While Hideo Kojima hustled for the *Metal Gear* artbook, sales reports for Konami's *Contra* (70000 units first week) and Koei's *Nobunaga's Ambition: National Edition* (50000 units first week) on MD landed on Takuya Nakayama's desk. These figures quickly reached other third parties, signaling victory.
A flood of third-party intent letters swamped the assistant's desk. Leaning back, Takuya tapped a data summary, knowing MD's superior hardware was the blitzkrieg's sharpest blade. *Contra* and *Nobunaga's Ambition*'s success honed it to a razor's edge.
In a brief internal meeting, Takuya lavished praise on his team's achievements, sparking excited murmurs. But his tone shifted, silencing the room. "Our manpower and energy are finite. For diehards like Enix, tied to Nintendo, we waste no more effort." His gaze swept the eager faces. "Our goal isn't to conquer all, but to give willing third parties a freer, more profitable stage than Nintendo's."
Standing, he crossed out "recruitment" on the whiteboard, writing "service" in bold. "Deeply bind our partners, ensure those on MD's ship get top-tier tech support and earn more than elsewhere, creating an unshakable cycle. That's our next phase."
As Sega pivoted, a subtle but seismic industry rumor emerged: Nintendo quietly unbanned Konami's *The Goonies II* on FC, a "truce" signal. Takuya smirked at the news, seeing not Yamauchi's goodwill but a forced concession under Sega's onslaught to prevent a third-party exodus—a face-saving ladder.
Konami, quick to act, applied to release *Gradius* and *Salamander* on FC, approved at unprecedented speed. The ripple spread fast. The next day, Sega's informants slipped back copies of Nintendo's "sales permits" for Hudson and Namco's previously killed arcade ports, approved overnight. The assistant, stifling a grin, said, "Bandai's team took the bullet train to Kyoto with cartridges, fearing Nintendo's door would slam shut."
Laughter erupted. Yesterday's "traitors" now swarmed Kyoto like sharks, clutching games Yamauchi once scorned as "never for FC." Now, he had to clear their path with a smile. "Smart opportunists," Takuya remarked, unfazed. This wasn't Nintendo's mercy or the third parties' victory—Sega's MD sales had pried open the door.
"They're proving their worth to us and demanding answers from Nintendo," he said, gazing out the window. "The fiercest phase of this third-party war is over, but it doesn't matter. We've secured key third parties, and our console's performance outshines all. Multi-platform games will look best on MD, making us untouchable in third-party territory. Now, it's about first-party games—and I'm not worried."
His confidence in Sega's development rallied the team, who dove back into work. As Takuya sipped coffee in his office, the phone rang. Kagemasa Kozuki's voice, laced with amusement, came through. "Executive Nakayama, pardon the intrusion. First, congratulations—*Metal Gear* is a masterpiece, showing games' artistic potential. And we're thrilled with *Contra*'s MD performance."
Kozuki sidestepped Nintendo's unbanning and *The Goonies II*. Takuya, unruffled by the flattery, replied with equal wit, "President Kozuki, you're too kind. Sega just offers creators like Konami another stage to shine on. Great work deserves more eyes, no?"
He didn't call out Konami's multi-platform play, instead elevating the game. "To celebrate our strong start, Sega offers deeper tech support for Konami's future MD titles. We could even explore exclusive content—players would love that."
Kozuki fell silent for seconds, his cunning mind racing. He realized Takuya wasn't fazed by Konami's three-way strategy—MD's superiority in multi-platform games was clear, and exclusives were the real trump card. He vaguely agreed to Takuya's proposal.
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