Recaps

Nakayama Takuya guided Sega through disaster relief and a wave of game development and E3 planning while balancing family concerns and the company’s public image. He then secured a major Silicon Valley Online IPO and began planning acquisitions and an online role-playing game.

• Yamada credited Disaster-Fighting Little Hero with teaching him safety and first aid, and Sega supplied games and other aid to shelters while Nakayama Takuya kept the company from boasting about its relief work.
• Nakayama Takuya delayed Metal GearSolid2, greenlit MGS3, and urged Yuji Naka and Toshihiro Nagoshi to pursue Toy Story and Yakuza projects.
• Nakayama Takuya reviewed Sega’s games for E3, including Shinobi and Shimizu’s cybernetic action game, and proposed inviting Shigeru Miyamoto to open the event as a creator-led showcase.
• Nintendo, Sony, Konami, Namco, and other companies prepared their E3 plans, while Mitsui Chuta pushed Bandai to disguise the unfinished Gundam Battlefield Evolution with a polished trailer and booth display.
• Volunteers organized rescues and aid in Kobe, prompting public debate and government consideration of volunteer protections, building-code changes, and better disaster shelters.
• After learning Eri was pregnant, Nakayama Takuya canceled his flight, arranged for Eri and Kazuki to stay with family, and later traveled to the United States to support Silicon Valley Online’s IPO.
• Nakayama Takuya pressed Goldman Sachs to raise Silicon Valley Online’s valuation, and the firm agreed to a $930 million offering valuation before the company listed on March 21, 1995.
• SVOL opened at $12.50 and closed at $17.13, reaching a $1.713 billion market capitalization, and Nakayama Takuya directed Frank to retain engineers, pursue acquisitions, seek Dungeons & Dragons rights, and develop a subscription-based online RPG.

Nakayama Takuya secured support to become Sega’s next president while advancing the company’s technology, investments, and supply chain. After preparing Sega’s E3 showcase, he arrived in Los Angeles as the convention booths neared completion and Sega’s press conference was scheduled for the late afternoon.

• Nakayama Takuya directed Sega’s investments and projects, visited Blizzard and NVIDIA, and urged NVIDIA to research triangle-rendering technology for future Sega hardware.
• Nakayama Hayao told Nakayama Takuya he would hand over front-line authority, and Takuya agreed to a gradual transition while retaining Hayao’s input on major strategy.
• Nakayama Takuya won Okawa Isao’s approval to become president and gained support from Sega directors, shareholders, and executives, while resolving Yu Suzuki’s rendering concerns with a plan involving NVIDIA.
• Nakayama Takuya pursued a stake in TSMC and coordinated preparations for Sega’s first E3, including booth plans, promotional materials, and a final review of its games.
• Nakayama Takuya supported Hatano’s proposal for a third Tijuana production line, using TecToy’s report on South American demand to help persuade the board to approve it.
• Nakayama Takuya finalized E3 materials, spent time with his family, and left for Los Angeles with Sega’s exhibition team on June 1.
• Nakayama Takuya and Hisao Oguchi confirmed Sega’s E3 preparations as exhibitors began setting up at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
• Nakayama Takuya inspected the nearly completed booths, signed off on Sega’s display, and learned Sega’s press conference would follow Nintendo, Sony, and Atari at 3:15 p.m.

At E3, publishers unveiled major games across competing platforms, with Sega’s Jupiter lineup and Square’s Final Fantasy VII drawing particular attention. As the convention shifted to business meetings and deeper technical discussions, Nakayama Takuya pressed John Carmack to consider sharing more than obsolete source code.

• Shigeru Miyamoto opened E3 by urging developers to prioritize responsive controls, meaningful discoveries, and their own ideas, before Konami, EA, Nintendo, and Namco presented their lineups.
• Yoshiki Okamoto unveiled BIOHAZARD for PlayStation and Jupiter, and Ken Kutaragi showcased Sony’s Arc the Lad and WipEout as reporters praised the morning’s presentations.
• Atari’s Jaguar CD drew little interest, while Enix and Hudson presented their games before Sakaguchi Hironobu revealed Final Fantasy VII for Jupiter and showed its detailed CG and battle footage.
• Sega’s afternoon presentation featured Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid 2 demo, Rieko Kodama’s Phantasy Star IV, Yuji Naka’s Toy Story, Toshihiro Nagoshi’s Yakuza, and Koji Oba’s Shinobi: ShadowStrike.
• Ono Hiroshi presented Pro Soccer World PSW with Paolo Maldini, and Sega followed with The King of Fighters 3, Super Robot Wars Alpha, and a Ghost in the Shell trailer announcing a Jupiter game.
• Ubisoft introduced Rayman for Atari Jaguar, PlayStation, and Jupiter, after which media teams worked through the night preparing E3 reports and distributing game news.
• On June 10, retailers negotiated orders, Ken Kutaragi explained PlayStation’s technical limits, Shigeru Miyamoto led a design seminar, and Nakayama Takuya met John Carmack at id Software’s booth.
• Carmack discussed releasing Wolfenstein 3D’s source code, and Nakayama Takuya urged him to consider sharing older engines and middleware as graphics technology moved from pseudo-3D to polygon rendering.

Nakayama Takuya helped launch a community-built game engine while promoting Sega’s partnerships and tightening its financial oversight. As Sega’s Jupiter releases gained ground, Bandai’s game and toy businesses faltered and its executives debated approaching Sega.

• Nakayama Takuya proposed a nonprofit foundation for the Universal Engine, and Carmack accepted the technical committee chairmanship as Sega, NVIDIA, and id Software committed support.
• Nakayama Takuya and Carmack announced plans for an accessible next-generation engine, while E3 footage of Sega’s games and partnerships spread excitement among players and retailers.
• Nakayama Takuya directed Silicon Valley Online to secure Netscape technology and sell its shares gradually, while warning that Microsoft could use Windows to undermine Netscape.
• Nakayama Takuya reviewed Sega’s accounts, challenged sales practices that encouraged channel stuffing, and arranged an independent PricewaterhouseCoopers review alongside domestic audits.
• PricewaterhouseCoopers began examining Sega’s overseas accounts as Bandai’s Gundam Battlefield Evolution triggered widespread motion sickness, refunds, and halted shipments.
• Yamashina Makoto proposed that Bandai merge with Sega as its game and toy divisions struggled, but Bandai’s executives could not agree on whether to approach Sega.
• Nakayama Takuya ordered Sega to assess Bandai’s finances while letting its internal crisis deepen, as Sega’s releases expanded Jupiter’s global installed base.