"No." Ken Kutaragi stood up. "Multi-disc sets will drastically increase packaging and logistics costs. Square has the financial muscle for it, but other small and mid-sized developers don't. We can't let Sega dictate the pace. Blindly following their lead will only drag down our third-party camp."
He walked to the simple whiteboard and picked up a marker.
"Contact Namco and Konami," Kutaragi said, writing the two companies' names on the board. "They're facing funding issues during their 3D transition. We'll offer development funds, low-interest loans, and even advance royalties. See if we can buy the exclusivity rights to several of their main titles. If we can't match the capacity of a single multi-disc game, we'll make up for it with quantity. The PlayStation library must grow rapidly. We'll use a diverse product line to offset the impact of Square's single-title blockbuster."
The assistant nodded and took notes.
"Will Nintendo's $199 price point impact our pricing structure?" the assistant asked.
Kutaragi looked at the whiteboard.
"The physical limitations of cartridges are a fixed reality," he said, tossing the marker down. "They can't support massive amounts of Full Motion Video and high-quality audio. No matter how fun Mario is, it's still just a single game."
The convention center's second floor, Sega's office space.
The soundproofing was excellent, keeping the outside noise at bay.
1:30 PM, Los Angeles Convention Center West Hall.
David tossed his empty cola cup into the trash and let out a burp.
Paul walked ahead, their media badges swinging back and forth with each step.
"Hudson's booth is up ahead." Paul flipped through the guide, pointing to a large area nearby. "They put their main exhibit right next to Sega's this year."
After the morning's visual spectacle on the main stage, Hudson's booth offered a starkly different vibe.
No exaggerated CG trailers, no deafening orchestral music.
They had chosen to hold their press conference at their own booth instead of the main stage, drawing many media members along with them.
At the center of the booth, a large projection screen glowed.
Below it sat a Jupiter console.
What drew everyone's attention was the port at the front of the console.
Two flat expansion hubs were plugged into the controller ports, each hub branching out into six slots.
Ten controller cables crisscrossed and tangled, extending all the way to the curved demo station.
"What kind of hardware peripheral is this?" David leaned in to get a closer look. "A splitter?"
"Sega's Multi-tap," a bespectacled Japanese colleague nearby chimed in. "I've heard of this thing in Tokyo. But connecting ten controllers... this is a first for me, too."
On stage, Hudson producer Shigeki Fujiwara picked up the microphone.
"Good afternoon, everyone. In an era where 3D technology dominates, Hudson has chosen a different path."
The screen behind him lit up.
The classic grid-lined map appeared, featuring the familiar, round-headed Bomberman.
A few soft chuckles rippled through the audience.
Someone muttered, "Bomberman? Still doing 2D?"
Shigeki Fujiwara heard the murmurs from the crowd.
He pressed a button on his remote.
The camera zoomed out.
The once-cramped, square arena expanded sideways, transforming into a massive, ultra-widescreen battlefield. The number of grid squares on the map multiplied several times over.
Then, ten Bomberman figures of different colors dropped from the sky, landing in various corners of the map.
"Jupiter Bomberman," Fujiwara announced, raising his voice. "A Sega Jupiter exclusive. We've pushed this console's 2D capabilities to their absolute limit, all to achieve one thing—an unprecedented ten-player local multiplayer battle."
The audience fell silent for two seconds before erupting into a low murmur of astonishment.
Ten people playing a game in the same living room?
Such a social scenario was unheard of in the 1996 console market. The previous limit had been four-player split-screen.
"More players alone isn't enough," Shigeki Fujiwara continued his demonstration. "We've completely rebuilt the combat system. League play, time limits, random spawn points. And here's the best part: if you're eliminated in a match, don't put down your controller just yet. You can pilot a UFO from outside the arena, dropping bombs on the remaining players to mess with them."
David's eyes lit up.
This mechanic is so vicious.
The dead pulling the living down with them—this was bound to spark real-life rivalries.
"The traditional kangaroo mounts are retired." On the screen, Baibao mounted a fat purple dinosaur. "Five different colored dinosaur mounts. The Purple Dragon can detect hidden items; the Blue Dragon can kick bombs away with a single strike. By eating specific items, the dinosaurs will gain experience and undergo three stages of evolution. Holding the L and R buttons allows you to dismount at any time, using your mount as a meat shield."
The demo video's pace was lightning-fast.
The screen was filled with explosion effects and meticulously detailed pixel animations.
The character's singed face when blasted away, the dust kicked up by the dinosaur's run—none of it dropped a single frame.
This was undoubtedly the pinnacle of 2D visuals.
"Single players can also enjoy the full adventure," Shigeki Fujiwara said, quickly glancing over the single-player content. "The Story Mode features five major stages across six themed worlds: the Amusement Park, the Heian period, the Wild West, the Ice Age, and Outer Space. You'll be fighting the evil Beard Gang." Fully voiced cutscenes were interspersed between the stages. "For players seeking a hardcore experience, we've also prepared a Master Mode to push your reflexes to the limit."
"Enough talk," Fujiwara said, setting down the microphone and pointing to the console connected to a dozen controllers. "Seeing is believing. The first ten testers, please come on stage."
David pulled Paul along, using his size advantage to squeeze into the front row and snag two controllers.
Ten media reporters from different countries gathered around the curved platform.
The game began.
As the countdown ended, David habitually pressed the directional keys to move and dropped a bomb.
He quickly realized the item pool this time was absurdly deep.
A French reporter nearby had just picked up a red "Marble Bomb." He mashed his buttons, and the bomb bounced wildly between the walls.
"Damn it!" David shouted, desperately maneuvering his character to dodge.
Paul, meanwhile, had snagged an "Energy Glove." He walked up to a bomb about to explode, pressed a button to lift it, and tossed it right over a wall, landing it at David's feet.
BOOM! The sound effect blared.
David's character was reduced to a charred husk, and a message appeared at the top of the screen: ELIMINATED.
"You bastard, Paul!" David cursed with a laugh.
But he wasn't about to wait around in boredom.
David tapped his directional keys, and a small UFO appeared at the edge of the screen. He aimed it at Paul, who was still gloating in the arena, and dropped a "Mud Water Bomb."
The water bomb didn't explode on impact. Instead, it bounced a few times before landing squarely on Paul's head, slowing him to a crawl.
Another player, riding a Blue Dragon, seized the opportunity and kicked a Spiked Bomb toward him. The bomb's flames ignored the soft-brick wall, piercing straight through and blasting Paul and his dragon out of the game.
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