Time has come to late August.
*Mewtwo Strikes Back* slowly came to an end amid exclamations of amazement, with its final box office settling at a figure that everyone had to look up to—8.53 billion yen.
This achievement not only trampled the 8.2 billion yen box office of the Sino-Japanese co-production blockbuster *Dunhuang*, which was hailed as the king of the year when it was released in June, but also secured the title of annual box office champion ahead of time, almost cutting off any thoughts from latecomers.
When reporting, the media even carried an incredulous tone, repeatedly analyzing how this animated film created a commercial miracle. The game industry collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
Many presidents of third-party game manufacturers were sitting in their offices at this moment, looking at the astronomical figures in the newspaper while rejoicing that they hadn't been stubborn back then.
"Finally, we can take out the games that have been piling up in the warehouse and sell them." A manufacturer's sales director complained. The project in his hands had been forcibly delayed by this movie for more than a month.
However, before they could carefully plan the September release schedule, a release suggestion from Sega's marketing department was quietly distributed to the contacts of various third-party manufacturers.
The wording of the suggestion letter was as always official and polite, but the content was a merciless market analysis.
The suggestion pointed out that as the Seoul Olympics approached, media resources and public attention would quickly tilt toward sports events, making the promotion environment extremely complex.
Any attempt to conduct large-scale publicity during this period might achieve half the result with twice the effort.
"...Therefore, it is recommended that all partners, especially 'non-sports' games, carefully assess market expectations, precisely position core user groups, precisely allocate promotional resources, and avoid unnecessary waste of promotional resources and occupation of working capital."
"What does Sega mean by this? Teaching us how to do business?" Someone grumbled on the phone while inquiring with peers, "We avoided the movie, and now we have to avoid the Olympics?"
"Rough words, but not rough logic. Turn on the TV now—which channel isn't airing Olympic warm-up programs? Our game ads inserted in the middle would indeed stand out awkwardly." Another manufacturer executive seemed calmer, "Sega is doing us a favor, so we don't lose money and then blame the market environment."
Complaints aside, most manufacturers still followed Sega's advice.
Some urgently adjusted plans, compressed production, and rushed to put games on shelves before the end of August to preserve working capital.
Others simply gritted their teeth and directly postponed the release date to October.
However, amid the chaos, there were always some meticulous people who repeatedly chewed over a certain term in the suggestion letter.
"'Non-sports' games." In the planning room of a small manufacturer, a young planner was circling these words on the suggestion letter spat out by the fax machine, frowning tightly.
"What's wrong?" A colleague leaned over to take a look, "Isn't this just the literal meaning? Sports games benefit, other games suffer."
"No, don't you think this qualifier is too deliberate?" The young planner pushed the printed paper in front of his colleague, his fingertip heavily tapping on the words "non-sports," "If it was just a kind reminder, Sega should suggest all third parties avoid the limelight equally. But they specifically added this qualifier, cleanly excluding sports games. This is equivalent to saying, 'Everyone, there's a river ahead, don't fall in. But we're crossing it ourselves, and we have a boat.'"
"Overthinking it, right?" The colleague pushed the printed paper back, looking dismissive, "Sega is a big company; it's normal for a suggestion letter to be formal and rigorous in wording. Reminding everyone to avoid risks is better than watching everyone's cartridges pile up in game stores and then get returned. Didn't that happen last month?"
"I remember! Sega does have plans to release games in September! What games were they? Let me flip through the previous release schedule notices."
The colleague looked at him skeptically, feeling this reasoning was a bit too conspiratorial.
"Found it! Let me see, *EA Sports*, *Sega New Record*—both sports games."
The colleague's eyes widened, "It really is. Sega must have been waiting for this since the beginning of the year."
The facts were indeed as the young man predicted.
As NHK began blanket-broadcasting Olympic warm-up programs from late August, the attention of the entire Japanese society was quickly diverted.
In TVs on streets and alleys, it was no longer cartoons and TV dramas, replaced by athlete interviews, venue introductions, and reviews of past classic events.
In this era of booming economy and unprecedented national confidence, the whole country urgently needed a stage to show its muscles to the world.
And the world-renowned Olympics, with increasingly mature TV broadcasting technology, became the most intuitive choice.
The game industry seemed to have its mute button pressed. The manufacturer presidents who were previously complaining about the movie schedule could only rejoice now that they had listened to Sega's "advice" and hadn't bet their entire fortunes on this September.
Overnight, it seemed everyone was only interested in the Olympics.
Just as all third parties were laying low, silently waiting for this sports frenzy to pass, Sega's open strategy finally surfaced.
A game release preview appeared without warning in major game magazines and golden time slots of TV commercials, sandwiched among various Olympic sponsor ads.
Not just one, but two.
The first was *EA Olympics*.
To legitimately print the name "Olympics" on the cover, EA spent a fortune and directly became one of the official sponsors of the Seoul Olympics.
The game content covered dozens of mainstream sports such as track and field, swimming, and gymnastics, emphasizing official, authoritative, and diverse categories.
As soon as the ad aired, the industry was in an uproar.
"So that's what 'non-sports' meant." The young planner's colleague murmured, forgetting to put down his coffee cup. The initial doubts had all turned into facts.
"Not only that." The young planner stared at the screen playing the second game's footage, his eyes carrying an indescribable meaning. "They're using money for two sponsorships to run three ads."
On the screen appeared another game with a completely different art style—*Sega New Record*.
This was a four-player brawl-style sports game. Players played as sports teams from different high schools, participating in a chaotic sports meet.
In running, you could throw hurdles at opponents; in swimming, switch lanes to push opponents underwater; in hammer throw, you could even throw directly at opponents' heads.
Rules? Nonexistent. Creating the maximum trouble for others in the chaos, ensuring you were the first or the only one to reach the finish line—that was the core selling point of this game.
"Indeed! This *Sega New Record* doesn't have the Olympic sponsor logo."
"Huh? Where's the third ad?"
The colleague looked confused after hearing this.
"Look closely: the game itself doesn't have the Olympic designated game logo, but Sega as a company does have the Olympic sponsor logo. With ads like this, *Sega New Record* can also ride the Olympic promotion wave."
Immediately after, the ad showed text: "Sega sponsors 1,000 MD units and 10,000 game cartridges to the Olympic Village," with the Sega LOGO and the 1988 Seoul Olympics emblem side by side above it.
"What a good move Sega has prepared!" The colleague finally regained his voice, but with a hint of a sob, "One officially licensed, comprehensive, emphasizing authentic sports experience. One chaotic and fun, small but complete, to hook party players. During the Olympics, only their games are in the spotlight!"
The young planner leaned back in his chair, letting out a long breath.
"When the ads air again later, record the EA and Sega ones. I need to report to the president."
With that, he turned on the VCR next to the TV.
Please Support me by becoming my patreon member and get 30+ chapters.
[email protected]/Ajal69
change @ with a
Thank You to Those who joined my Patreon