Takuya Nakayama flipped through the report, then set it back down on the table, satisfied.
"When will the standard development kits be ready?" Oguchi Hisao pressed from the side.
"The day after tomorrow," Hideki Sato replied with a firm date. "The materials are all ready. We can hand-assemble ten early-version development kits over the next two days, specifically for our core internal teams."
"Ten isn't enough," Oguchi Hisao interjected bluntly, tapping his pen on his notepad. "Sega has so many internal development teams. Ten machines won't even make a dent. We need to guarantee at least two kits per core development team, or we'll never get the schedules aligned."
"Mr. Koguchi, we can only hand-assemble them in the early stages. The yield rate and production speed just can't be improved," Hideki Sato explained with a wry smile. "Once these ten units are tested internally and we're sure there are no hidden hardware bugs, we'll send the blueprints to the contract manufacturer for tooling and small-batch trial production. Besides, the number of screen samples Sharp provided is quite limited. These development kits aren't exactly cheap, mass-produced cabbage you can just grab by the handful."
Oguchi Hisao listened, his brow still furrowed, but he understood the objective constraints of hardware production. He could only nod and make a heavy mark in his notebook.
Just then, the heavy laboratory door swung open again.
Yuji Naka walked in unsteadily, holding a mug printed with Sonic's large head in one hand and a few black floppy disks tucked under his other arm.
Seeing Takuya Nakayama and Oguchi Hisao both present, Yuji Naka paused for a moment. Then he tilted his head back and downed the last of the bitter black coffee in his mug in one go.
"Director Naka, you've come at the perfect time," Oguchi Hisao turned to face him, his gaze as sharp as an eagle's. "Is the low-level development tool finished?"
"The initial adjustments are all done."
Yuji Naka walked to the workbench, placing his mug and the floppy disks on the table. "I've had the team completely adapt the old Mega Drive development tools for the new handheld's dual-core architecture and that perfect 3:2 screen aspect ratio. We've even rewritten the compiler!"
Pointing to the test unit on the table, he spoke with absolute confidence. "We've been running test code with this new toolset for the past two days. So far, the instruction set translation efficiency is exactly where we want it, and we haven't hit any critical errors. Give me a few more days for some extreme stress tests and to squash a few minor bugs, and this toolset will be fully reliable for production."
Oguchi Hisao listened, then immediately jotted down a few lines in his notebook.
"Give me a copy of the New Handheld's final technical specifications and the current version number of your development toolset," Oguchi said, snapping his notebook shut and turning to Yuji Naka and Hideki Sato.
"What do you need those for?" Yuji Naka asked, scratching his messy, nest-like hair.
"To kick off the game planning," Oguchi replied curtly. "Now that the hardware specs and low-level tools are nearly finalized, the Development Department can't just sit around waiting. I'm going to distribute the specs and tools immediately so the producers can start brainstorming. We need a heavy-hitting first-party title to launch alongside the New Handheld. There's no time to waste."
Standing by, Takuya Nakayama nodded inwardly at Oguchi's decisive plan.
"Today's players are becoming increasingly discerning," Oguchi Hisao added, his gaze turning to Takuya Nakayama as if seeking the boss's opinion. "We can't rely on raw specs alone to impress them anymore. Can a handheld ever win a specs war against a home console? We need to deliver something with a truly groundbreaking gameplay experience."
"Exactly," Takuya Nakayama agreed with a smile, his eyes growing thoughtful. "What's the core soul of a handheld console? It's social interaction and portability. When the development team works on the proposal, they need to properly consider online multiplayer and how to leverage fragmented time."
He paused, walked over to the prototype, and pointed to a small black window reserved at the top of the device. "Especially the new infrared communication feature we've added—it must be flexibly integrated into the game."
The others all nodded in agreement.
"When will the planning meeting be held?" Nakayama asked. "Be sure to invite me."
The launch lineup for the new handheld was crucial; it would directly determine the initial install base and the device's ultimate survival. Although he had fully entrusted the management of game development to Oguchi Hisao, Takuya Nakayama still needed to personally oversee and confirm the details.
Oguchi Hisao pondered for a moment, mentally calculating the timelines of the various departments.
"By the end of this month," Oguchi Hisao gave a definitive answer. "We'll send the materials out now, giving the Development Team two weeks to brainstorm and organize their ideas. By the time we meet at the end of the month, they'll have a preliminary project proposal ready for review."
"Alright, let's set it for the end of the month," Takuya Nakayama decided with a finality that left no room for argument.
He turned to Yuji Naka and Hideki Sato, clapping them both on the shoulders.
"I'm counting on you guys to put in some extra work these next few days. Get those ten early-access development kits and their supporting toolchains fully operational. At the project meeting at the end of the month, I want to see a live demo running on the hardware, not just a few conceptual sketches on paper. Can you do it?"
"Leave it to us," Hideki Sato agreed.
Yuji Naka picked up his mug and pointed toward the floppy disks on the table.
"The test data and low-level reports from the last two days are all on these disks. I'm handing them over to you, Mr. Sato. I'm heading back to continue the testing. I guarantee we'll have a reliable set of tools ready for them by the end of July!" With that, Yuji turned and left the laboratory.
Oguchi Hisao took the parameter sheet Hideki Sato handed him, carefully tucked it into his notebook, and then walked out side-by-side with Takuya Nakayama.
Harmony Gold Headquarters, Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles.
The air conditioning was cranked to the max, its vents humming a low, steady drone, yet it couldn't disperse the thick, suffocating tension in the conference room.
David Cohen slammed his heavy leather briefcase onto the table, the zipper rasping open with a sharp shhh.
As the Chief Legal Officer of Sega of America, he had brought two assistants today to pay a visit to this company—a company that had struck gold in North America by stitching together three completely unrelated Japanese animations into Robotech.
Seated across from him, Frank Agrama, the founder of Harmony Gold, sat with his back straight and hands clasped on the table, his face wearing the practiced, insincere smile of a seasoned businessman.
"Mr. Cohen, Sega's interest in Robotech is a very wise choice," Frank began, attempting to seize control of the conversation. A greedy glint flashed in his eyes, as if he were already envisioning Sega as a fattened lamb delivered straight to his doorstep. "You must understand, this IP has millions of rabid fans in North America. Its commercial potential is simply immeasurable. If Sega wishes to develop related games, we can certainly sit down and discuss the licensing fees."
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