October.
The 6,480 yen game sold over 300,000 copies in just one week, and its first-month sales were nearly 800,000—an absolute smashing success.
Tokuma Shoten gave it high praise, almost wanting to hang Tetsu Kobayashi's portrait at the entrance of their headquarters.
Although Atlas's development efficiency was a bit slow, the results were excellent!
However, as a trade-off, Megami Tensei's overseas sales were only mediocre.
With the MS's current domestic sales in Japan nearing 8 million units, a game that could reach a lifetime sales figure of over 1 million to nearly 2 million copies was considered a hit, but not a massive blockbuster.
This was unlike selling Sonic a few years ago. Back then, the MS had just been released, and selling 1 million copies was an absolute sensation.
Moreover, Sonic was still selling now, with its sales already surpassing 5 million copies. It could basically be said that everyone who owned an MS played Sonic.
Although the role-playing genre was popular, Megami Tensei was a typical JRPG style, and its audience overseas was only a fixed, small portion.
Truth be told, what really mattered more than Megami Tensei was the technology it showcased, as well as the game that came with it.
The action-platformer Code NG!
That was what overseas players truly craved.
And I heard it was incredibly difficult!
The Megami Group finally got some time off, releasing the game two months later than in the original timeline.
Kobayashi Tetsu, of course, took no such break. He was working out at the gym in the basement of the Mitsui Building.
On the treadmill, Tetsu breathed deeply, his stride steady and relentless.
He wasn't just exercising for his health—he knew it would be useful.
Takamine Aika supervised him from behind.
"Keep it up, Tetsu-kun! Just five more minutes and you'll hit today's goal!"
"I'm done running!" Tetsu grunted, tugging at his sweatband. "I never knew you were so into fitness."
"I wouldn't say I'm an expert," Aika replied. "I just played tennis because my family made me, so I have a bit of a knack for sports. You're already in great shape, Tetsu-kun, but you'd be even better with a little more training—"
This boy needs a six-pack!
Tetsu wasn't trying to hide himself while working out here, so naturally, people recognized him.
In just half an hour, a steady stream of people came over to greet him.
"President Kobayashi, congratulations on Atlas releasing another masterpiece!"
"The game is fantastic!"
"The cutscenes are so smooth!"
Kobayashi Tetsu acknowledged them one by one without turning his head.
Suddenly, a treadmill next to him was switched on, and he heard a voice that seemed both complimentary and reproachful.
"Kobayashi-kun, you're not a very good friend, are you? After all, we were the ones who knew each other first."
Kobayashi Tetsu glanced sideways to see Kadokawa Haruki, now in workout gear, who had somehow appeared beside him and was swinging his arms in time with Tetsu's pace on the treadmill.
Kadokawa Haruki didn't look like someone who exercised regularly, and his speed wasn't very fast.
Kobayashi Tetsu smiled. "So I'm even allowed to be friends with Mr. Kadokawa."
"Why not? Atlas certainly has the right," Kadokawa Haruki said. "Atlas isn't a public company, so it doesn't have financial reports, but you can still make a rough estimate. I'm afraid Atlas's revenue is no less than that of the Kadokawa Group."
Superficial pleasantries aside, the Kadokawa Group was no small player. Its annual revenue was 270 billion yen.
Of course, that was revenue, not profit.
The Kadokawa Group's actual annual net profit was close to 20 billion yen.
Atlas's net gaming profits, combining domestic and international markets, totaled around 10 billion yen.
While smaller than the Kadokawa Group, it wasn't by much. The main difference was that Atlas lacked the deep-rooted foundation Kadokawa had built since the last century.
Kadokawa Shoten had been in business for years, with its bookstores—all bearing the "Kadokawa Shoten" name—scattered across the country. This distribution network was something Kobayashi Tetsu could never hope to match.
"Kobayashi-kun," Kadokawa Haruki said concisely. "Kadokawa Shoten has plenty of works suitable for adaptation. How about helping us develop a few games? We won't disappoint you when it comes to compensation."
