Chapter 88. Assemble!
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After Goraku Tsushin's report came out, it directly pushed Mermaid's Heart and Pokeni to the pinnacle of galgames.
Not only did it boost the magazine's own sales, but it also successfully elevated Pokeni's reputation.
Countless players who had read the Goraku Tsushin issue said:
"Eh? Although I had similar feelings while playing the game, I didn't think much about it back then. So Mermaid's Heart actually deals with very profound social issues."
"This Goraku Tsushin editor is pretty impressive—able to interpret things from different angles."
"Before this, I only looked at games from a player's perspective. After Goraku Tsushin's analysis, I finally understand the creators' painstaking efforts."
"Mermaid's Heart really is a good game. Worthy of being made by my favorite Tsubaki Furuhara. It's simply different from other galgames on the market. Beyond beautiful romance, it also explores human nature and deeper truths."
"Ah! I'm loving Tsubaki Furuhara more and more."
"The partnership between Tsubaki Furuhara and Urobuchi Gen is unexpectedly magical. The script is god-tier, and the story's depth is incredible. The only bad thing is—
These two guys always make players cry."
"Wuu wuu wuu, just thinking that none of the endings are good makes my heart hurt."
"Pokeni is truly outrageous. They've single-handedly changed the entire galgame market. We used to like blue games, but Pokeni changed the flavor of galgames. Now, without a good plot, I don't even feel like playing."
After the magazine came out, many female players also expressed interest in trying this galgame known as [a game that girls can also play].
...
Besides this, Goraku Tsushin also mentioned a secret piece of news.
That was—
Pokeni was developing a Western fantasy–themed action RPG. Whether it would be a galgame was still unknown, but based on the released information, the game seemed very promising.
Players were baffled.
"Really? Pokeni's new game is an ARPG? But can something like that actually become a galgame?"
"Whether it's a galgame is still up in the air, but if it really becomes one, I'll definitely buy it. An ARPG galgame—just imagining it is thrilling."
"Yeah, this is the Pokeni I admire—always able to extract galgame potential from different game genres. Truly respectable."
"I hope the producer is [Tsubaki Furuhara]. Please don't let it be that Kiyoshi Yuuma again. Compared to Tsubaki Furuhara, Kiyoshi Yuuma is basically trash."
"..."
Although no one could imagine what a Western fantasy ARPG turned into a galgame would look like—
Everyone still held high expectations.
...
"Mm, Goraku Tsushin's report is well written." Kiyoshi Yuuma closed the magazine, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
Ayase Akane glanced at him. The President really showed his emotions openly.
You could tell what he was thinking just by looking at his face.
His expressions completely betrayed him.
If he ever played Texas Hold'em, he'd definitely lose miserably.
Kiyoshi Yuuma leaned back in his boss chair, tapping the desk as he pondered deeply.
Even though Goraku Tsushin had gained a lot of traction, it still wasn't enough. It would be ideal if it could grow even more—in the future, it would essentially become another promotional channel for Pokeni.
Before a game's release, magazine or TV exposure counted as warming up the market. This phase was actually quite important.
Take Diablo, for example. Although still in development, Goraku Tsushin's portrayal had already sparked players' curiosity.
When the game eventually launched, they could amplify the hype.
Pokémon followed the same principle.
In fact, in Kiyoshi Yuuma's view, Pokémon needed even more promotional effort. In his previous life, Pokémon's popularity had owed a lot to the anime.
Thinking of Pokémon, Kiyoshi Yuuma frowned.
Several days had passed, and he still hadn't heard anything from Sega. Either they weren't accepting the proposal, or they were still hesitating.
He needed to find a way to push Nakayama Hayao.
"President."
Ayase Akane suddenly called out.
"What is it?"
"It's a call from Sega," she said.
"Eh?!"
...
Speak of the devil.
After several days of internal meetings, Sega finally decided to cooperate with Pokeni.
In truth, this cooperation was mainly for the sake of partnering with Sony.
The proposal directly targeted Sega's weak points, and Kiyoshi Yuuma's Three Kingdoms argument had persuaded Nakayama Hayao.
Sega had made many missteps over the years. Their biggest problem was always thinking they could fight Nintendo alone. Their brief confidence boost from MD sales only made this worse.
But SFC's recent momentum was strong. Coupled with Yamauchi Hiroshi's arrogance and Nintendo's various "welcome the challenge" statements, Nakayama Hayao felt increasingly dissatisfied.
So after weighing the pros and cons, Sega accepted Pokeni's proposal.
After signing the conditional contract, Kiyoshi Yuuma gathered everyone for a consultation meeting.
Pokeni didn't have a conference room large enough, so Sega hosted the main venue.
Sega's Nakayama Hayao, Pokeni's President Kiyoshi Yuuma, and DUN's President Tsuda Nao all attended. Sony's Morita Akio was unwell, so Ohga Norio attended on his behalf.
Each company sent several representatives. Along with the main signatories, there were also R&D heads, operations staff, and lawyers.
One conference room packed over a dozen people.
Business negotiations—the process of finalizing details—were extremely tedious and time-consuming.
Every line meant money, and every line had to be negotiated. Everyone tried to secure maximum benefits for their side.
After about a month of discussion, everything was finally settled.
In the cooperation agreement, Sega, which sought the leading development rights, would bear the main costs of handheld R&D.
(Sega was adamant about leading rights. But since Kiyoshi didn't want to get involved in the console wars yet, and DUN was unwilling to invest 10 billion, no one objected to Sega being the main investor.)
The handheld's tentative name for this generation was [Sega Game Pocket], abbreviated as GP.
Much better sounding than GG.
Naturally, the investment burden on Pokeni and DUN dropped significantly.
Sony would handle the handheld's battery component.
Pokeni's games would have limited-time exclusivity on the handheld.
...
The handheld's intellectual property would be shared by all four parties.
Although shared, no one was allowed to use it to develop consoles compatible with GP.
(This was a lesson learned from Nintendo's past troubles and prevented Sony or Sega from breaking away at will.)
Sales revenue and royalty distribution would follow investment ratios and technical contributions.
Game approval rights would be handled entirely by Sega.
But cooperative parties (Pokeni, DUN, and Sony) would enjoy royalty discounts for their games on GP in the future.
And so on...
The agreement terms were numerous, taking up around a hundred pages, outlining each party's investment and rights.
At the same time, the consensus also provided more favorable conditions for third-party developers.
Games released on Sega handhelds would pay royalties 10% lower than Nintendo's rates.
All of these points.
...
In short, once this contract was signed, it was like the eighteen warlords assembling.
All that remained was to march on Dong Zhuo.