Sakurai Masahiro took a single sip of water in the restaurant and didn't dare drink any more. He was afraid that if he ate or drank too much, he would have to use the restroom and waste time. If the Atlas staff called his number and couldn't find him, his impression score would probably drop straight to zero!
Alright, normally such a thing wouldn't happen, but Sakurai Masahiro felt that with his vocational school background, he needed to boost his impression score as much as possible.
He sat there, watching the elite student from Nagoya University across from him devour two bowls of omurice and even a glass of barley tea. His own stomach was growling with hunger, making the wait truly unbearable.
He waited straight until the afternoon. Just after the elite student left, Sakurai Masahiro heard his number being called. He immediately grabbed his number card, straightened his tie, smoothed back his hair to look more professional, and headed upstairs.
In the elevator, Sakurai Masahiro saw the elite student coming down, his expression looking rather displeased.
"Fool! They can't even recognize my talent. Atlas is just that kind of company! They only offered a signing bonus of a measly 100,000 yen. Kobayashi Tetsu, you fool, remember this: Thirty years in Kansai, thirty years in Kanto—don't despise Taiko when he's poor!"
Sakurai Masahiro was slightly surprised. "President Kobayashi is one of the interviewers?"
A student from a prestigious Nagoya university glanced at him and sneered.
"You mean that pig? Yeah, he's here."
The rest of the sentence remained unspoken, but Sakurai Masahiro could read it in the other man's eyes: If even a top student like me got rejected, a vocational school graduate like you should just go home and sleep. Don't even bother!
Clutching a mix of anxiety and hope, Sakurai Masahiro finally walked into the interview office.
A row of people sat before him, and Sakurai Masahiro recognized them all at a glance.
On the left was Naka Yuji, to his right was Iwata Satoru, and further right was Hideo Kojima. To the left of Naka was Masanobu Endo, and next to him was someone Sakurai didn't recognize.
That was Takashi Nishiyama, but he rarely appeared on television, so few people knew him.
However, among all these people, Sakurai Masahiro immediately recognized the man in the center: the president of Atlas, Kobayashi Tetsu.
Sakurai Masahiro felt his heart racing, his fingers trembling. The intense nervousness was so overwhelming it almost made him sick. He forced himself to stay composed, pinching the soft flesh on his hand to keep from collapsing under the pressure as he took a seat before the interviewers.
"Sakurai Masahiro, hmm—"
Under Sakurai Masahiro's gaze, Kobayashi Tetsu casually glanced at the resume and said, "Although Atlas doesn't have any educational restrictions for hiring, Sakurai-kun, forgive me for being blunt, but you're the first person today to apply with a vocational college background."
Sakurai Masahiro forced a smile. From that tone, he couldn't tell if it was a joke or a mockery of his background.
"Of course, Atlas has always ignored such things. For example, I only attended high school in the U.S. for two years and never went to school again after returning to Japan. In a sense, if you join Atlas, your educational background will be higher than mine, the President."
Kobayashi Tetsu put down the document. This sentence actually put Sakurai Masahiro a bit more at ease.
It seemed it was just a joke.
"So President Kobayashi actually never went to school," Sakurai Masahiro thought to himself when Naka Yuji suddenly spoke.
"Do you have any works?"
"Yes, I do!"
Sakurai Masahiro handed over a floppy disk. These were some small programs he had taught himself, which could be considered game plugins on a computer.
Sakurai Masahiro gave a brief introduction, and Naka Yuji tried them out on the computer. From his attitude, he seemed neither to approve nor disapprove.
Satoru Iwata, who had been watching from the side, spoke up.
"Alright, Sakurai-kun. Imagine you're a game producer with access to all of Atlus's resources. You can make any game you want. Tell us about your pitch. But remember, we're not looking for platitudes like 'I want to make a fun game' or 'I want to make a game players will love.' Anyone can say that. We want a detailed design proposal."
Sakurai Masahiro's expression immediately turned serious. He reached into his briefcase and pulled out a proposal he had already written.
