’s finances and equity. The chapter ended with Takuya and his family attending Kazuki’s Miyamairi, where the priest recorded the baby’s name in the shrine register.

• Harry announced that ICQ’s K-Factor had reached 1.8 as its online user count passed twenty thousand, and Frank celebrated with champagne before telling reporters that ICQ’s basic services would remain free.
• Tom told a Sequoia Capital investor that Sega was preparing to raise financing for its new social-networking venture, then reported ICQ’s growth and the investor’s interest to Tokyo headquarters.
• Nakayama Takuya explained network value to Sega’s skeptical directors, who unanimously approved a first financing round and appointed Sugiura to oversee it in the United States.
• Nakayama Takuya told Sugiura to focus on controlling Silicon Valley Online’s finances and equity while using the internet’s growing importance to attract investors.
• Nakayama Takuya changed Kazuki’s diaper at home before the Nakayama and Nakagawa families gathered for the baby’s Miyamairi.
• Nakayama Atsuo carried Kazuki into the shrine, where the priest blessed him and entered the name Nakayama Kazuki in the register.

Silicon Valley Online used its explosive user growth and network strategy to secure a $100 million valuation and $10 million in financing from Sequoia and KPCB. After announcing it would distribute Sega’s email client, the company drew a swarm of reporters, and Frank proposed a press conference to reveal its next target.

• Frank Marshall presented Silicon Valley Online’s growth data and explained its network-value strategy to Donald Valentine, while Sugiura listened.
• Harry announced that ICQ’s registered users had surpassed 500,000, and Tom Kalinske brought KPCB’s representatives into the meeting.
• Sequoia and KPCB each agreed to invest for a 5% stake, valuing Silicon Valley Online at $100 million and raising $10 million.
• Silicon Valley Online announced it would distribute Sega’s $9.90 email client, prompting a flood of media to its headquarters.
• Frank told Tom that they should hold a press conference and announce the company’s next target.