"Let's look at communication costs in Japan," Oguchi Hisao continued his analysis. "NTT's phone charges are based on minutes. Playing a game for two hours would cost more in internet fees than buying a physical game disc. How many families are willing to shoulder that kind of expense? Features developed with massive investment end up being nothing more than toys for a handful of wealthy people. This is exactly what Executive Director Nakayama was talking about—the returns and feedback are negligible."
Nakamoto Shinichi recalled the final paragraph of Nakayama Takuya's written response.
"Executive Director Nakayama wrote a very harsh statement in his approval. He said that Japan's software engineering system has inherent defects when it comes to dealing with underlying network architecture. If we force a net-game project through, it will only expose our shortcomings."
"He sees things very clearly," Oguchi Hisao nodded. "The Japanese game industry is accustomed to closed hardware environments and a 'takumi' (craftsman) model that extremely polishes single-player experiences. Once we encounter projects that require large-scale concurrent processing, server architecture, and continuous network maintenance, our technical reserves are fundamentally lacking.
PC developers in North America are constantly tinkering with TCP/IP protocols, while our programmers are still obsessed with assembly language to optimize single-player frame rates. Executive Director Nakayama said that Japanese net-game technology won't be able to catch up with the United States for the next decade. To dabble in it now is just hitting our own weak points against someone else's strengths."
Shinichi Nakamoto gasped. This assertion was overly pessimistic, but upon reflection, Japan's IT infrastructure was indeed lagging behind North America.
"So, he would rather keep that modem component as an experimental, internal test project for technical accumulation, rather than allow Hudson to pack it into the retail version of Jupiter Bomberman," Oguchi Hisao concluded. "Perfecting the local ten-player mode is the safest, most immediate, and effective strategy. Not creating extra trouble for the developers is the greatest support one can give."
The two turned their eyes back to the booth.
On the first day, Media Day, the total number of people at the venue was not large, consisting mainly of accredited media personnel and analysts. In front of the major manufacturers' booths, queues for demos typically took an hour.
For those complex 3D blockbusters, the barrier to entry was high; reporters needed to spend a significant amount of time getting used to the camera angles and controls. It was completely different over at Jupiter Bomberman. A single round took only two or three minutes. Ten people played at once. There was no need for cumbersome tutorial levels; you knew how to play the moment you picked up the controller.
No one cared about winning or losing; all frustration was dissolved in the joy of sabotaging each other.
This intense emotional release made the Hudson booth the most boisterous and vibrant spot in the entire West Hall. "July release, right?" asked Hisao Oguchi. "July 15th," Shinichi Nakamoto replied. "Avoiding the fierce competition of autumn and Christmas. It's just the start of summer vacation, the peak time for students to get together."
"Console sales will get a boost," Hisao Oguchi judged. "To play this game, players won't just need to buy the game disc, but also two six-port adapters and gather ten controllers. This is a huge boon for Sega's peripheral sales too." "A win-win," Shinichi Nakamoto raised his empty teacup, making a clinking motion. "Not just that," Hisao Oguchi added
. "This game sends a message to the market: Jupiter can not only run top-tier 3D blockbusters, but it's also the ultimate home entertainment center. We provide the most complete hardware interfaces; third-party developers just need to use their creativity to turn the living room into a playground. That is the true calling of a home console.
" The noise of the Hudson booth was left behind. David stuffed his notebook, filled with scribbles, into his pocket, took the mineral water Paul handed him, twisted it open, and took a drink.
The corridors of the West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center were bustling with people; media personnel wearing colorful passes were all converging in the same direction. The lights on the main stage were readjusted.
A highly recognizable red and white logo lit up the wide electronic screen—Electronic Arts. "The local giant has arrived," Paul said, glancing at his watch. "EA's booth size this year is almost the largest among all third-party developers; they've practically moved half a stadium's worth of turf in here."
The two squeezed into the media section in front of the main stage along with the flow of the crowd. EA's press conference style was completely different from that of Japanese manufacturers.
There were no producers in bizarre costumes, nor were there any obscure, hard-to-understand Japanese-style plot trailers. Standing on stage was an executive in a tailored suit, EA's current CEO, Larry Probst. "Welcome to the world of EA," Larry's voice resonated throughout the exhibition hall through high-fidelity speakers. The screen changed, and the cheers from the pitch filled the hall. The live demo of FIFA 97 officially began.
Compared to its predecessor, this title abandoned the pseudo-3D isometric perspective and shifted entirely to true, full-3D polygon modeling.
The live demonstration of "FIFA 97" officially began. Compared to its predecessor, this installment abandoned the pseudo-3D isometric perspective, shifting entirely to authentic, full 3D polygon modeling.
Players ran, passed, and shot on the field, with their movements flowing seamlessly.
Larry was on stage introducing the application of new technology.
EA had invested a huge sum of money to build a motion capture center at its Vancouver studio.
They invited several professional soccer players to wear special tight-fitting suits covered in reflective markers.
Under a matrix of infrared cameras arranged in a ring, the players performed actions like dribbling, tackling, and heading.
Computers converted the spatial coordinates of these markers into digital skeletal data, which was then imported directly into the game engine.
The visual improvement brought about by this technology was epoch-making.
In the past, keyframe animations drawn manually by animators seemed stiff and robotic compared to real human physical motion data.
Now, the polygonal players on the screen possessed inertial expressions that complied with ergonomics.
"It's not just an upgrade in visual dimensions; we've also added an indoor soccer mode. It's a fast-paced six-on-six match, using walls to bounce passes, with no out-of-bounds and no stoppage time." Larry clicked his remote, and the screen cut to a wooden-floor court, where the dull thud of the soccer ball hitting the walls was clearly audible.
A round of applause broke out in the media section.
David quickly took notes in his notebook.
EA's dominance in the sports game arena was unquestionable.
They held the most core tournament licenses from FIFA and possessed a mature, annual production pipeline.
Once the underlying 3D engine was built, subsequent development costs would be significantly diluted.
They hold the core tournament licenses from FIFA and possess a mature pipeline for developing annual releases. Once the underlying 3D engine is built, subsequent development costs are significantly amortized. Every year, the development team only needs to update the latest player transfer lists, optimize a few animation modules, and tweak the UI, and they can slap on a new year's label and sell it at full price.
This industrialized development model, based on iterations of the underlying engine, strips away the personal heroism in game production and transforms it into a business model where the return on investment can be precisely calculated.
Players, eager to use the latest rosters of the teams they support, are more than willing to shell out sixty dollars every year. The FIFA 97 demo concluded, and NBA Live 96 followed closely behind.
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