Kyoto, Nintendo Headquarters.
On a hot afternoon, the air seemed to solidify in the oppressive conference room.
The detailed report on PCEngine lay in the center of the conference table, clearly showing signs of being crumpled.
Hiroshi Yamauchi's face was ashen, the veins on his forehead twitching slightly with anger.
His finger tapped heavily on the table, maintaining the last vestiges of his composure as President.
"Hudson!"
Hiroshi Yamauchi's voice was squeezed out from between his teeth, filled with unconcealed fury.
"An ungrateful wolf cub!"
"How dare they ally with NEC to challenge our Nintendo's authority!"
The Nintendo executives in the conference room were silent, even their breathing deliberately softened, fearing to provoke this iron-fisted President.
Hiroshi Yamauchi's sharp gaze swept over everyone, and he let out a cold snort.
"The flashy parameters of console hardware can indeed fool some laymen."
"But the key to determining victory will always be game software!"
He stated unequivocally, his tone filled with absolute confidence in the foundation of his empire.
"Without games, even the most powerful console is nothing more than an expensive pile of scrap metal!"
"The cumulative global sales of FC and NES exceeding ten million units, and the vast user base established thereby, this is our Nintendo's greatest confidence, an unparalleled barrier!"
Gunpei Yokoi, sitting not far from him, had a serious look behind his glasses, and he bowed slightly.
"President, the graphics processing chip in PCEngine indeed has its unique aspects, and the advertised 'quasi-16-bit' capability will have a certain impact on the market."
His voice was dry, pointing out the objective technical threat.
On the other side, Shigeru Miyamoto, who had been silent, now also looked up, his usually gentle face now full of solemnity.
"We will accelerate the development progress of super mario bros. 3 and other key projects."
"Nintendo's games will always be a guarantee of quality, and the players' ultimate choice."
His words were firm, attempting to stabilize morale with the promise of their works.
The anger on Hiroshi Yamauchi's face did not diminish; instead, it became even sharper due to this challenge.
His eyes turned cold, and he immediately made a decision, his voice brooking no argument.
"Immediately remove Hudson from Nintendo's official list of certified third-party developers!"
"Cease all cooperation with Hudson, all of it!"
"Furthermore, notify all third-party game developers who have signed royalty agreements with us."
Hiroshi Yamauchi's tone carried a chilling sense of oppression.
"Within one week, they must submit their detailed game development plans and release schedules for the next six months."
"I want to see who are friends and who are potential enemies."
This was undoubtedly a harsh "loyalty test," and a ruthless declaration of resource control.
The storm was brewing.
At the same time, Tokyo, Sega Headquarters.
Suzuki Masao rushed into Takuya Nakayama's office, the newspaper in his hand crumpled.
"Managing Director!"
His voice carried an uncontrollable urgency and a hint of lingering fear.
"Nintendo has indeed made its move! Hiroshi Yamauchi, that old fox, reacted too quickly, too ruthlessly!"
"Hudson has been directly kicked out! He also demanded all third parties submit their development plans; this is clearly to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys and further tighten their control!"
Suzuki Masao took a breath, his tone showing a slight relief.
"Luckily… luckily we didn't rush to formally invite Bandai for new console third-party cooperation earlier."
"Their saint seiya game still needs to be released on FC; it would be troublesome if Bandai leaked it."
Takuya Nakayama was standing in front of the large floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the bustling traffic below.
Hearing Suzuki Masao's urgent report, he slowly turned around, his face showing no surprise at all; instead, a faint smile, almost imperceptible, played on the corner of his lips, as if every move in the chess game was within his precise calculation.
He spoke calmly, his voice confident and steady, inspiring trust and reassurance.
"Suzuki-san, there's no need to be so panicked."
"Hiroshi Yamauchi's reaction was well within our expectations."
"The more aggressive he is, the tougher his methods, the more it shows that the emergence of PCEngine has successfully captured almost all of his attention."
Suzuki Masao looked at Takuya Nakayama's confident and composed demeanor, and the tension in his heart indeed eased a bit, but the worry in his brows had not completely dissipated.
He still asked, somewhat puzzled: "But Managing Director, with Nintendo acting this way, will those third-party developers we are trying to contact choose to retreat and not dare to cooperate with us, fearing Hiroshi Yamauchi's thunderous methods?"
Takuya Nakayama slowly walked to the window, his gaze fixed on the distant, densely packed buildings, his tone still steady, but with a sharp insight into human nature.
"This will indeed bring some temporary trouble, and even resistance, to our efforts to win over the third-party camp."
"But Suzuki-san, everything has two sides."
"From another perspective, Hiroshi Yamauchi's almost tyrannical and tough methods might instead make some manufacturers who were already dissatisfied with Nintendo's harsh terms and predatory contracts even more resentful, and even alienated."
"This, precisely, is our opportunity."
He paused slightly, then continued to analyze, clearly and logically.
"Nintendo is now pouring its main energy into how to deal with PCEngine, this sudden challenger, which will undoubtedly buy us more valuable, undisturbed development time for our secretly developing new console and the first batch of games."
"At the same time, his high-pressure policy will make those far-sighted and ambitious third-party manufacturers more deeply realize the huge risk of putting all their eggs in Nintendo's one basket."
"They will start to seriously consider and look for new, more equitable cooperation platforms."
Takuya Nakayama turned around, his eyes gleaming with shrewd and confident light, as if he had already seen the future of the game.
"Our next strategy is very simple. Just continue to advance according to our pre-determined strategy."
The sudden appearance of PCEngine and Nintendo's thunderous countermeasures were like two boulders thrown into an already turbulent industry pond, the ripples of which lingered for a long time.
An invisible tension permeated the air.
Namco, a company that had once dominated both arcade and home console fields, also seemed to tuck its tail between its legs in the face of Hiroshi Yamauchi's iron fist.
They had submitted a detailed, almost humble, plan for their second-half FC game releases to Nintendo, to show "loyalty," with "R.B.I. Baseball," which sold over a million copies in Japan in its previous life, prominently listed.
Under the widespread alarm, Sega seemed unusually "calm."
They released several new arcade games as planned, which had completed development in the first half of the year and had been promoted for some time.
These games were of excellent quality and received enthusiastic feedback in arcades, seemingly further confirming Sega's temporary indifference to the home console market.
This was undoubtedly a carefully released smoke screen, cleverly diverting external attention from the secretly ongoing new console project.