The enthusiastic atmosphere in the conference room had not completely dissipated, and the directors' faces were a mix of approval and relief, seemingly all waiting for Tatsuo Nakayama to announce the end of the meeting.
However, at this moment, Takuya's voice rang out again, clear and calm, drawing everyone's attention back once more.
"Ladies and gentlemen, regarding 'Sega Galaxy', I have an additional proposal."
"I suggest that within 'Sega Galaxy', a dedicated 'Creative Group' be established."
"Its core responsibility will be to lead and review the story creation and world-building of all our important Sega IPs."
As soon as his voice fell, a slightly hoarse voice of doubt rang out.
It was Director Takahashi, who was in charge of the arcade business; he leaned slightly forward, his elbows resting on the conference table.
"Executive Director Nakayama, is this really necessary?"
Director Takahashi's gaze swept over Takuya, not hiding his confusion.
"Isn't the story of an IP just icing on the cake?"
"Especially in our arcade department, players want the thrill of punching and kicking, and instant feedback. Who would spend one 100-yen coin after another just to watch a story?"
He spread his hands, his tone becoming more direct.
"Establishing a dedicated department for such a 'vague' thing will only increase costs and slow down development progress."
"Wouldn't it be more efficient to let each project team be responsible for themselves?"
His words represented the sentiments of a significant portion of the company.
They were businessmen, and some were even engineers by background, accustomed to measuring everything by cost and benefit.
In their view, the core of a game was its gameplay and commercial returns; the story was just packaging.
The atmosphere in the conference room, which had just eased, became subtle again.
Takuya's gaze turned to Takahashi, with no hint of offense on his face; instead, a slight smile appeared.
He did not rush to argue but led the conversation to the ground most familiar to the other party.
"Director Takahashi, your arcade department, should be very familiar with 'art of fighting,' which is currently under development, right?"
Takahashi nodded, somewhat puzzled.
That was the project he had placed high hopes on.
"Then, have you ever wondered why Ryo Sakazaki, the protagonist of 'art of fighting,' would appear in South Town, the hometown of Terry and Andy, the protagonists of 'fatal fury'?"
This question made Director Takahashi freeze.
He had never considered it from this angle. In his opinion, it might have just been an Easter egg that the developers found interesting and casually put in.
Takuya's voice, with a unique guiding quality, continued.
"From the very beginning when I planned 'fatal fury,' I never intended for it to be an isolated story."
"'art of fighting' and 'fatal fury' are actually set within the same world view."
A faint murmur of discussion arose in the conference room.
Director Takahashi, who had been leaning back in his chair, unconsciously sat up straight.
Takuya looked at everyone's slightly surprised expressions, knowing the time was ripe.
He unveiled his truly grand strategic plan, hidden for a long time.
"In the future, Sega will continue to release more games that share this world view."
"When arcade performance is mature enough and there are enough characters, we will release a magnum opus."
He enunciated each word, speaking the name destined to resonate in the future.
"Its name is 'The King of Fighters'—TheKingofFighters."
"At that time, the protagonists of fatal fury, the protagonists of art of fighting, and even star characters from our other future games, will all receive a mysterious invitation to participate in a global fighting tournament."
"And behind this, a huge conspiracy orchestrated by a mysterious organization is hidden."
Takuya paused, giving everyone time to process.
He could see that the doubt in Director Takahashi's eyes was rapidly fading. Takuya's grand plan for this game exceeded their imagination.
"You can imagine."
Takuya's voice was full of infectiousness, clearly laying out the business prospects before them.
"What can a unified, grand, and charming world view give birth to?"
"It's animation, it's comics, it's countless peripheral products."
"When its influence spreads to North America, and to the whole world, will Hollywood's olive branch still be far away?"
"At that time, the value of this IP and the company's revenue will grow exponentially."
Director Takahashi opened his mouth but couldn't utter a single word.
What he was pondering was no longer how much a creative group would increase costs.
Instead, it was the terrifying profit and influence that this "King of Fighters World" would bring once successful.
His initial doubts seemed so short-sighted and vulnerable in the face of such a magnificent business blueprint.
He slowly sat down, falling into a long contemplation.
Seeing that he had successfully persuaded the most pragmatic Takahashi, Takuya elevated his argument from specific examples to a universal theory.
"The core task of the Creative Group is precisely to systematically and continuously inject this soul and charm into our IP."
"To lay the most solid foundation for our multi-dimensional, sustainable commercial monetization."
He candidly looked around at everyone.
"My energy alone is limited; I cannot, by myself, guard the growth of every IP."
Takuya's gaze finally fell on the recently signed document regarding the investment in Sunrise Animation.
"Have you ever thought about why 'Gundam' can have such long-lasting vitality? Why can it become a national IP?"
"It is precisely because it continuously enriches its stories and world view through one work after another, even attracting countless enthusiasts to participate in secondary creation, that it has its current vitality. I can even assert that as long as Gundam maintains this development momentum, it will certainly forge an IP lifespan of several decades."
"In Sega's current IP matrix, only 'pokémon' initially possesses the potential to be compared with 'Gundam'."
"And the purpose of establishing our Creative Group is to incubate more top-tier IPs like Gundam and pokémon."
These words completely dispelled the last trace of doubt in the conference room.
Even in Tatsuo Nakayama's eyes, there was undisguised approval.
Strategy, this was true strategy.
It was a layout for the next ten, or even twenty years.
Director Hattori stepped forward at the right time. He had just been appointed as the head of "Sega Galaxy," and now, with a gentle smile on his face, he proactively smoothed things over.
"Executive Director Nakayama's foresight is admirable. Since this Creative Group is so important, why don't you name this significant Creative Group?"
This suggestion both expressed support and eased the atmosphere.
Takuya met everyone's gaze and did not decline.
He had already thought of that name.
"Let's call it 'StarRingChild'."
He explained.
"'StarRing' echoes our company's concept of 'Sega Galaxy,' where every IP is a star in the galaxy."
"And 'Child' expresses our hope that all our creators can always maintain the innocence and passion of a child."
"Because only with such an original intention can truly moving stories be created."
Thus, the meeting concluded after this hopeful name was finalized.