Kobayashi Tetsu had already run enough for the day. He stopped the treadmill and wiped away his sweat.
"That's fine, of course. But let's get one thing straight: Atlas's current development schedule is already full. Even if we have the works, we won't be able to start development until at least next year."
"No problem!"
Kadokawa Haruki made an OK gesture. "I can find suitable works at any time. Tokuma Shoten might be impressive, but Kadokawa Shoten isn't half bad either."
Kobayashi Tetsu returned the OK gesture.
Kobayashi Tetsu had no strong feelings about Kadokawa Haruki. The only reason Haruki treated him as an equal was that Atlas had the leverage to negotiate on equal footing.
Otherwise, if it were an Atlas just starting out, Kadokawa Haruki would never have been so accommodating.
In the Atlas office, Kobayashi Tetsu briefly reviewed the various design drafts for Metal Slug. These were, of course, original concept art, primarily featuring the main characters and enemies.
The specific details differed from the version he remembered. For instance, Marco's hairstyle had changed, and he wasn't wearing his original jacket. Kobayashi Tetsu wouldn't go out of his way to correct such minor details.
The first game didn't feature the female characters Fio and Eri, and Kobayashi Tetsu didn't ask to add them either—after all, Metal Slug 2 still had to be released, and it would need some new characters.
His gaze drifted, and Kobayashi Tetsu suddenly focused on one of the design drafts.
It was a typical enemy unit design—a mobile fortress. Strangely, instead of firing from within the embrasures, the fortress's mechanical arms extended to bring the soldiers out and shoot from the openings.
This mobile fortress was a textbook example of a wasteland-style, exaggerated design—completely impractical and utterly gaudy.
However...
This was exactly the kind of feel Kobayashi Tetsu was looking for!
Just think about the original setting of Metal Slug—machine guns on camels, steamed-bun-shaped cannon turrets, and muscular guys with machine guns.
You could say Metal Slug is full of these impractical, flashy designs, and that's exactly what makes its style so distinctive.
"Who drew this design?"
An artist raised his hand. Kobayashi Tetsu had borrowed him from Koei.
"What's your name?"
The artist bowed. "Nishina Minato."
Kobayashi Tetsu chewed on the name. Nishina Minato. Never heard of him.
But that wasn't surprising. Japan had too many brilliant artists in the eighties.
"Nishina-kun, you did a great job. This is exactly the kind of style I'm looking for—something that looks like a high-tech fortress on the outside but is actually operated by outdated manual controls. If you were to design this boss, how would you do it?"
Nishina Minato replied, "After the player destroys the fortress, the upper half would collapse, revealing the transmission mechanism below. It turns out to be two hamster wheels with two Rebel Army soldiers running inside."
Kobayashi Tetsu gave him a thumbs-up.
Perfect. That's exactly the vibe!
"High-tech, low-ability"—this was a hallmark of Metal Slug's monster designs.
Such wild, unrestrained imagination was truly unique.
"If I were to appoint you as the Art Director for Metal Slug, responsible for supervising its entire visual design, would you be up for the task?"
Nishina Minato froze.
How did I go from being a Koei-hired artist to the Art Director all of a sudden?!
Even if it was just for a single game...
I have to accept!
Nishina Minato immediately bowed deeply.
"I will give it my all!"
Kobayashi Tetsu was satisfied with this response.
"Timing-wise, the person I've arranged to meet should be here soon. I'm asking him to serve as the Special Effects Supervisor for Metal Slug, and he will be in charge of drawing all the in-game effects. You two can coordinate directly."
Nishina Minato nodded. "Yes, President. What is this Special Effects Artist's name?"
Kobayashi Tetsu replied, "Anno Hideaki."
Anno Hideaki had indeed worked on special effects for FC games, though only for a single title.
Bringing him in to handle the special effects for Metal Slug would naturally yield outstanding results.
After all, special effects animation was Anno Hideaki's true calling!
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