This information was highly regarded by Takuya Nakayama. In his previous life, it was precisely this strategy of constant outward expansion that allowed Sony to broaden the PlayStation's audience from traditional gaming geeks to the general public, ultimately winning the console war of that generation.
"This is a very dangerous signal." Nakayama sat up straight, his gaze sharp. "Sony is attempting to redefine the console's consumption scenario. While we are fighting with Nintendo over whose 3D technology is stronger and whose hardcore games are more fun, Sony is preparing to make money from people who don't care at all about polygon counts."
Hisao Oguchi frowned. Sega's inherent DNA has always been hardcore arcade games. This DNA kept them in the lead technologically but also limited the breadth of their audience.
"Does the Managing Director mean that we should also follow up in the casual gaming market?"
"We won't blindly follow, but we must be prepared," Takuya Nakayama said, tapping his knuckles on the table. "We have Hudson. Didn't that ten-player battle game, 'Jupiter Bomberman,' at the Hudson booth this afternoon get a great reception? That is the purest form of a party game. We should play the Hudson card well, and use the Jupiter splitter peripheral to build up the living room social experience.
Additionally, tell the software review department to appropriately lower the approval threshold for casual and puzzle games, to leave some room for small and medium-sized third-party developers to experiment."
Hisao Oguchi nodded. Sony wanted to take the mass-market route, and Sega absolutely could not hand over this market segment. The meeting proceeded at a fast pace. Tecmo's "Dead or Alive" was singled out for discussion.
This fighting game, developed using Sega's Model 2 board, had caused quite a sensation at the exhibition. "Itagaki Tomonobu played this move quite smartly," Hisao Oguchi commented. "By using our technology base, he saved on R&D costs for an engine and went all-out on visual presentation. Although there's a lot of fan service, it's quite lethal for the arcade market."
"This is also the success of our licensing strategy." Takuya Nakayama smiled, "By licensing the baseboard, we can recoup our hardware R&D costs while locking Tecmo into our ecosystem. Once the arcade version of 'Dead or Alive' is rolled out, the home console version will inevitably be ported to Jupiter first. In the fighting game category, as long as we set the underlying technical standards, no matter who wins or loses, Sega will always be the house."
Finally, the topic turned to the PC platform.
Although Sega's core business was consoles and arcade machines, the rise of Win95 and the explosion of the PC gaming market were an unstoppable tide of the era that could not be ignored.
"Westwood's 'Red Alert' and Blizzard's 'Diablo'." The head of intelligence placed two promotional posters side-by-side on the whiteboard. "These two companies have demonstrated immense dominance on the PC front. In particular, Blizzard's announced Battle.net system provides free wide-area network matchmaking services. This is much smarter than 3DO's 'Meridian 59', which charges a monthly fee."
Hearing the term "Battle.net," Takuya Nakayama's eyes deepened.
The wave of the internet had become unstoppable.
Sega had canceled the plan for a built-in modem in the Jupiter to avoid the negative user experience caused by the immature network environment at the current stage, but this did not mean Sega had given up on networking.
"The PC's foray into online gaming is paving the way for us," Takuya Nakayama stated, setting the tone. "With current dial-up bandwidth and latency issues, only a high-computing platform like the PC can barely manage with client-side prediction.
Forcing online multiplayer on consoles now would only ruin our reputation. Have the North American technical team closely monitor Battle.net's underlying architecture and data interaction models. Once broadband technology matures, this will be one of the core competitive advantages of our next-generation console."
As night deepened, the city lights of Los Angeles shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows into the suite.
An efficient intelligence analysis meeting was drawing to a close.
The whiteboard was filled with the dynamics of various manufacturers and Sega's corresponding strategies.
Hisao Oguchi put down his marker and let out a long sigh.
His thoughts were completely clear now.
"That's it for today's meeting." Nakayama stood up and straightened his collar. "Tomorrow is the second day of the media event, and Sega's main stage press conference is scheduled for the morning. Each department should proceed according to the established plan and play our trump cards one by one. Let's consolidate our advantage in this generation's console war."
Everyone agreed in unison, tidied up their materials, and exited the suite in an orderly fashion. Oguchi Hisao remained until the last. "Managing Director, Mr. Sakaguchi from Square would like to invite you for a coffee tomorrow," Oguchi Hisao reported an additional item on the schedule. "It's regarding the follow-up promotional collaboration for 'Final Fantasy VII'."
"Good, schedule it for tomorrow afternoon." Nakayama Takuya walked to the door and patted Oguchi Hisao on the back. "Get some rest early. The real hard battle is just beginning."
The Los Angeles night turned deep. The scent of coffee still lingered in the hallway of the Marriott Hotel. Interestingly, unlike the acrid, burnt smell of inferior instant coffee from last May, this year the air was filled with the rich aroma of freshly ground coffee beans. Benefiting from the painful lessons of the first year, various gaming media outlets had wised up this year.
Major magazine publishers had booked executive suites in the hotel months in advance, physically separating their front-line interview teams from their back-office editorial teams.
Front-line reporters were responsible for running around the venue to grab gameplay demos, while back-office editors stayed in the hotel to summarize and polish the content. Proofreaders and layout staff maintained real-time synchronization with their New York headquarters via fax machines. With sufficient manpower and clear division of labor, they were well-prepared.
Inside the executive suite rented by GamePro, the sound of rhythmic keyboard tapping filled the room. David loosened his tie and stared at the screen of the bulky Compaq laptop in front of him. On it was the rough draft of his Super Mario 64 review, which he had just finished typing. This time last year, David hadn't even had time to sit down; he'd been forced to write while standing in hallways, pressured by a dozen press conferences.
His handwriting had been so sloppy that the copy editor had called to yell at him. This year, the IDSA Organizing Committee had split the conferences over two days. Those bureaucrats had finally done something right. "David, how much longer on that Nintendo piece?" the Editor-in-Chief asked, emerging from the suite's inner room with a stack of printed pages in hand.
"Ten minutes. I'm tweaking the description of the analog stick," David replied without looking up, his fingers flying across the keys. "It's hard to put into words. Translating physical displacement into a linear signal—I need to make sure the reader understands the difference between pushing it halfway and pushing it all the way."
"Keep it concise," the Editor-in-Chief said, placing a can of ice-cold cola next to him. "Space in tomorrow's daily edition is limited. Focus on the $199 price point and Mario's gameplay innovation. Save those nitty-gritty details about level design for the E3 special issue at the end of the month."
Please Support me by becoming my Patreon member and get 30+ chapters.
[email protected]/Ajal69
change @ with a
Thank You to Those who joined my Patreon