Recaps

Nakayama Takuya reshaped Sega’s governance and release strategy as Toy Story became a major success in America and Japan, while the game industry gained broader recognition. The arc ends with Eri in labor and her family waiting as their baby is born.

• Nakayama Takuya assigned Hisao Oguchi to lead game development and market expansion while he oversaw Sega’s restructuring, and he established independent audits to examine spending and performance.
• Richard traced a ten-million-yen marketing subsidy through several accounts to a company linked to a Sales Department manager’s relative, and Nakayama Takuya urged the Audit Committee to judge the spending by its results.
• Genyo Takeda and Masayuki Uemura presented Nintendo’s completed N64 to Yamauchi Hiroshi, who approved its controller and directed Shigeru Miyamoto to lead development of Super Mario 64.
• Nakayama Takuya moved Sega’s first Mercury game to spring and planned its localization and distribution, while Sega’s decision to leave the December release window open pushed rival publishers to adjust their schedules.
• Toy Story and Sega’s tie-in game became major hits in America, selling out the limited-edition Jupiter consoles and driving strong demand for more systems and games.
• Toy Story launched successfully in Japan, while Sega’s game and industry coverage helped broaden public interest in the medium and encouraged publishers to keep investing in older platforms and discounted releases.
• Nakayama Takuya supported the Ghost in the Shell film and urged Mamoru Oshii to consult Hideo Kojima about combining cinematic storytelling with game design.
• Nakayama Takuya stayed beside Eri during her pregnancy and labor, and at 5:20 a baby cried from the delivery room as their families waited nearby.

Nakayama Takuya strengthened Sega’s position by courting Enix, reforming the company, and backing major games while Mercury Technology celebrated its hit and chose its next project. As the N64 launch approached, Nakayama also turned his attention to financial risks in Southeast Asia.

• Nakayama Takuya welcomed newborn Nakayama Miki home and learned that Toy Story had sold more than five million copies as Jupiter demand surged.
• Nakayama Takuya persuaded Enix to develop Dragon Quest for Jupiter by offering development tools, trained studios, marketing support, and favorable royalties, while Enix rejected Sony’s investment and chose a multiplatform strategy.
• Nakayama Takuya won approval for Sega’s Skills Reconstruction Subsidy and Internal Transfer Optimization Plan and directed the company to promote third-party hits at E3.
• Toy Story sales helped drive Jupiter purchases, while Legend of Yang Jian sold out in Japan and Chinese-speaking markets and earned Mercury Technology more than six million RMB in foreign exchange.
• Fu Zan secured city officials’ praise and support for Mercury Technology, then shelved a Mazu-themed game over political risks and announced Legend of Nezha as the next project.
• Nakayama Takuya approved licensing Sega’s older intellectual property and ordered an investigation into Southeast Asia’s financial risks, while planning to profit from currency fluctuations without triggering a crisis.
• Shigeru Miyamoto and Yoshiaki Koizumi refined Super Mario 64 as Nintendo prepared for launch, and Yamauchi Hiroshi questioned whether the N64 had enough software.

Nintendo prepared the N64 launch and unveiled its hardware and games at E3, while Sega and Sony pursued competing strategies and Capcom brought Resident Evil to PlayStation. Blizzard and Westwood also showcased successful PC releases and upcoming games, as the convention continued with mixed reactions to Konami’s lineup.

• Yamauchi Hiroshi approved Nintendo’s Game Boy plans, E3 promotion, and a simultaneous Japanese and North American N64 launch, while Shigeru Miyamoto promised a large Super Mario 64 demo display.
• Nakayama Takuya reviewed Sega’s Ghost in the Shell plans with Hisao Oguchi, who shifted its North American promotion toward videotape fans and a challenging E3 demo.
• After Resident Evil sold out in North America, Tsujimoto Kenzo used Sega’s Tijuana plant for an urgent restock, and Ken Kutaragi secured Sony’s support to negotiate a PlayStation port.
• Nintendo and Sega prepared their E3 campaigns as Nintendo managed N64 production and store demos, while Blizzard launched Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal alongside its Windows 95 edition and reported strong sales.
• At E3, Nintendo won the opening address, and Masayuki Uemura announced the N64’s June 23 release at 25,000 yen in Japan and $199 in America.
• Shigeru Miyamoto demonstrated the N64’s asymmetrical controller and Super Mario 64’s 3D movement, while also presenting Wave Race 64 for a September release.
• Brett Sperry announced Command & Conquer: Red Alert for late October, and Konami presented Tokimeki Memorial spin-offs and Vandal Hearts without playable demos.

At E3, David and Paul covered major announcements from Konami, Namco, Square, Sony, Blizzard, Capcom, and Sega as developers competed to define the next generation of games. Sega’s presentation ended the stretch with its Model 3 reveal and a lineup spanning arcade hits and Jupiter games.

• David tried Konami’s Contra: Legacy of War demo, gave it the lowest survey scores, and warned that its current state could damage the series.
• Namco showed Soul Blade and Ridge Racer 3, then presented collections of classic games as reporters discussed the company’s limited revenue and costly development.
• Sakaguchi Hironobu presented Trials of Mana and a new Final Fantasy VII demo, while Square announced that Final Fantasy VII would span four CD-ROMs.
• Ken Kutaragi rejected multi-disc packaging and urged Sony to secure support and exclusivity deals, while David and Paul played Hudson’s ten-player Jupiter Bomberman demo.
• EA presented FIFA 97 and NBA Live 96, and David and Paul discussed the company’s licensing history and its profitable PC version of Road Rash.
• Tomonobu Itagaki demonstrated Dead or Alive, and Mike Mohan presented Diablo and Battle.net before Kazuo Hirai introduced PlayStation’s RPGs, Crash Bandicoot, and casual games.
• Trip Hawkins presented Meridian 59’s subscription-based online world, while Nakayama Takuya directed Sega’s intelligence team to assess its rivals and prepare for future networking.
• John Romero demonstrated Quake’s multiplayer and modding tools, Capcom presented its upcoming games, and Hisao Oguchi unveiled Sega’s Model 3 board, Virtua Fighter 3, and new Jupiter titles.