As soon as the decision to name the new handheld "GAMEPOCKET" was approved, Sega moved like a war machine — efficient, disciplined, and relentless.
Orders were divided and assigned to every department, every post. Everyone began to move like interlocking gears in motion.
On the production line, newly forged molds radiating heat were quickly installed into place.
"GAMEPOCKET."
That word, alongside Sega's logo, would from that moment on be permanently and deeply engraved into each and every unit leaving the factory — colorful, gleaming, and ready to change the market.
The printing presses roared through the night.
The heavy scent of ink filled the warm, humid air, like the gunpowder before a battle.
Mountains of packaging boxes and manuals met the freshly assembled consoles at the end of the conveyor belt — boxed, sealed, and secretly shipped to Sega's already prepared warehouses across Japan and North America.
By late March, a sweeping marketing storm hit Japan without warning.
Even as the nation was still recovering from a climate of restraint and caution, Sega's bold campaign tore through the silence.
Tokyo — Shibuya.
At the busiest crossing, enormous colorful banners unfurled from the tops of skyscrapers.
No text. No explanation.
Just countless GAMEPOCKETs of every color, pieced together into a dazzling mosaic that slammed into the eyes of every passerby.
On TV, during prime time, a 15-second commercial began circulating endlessly.
No noisy introductions.
No flashy gameplay footage.
Only a rapid montage of everyday scenes:
A businessman in a suit, exhausted and packed in a sardine-like subway, pulls a black GAMEPOCKET from his inner pocket.
A student in school uniform, on the rooftop at lunchtime, opens his backpack and takes out a sky-blue GAMEPOCKET.
A young couple sitting on a park bench, heads leaning together, each holding a pink and a white GAMEPOCKET.
A red string-tied data cable connects the two devices — as if connecting their hearts as well.
At the end of the commercial, the screen fades to black.
A single line of white text appears, accompanied by a deep, magnetic voice-over:
"Your pocket is another world."
The GAMEPOCKET commercial quickly reached Nintendo's headquarters in Kyoto.
In the conference room, the top executives sat in silence, eyes fixed on the television screen frozen on that provocative tagline.
The head of marketing was drenched in sweat; he had just played the tape rushed from Tokyo.
"Again! Just like this!"
A furious executive slammed his fist on the mahogany table, the thud echoing through the room.
"When the Genesis launched, they ambushed us without warning! And now this so-called 'GAMEPOCKET' just appears out of nowhere! What's our intelligence department even doing?!"
"Calm down! Don't panic!" another tried to sound steady, though the tremor in his voice betrayed his anxiety. "A flashy shell doesn't mean anything. Our Game Boy has battery life. We have the most popular tennis and mahjong games. We have Mario! Games are the core! The fact they didn't show any gameplay proves they're insecure. This is just a rushed launch meant to shake us up!"
"But they've already beaten us to it! Now, when kids talk about handhelds, the first thing they think of is Sega's GAMEPOCKET! We can't just sit here!"
The arguments erupted again, the conference room boiling over like a pot of water.
At the head of the table, Hiroshi Yamauchi said nothing.
His hawk-like eyes stayed fixed on the TV screen, his face dark as a storm.
Two years of setbacks — especially the collapse of Nintendo's third-party exclusivity alliance under the FC licensing system — had left the industry's king feeling an unprecedented sense of threat.
Slowly, he turned toward Gunpei Yokoi, head of the R&D Division.
"Yokoi-san. What do you think?"
Yokoi adjusted his glasses, calm amid the tension.
"President, the Game Boy's design has long been finalized. The production lines are already running at full speed — it's too late to change anything now."
"Besides, our Game Boy has been in development for almost three years. The chip R&D alone took more than a year. No matter how capable Sega's engineers are, they can't defy time and physics."
"The Genesis only launched a year ago. Whatever they've made in that time can't possibly surpass the Game Boy."
"Their commercial says the price is 12,700 yen — that already tells us their hardware level."
He smirked slightly, muttering under his breath while watching the screen full of colorful GAMEPOCKETs.
"Flashy nonsense. Visual pollution."
The other executives exhaled, feeling a bit more at ease after his explanation.
Then, unexpectedly, Shigeru Miyamoto spoke up.
He wasn't looking at anyone. His eyes were locked on the commercial still looping on-screen — at that single moment when the businessman pulled out the handheld.
"President. Everyone."
His voice was calm but sharp — like a needle puncturing the noisy tension in the room.
All eyes turned to him.
"I'm not worried about the casing."
"In Sega's commercial, they're not selling games. They're not selling specs."
"They're selling a scene."
"A lifestyle."
"They're telling players that their lives should have a device like this. They're making people long for that image."
"That's how they're binding the brand to emotion."
His words hit like a bucket of cold water over everyone's heads.
Only now did they realize — this opponent was far more dangerous than the Genesis that once dominated Akihabara's skyline.
Finally, Yamauchi spoke.
His voice was low, but carried an unmistakable authority that silenced the entire room instantly.
"A cheap circus trick."
He snorted coldly, his eyes filled with disdain carved into his bones.
"The louder they shout, the more it reveals their fear. They want to disrupt Nintendo's rhythm with parlor games?"
Yamauchi slowly stood up, scanning the room. His sharp gaze swept across the bowed heads of every subordinate.
"Send out the order."
"The Game Boy production schedule stays the same."
"Tell the factories to keep the machines running around the clock — three shifts if necessary."
"Let Sega heat up the market. Let them raise everyone's expectations."
"Public relations and marketing — stay close. Go head-to-head with them. Match them campaign for campaign. Break their emotional branding."
A cold, ruthless smile curved at the corner of Yamauchi's mouth, as though he could already see the blood-soaked battlefield months ahead.
"When everyone's anticipation reaches its peak…"
"We'll strike with absolute quality."
"With great games."
"With our Game Boy."
"And take everything from them."
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