1988 Retro Game Tycoon - Chapter 103



Only Noblemtl

Episode 103 – Spear and Shield

‘This is fucking crazy.’

Yamada, Executive Director of Development Headquarters 1, felt frustrated while watching Seo Nam-jun’s game demonstration.

If everything had gone as planned, was supposed to be a mediocre game that was just a bunch of games tacked on from here and there.

The graphics in the pictures look good, but when you actually play the game, the movements are choppy, you can’t tell who’s hitting whom, and the storyline is so poor that you can’t even figure out why they’re fighting.

Isn’t that natural, since it’s a game made in Korea, a paradise for illegal games?

However, was going against the natural order.

“It’s a lot different from what I thought.”

“Yeah. Isn’t that great?”

“I never thought it would be this much···.”

As the demonstration continued, I felt the atmosphere becoming more and more favorable towards the game. Even Nishikawa’s face, which I hated to see, was gradually brightening.

‘This isn’t it···?’

Before entering the meeting, the development departments had decided unconditionally to oppose publishing Korean games.

Sega has its pride. Where are the games that don’t have Korean games?

Executive Director Yamada had reached an agreement with Marketing Director Hasegawa. However, Hasegawa was avoiding Yamada’s gaze.

“What do you all think? Let’s talk freely.”

After the demonstration, the CEO looked around at the employees and asked for their opinions. Everyone kept their mouths shut for a moment and just quietly observed the atmosphere.

After all, speaking at first is an uncomfortable situation for anyone.

However, the moment someone says, “The game is better than I thought,” the mood will be ruined.

If that game comes out for the Mega Drive and is a success, Nishikawa will become even more enthusiastic and will likely be more vocal about games in the future.

Executive Director Yamada’s Game 1 Headquarters is in charge of arcade game development.

If the Mega Drive did well, it would ultimately be good for the company, but it had no direct bearing on him.

To be honest, Executive Director Yamada couldn’t understand why the entire company was so obsessed with home consoles.

Didn’t all the games that made Sega shine until now come from arcades? What made Sega what it is today are particularly immersive, sensory arcade games.

In Executive Director Yamada’s view, home consoles didn’t seem like games. They were more like child’s play.

The specs on the tiny TV screen were far below average, and the sight of him sitting cross-legged on the floor and holding a tiny pad was just plain ugly.

The heart of video games is, and always will be, arcade games, and the soul of video games is also arcade games.

The history of video games proves it. Where did video games start at home? They all started with commercial arcade games.

What about Sega’s history? If we go back in time, Sega grew by selling slot machines and jukeboxes. Sega was created and established by making arcade systems for commercial use.

That is the essence of Sega Pride.

But at some point, the company people became blinded by the competition with Nintendo.

Sega is already the king of the arcade game market, so how ridiculous is it that they are jumping into the home console market, which doesn’t even seem like a game market, and calling themselves the tail of the snake?

In Executive Director Yamada’s view, the company is currently preoccupied with the wrong things. Everyone has forgotten Sega’s roots. This trend must be stopped before it gets any worse.

He kicked Chief Ueki next to him and nodded. Ueki blinked a few times and opened his mouth as if he had made up his mind.

“Hmm…, hmm. The game was good. But, you know. Why is there a car chase in the middle? The flow of the game suddenly changes, and it seems to be confusing. The game genre is a kind of promise, but I feel like this game was made without even knowing the basics of the genre.”

Executive Director Yamada nodded in response to Manager Ueki’s comment.

Of course, I didn’t think there was anything wrong with the car chase scene. Even Executive Director Yamada had to admit that the speed and direction were of a very high standard.

There are probably only a few places in Japan that can make a game of that level.

If it weren’t for this situation, Executive Director Yamada would have also admired Starbeat and encouraged them to make better arcade games.

But what can I do? They showed up with the bad-looking Nishikawa executive line and said they would release a game for the Mega Drive.

“It is true that the genre is a principle, but I don’t think the rules of the genre are fixed. Depending on how you look at it, you can see that it provides a fresh and fun experience. In fact, looking at the response in Korea, there was no reaction that they liked car chases and thought it was strange.”

“But isn’t that just the reaction in Korea?”

