Chapter Summaries

Nakayama Takuya pitched Square’s Sakaguchi Hironobu on Sega-CD’s capacity for larger games, recorded music, and animated cutscenes, securing Square’s interest in the new hardware. He gave Rieko Kodama a copy of the Chrono Trigger manuscript and told her to join him on a Friday visit to Square.

• Nakayama Takuya called Sakaguchi Hironobu and described how Sega’s new console could free games from cartridge limits and support orchestral music and animated cutscenes.
• Sakaguchi Hironobu eagerly agreed to meet Nakayama Takuya on Friday to see the new hardware.
• Nakayama Takuya copied the Chrono Trigger manuscript and brought it to Rieko Kodama in the Console Game Development Department.
• Rieko Kodama reported that Golden Sun 3: Dark Dawn was progressing through segmented testing without major problems.
• Nakayama Takuya gave Rieko Kodama the manuscript and told her to hand her current work to her deputy and accompany him to Square on Friday.

Nakayama Takuya brought Sega’s CD technology and the Chrono Trigger manuscript to Square, proposing a major collaboration with Rieko Kodama leading Sega’s development work. Sakaguchi Hironobu was captivated by the project, but his conflicted reaction left his decision unresolved.

• Nakayama Takuya told Rieko Kodama to keep the Square project confidential and asked her to lead Sega’s work after finishing Golden Sun 3.
• Nakayama Takuya and Rieko Kodama met Sakaguchi Hironobu at Square’s headquarters, where Sakaguchi praised Kodama and her Golden Sun games.
• Nakayama Takuya showed Sakaguchi Hironobu the Sega-CD technical specifications, and Sakaguchi lamented that the technology had come too late for Final Fantasy IV.
• Nakayama Takuya handed Sakaguchi Hironobu the Chrono Trigger manuscript, and Sakaguchi became engrossed in its story and multiple endings.
• Sakaguchi Hironobu abruptly shut the manuscript and struck the table, his expression showing agonized conflict.

Nakayama Takuya persuaded Sakaguchi Hironobu and Rieko Kodama to join forces on a Sega-CD RPG, then showed Nobuo Uematsu the project and promised him music without hardware limits. Sakaguchi accepted the collaboration, while Uematsu rushed off to work on the soundtrack.

• Nakayama Takuya proposed a Sega-CD RPG jointly created by Sakaguchi Hironobu and Rieko Kodama, and Sakaguchi accepted.
• Nakayama Takuya told Nobuo Uematsu that future music could sound exactly as it did when recorded with a symphony orchestra.
• Sakaguchi Hironobu gave Nobuo Uematsu the Chrono Trigger manuscript, and Uematsu reacted to its many eras and vast musical demands.
• Nakayama Takuya encouraged Nobuo Uematsu to unleash his full talent, and Uematsu claimed the project's music before hurrying to the recording studio.
• Sakaguchi Hironobu and Nakayama Takuya agreed to cooperate, and Sakaguchi exchanged greetings with Rieko Kodama before returning to Final Fantasy IV's bugs.

Nakayama Takuya learned that Sega’s Hook arcade game had been completed on System 16 before Spielberg’s film was ready, risking an unfavorable comparison with System 32 games. He proposed porting the finished version to Mega Drive and rebuilding the arcade game on System 32, then Director Takahashi told the team the current version could not go on arcade machines.

• Director Takahashi told Nakayama Takuya that Hook’s development was nearly complete on System 16, while Spielberg’s film would not be released until late in the year.
• Nakayama Takuya visited the Arcade Development Department and saw Ono and the team celebrating their finished game.
• Nakayama Takuya suggested using the System 16 version for a Mega Drive port and rebuilding the arcade version on System 32.
• Nakayama Takuya proposed promising the team a company-funded trip to the Hook premiere and a photo with Spielberg to maintain morale.
• Director Takahashi praised the team’s work, then announced that their current Hook version could not go on arcade machines.

Nakayama Takuya postponed the Hook arcade release and ordered the team to rebuild it for System 32, while promising them a trip to Hollywood to restore their morale. Realizing Sega’s communication systems could not keep pace with its international projects, he decided to visit his former teacher at the Tokyo Institute of Technology for advice.

• Director Takahashi explained that Hook’s arcade release had to be delayed because its System 16 graphics would compare poorly with the upcoming System 32 Metal Slug and the film’s later release.
• Director Takahashi said the current Hook version would be ported to the Mega Drive, while the arcade game would be redeveloped on System 32.
• Nakayama Takuya promised the development team a company-paid trip to Hook’s Hollywood premiere, a photo with Spielberg, and a week of vacation in California, reviving their spirits.
• Ono rallied the team to begin work with the System 32 development manuals.
• Nakayama Takuya reflected on Sega’s communication problems and decided to visit his teacher at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, taking Hibiki and Toraya yokan as a gift.

