At the regular meeting the next day, Team Leader Shimizu announced that the development of the arcade version of tetris had been completed.
The head of the Market Department was a middle-aged man with meticulously combed hair and sharp, astute eyes behind his glasses.
He listened to Team Leader Shimizu's words, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, pondering for a moment.
"Team Leader Shimizu, I've already seen the game demo and had people from our department test it. The fun factor is indeed excellent."
He affirmed the quality of the game itself. The completeness of the arcade version of tetris far exceeded his expectations.
He seemed to have caught a glimpse of the potential this game held.
His tone shifted, carrying a hint of doubt.
"But, can this type of puzzle game really be popular in arcades?"
"Currently, the mainstream in arcades is still action games and shooting games."
His concerns were not unfounded.
In an arcade market generally pursuing sensory stimulation, a "simple" block-stacking game seemed somewhat out of place.
Team Leader Shimizu seemed to have anticipated this question, a confident smile on his face.
"Takahashi, you can rest assured about that."
He spoke with certainty.
"This tetris is not just a puzzle game. More importantly, it has strong competitiveness."
He emphasized, highlighting the game's core selling point.
"When we did internal testing, you didn't see how enthusiastic the two-player Versus Mode was. We optimized the game's competitiveness; if you're skilled, the coin consumption efficiency in Versus Mode isn't low."
Team Leader Shimizu paused, then continued.
"Moreover, this game has another very big advantage."
He smiled mysteriously.
"It can attract female players. I'll let everyone in on a secret: before this game was sent to the company, Nakayama's daughter participated in the testing and approved it."
"Just imagine, if arcades had a batch of female players..."
Team Leader Shimizu's words made Takahashi's eyes light up.
Current arcades are almost exclusively male players. If there truly was a game that could attract female players, that would definitely be a whole new blue ocean.
"Female players..."
Takahashi murmured, seemingly deep in thought about this possibility.
"The operation of this game is very simple, and female players can easily get started," Team Leader Shimizu pressed on. "Moreover, the stacking and eliminating gameplay of tetris, compared to the guns and violence of past games, is more in line with female aesthetics."
"Plus our optimized graphics and music, it will definitely make their eyes light up."
"The most crucial point is that the two-player Versus Mode allows couples to play together, friends to play together, and can even attract some women who don't usually play arcade games to enter arcades just to play with their boyfriends or best friends."
Team Leader Shimizu grew more excited as he spoke, as if he could already see the grand spectacle of men, women, and children of all ages immersed in tetris in the arcade.
Takahashi's doubts had been largely dispelled by the bright future Team Leader Shimizu described.
He pondered for a moment, then finally nodded.
"Alright, since Team Leader Shimizu is so confident, we will fully cooperate. I will arrange the order fair as soon as possible. For promotion, we also need to plan well, highlighting the features and advantages of this game. We'll strive to launch this tetris before the summer blockbusters."
The head of the Market Department also nodded and said, "Then, I will arrange for the pricing department to calculate costs and set sales prices as soon as possible."
The head of the Arcade Production Department was not to be outdone: "Please have the Third Development Department submit the material list; we will immediately begin inventorying and calculating materials."
Team Leader Shimizu looked at the statements from the heads of the various departments, a smile so wide it was harder to suppress than an AK.
...
Third Development Department, meeting room.
Takuya stood in front of the whiteboard, writing a few large characters with a marker.
"tetris, Multi-Platform Development Plan."
He turned around and looked at everyone in the meeting room.
"Everyone, the development of the arcade version has concluded. Next, we will enter a new phase: multi-platform development of tetris. In addition to the arcade version, we will also simultaneously develop console and handheld versions."
Takuya's words sparked a low murmur of discussion in the meeting room.
Developing games for two platforms simultaneously was an unprecedented challenge for the Third Development Department.
Team Leader Shimizu asked with some concern.
"Vice Team Leader Nakayama, will developing for two platforms simultaneously be too tight?"
Takuya waved his hand, signaling Team Leader Shimizu to calm down.
"Team Leader Shimizu, don't worry. The development of these two platforms is not entirely independent. The arcade version is the foundation; the console and handheld versions are based on the arcade version for porting and simplification. Therefore, the development difficulty is not as great as imagined."
Takuya paused, then continued.
"For the console version, our goal is to quickly port the arcade experience, allowing players to enjoy the authentic tetris on home consoles. However, considering the Hardware Development Department performance of our Sega console, the graphics may need some simplification. The sound effects also need to be adjusted according to the console's audio chip. This task will be handled by colleagues who are more familiar with console Hardware Development Department."
Takuya looked at several senior programmers.
"No problem, right?"
The programmers exchanged glances and answered in unison.
"No problem!"
Takuya nodded with satisfaction, then turned his gaze to Sasaki.
"Sasaki, I'll need you to put in more effort on the console version's graphics optimization."
Sasaki nodded slightly.
"I will do my best."
Takuya smiled, then pointed to the words "handheld version" on the whiteboard.
"Next, is the focus of our multi-platform development plan."
"The handheld version of tetris. It will only have tetris as its built-in game."
"First, it must be portable, small and lightweight, convenient for players to take out and play anywhere, anytime."
"Second, it must be low-cost, with a price that is affordable enough for more players to buy."
"Most importantly, it needs to be as power-efficient as possible, so that it can be played for a long time on one battery change, preventing players from being disappointed by a dead battery when they pull it out."
Takuya paused, his tone becoming excited.
"Moreover, our handheld version of tetris will also bring over the Versus Mode. We need to design a simple communication interface so that two handhelds can be connected to achieve two-player Versus Mode. Players can use a connecting cable to face off against friends in tetris. The connecting cable will be used to trigger the two-player mode and can transmit 'garbage line' signals."
Takuya's concept for the handheld version left everyone in the meeting room a bit stunned.
They began to process the feasibility of Takuya's plan.
Sasaki pushed up his glasses and analyzed from a technical perspective.
"Vice Team Leader Nakayama, the handheld version's plan is indeed very interesting."
"From a technical standpoint, implementing single-player mode and two-player Versus Mode should not be a big problem."
"The game logic of tetris itself is not complex, and it doesn't have high Hardware Development Department performance requirements."
"For the communication interface, we can refer to some existing handheld solutions, simplifying and optimizing them."
"The rest requires extensive testing with the Hardware Development Department to come up with a sufficiently cheap and power-efficient design, as well as how to design an attractive enough appearance and operating feel."
Sasaki's analysis gave everyone more confidence in the development of the handheld version.
Takuya said with a smile.
"Regarding costs, I will try my best to communicate with the Hardware Development Department to control costs to the minimum."
"For the appearance and operating feel, I will provide some design proposals, and everyone can discuss them together, brainstorming ideas."
"In short, our goal is to create a handheld that can quickly become popular."
Takuya's words were full of passion and confidence.
His confidence also infected everyone present.