“Up until now, most of the most popular games in Korea have been Japanese games. The first arcade in Korea was Space Invaders, and the reason there are so many arcades now is because of Galaga. Koreans also really like games from Sega, Namco, and Taito. If Koreans’ tastes in games are outdated, then all the Japanese games I enjoyed as a child are outdated, but I don’t think that’s true.”

“hmm···.”

Ueki, who took up the gun, thought he had attacked well, but Seo Nam-joon’s counterattack was not easy.

Managing Director Yamada gritted his teeth without being seen.

The Korean man named Seo Nam-joon, who was full of milk, was a much stronger opponent than he looked.

He had the guts to answer questions without being flustered, was very knowledgeable about games, and most of all, he attacked the questioner with logic that was not easily refuted.

But it couldn’t be pushed back like this. In the end, Executive Director Yamada spoke up himself.

“But is there really a need for four characters? I think three is enough. Everyone who likes this game genre is familiar with the three-person structure. Having too many choices is not necessarily a good thing.”

“I also agree with the CEO. I think the three are the most balanced. I also have concerns that the game portrays Japan in a bad light. Well, it’s a historical fact, but isn’t it still a bit burdensome?”

“I think the action feels a bit monotonous. Wouldn’t it be more fun to add some fantasy elements and fight giant enemies?”

As soon as Yamada stepped forward, the people from the development headquarters all came out to provide support.

Now, whether was a good game or not was not a big issue. The head of the organization had stepped forward, and if he were to back down, it would be tantamount to losing face to the entire department, so he could not back down.

However, Seo Nam-joon answered each question calmly.

“If the number of characters increases indiscriminately, that would be the case, but Suzy has a distinct difference in her character narrative and action style.”

“I just chose a romantic, action game-like setting with no other intentions. The concept that best reflects the current mood was Gyeongseong in the 30s.”

“The goal of this game is to recreate the action feeling that is closer to reality. If you want to make a fantasy action game, you can do that, but the goal was to make a more differentiated game.”

Seo Nam-joon answered without hesitation. His answer was also reasonable. It was not easy to refute.

The entire Sega development headquarters was being pushed back by Seo Nam-joon. Ueki stepped forward again with an angry expression.

“But didn’t you say that you even made the arcade board yourself? If that’s the case, then you’re no different from our Sega competitor. Why do we have to support our competitor?”

“Are you now recognizing us as Sega’s competitors?”

However, Seo Nam-joon answered Ueki’s somewhat excited question with a leisurely smile and witty answer.

“As far as I know, last year, Sega had already ported Capcom’s and published it directly. Is it possible that Sega is more afraid of us, Star Beat, than of Capcom?”

“Heh heh heh.”

Even President Tanaka let out a small laugh at that answer.

‘Damn! Even the boss fell for it?’

Managing Director Yamada became anxious. The fact that the president, who had been just watching him until now, was smiling like that meant that he found the Korean cute.

“Then what do you think about marketing? will be released at the end of the year. Is it really okay for a similar genre to come out at that time?”

Executive Director Yamada decided to change his strategy. He turned his arrows toward the marketing headquarters, which had been cowardly watching the situation unfold while trying to oust Nishikawa.

Marketing Headquarters Director Hasegawa made a face that said, “Why are you tripping us up?” for a moment, then reluctantly answered.

“Obviously, that can be a risk factor. The end-of-year peak season is peak time, so it would be good to have games of various genres if possible. seems like a pretty good game, in my limited opinion, but I think it ultimately depends on how quickly and successfully it is ported to MD.”

“That’s right. And I heard that there are many more lineups being prepared for next year. So, wouldn’t it be better to release it by November of this year to have a chance of success?”

“That’s true, I guess. Even if we were to publish it ourselves, we would have to choose games to focus on.”

“Ah… It’s November this year. That’s too bad. That means I have to complete the transplant within the next month at the latest. That seems impossible.”

“Of course. It’s impossible. It’s impossible. If we rush the schedule and the game turns out to be a mess, it’ll be a shame for Sega and it’ll hurt the reputation of the Mega Drive.”

“That’s right. This game isn’t bad. It’s just the timing that’s unfortunate.”

The atmosphere in the conference room changed in an instant.

Director Hasegawa gave a look that said, “Is that enough?” Executive Director Yamada nodded slightly.

His attacks on the game were no longer effective. To be honest, he didn’t see anything wrong with the game. So he couldn’t help but keep getting off-beat when he attacked.