Nakayama Takuya returned to Tokyo Institute of Technology to visit his former advisor, Professor Akinori Yonezawa, and ask for his advice. After reconnecting with Yukihiko Yamashita and revealing his success as Sega’s managing director, he finally reunited with Professor Yonezawa, but had not yet explained the important matter he came to discuss.

• Nakayama Takuya returned to Tokyo Institute of Technology carrying a gift for Professor Akinori Yonezawa.
• Nakayama Takuya encountered Yukihiko Yamashita in Yonezawa’s office and told him he worked at Sega.
• Nakayama Takuya revealed that he was Sega’s managing director and had worked on projects including Sonic the Hedgehog, Fatal Fury, Pokémon, and Golden Sun.
• Nakayama Takuya told Yukihiko Yamashita that he had returned to seek Professor Yonezawa’s advice on an important matter.
• Professor Akinori Yonezawa arrived, recognized Nakayama Takuya, and joked with him about his unusual graduation project.

Nakayama Takuya asked Professor Yonezawa to help Sega connect its Tokyo and United States headquarters through the academic network. Professor Yonezawa secured a meeting with a Ministry of International Trade and Industry official, leaving Nakayama to present Sega’s proposal the next day.

• Nakayama Takuya explained that Sega wanted to use the Internet for faster communication between its Japanese and American headquarters.
• Professor Yonezawa told Nakayama that the academic network was supervised by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and called Section Chief Eikura on his behalf.
• Professor Yonezawa mentioned Nakayama’s connection to Sega president Nakayama Hayao, prompting Eikura to agree to meet him.
• Professor Yonezawa gave Nakayama Eikura’s contact details and instructed him to bring Sega’s proposal to the Ministry the next day.

Nakayama Takuya prepared to persuade Section Chief Eikura to support Sega’s network project by presenting it as a national information-industry initiative. He headed to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry with Section Chief Matsumoto, ready to appear as though he were asking for a favor.

• Professor Yonezawa advised Nakayama Takuya to frame Sega’s network project as a national achievement that could advance Eikura’s career.
• Nakayama Takuya told Director Yoshikawa about his connection to Eikura, and Yoshikawa assigned Section Chief Matsumoto to accompany him on the visit.
• Nakayama Takuya drafted a proposal presenting Sega’s network plans as a pilot program for Japan’s electronic information industry.
• On the drive to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Matsumoto questioned whether Eikura would believe the proposal, and Nakayama Takuya explained their approach.

Nakayama Takuya persuaded the Ministry of International Trade and Industry to take up Sega’s proposal for a national electronic information highway, giving Section Chief Eikura a leading role in advancing it. Back at Sega, Takuya learned that the company’s learning-machine kit had sold five million sets worldwide, especially well in the United States.

• Nakayama Takuya and Section Chief Matsumoto presented Sega’s information-highway proposal to Section Chief Eikura at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
• Nakayama offered Sega’s funding and technical work while promising to share its findings under the ministry’s guidance.
• Eikura accepted the proposal, promised to organize an expert evaluation, and said he would report it to his superiors.
• After returning to Sega, Takuya called Team Leader Nohara and Department Head Nakamura to a meeting the next morning.
• Nohara reported that the learning-machine kit had surpassed five million cumulative global sales and had helped Sega reach middle-class families in the United States.

After the success of Sega’s learning kit, Takuya assigned new software and networking projects to Nohara’s and Nakamura’s teams. He explained that Sega would give away its BBS and instant messaging software to establish influence on the growing internet, and Nohara accepted the assignment.

• Nohara reported that five million learning kits had sold, boosting his team’s bonuses and Sega’s reputation with families.
• Takuya gave Nohara plans for a BBS, an email client, and instant messaging software, and explained how each would work.
• Takuya directed Nohara’s team to prepare the software frameworks and told Nakamura’s team to study network protocols while prioritizing compatibility.
• Nakamura asked whether Sega should adapt packet-switching protocols for low-bandwidth home networks, and Takuya said compatibility with mainstream technology mattered most.
• Takuya told Nohara that Sega would sell the email client but offer the BBS and instant messaging software for free to stake out influence on the internet.
• Nohara accepted the development task and promised to complete it.

