The synthesized music was titled "segadoctor1000." In the end, Tetsu Kobayashi bought out the rights from Yuji Naka for fifty thousand yen.
Everyone was delighted.
Getting the soundtrack for just fifty thousand yen was unbelievably convenient for Tetsu Kobayashi.
Yuji Naka had dropped out of high school before coming to Tokyo; he had neither money nor education. Even the eight thousand yen travel cost to Tokyo had been scraped together by his family. Now, suddenly receiving fifty thousand yen, he looked at Tetsu Kobayashi with eyes practically glowing.
Never mind "second generation" or "eighth generation"—anyone who gave him money was a good person!
Tetsu Kobayashi glanced at the calendar. There were only a few days left before the deadline.
"Hand it in on the very last day? Don't be ridiculous—cutting it close is a terrible habit."
He was Lin Che, not Xiao Yan—he wasn't going to make some dramatic last-second appearance.
Tetsu Kobayashi rolled his wrists, loosening the tense muscles.
He'd submit it tomorrow! March straight into Sato Hideki's office, throw out a left hook, then a right hook, and finally slam the motherboard down in front of him.
I finished it!
He immediately contacted Sato Hideki's assistant and scheduled a meeting for tomorrow afternoon.
---
Friday
At Sega Japan Headquarters.
Inside the large round conference room, the members of Sega's board— including Nakayama Hayao—sat around the circular table, while the mid- and upper-level managers, including Sato Hideki, sat on the lower side.
Sato Hideki stood at the podium, pointing at the slides as he spoke confidently, presenting the machine in his hands.
The exterior hadn't changed—after all, only a little over two weeks had passed, so there hadn't been time to replace the casing.
But the inside was different.
"…Based on this, we adopted a new method to rewrite the hardware, allowing us to maximize performance expansion and extraction whenever conditions permit."
"Although we have not yet performed extensive repetitive testing, according to one hundred and twenty repeated trials carried out by the Home Console Division, the SG1200's performance is more than 30% higher than the initial SG version!"
"With no increase in cost, the performance has greatly improved. This is the greatest effort made by the Home Console Division, under my guidance and supervision."
After finishing, Sato Hideki gave a deep bow.
Nakayama Hayao, the old man with no hair left, folded his hands and watched the slides with interest. Then he turned to the other Sega board members.
"What do you all think?"
The answers came in a noisy chorus.
"I think whatever the President thinks."
"Sounds highly feasible."
"Seems about right."
"Don't know if it can match Nintendo…"
After some discussion, the board finally made a decision.
They would proceed with this plan and release an improved version of the SG1200.
With the performance boost came opportunities to attempt new types of games—such as more fluid action-based fighting titles.
Sega actually possessed strong in-house game development capabilities.
In the game industry, titles released directly by the platform holder—the company that manufactures the console—are called first-party games. Titles developed by other companies or studios in cooperation are called third-party games.
First-party games demonstrate the strength of a console and give players a reason to buy it. The better and more numerous the first-party titles, the stronger the immediate incentive for players to purchase the corresponding console. Even when later models are released, consumers consider the platform's first-party lineup when deciding to buy.
Third-party games represent the console's long-term value after purchase. The faster third-party titles follow up, the more value players have in continuing to own the console. Some exclusive games are strong enough to make people buy a console just for them.
Since Sega was still in a market-expansion stage, and third-party partners weren't yet developed, naturally they needed to focus as much as possible on strengthening first-party development.
The meeting concluded, and just as everyone stood and the record-keeper began packing up, Nakayama suddenly spoke.
"Sato-kun, by the way, I heard that your Home Console Division is hosting some sort of block-puzzle competition."
Sato Hideki froze.
There was indeed such a thing, and he had approved it himself, albeit reluctantly.
He had no idea why Nakayama suddenly brought it up.
Although Nakayama now held no real power, he was still the face Sega urgently reinstated after restructuring; within the company he held seniority, reputation, and considerable influence.
Fortunately, before Sato could overthink, Nakayama waved a hand.
"No need to be nervous. I simply find the idea interesting. If you have no pressing matters, come to your office—I'd like to discuss it with you."
Only then did Sato finally exhale in relief.
Of course! Of course he'd be honored!
---
Sega was having its meeting—Tetsu Kobayashi had only just found out.
He had been waiting in the reception room for quite a while, yet Sato Hideki never returned.
"If I didn't know you were actually in a meeting, I'd have thought you were deliberately leaving me hanging!"
He had just yawned when a shadow fell across his face.
Kentaro had come over.
Tetsu Kobayashi covered his mouth, suppressing the yawn. "Finished with the meeting?"
"It's over. And there's something important you need to know. The President just went to Sato Hideki's office!"
Tetsu Kobayashi blinked.
The Sega President—what did that have to do with him?
"That's not the important part. The important thing is that Sato Hideki just ordered his assistant to refuse all visitors, because he wants to speak with President Nakayama alone. But that won't do! Come with me—I'll create an opportunity for you to get in. At the very least, you need to let the President see your face!"
Kentaro sounded so certain that Tetsu Kobayashi was momentarily stunned.
Wasn't this plan a little too aggressive? Sato Hideki was currently meeting the President!
"…But then again, so what if it's too much? I'm not even a Sega employee."
Tetsu Kobayashi stood, picked up the welded motherboard, and followed.
Sato Hideki had made the porting request; he had also demanded the hand-delivered submission. Tetsu Kobayashi was simply fulfilling those requirements!
Kentaro led the way quickly, and soon they reached the Division Chief's office.
The assistant stood up immediately to block them.
"Kentaro-san! The Division Chief is not receiving visitors."
"Baka!" Kentaro exploded instantly. "Where did you get the courage? Someone of your rank has no right to question me! Stand straight! Clench your teeth! Legs apart! Hands behind your back—!"
Cold sweat poured down the assistant's face, but he didn't dare argue.
Seniority was absolute here—Kentaro did have the authority to scold him.
Tetsu Kobayashi silently gave a thumbs-up, then strode into the office holding the motherboard.
Inside, Sato Hideki stood stiffly at one side. His usual seat had been taken by Nakayama Hayao.
Even so, when Tetsu Kobayashi burst in, Sato still jolted in shock.
"Who allowed you in here!?"
"Sato-san, weren't you the one who specifically asked me to report the porting progress and submit the work in person?"
Feigning surprise, Tetsu Kobayashi spread his hands. "I scheduled an appointment for this afternoon. I'm here as arranged."
Sato Hideki opened his mouth to scold him, then closed it.
What the hell was this!?
He had accepted the appointment, but with the President visiting, how could he still meet with Tetsu Kobayashi!?
Nakayama lifted his head, studying Tetsu Kobayashi for a moment before his gaze moved to the motherboard in his arms.
He immediately recognized it.
Seeing Tetsu Kobayashi's youthful face, Nakayama looked even more intrigued.
"Young man," Nakayama said, raising a calming hand, "tell me your name, your purpose here, and what that is."
Tetsu Kobayashi replied at once:
"I'm Tetsu Kobayashi. My father is Kobayashi Kentaro. I'm currently affiliated with a small studio under Sega called 'Atlus Studio.' We previously developed a game called 'Kobayashi Blocks,' which sold fairly well. In response to Division Chief Sato's invitation, I created an arcade port of the game. As per his request, I'm here to present it in person for review."
Nakayama did not speak further, though he did show a faint reaction upon hearing the name Kobayashi Kentaro.
It seemed… this was one of their own.
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