January 7, 1989.
A piece of heavy news spread across every corner of Japan through television and radio.
The Emperor had passed away.
It was as if the entire nation had its sound turned off, sinking into a long period of mourning known as "self-restraint."
The neon lights of Kabukichō dimmed. Variety shows on TV were replaced with monotonous documentaries. All entertainment activities were voluntarily paused.
Inside Sega's headquarters, the atmosphere was equally heavy.
An assistant gently placed a report on Takuya Nakayama's desk, his voice filled with poorly concealed anxiety.
"Executive, this is the latest data—revenues from the nationwide arcade division have almost fallen off a cliff."
"Customer traffic has dropped by more than ninety percent. Many franchise owners are complaining, and even our own game centers… are having a very hard time."
"Although self-restraint has suppressed outdoor entertainment, home entertainment is growing rapidly. But most of it is passive—watching rental videos, for example. Video rental demand has increased four to five times. As for games, which require active participation, the atmosphere of mourning seems to have reduced their appeal. Current sales figures show no significant rise in home console games."
The phone on the desk rang next. It was the head of the arcade division, his voice weary and desperate. What he reported was no different—perhaps even more alarming.
Inside the company, a quiet unease began to spread.
For Sega, whose business was built upon arcades, this was nothing short of a sudden winter.
Yet Takuya Nakayama's reaction was unnervingly calm.
He simply glanced at the report, set it aside, and said, "I see."
His eyes passed over the assistant's worried face and turned toward the window.
Outside, Tokyo in winter looked desolate—few pedestrians, cold gray skies.
But in Nakayama's eyes, the lifeless scene wasn't a reason for concern. Instead, he saw an excellent opportunity.
For the arcade business, this was a disaster.
But for the handheld war he was about to start, it was a heaven-sent chance.
The next day, an emergency meeting was convened at Sega headquarters.
Every department head's face was filled with anxiety. The collapse of the arcade business hung over them like a stone. The atmosphere in the conference room was suffocating.
When Takuya Nakayama entered, all eyes turned toward him, searching for a solution.
He surveyed the room once, offering no comforting words, and went straight to the point.
"Everyone, I already know about the arcade division's situation."
His tone made the air even heavier.
"But this gives us something precious—an opportunity. A chance to concentrate all our energy on preparing ammunition for our new weapon."
He paused, his voice now carrying a spark of intensity.
"I hereby announce that, effective immediately, all company resources will be redirected toward the handheld development project!"
"All teams working on launch titles—cancel unnecessary vacations and enter the final push!"
The room erupted into a wave of low, tense murmurs.
At the company's most difficult moment, instead of cutting back, they were to double down on a project that hadn't even launched yet?
Seeing their puzzled faces, Nakayama continued, calm and steady.
"This nationwide wave of 'self-restraint'—in our eyes, it should not be seen as a disaster."
"It's the perfect curtain to hide all of our movements."
"When our rivals think the whole industry has stopped and lower their guard, that's our chance to sprint ahead and widen the gap!"
Silence fell over the conference room. The earlier doubt and fear were replaced by sudden clarity and excitement.
Yes—when everyone else stands still, the one who keeps running wins everything.
Outside, Japan was quiet and subdued. Inside Sega's R&D building, it was a different world—bright lights, relentless activity.
In the Pokémon project team, Team Leader Shimizu stood with his core programmers, watching the data streams closely.
"Run one more stability test on all communication modules! The data packets must remain completely intact during transmission! This is the soul of our game!"
Thanks to Nakayama's early design plan, most of the game's content was already complete. Now, they were perfecting the most vital feature—the game's heart.
In the neighboring Mecha Wars project team, progress was much faster.
Team Leader Hachigumi gave instructions energetically. "Polish the close-up shots in the battle scenes! We made our name on the MD version—we can't lose our reputation on handhelds!"
Having already succeeded with Super Robot Wars I on the MD, they were confident. The system was ready, the story finished. All that remained was refinement.
In the arcade porting department, loud debates broke out.
"I say Golden Axe has the most potential! Simple controls, pure fun, a bikini warrior and a dwarf—classic!"
"No way! Altered Beast is more popular! Transformation powers—one turns into a leopard, another into a tornado! That's way cooler!"
"Space Harrier has to be included—it's our flagship shooter!"
"What about After Burner? Flying combat jets—what man doesn't love that?"
With multiple projects running in parallel, they were deciding which two action titles and two shooting titles would be prioritized for launch.
Days passed.
The assistant gave regular updates on outside movements.
"Executive, Nintendo has made no announcements. No new releases for the Famicom."
"Hudson just released Go! Go! Golf Boy for the PC Engine—lukewarm response."
"And Doraemon: Labyrinth Adventure sold decently, but far from a hit."
Everything was unfolding exactly as Nakayama expected. The entire industry seemed to be in step with the nation—silent and restrained.
No one knew that under this stillness, Sega was quietly sharpening its newest blade.
By mid-March, spring had just begun to show.
But the tension in Nakayama's heart only grew tighter.
A date repeated in his mind—April 21st.
That was, in his previous life, the launch date of Nintendo's Game Boy.
He didn't know whether this world's Nintendo would choose the same date, but he had to act first.
He wanted to launch a perfect surprise attack—one that Nintendo would never forget.
Then, like clockwork, the good news began to arrive.
"Executive, Super Robot Wars II has passed testing! Ready for mass production!"
"The arcade porting team's final lineup confirmed: Golden Axe and Altered Beast for action, Space Harrier and After Burner for shooting. All ports complete, ready for production."
Finally came a call from Team Leader Shimizu, his voice weary yet proud after finishing a masterpiece.
"Executive, Pokémon Red/Green—all features complete. Entering final testing phase."
Mass production for the handheld console had also begun in secret, running smoothly.
Everything was ready.
Takuya Nakayama set down the phone and stood silently in his office for a moment before dialing his assistant.
"Notify all directors and department heads. Meeting tomorrow morning, 9 a.m., in the main conference room."
"It's time we gave our handheld console a name."
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