After Sega’s network proposal drew the attention of Professor Jun Murai and the WIDE Project, Nakayama Takuya presented plans for free online communities and argued that Japan needed commercial ISPs. Murai approved of the ideas and asked Sega to send him its mail software after an internal trial planned for within a month.

• Director Yoshikawa told Nakayama Takuya that the Ministry of International Trade and Industry had approved Sega’s network application and that Professor Jun Murai would visit.
• Nakayama Takuya gathered Team Leader Nohara and Department Head Nakamura to prepare for Murai’s visit.
• Nakayama Takuya explained Sega’s plans to operate free BBS and instant messaging services in the United States while selling a basic email client cheaply.
• Nakayama Takuya proposed establishing commercial ISPs and using an internal email trial to demonstrate the business value of network access.
• Team Leader Nohara estimated that Sega could develop a stable mail client trial version within a month, and Murai asked Sega to send copies to the WIDE Project experts.

After Sega executive Nakayama Takuya sent Team Leader Nohara a plan for adding kaomoji to the instant messaging software, Nohara recognized their potential to give text chats emotional expression and create a distinctive software culture. He assigned interns Nishino and Mikazuki to begin developing the feature while the main team focused on the mail client.

• Nohara received Nakayama Takuya's FaceWord Development Concept and studied its list of kaomoji.
• Nohara realized kaomoji could convey emotion in text chats and help Sega build a recognizable internet culture.
• Nohara summoned Nishino and Mikazuki and showed them the plan.
• Nohara explained the feature's purpose and assigned Nishino and Mikazuki to work on it.

Nakayama Takuya redirected Team Leader Nohara’s stalled email project toward outside expertise, arranging help from Tokyo Institute of Technology. With development back on track, he called Tom Kalinske about connecting Sega’s Tokyo headquarters to the network.

• Nohara assigned Nishino and Mikazuki to expand a list of chat expressions, and they eagerly began brainstorming new designs.
• Takuya found Nohara exhausted and stuck on the email client’s sending and receiving functions after several days of failed attempts.
• Takuya rebuked Nohara for trying to solve the network-protocol problem alone and urged him to seek help.
• Takuya called Professor Yonezawa, who agreed to send two Tokyo Institute of Technology students to assist the team the next morning.
• Takuya told Nohara to rest and document the problems, then called Tom Kalinske to discuss connecting Sega’s Tokyo headquarters to the network.

Takuya persuaded Tom to launch a new U.S. company offering free BBS and instant messaging services to attract users, while planning protections against Microsoft and Wall Street. He left Tom to establish the Silicon Valley subsidiary, seek Microsoft as a minority shareholder, and expand North American management and legal support.

• Takuya told Tom about his email client, BBS, and instant messaging plans, proposing that the new company offer the latter two services for free to build a large user base.
• Tom embraced the idea of establishing the company in Silicon Valley after Takuya compared its services to a town that could eventually become a gold mine.
• Takuya warned Tom that Microsoft could bundle competing software into its operating system and that Wall Street financiers might try to take over the company.
• Takuya proposed inviting Microsoft to invest in a minority stake while keeping operational control, so it would have less incentive to compete and could deter other investors.
• Tom agreed to proceed and said North America's management team and legal department needed to expand; Takuya promised to support his application to the board.

Nakayama Takuya spoke with Hideo Kojima about Clear and Present Danger nearing completion, then offered Mark Cerny the freedom to build and lead his own team at Sega of America. He hinted that Mark should think beyond the Mega Drive and consult Tokyo headquarters for a technical briefing after finishing the game.

• Nakayama Takuya called Hideo Kojima, who reported that Clear and Present Danger was in its final debugging stage and would be ready in about three weeks.
• Hideo Kojima credited Mark Cerny with bridging differences in language and working styles on the American development team.
• Nakayama Takuya asked Mark Cerny to stay in America after Clear and Present Danger was completed and lead a team at Sega of America.
• Nakayama Takuya gave Mark Cerny freedom to assemble a team, seek a budget, and choose what game to develop.
• Nakayama Takuya told Mark Cerny not to limit his ideas to the Mega Drive and to request Tokyo headquarters' latest internal technical product briefing after finishing the game.

Ken Kutaragi learned that Sega had completed the Sega-CD and recruited Square to help develop a major RPG, then discovered Nintendo was dismissive of the SFC-CD project and Sony’s role in it. He left convinced Nintendo’s arrogance had given Sony room to advance PlayStation under cover of their cooperation agreement.

