December 20th.
Kobayashi Tetsu held a freshly published magazine in his hands.
It was one of Japan's gaming magazines of the 1980s: Fami-Maga, a direct competitor to what would later become Famitsu.
Because the magazine's publisher had strong ties with Nintendo, it generally maintained a serious, professional tone, reporting on Nintendo's games, consoles, and arcade machines.
At this point, the proto-Famitsu had not yet appeared.
Tetsu flipped casually through the pages. The opening article went straight for a sensational topic:
"On the Recent Winter Malfunction of the Famicom and an In-Depth Analysis of Its Underlying Causes"
Tetsu leaned back with his legs crossed on the table, reading in leisurely fashion.
"…Previously, we briefly mentioned the proud history of Ricoh. The recent Famicom issues are directly related to that legacy."
"During licensing of the processor, Americans intentionally withheld certain information, leaving the licensed Ricoh 2A03 processor incomplete. This caused damage under low winter temperatures."
"After intensive adjustments, Ricoh successfully overcame the problem and reissued the MOS6502 processor…"
Glancing over it, Tetsu noted that this was typical Fami-Maga style—dense technical jargon that made little sense to outsiders. Anyone who wasn't a gaming enthusiast would be utterly lost.
Yet the magazine's information was reliable. Its close relationship with Nintendo allowed access to first-hand data, so most of it was true.
"Someone always has to take the blame when things go wrong," Tetsu muttered.
Damn corporations!
Damn capital!
Naka Yuji, holding the magazine, sighed heavily.
"Why are Americans so cruel? Always picking on us. If I hadn't read this magazine, I would never have known something like this even existed!"
Tetsu shot him a glance.
"Do you trust what the magazine says, or do you trust me?"
"I… uh…" Naka scratched his head. "I'll trust you, Kobayashi-kun."
"Good. Then I'll tell you—what the magazine says isn't the full story. They hid critical information, like how Ricoh obtained Commodore's technology and how they used it. None of that is mentioned, but that's the most important part."
Tetsu rubbed his hands together, eyes gleaming.
"Nintendo responded fast. They noticed a competitor might exploit this incident, so they first recalled the consoles to implement changes. Then they leveraged a professional magazine, using Tokuma Shoten's distribution to rapidly release it across Japan. That way, Nintendo controlled the narrative. By the time the New Year came, the revised Famicom would be released, and the issue's impact would be minimized."
He raised a finger.
"So, if they write professional articles, we'll write emotional ones. They get the facts, we stir the feelings!"
Naka, holding the magazine, almost dropped it in shock.
"Kobayashi-kun! You're serious, right?"
Tetsu picked up a pen, smiling casually.
"Of course I'm serious. You didn't think I'm just joking, did you?"
He pushed the keyboard aside and began to write.
Nintendo had told half-truths in Fami-Maga, concealing the real story behind the Famicom recall.
Now, Tetsu would also tell half-truths—but with his own twist.
"Counting Nintendo's Crimes!"
"Before anything else, let's mention something interesting."
"In 1983, Atari in the U.S. collapsed due to poor decisions, causing the American gaming market to shrink. This is known as the 'Atari Shock,' or the 'Atari Collapse.'"
"Atari's failure came from power abuse. Developers offered no guarantees for their products, releasing poor-quality games unchecked. One could say Atari's fate was self-inflicted."
"To prevent a repeat in Japan, our great company, the Japanese sun that never sets—Nintendo—implemented a brilliant measure."
"First, to develop games for the Famicom, all developers must pay high royalties and purchase Nintendo's dev kits, priced far beyond what most could afford."
"Second, no third-party company may produce cartridges. All games must be ordered through Nintendo, which manufactures them while taking a cut twice."
"Third, all royalties and payments must be paid in full, with no loans or delays allowed."
"Fourth, all games must pass Nintendo's long and cumbersome quality inspections before release."
"Fifth, after sales, Nintendo takes an additional cut from all games."
"On behalf of players and third-party developers, I ask Nintendo: if your production can't keep up, can you guarantee all games are delivered on time, players can buy them promptly, and your company can receive its revenue without any obstruction or interference?"
"If all games must pay royalties to release, can I assume over 80% of third-party revenue goes directly to Nintendo?"
"If Nintendo were truly capable, the Famicom recall wouldn't have happened this year. But it did, leaving many players deprived of enjoying their games with family and friends during the New Year."
"Nintendo, with its gluttony and greed, is killing Japan's gaming industry! Under Nintendo's oppressive royalty system, no idealistic developer will survive—even if one does, the exorbitant fees will crush them!"
Tetsu wrote quickly, while Naka trembled beside him—excited, yet terrified.
"Kobayashi-kun… this is company confidential. How do you even know this?"
Tetsu waved it off.
"Doesn't matter. Now I need to find a way to send this to Kadokawa Shoten. They'll understand. As far as I know, the president of Kadokawa Group enjoys stirring the pot. Most publishers wouldn't touch such an article, but he will."
Of course, no ordinary person could directly reach Kadokawa Haruki, the president.
But Sega was also a major company in Japan, and Tetsu had a father who was a department head there.
Through that connection, contacting him was possible.
The royalty system was introduced by Nintendo after Atari's collapse.
On the surface, it maintained game quality.
In reality, its high cost barred many developers from entry.
Tetsu told half the truth.
This system wasn't exclusive to Nintendo; both of Japan's major platform companies—Nintendo and Sega—used it.
But Nintendo had pioneered it.
Fami-Maga went professional; Tetsu went emotional.
Which one would players understand better?
Clearly, the latter.
If they didn't strike while the Famicom recall was hot, they'd miss the chance to hit before the revised Famicom launched.
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