So I changed the direction of the attack and tossed the ball to Director Hasegawa, and fortunately, Director Hasegawa received it well.

Developing a game for the Mega Drive is no easy task. Even well-known companies have been unable to release a decent game for over six months.

But a rookie Korean developer who wasn’t even familiar with the Mega Drive system ported that complex game to an MD game in just one month?

To put it bluntly, it was absolutely impossible.

Managing Director Yamada thought the game was over.

Star-Whatever Korean company will withdraw, and Nishikawa’s position will become even more narrow.

If the Mega Drive continued to languish like this, Executive Director Yamada was thinking of arguing that Sega should withdraw from the home console market.

It is right for Sega to focus on the arcade system, which is the company’s foundation.

however-.

“So does that mean that if we just port it to MD within a month, Sega can publish it?”

CEO Seo Nam-jun asked boldly.

A kid who doesn’t know anything about the world?

How can porting a game look funny just because you made one good game?!

***

I successfully completed the game demonstration.

The company people and Managing Director Nishikawa gave a thumbs up without being noticed. In my opinion, it was a successful game presentation.

I definitely felt like my perspective had changed a little since I first started.

However, the comments coming out of Sega executives were still harsh criticisms. Most of them were just forced claims to disparage the game.

I could tell.

Whether it was because of their own pride, their resentment toward Managing Director Nishikawa, or some other internal circumstances I was unaware of, they were opposing for the sake of opposing.

I refuted each and every question that seemed ridiculous.

I had no intention of backing down after coming this far.

But the breakthrough did not seem easy.

After all, persuasion is a realm of emotion, not reason.

Just by asking them questions, you could tell that their opposition to wasn’t genuinely because they thought the game was a mess.

That made it even more problematic.

If the game really was the problem, I could respond logically and, if necessary, fix the game.

However, if you are against for other emotional reasons, there is no way for me to unlock your heart.

On the surface, it seemed like I was blocking their spears perfectly, but on the other hand, I had no proper weapon to attack them at the moment.

But when the question shifted to marketing, the path suddenly opened up.

Director Hasegawa first admitted that our game was fine, but then came forward with a different argument, saying that the timing of the release was the problem.

Do you think it’ll be possible within a month?

Are you kidding me?

Of course it is possible!

This would definitely be impossible for other game companies. They would have a hard time just figuring out the MD system.

But they have no idea how I got to this point.

They may think they have the upper hand now, but the real winner was me.

They actually opened up a breakthrough for me, though I had no idea it.

I said, suppressing a laugh.

“Mr. Tanaka, and respected Sega executives and staff. Then, I will come back in a month with for MD. Then, can be released in November, and can be released as scheduled in December without any problems.”

My words caused the entire conference room to stir.

Managing Director Nishikawa looked flustered and didn’t know what to do.

‘Really in just one month? That’s ridiculous!’

‘Young guy’s kid. Does porting the game seem easy?’

‘You were in a hurry, after all. You bit into this.’

‘This is the end.’

‘さようなら, スタービット (sayonara, star-bitto).’

I could see the Sega executives sitting side by side with President Tanaka in the center, exchanging victorious glances. I could almost hear their inner thoughts.

I ignored them and only stared at President Tanaka.

In any case, in the end, the decision is made by the boss.

President Tanaka, who had been watching the situation, looked at me with great interest.

“Can you take responsibility for that right now? If you can’t get the game ready for release in a month, it’ll all be like never before.”

“I promise. On the other hand, if Sega brings me the finished game in a month, promise to publish worldwide without any hesitation.”

“Hehehehehe…! What do you all think? You’re making such a confident proposal. Wouldn’t it hurt our pride if we refused?”

“I think it’s a fairly fair offer, sir.”

“Yes, it’s a good thing to give a one-month opportunity to a growing company.”

Those who were convinced that I was being ridiculous unanimous in their opinions unanimously agreed. There was a bitter smile on their faces.

“Okay then. I will accept your offer. One month from now. I will be waiting with pleasure.”

“thank you!”

I greeted President Tanaka and the Sega executives and staff politely.

A smile naturally appeared on my lowered face.

The door is finally open to take the Sega Bus out into the world.

Sega people!

I don’t know yet, but you guys met the right person today.

I’m already curious to see what kind of expressions you’ll have in a month.