• Ken Kutaragi received a report confirming Sega had completed development of the Sega-CD and heard that Square would collaborate with Sega’s Golden Sun team on a new RPG.
• Ken Kutaragi told Ryoji Chubachi that Sega had recruited Square, and they celebrated the prospect of Sega challenging Nintendo.
• Ken Kutaragi visited Masayuki Uemura to warn him about Sega-CD and Square, but Masayuki Uemura dismissed the threat and complained that the SFC lacked games.
• Masayuki Uemura assigned two recent graduates to assist Ken Kutaragi with the SFC-CD project, and Ken Kutaragi left Nintendo’s headquarters feeling both amused and insulted.
• Ken Kutaragi told Ryoji Chubachi that Nintendo had sent him two inexperienced employees and ignored the project, and they resolved to push PlayStation forward using the SFC-CD agreement as cover.

Nakayama Takuya’s reinforcements solved Sega’s email client connection problem, and the completed software began internal testing between Tokyo and Redwood City. After the trial produced major efficiency and cost savings, Professor Jun Murai decided to visit with the WIDE Project Team to observe it in person.

• Team Leader Nohara welcomed the two Tokyo Tech students, who identified flaws in Sega’s email client and rewrote its core communication module to establish a stable server connection.
• A week later, Sega completed the email client and began internal testing with logistics teams in Tokyo and Redwood City.
• The programmers demonstrated a transoceanic email and read receipt, and the logistics employees began testing the new system alongside their usual fax workflow.
• The trial let employees compare goods lists in minutes and finish work that had taken half a day in about an hour.
• Nakayama Takuya told Professor Jun Murai that efficiency had risen by 320 percent and office costs had fallen by more than 70 percent.
• Jun Murai decided to visit Sega with the WIDE Project Team to observe the trial in person.

Nakayama Takuya prepared Sega’s logistics email system for an in-person inspection by Jun Murai and the WIDE Project Team, using free software copies to encourage influential academics and engineers to adopt it. During the inspection, the visitors saw employees use the system to verify messages and process orders far faster than before.

• Nakayama Takuya told Team Leader Nohara that Jun Murai and the WIDE Project Team would inspect the system the next day, and confirmed the email client was ready.
• Nakayama Takuya directed Nohara to give software copies to Jun Murai’s team and Professor Yonezawa’s circle, allowing them to share the rest freely.
• Director Yoshikawa welcomed Jun Murai and his experts as Nakayama Takuya led them to the Logistics International Receiving and Dispatch Group for a surprise inspection.
• Section Chief Tojo showed the visitors how read receipts and MD5 checksums helped verify email delivery and attachments.
• A logistics employee demonstrated that the spreadsheet function could check an order in five minutes instead of taking half a day, and the group completed its key transoceanic document work before lunch.

Nakayama Takuya used Sega’s successful email trial and a meeting with Jun Murai to promote the software among Japan’s academic and technical elite. After Professor Yonezawa urged him to bring the results to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Takuya called Section Chief Eikura to report the progress.

• Jun Murai asked whether Sega saw more than improved efficiency, and Takuya explained that widespread email and spreadsheet use could establish a new business standard.
• Takuya gave Jun Murai installation disks for the WIDE Project Team to test, and Murai agreed to share the extras with other professors.
• At Tokyo Institute of Technology, Professor Yonezawa tested the email client and praised its interface and clear functions.
• Takuya told Yonezawa about the trial’s 320 percent efficiency increase and Murai’s inspection, prompting Yonezawa to recognize the software giveaway as a way to gain influential users.
• Yonezawa advised Takuya to send the results to Section Chief Eikura as a potential policy achievement.
• Takuya called Eikura to arrange an in-person report on the information superhighway’s progress.

Nakayama Takuya presented Sega’s email client trial results to Section Chief Eikura, who praised the achievement and hinted that government offices could be the next market. Director Yoshikawa interpreted the hint as an opening to expand Sega’s campaign across the bureaucracy and assigned Takuya to prepare a results-focused pitch.

• Nakayama Takuya gave Section Chief Eikura a report showing a 320-percent increase in workflow efficiency and credited the Ministry of International Trade and Industry’s support.
• Section Chief Eikura accepted a Sega email client box, praised the project, and said he would submit the report to the bureau chief.
• Section Chief Eikura hinted that government offices beyond companies needed more efficient communication and document processing.
• Nakayama Takuya returned to Sega Headquarters and told Director Yoshikawa about Eikura’s hint.
• Director Yoshikawa planned to approach the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Prime Minister’s Office through political contacts, while assigning Takuya to prepare concise materials and visit other ministries.