"Back in school, Street Fighter was a massive hit. I've always wanted to design a fighting game like that, but with a more lighthearted tone—nothing as serious as Street Fighter. I'd use Atlus Studio's established characters, like Sonic or Snake, and bring them all together in one world for a massive brawl. The combat rules wouldn't be as rigid as Street Fighter's either; I wouldn't use a strict hit-box system."
Sakurai spoke with confidence and passion. When he finished his pitch, he looked at the men before him. Takashi Nishiyama seemed dissatisfied. Hideo Kojima was looking down, scribbling something. The others, however, showed no particular reaction.
Unexpectedly, Kobayashi Tetsu spoke up.
"The characters you mentioned are all from titles that Atlus has already released. While Atlus does own the rights to these characters, are you sure you want to go this route? Using existing characters instead of creating original ones?"
Sakurai Masahiro nodded vigorously. "Yes! I know my limits. If I were the producer, I can't guarantee I could create characters as popular as these. I couldn't be sure my own designs would be more appealing. That's why I want to leverage the existing popularity of these characters and bring them together into a single game. This way, at least the character designs will be a sure bet. As for the fighting mechanics, we can refine those with the team as we go."
After Sakurai finished speaking, he received no immediate answer. He watched as Kobayashi Tetsu scribbled something on a piece of paper, then handed it to the woman beside him, who tucked it into an envelope and passed it over.
Seeing Iwata Satoru make a gesture for him to leave, Sakurai Masahiro bowed his head, turned, and walked out.
He wasn't too disappointed. After all, even the top graduates from Nagoya University hadn't been hired. Sakurai Masahiro never thought he'd stand a chance.
As he walked out, he saw a crowd waiting outside. Every face was filled with a mix of anticipation and nervous tension. He passed through the crowd, finally reaching the ground floor of the Mitsui Building.
"Yo, man. You actually got in there," a top graduate from Nagoya University called out. He was waiting for a taxi and waved at Sakurai Masahiro. "So? Did they kick you out in the end?"
"Pretty much," Sakurai Masahiro replied, unfolding the note. Suddenly, his eyes widened.
"Wait, no," he corrected himself. "I got the job!"
Crunch. The man in front of him crushed his plastic water bottle in his hand.
Sakurai Masahiro rubbed his eyes and read the note again. It was an evaluation form with a brief comment from Kobayashi Tetsu.
"You lack outstanding creativity, and your technical skills are mediocre. However, your approach to game development is exceptionally clear. You know your strengths and weaknesses, and you know how to play to them. Please report to Atlus in one week to begin your employment."
Sakurai Masahiro then opened the envelope and found a thick stack of 10,000-yen bills neatly tucked inside.
"Hiss—"
Sakurai Masahiro gasped.
He knew exactly what this meant. This was the period when Japanese graduates were freely choosing which companies to join. To ensure a new hire wouldn't be snatched away by another firm, many companies would give them a sum of money after they were hired, then send them off to travel for a while before they officially started work.
The amount of this "tribute" varied depending on the candidate's academic background and abilities. For graduates of prestigious universities like Todai, the sum would be at least several hundred thousand or even a few million yen. Even if the hire fell through, the company would still provide the funds.
If it were a top-tier real estate or finance firm, the tribute could reach millions or even tens of millions of yen.
Atlas, as a game company, was technically in the electronics industry, but its current profit model overlapped heavily with the publishing industry.
And publishing companies, naturally, couldn't afford to offer tributes in the tens of millions.
In other words, the 1.5 million yen in this thick envelope was essentially the highest reward possible at the moment.
Sakurai Masahiro glanced at the elite graduate sitting across from him. The Nagoya University graduate was staring at him with unconcealed envy and jealousy.
Kobayashi Tetsu, you blockhead! Did you seriously not see my value?
Sakurai Masahiro wanted to say something, but in the end, he just tucked the envelope into his pocket and patted it gently.
Right now, all he wanted to do was clap his hands together and shout, "Yes! I won!"
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