Recaps

Nakayama Takuya helped establish the IDSA and E3 while Sega’s games and Silicon Valley Online expanded their reach. A player’s clue led police to uncover the sarin plot before the Tokyo subway attack, and Nakayama Takuya kept the student who supplied it out of the spotlight.

• Nakayama Takuya proposed an industry association and exhibition to Tom Kalinske, who recruited major companies as Sega helped form the IDSA and launch E3 in Los Angeles.
• Nakayama Takuya returned to Japan as Sakura Wars sold strongly, then showed Bandai’s Yamashina Makoto and Mitsui Chuta Sega’s Gundam cockpit game while negotiating from a position of strength.
• Sega released Disaster-Fighting Little Hero with official endorsements, and families embraced it as an educational game that sold more than one million copies in two weeks.
• Sony revealed its PlayStation technical demo, then joined the IDSA after Nobuyuki Idei and Ryoji Chubachi persuaded Ken Kutaragi and Norio Ohga of its value.
• Frank Marshall launched Webdir and WeBlog, whose traffic and blogger earnings grew rapidly as Frank negotiated major investments for Silicon Valley Online.
• Sakurai Seizo told police how Ace Attorney 4 led him to collect discolored grass near a suspect’s home, and tests identified a nerve-agent decomposition product.
• Police traced Sakurai Seizo’s evidence to Aum Shinrikyo’s headquarters and arrested Shoko Asahara, preventing the Tokyo subway sarin attack Nakayama Takuya remembered.
• Nakayama Takuya instructed Yoshikawa to protect Sakurai Seizo’s identity, then visited Yu Suzuki’s lab and played Virtua Fighter 2.

Nakayama Takuya drove Sega’s arcade successes into new ventures in film, television, online services, and its next console while rivals responded to Sega’s growing lead. The arc leaves him at Jupiter’s press conference, preparing to reveal what he considers the industry’s financial cornerstone.

• Nakayama Takuya launched Virtua Fighter 2, whose striking visuals drew crowds and forced Namco, Sony, and Nintendo to study Sega’s rendering techniques.
• Tetsuya Mizuguchi developed Fast & Furious using real-car data, and its arcade success led Nakayama Takuya to propose a film adaptation.
• Nakayama Takuya guided Sunrise’s Gundam F91 production and Sega’s Gundam Battle Operation, while Yamashina Makoto approved a final budget for Bandai’s game division.
• Nakayama Takuya helped bring Millionaire and Nintama Rantaro to wider audiences, then proposed Super Home Makeover King to TV Tokyo.
• Universal Pictures approved the Fast & Furious film, while Silicon Valley Online’s ICQ Game Hall earned heavily from virtual goods and Nakayama Takuya pursued a safer browser partnership with Netscape.
• Nakayama Takuya restored blockbuster marketing for Heir of Light and approved Sato Hideki’s glowing blue Jupiter prototype.
• At Sega’s Imperial Hotel press conference, Nakayama Takuya announced Mega Drive and GamePocket sales milestones before preparing to reveal the industry’s financial cornerstone.

Sega unveiled Jupiter at a competitive price, then used its games, production capacity, and release timing to challenge Sony’s PlayStation. Jupiter launched to overwhelming demand, leaving Nakayama Takuya scrambling to replenish stock as the console war began.

• Nakayama Takuya unveiled Jupiter with Model 2-level graphics, a broad launch lineup, a 39,800-yen price, and no release date, prompting Sony to match the price for PlayStation.
• Nakayama Takuya concealed Jupiter’s launch timing and investigated suspicious component losses while guiding Mercury Electronic Technology in building its English-learning machine and training its developers.
• Ken Kutaragi won Sony’s approval for PlayStation’s 39,800-yen price and presented it as a home entertainment terminal, announcing a December 3 release date and emphasizing CD playback.
• Nakayama Takuya countered Sony’s press coverage by seeding criticism of PlayStation’s games and costs, then announced Jupiter’s worldwide November 19 release and arranged its holiday strategy.
• Sega’s advertisements and stockpile drew strong American interest, while PlayStation preview audiences praised its hardware but questioned its launch games and waited to compare it with Jupiter.
• Jupiter launched to packed stores in Japan and North America, where players bought consoles and shared the cost of launch games.
• Sato Hideki reported first-day sales of 310,000 units in North America, 120,000 in Japan, and just over 50,000 in the United Kingdom and France, and Nakayama Takuya ordered factories to run triple overtime and ship consoles by air.

Nakayama Takuya drove Sega’s Jupiter launch, drew developers and new players toward the game industry, and expanded the company’s role beyond console sales. The arc ended with Sega delivering aid after the devastating earthquake in Kobe while Takuya watched residents and businesses organize relief amid delayed official assistance.

• Nakayama Takuya’s Sega launched Jupiter to strong sales, prompting Sony and Nintendo to reassess their strategies as third-party developers sought Sega’s development kits.
• Nakayama Takuya backed Blizzard’s Warcraft, which earned praise from players and magazines as its sales grew.
• Ken Kutaragi responded to PlayStation’s weak launch software sales by ordering Sony’s technical staff to help developers, while Sega redirected promotion toward third-party games.
• Nakayama Takuya promoted games to new audiences, supported research into gaming and addiction, and saw consoles and games sell rapidly during the Christmas rush.
• Nakayama Takuya’s Jupiter sales passed 2.1 million worldwide, and Sega received a surge of applications from developers seeking to make games for the console.
• After a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck northern Awaji Island, Nakayama Takuya arranged for Sega to send GamePockets, cartridges, and money to the disaster area.
• Nakayama Takuya’s Sega staff delivered supplies to Kobe and were told to follow local professionals’ instructions rather than enter the ruins for rescue work.
• Nakayama Takuya watched residents, businesses, and local groups distribute supplies and aid one another as official and international rescue efforts lagged.