Seeing hope rekindled in everyone's eyes, Nakayama Takuya smiled and dropped another bombshell.
"And our new weapon is almost ready," he said, lowering his voice with a hint of mystery. "The Sega CD—and the 'dream team' of RPG developers backing it—will make their debut next autumn, right on schedule. When that happens, what will Nintendo use to fight us?"
"An RPG dream team…" someone murmured, eyes lighting up.
"So wipe those funeral faces off," Nakayama tossed the marker aside, his tone relaxed again. "Nintendo's had a good meal—we can't afford to sit idle. Ubisoft wants arcade titles? Give them! Let them paint every cinema and arcade in Europe with our colors!"
"Yes!" the room answered in unison, morale fully restored.
"What we need to do now is keep making great games and stockpile ammunition. With our overwhelming market-share advantage, we earn money while building capital and technology for the next generation—and we hold that advantage so every third party knows exactly who to follow if they want to eat well!"
With just a few words, the gloom in the marketing department vanished, replaced by a high-speed war machine back in full operation.
After everyone dispersed with renewed energy, Nakayama's secretary knocked and entered, her expression serious.
"Executive Director, HR forwarded an urgent report."
"What is it?" Nakayama lifted his tea, now lukewarm.
"Several core programmers from our development teams have recently received poaching offers from outside companies." She handed him a file. "The terms offered are—extremely generous. Almost impossible to refuse."
Nakayama paused. He opened the file, and a familiar name jumped out at him.
"The poacher is—Sony Computer Entertainment?"
His gaze lingered on the words for a moment, then he understood.
What was coming had finally arrived.
The PlayStation project clearly wasn't just talk anymore.
"Executive Director…" the secretary said, unable to hide a trace of tension. "Their offers are very—direct. Double the salary as a baseline, plus higher positions and project leadership."
That was putting it mildly.
"Impossible to refuse" translated to: money, power, prestige.
A three-hit combo few could withstand.
Nakayama set the file down, lifted his teacup, and blew gently on the cooling surface, unhurried.
"President Ohga is clearly determined to compete with us for talent. Looks like even after the massive Columbia Pictures acquisition hasn't paid off yet, Sony still has plenty of money to stir things up. With a balance sheet like that, he's confident."
There was no anger in his voice—more the tone of evaluating an interesting opponent.
The secretary tested the waters. "Should we take countermeasures immediately? HR suggests matching the offers to retain key personnel."
"Retain them, of course. But not like that." Nakayama set the cup down with a soft clink.
He picked up the list again, his fingers tracing several names.
"Split this list into two groups."
The secretary immediately took out her notebook.
"First group: team leaders, project directors," Nakayama said calmly. "HR can talk to them—raise salaries and bonuses appropriately to show sincerity. But don't puff up our cheeks to duel Sony. They're here to poach. You add a million, they'll add two."
"People have their own ambitions. If their hearts have been tempted by the outside world, what's the point of forcing an empty shell to stay? Sega's temple isn't small, but we don't keep idols we can't support. If they truly want to leave, send them off with a smile—we'll still be friends. Consider it helping Sony raise the cost of poaching."
The secretary froze. This was nothing like the thunderous retaliation she'd expected. Just… letting them go?
Seeing her confusion, Nakayama smiled and pointed to the other names.
"The key is the second group. The deputies—lead programmers, core artists. These are our true foundation."
His finger tapped the page, a sharp glint in his eyes.
"Sony wants to steal our pillars? Then we'll reinforce the beams—and raise more columns!"
"Starting today, issue a notice. Allow capable deputies and core members to apply to form independent development teams!"
"What?!" The pen nearly fell from her hand.
Wasn't that encouraging internal fragmentation?
"Executive Director, wouldn't that affect the original teams—"
"What about the original teams?" Nakayama cut her off. "If the leader leaves, the deputy naturally steps up. That's a promotion! And those who branch out—what does Sega lack most right now? Games.
We need more development teams!"
"The MD and handheld markets are huge. With just a few internal teams, how many flagship titles can we produce a year? The rest of the schedule relies on third parties. Development cycles keep getting longer—if we don't build more stoves now, what happens when players go hungry later?"
The words struck home. The secretary's eyes grew brighter by the second.
This wasn't sacrificing the foundation—it was leveraging momentum to expand.
Sony swung the pickaxe to dig at the wall, only to loosen the soil and let more new shoots sprout for Sega.
"Tell those deputies and core members being courted not to rush a decision. At Sega, they have the chance to be the leader—to build their own teams and make the projects they want. We won't shortchange them on money either."
Nakayama leaned back, a playful smile on his face.
"At Sony, they're outsiders—paratroopers. Whether they can gain a foothold is uncertain. At Sega, they're pioneers, future pillars."
"Anyone with half a brain can do that math."
The secretary nodded vigorously, her worries gone, replaced by a surge of excitement.
This move was brilliant.
"I'll get on it immediately!"
"Wait," Nakayama stopped her. "I'll submit this plan at the board meeting the day after tomorrow. It's a major personnel move, after all. For now, have HR stabilize these people."
"Yes!" She bowed and withdrew.
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