Ken Kutaragi appeared far calmer. He adjusted his glasses, his focus entirely elsewhere. "With the Cold War over, the U.S. will definitely cut military spending. Some of the related technology restrictions might loosen. Our semiconductor division may be able to get its hands on some good stuff."
A true tech fanatic—technology was always the only thing on his mind.
Norio Ohga didn't join the discussion. He stood up, walked to the liquor cabinet, poured three glasses of whisky, then turned off the television.
"The funeral of one empire," he said as he handed two glasses over and carried his own to the window, overlooking Tokyo's nightscape, "is the carnival of another group."
"Just watch. Starting this Christmas, the entire Western world will sink into a false sense of security and a frenzy of consumerism."
Teruo Nakahata and Ken Kutaragi exchanged a glance, not quite understanding what the president meant.
A few days later, they did.
An urgent sales report from Europe landed on Ohga's desk.
"President, these are figures from the European branch." Nakahata handed over the report, wearing an expression as if he'd seen a ghost. "Nintendo's SNES has gone absolutely crazy in Europe."
"Crazy?" Kutaragi leaned in and snatched the report.
The data clearly showed that during the Christmas holidays, SNES sales in major European countries—Britain, France, Germany—had surged at an inexplicable rate. In some regions, inventory had even sold out completely.
"This makes no sense!" Kutaragi couldn't wrap his head around it. "We all know Nintendo's software lineup in Europe is even worse than in North America. Localization is a mess. Why them? Do European players really enjoy chewing through Japanese versions of Zelda?"
"They didn't do anything," Nakahata added. He had been studying it all morning. "No new marketing push, no new major releases, not even a price cut. Sales just—without warning—exploded."
In the office, only Norio Ohga showed no sign of surprise.
Leaning back in his chair, he leisurely picked up a copy of the Financial Times and pointed to a small, unremarkable headline.
"Peace dividend."
He spoke the words softly.
"The greatest military threat has disappeared. People believe there will be no more wars. Governments will cut defense spending and put money into public welfare.
Everyone feels that good times are coming. Naturally, they dare to spend the money in their pockets."
Ohga set the paper down, his gaze sweeping over his two trusted lieutenants.
"See this? A political event in Moscow can cause a game console thousands of kilometers away—completely unrelated—to sell out. What does that tell us?"
He paused, excitement seeping into his voice.
"It tells us this market is far larger and far crazier than any of us imagined. It doesn't even fully follow business logic—it's driven by humanity's most primal emotions: fear, hope, and celebration."
"We were still debating how much money to spend and what methods to use to pry open the market. Now it seems our perspective was too small."
Ohga stood up, a light blazing in his eyes unlike anything before.
"Kutaragi, that SFC-CD project you've been braking—cut it loose completely. Pour all resources, all top-tier technology, into PlayStation. I don't care how you do it, but speed up the schedule."
Kutaragi's breathing quickened instantly. Behind his lenses, his eyes flared with a frightening brilliance—this was the order he had dreamed of.
"President, say no more! You give the money—I'll stack the people!"
"Money isn't the problem." Ohga turned to Nakahata. "Nakahata, weren't those third parties stubborn before? Hard to crack? Refusing to negotiate?"
A cold curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"From now on, change tactics. We won't talk acquisitions—we'll poach talent. Their best producers, programmers, artists—every last one of them. Bring them all to Sony."
"Tell them Sony not only has money, but also an unprecedented platform capable of realizing their wildest dreams."
Europe's situation soon made its way back to Sega's Tokyo headquarters through Ubisoft, Sega's largest European distributor.
The fax machine spat out pages filled not only with shocking data on SNES's sales surge, but also a long list of urgent requests—specifically naming the latest Sega titles dominating North American arcades.
Inside Sega's marketing department, the atmosphere was heavy.
"This is like a pie falling from the sky and hitting Nintendo square in the face!" one section chief slammed the report onto the desk, his face full of resentment.
"They did nothing! Just because of a political event that has nothing to do with games, they got a massive free win in Europe! The advantage we fought so hard for in North America just got partially wiped out!"
"Yeah, it's completely unfair," another colleague sighed. "That luck is ridiculous."
Nakayama Takuya walked in with a cup of hot tea. Seeing the gloomy faces, he couldn't help but smile.
"What's with the funeral faces? Anyone would think the company's about to go bankrupt."
"Executive Director!" The section chief rushed over as if grabbing a lifeline. "Look at this—Nintendo in Europe—"
Nakayama took the report, glanced at it once, and casually set it aside, the smile never leaving his face.
"I thought it was something serious. Just that bit of European sales—what's the fuss?"
He scanned the room, then walked to the whiteboard and wrote a few numbers.
"Let's do the math. Nearly three million units sold in North America in the first month. Over five million already in Japan. Add this unexpected European boost, and SNES's global sales are brushing up against ten million units."
He turned around and tapped the board with the marker. "See this? It means Nintendo has completely crossed the life-or-death threshold. The idea that we could kill it with one or two battles is no longer realistic. From now on, this is real close-quarters combat."
The room remained tense. Someone muttered, "Then all our previous eff—"
"Our efforts weren't wasted," Nakayama cut in, his voice calm but firm. "Don't forget how much we're leading by."
He wiped the board clean and wrote anew: 20 million+
"This is how many more units the Mega Drive has sold globally compared to the SFC. Over twenty million units! What does that mean? It means our base is far larger than theirs. Every new game we release has twenty million more potential buyers than they do."
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