During the presentation, many of the reporters and media personnel in the audience noticed another detail.
As Kasumi moved, her breasts swayed with an exaggerated yet physically plausible motion.
This kind of dynamic effect had never appeared in any 3D game before.
A stir rippled through the crowd.
Several Japanese reporters began whispering urgently to one another, while the American media members whistled in admiration.
"They're using a physics engine for that," Paul said, shaking his head with a hint of absurdity in his voice. "Tecmo found the fastest way to grab attention. This kind of borderline-suggestive strategy is incredibly effective in arcades."
David didn't smile.
He was rapidly taking notes on the technical details he was seeing.
"If you set aside the fan service, the quality of this game is exceptionally high," David analyzed. "It's running at a smooth 60 frames per second. The polygon count per character is conservatively estimated to be over 5,000. The depth of field in the scenes is impressive. Tecmo couldn't have developed this technology on their own. They must have some serious help behind the scenes."
The live gameplay demo concluded.
The game's title flashed across the screen: Dead or Alive.
The release date was fixed at the bottom: late November 1996.
Tomonobu Itagaki stood in the center of the stage, hands shoved into the pockets of his leather jacket, savoring the applause and the buzz from the audience.
"Sega's Model 2 board," Paul said, finally piecing it together from the credits rolling at the end. "No doubt about it. Only Sega's arcade hardware can handle this kind of polygon processing and lighting effects right now. It's even a bit more refined than Virtua Fighter 2. Did Tecmo use Sega's technology?"
David stopped writing. "Now this is interesting. Dead or Alive is a 3D fighting game, a direct competitor to Sega's own Virtua Fighter series. Why would Sega sell its core technology to a rival? That defies common sense."
"If you put the competition aside, it's actually a win-win deal," Paul said, leaning back in his chair as he worked through the business logic. "Tecmo didn't have the funds or the time to develop a high-end 3D engine from scratch. They needed an existing technical foundation to bring Itagaki's vision to life. Sega had the best hardware. Licensing the tech is a quick way to make money with low risk."
"But why would Sega be willing to nurture a competitor?" David countered. "Virtua Fighter is their cash cow."
"Because Tecmo isn't qualified to be a real competitor," Paul pointed out. "Virtua Fighter focuses on hardcore fighting and realistic martial arts. Its audience is the die-hard players who care about frame data and hitboxes. Dead or Alive is taking a completely different path. Fast-paced, visually stimulating, and—" Paul pointed to the close-up of Kasumi frozen on the screen, "—these selling points that cater to a specific demographic. The audiences for the two are still quite different. Sega isn't afraid of Tecmo stealing their turf."
David followed Paul's line of reasoning.
"More importantly, judging by Sega's overall approach over the past few years, this is about building an ecosystem." David drew a circle on his notebook, connecting Sega, Square, and Tecmo. "Square is a die-hard ally that Sega has invested in. Tecmo is different—Sega hasn't taken a stake in them. But if they can open up their technical library for a fee, Sega will not only earn a hefty licensing fee but also recoup some of the development costs for the Model 2 board. At the same time, they'll gain another little brother in the arcade platform war. This deal is far more important than the competition over a single game."
Paul nodded in agreement.
"And then there's the Jupiter platform," Paul added. "Porting games from the Model 2 board to the Jupiter console is incredibly easy—you can achieve a near-perfect reproduction. Since Tecmo used Sega's board, their next move after the arcade release at the end of the year will inevitably be a home console port. Sega has effortlessly secured a high-quality third-party blockbuster for the Jupiter. It's a brilliant move, riding the wave of momentum."
Tomonobu Itagaki took the microphone and delivered a brief speech in heavily accented English.
"Dead or Alive will redefine the visual standards for fighting games. See you in the arcades this November."
Without wasting another word, Itagaki turned and walked off the stage.
Tecmo's presentation on the main stage was brief.
Itagaki declined all questions and walked straight down the stairs.
The screen went dark, and the journalists in the press section were still processing the visual impact of Dead or Alive.
However, because Tecmo's segment was so tightly scheduled, the organizers had not set aside any time for an intermission.
After a brief thirty-second countdown, the screen faded to black, and the blue-on-black Blizzard Entertainment logo lit up.
The audience's attention returned to the stage.
David from GamePro flipped to a fresh page in his notebook.
Paul from Computer Gaming World shifted in his seat, pushing his digital recorder to the edge of the table.
Earlier that morning, Westwood Studios had unveiled Command & Conquer: Red Alert. Its fast-paced gameplay demo and live-action cutscenes had raised the bar for the RTS genre.
The media was eager to see what Blizzard, another titan in the RTS field, would bring to counter Westwood's assault—especially since their last major release was the Warcraft III expansion pack.
Mike Morhaime walked onto the stage.
He wore a charcoal gray crew-neck T-shirt tucked casually into washed denim jeans, paired with a pair of heavily worn sneakers. This quintessential Silicon Valley programmer's attire stood out sharply against the sea of Japanese producers in their formal suits at E3.
Mike stepped up to the microphone, holding a thin sheaf of printed notes.
"The past month has been profoundly significant for Blizzard," Mike Morhaime's voice boomed through the speakers, his pace measured and his articulation clear. "The Win95 version of Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, combined with the Dark Portal expansion, has surpassed 1.5 million copies sold globally. Our left-hand grid mapping for hotkeys has also been widely embraced by players. Many have written to us, saying they can never go back to the old way of hunting for keys across the entire keyboard."
A wave of applause swept through the audience.
Blizzard's innovation in UI interaction had tangibly transformed the way PC games were played.
"We are grateful for the players' support," Mike said, setting down his paper. "The RTS genre is booming, and Westwood Studios' presentation this morning was truly impressive. The leap in PC platform performance has granted us immense creative freedom."
He paused for two seconds, his gaze sweeping across the crowd.
"Today, Blizzard brings you a brand-new world."
The lights in the venue went black.
There was no live gameplay demo. No explanation of the mechanics.
A CG cinematic cutscene flashed onto the big screen.
The visuals were gritty and bleak.
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