Director Hoshino took over the conversation, explaining to the board members the role McKinsey played in this matter.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the board, regarding the Board Audit Committee that Richard just mentioned, this is professional advice given to us by McKinsey & Company."
Hoshino flipped open the document in his hands.
"McKinsey pointed out that introducing PricewaterhouseCoopers is a double-edged sword. To prevent us from being coerced by them in professional fields, the Board of Directors must possess equivalent professional review capabilities. By establishing an audit committee where board members directly interface with PwC's reports, we can control the depth and breadth of the audit. When to audit, where to audit, and to what extent—it's all decided by the Board of Directors."
Hoshino concluded, "In this way, we not only control costs but also genuinely keep the power of supervision in our own hands."
Several of the veteran board members exchanged views.
Before the meeting, Director Hoshino had already privately visited several of them, hinted at the situation, and lobbied them.
With the proposal now laid out on the table, combined with the concrete cases of fraud cited by PricewaterhouseCoopers, much of the board's apprehension had dissipated.
Crucially, this was only a small-scale trial with minimal expense, and it also served as an opportunity to keep the increasingly arrogant department heads in check.
Director Suzuki was the first to speak up: "Spending a little money to put an insurance policy on the company's finances—I think it's worth a try. If we uncover real problems, it's a preventative measure; if we don't, it'll give everyone peace of mind."
"Agreed," another director chimed in. "Especially that Audit Committee proposed by McKinsey. It's a great idea. We can't let outsiders get a full grasp of Sega's inner workings; control must remain with the Board of Directors."
Hayao Nakayama, sitting at the head of the table, set down the walnuts he had been rolling in his hand.
"Since no one has any major objections, let's proceed with Takuya's proposal. Have the team from PwC enter next week and start with a demonstration on a few of the overseas regional accounts. Meeting adjourned."
The directors stood up one by one, gathered their files, and left the conference room.
Takuya Nakayama remained in his chair, restacking the two thick accounting books.
The door to dual-track auditing had finally been forced open.
As long as the people from PricewaterhouseCoopers stepped in, the bad debts and losses hidden deep within the ledgers that hadn't been reported, as well as the shady, ill-defined transfers of benefits within the sales channels, would all be unearthed and brought to light. It wasn't that such things couldn't exist—after all, no one is perfect, and things rarely go exactly as one would wish—but Japanese people generally fear taking responsibility, and the social style of relying on "reading the air" to communicate easily created a breeding ground for fraud.
The internal cleanup of this massive machine had officially begun.
He tucked the book under his arm and stood up.
Over the coming week, the Finance and Sales departments were likely in for several sleepless nights.
He had to keep a close eye on the progress to ensure the PwC team could get their hands on the original drafts.
Director Hoshino walked over and lowered his voice.
"Managing Director, should we give Department Head Yoshimura a heads-up?"
"No need," Takuya Nakayama said, walking toward the door. "If we give them a heads-up, they'll have time to patch the holes. Just have the PwC team take the authorization letter and go pull the files. Anyone who tries to obstruct them, report their names to me."
Director Hoshino nodded in acknowledgement.
He knew clearly that beneath Sega's calm surface, a thorough financial reshuffling was about to take place.
The financial building at Sega Headquarters has been ablaze with light for the past few days.
A team from PricewaterhouseCoopers moved in with authorization letters and immediately began pulling the original source documents.
The accounts from several overseas regions were singled out for cross-referencing.
Yoshimura, the head of the Finance Department, has been spending five hours a day in the conference room, answering tricky questions about cash flow.
Takuya Nakayama did not interfere with the specific auditing process.
Once the procedure is initiated, professional organizations will naturally provide the results.
He shifted some of his attention to his old rival, Bandai.
Bandai's "Gundam Battlefield Evolution," having survived a protracted development cycle, was placed on the shelves of major retail stores.
This semi-finished product, which had been hastily shelved at the E3 exhibition in Los Angeles, did not undergo a complete transformation upon returning to Japan.
The Bandai game development department was facing cost pressures, and the instructions from upper management were clear: finish it as quickly as possible and recoup the costs.
At the pre-launch internal meeting, the development manager confidently guaranteed sales.
"As long as the packaging looks good, those Gunpla builders will definitely buy it. We've added the original voice actors for Amuro and Char, and that alone is worth 3,000 yen."
Chuta Mitsui flipped through the project proposal, pointed to the page with the operating instructions, and asked, "Has the issue with the loss of orientation during previous tests been resolved?"
The Development Manager waved his hand dismissively. "It's technically very difficult to implement rendering for environmental reference points. Don't worry about the orientation issue. For external publicity, just say it's to restore the realism of the zero-gravity environment in space. If players can't figure it out, that's because their skill level isn't high enough and they can't adapt to a hardcore setting."
All the development team could do was cram more mecha textures and the original voice actors' lines into that black void where even directions couldn't be distinguished.
As for the core physical feedback, the lack of spatial reference points, and the terrible camera locking issues, they were left untouched due to limitations in technical ability and time.
The packaging box was printed beautifully.
The RX-78-2 Gundam was holding a beam rifle, with a dazzling starry sky and explosions in the background.
Emblazoned on the cover were the words: "A 3D shooter masterpiece with full-directional free control—experience the real space battlefield!"
On the day of the release, a long line snaked down Chuo-dori in Akihabara.
"Give me two copies," a young man in a jacket said, slapping cash onto the counter.
The clerk skillfully bagged them and took the money.
On the day of release, a long queue formed along Chuo-dori in Akihabara.
"Give me two copies."
A young man in a jacket slapped his money down on the counter.
The clerk skillfully bagged the items and took the payment.
The pulling power of the Gundam IP in Japan is unquestionable.
Sega's "Gundam Battle Operation" arcade machine was packed every day. Many people couldn't get a turn and had long been itching to experience the thrill of piloting a Gundam at home.
Meanwhile, most Gundam fans had already finished the Jupiter version of "Gundam Battle Operation," leaving it gathering dust on their shelves.
Bandai's new game hit the market at exactly the right moment.
First-day sales exceeded 100,000 units.
The sales department at Bandai headquarters popped a bottle of champagne to celebrate.
However, disaster struck that very evening.
In an apartment in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, a university student named Sato inserted the disc into his console.
The screen lit up, and the Bandai logo flashed by.
He entered the game.
Sato gripped his controller and pushed the joystick.
The Gundam on the screen turned.
The background was pure black, with no stars or wreckage to serve as a reference point.
Sato's eyes blurred as the screen spun 360 degrees.
"Enemy unit at 3 o'clock!" the CIC voice prompt sounded.
Sato quickly pushed the joystick to the right.
The Gundam completed the turn at a speed that defied the laws of physics.
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