Back in Redwood City, at SEGA of America's headquarters—
The smell of coffee drifted through Tom Kalinske's office.
The decisive, fast-acting CEO had just put down the phone, a satisfied expression on his face.
"It's done, Takuya. The negotiation team is already on a plane to Maryland with the contract."
"Now tell me about your trip to Chicago. Did you discover any weaknesses in Nintendo? Where should we strike them next?"
Takuya poured himself a glass of water.
Instead of answering, he posed an unrelated question.
"Tom, who do you think is actually buying those game consoles for the kids?"
Kalinske froze for a second, then answered matter-of-factly.
"Their parents, obviously."
"Exactly."
Takuya nodded, then slowly recounted the scene he witnessed in Walmart's Entertainment section—
the warm, cheerful families gathered around Nintendo's display,
and the solitary teens drooling over the intense SEGA game footage.
He offered no commentary—only the facts.
But the facts alone were enough.
The smile on Kalinske's face gradually faded.
"So the 'cool' market we worked so hard to win… is actually just a façade?
Kids love us, but the parents—the ones with the wallets—still go to that Italian plumber?"
His tone carried frustration, as if his punch had landed on soft cotton.
"No, the market is real. The kids' desire is real."
Takuya reassured him.
"We've won the war, but lost several important battles.
We've won the children's hearts… but not yet their parents' wallets."
He paused, then continued:
"A child might cry and beg for SEGA in the store,
but when his mom glances at the Fatal Fury cover, she might think, 'This will corrupt my child.'
Then she sees friendly Mario next door.
What do you think she'll choose?"
Kalinske was speechless.
The office fell quiet.
"So what do we do? Copy Nintendo—go family-friendly and childish?
Then what difference would we have left?"
Kalinske paced irritably.
"No, we can't copy them.
But we can neutralize them."
A subtle smile curved on Takuya's lips.
"When I return to Japan, I'll prepare something new—
something that will make parents' eyes light up and willingly open their wallets."
"It'll satisfy kids' desire for 'cool,'
and also make parents believe that buying a SEGA console is an investment."
"An investment?"
Kalinske stopped walking.
That word felt unusual.
"Yes."
Takuya's eyes gleamed.
"And what exactly it will be—let me keep that a secret for now.
But we'll make sure that when parents get dragged into a toy store by their children,
they stop hesitating when they see our products."
Seeing Takuya's confidence, Kalinske's doubts eased, replaced by curiosity and anticipation.
"Good! I'll wait for your good news."
He sat back down, energy restored.
"And what about Tom Clancy's game?"
"Once the contract is finalized, I'll come to America again."
Takuya said calmly but firmly.
"I'll form that project's team myself, and nurture a development group tailored to American player tastes."
After finishing his schedule in Los Angeles,
Takuya bought a number of local specialty goods before boarding his flight back to Tokyo, satisfied.
The plane landing also signaled the end of his short vacation.
After resting over the weekend and distributing souvenirs to his family,
Takuya arrived at SEGA Japan's headquarters early Monday morning, energized and ready.
In the conference room, Hayao Nakayama sat at the head of the table, with all the executives present.
"Well then, Takuya—tell us about the results of your U.S. visit."
Nakayama went straight to the point.
Takuya stood and gave a concise report on the Hollywood deals.
"The Home Alone product placement for the Game Gear is finalized.
The North American division will manage the contract details."
"Other film and TV prop placements will also be handled by SEGA of America."
"And, I met Mr. Steven Spielberg."
Several executives perked up at that.
"We've secured the game adaptation rights to Hook, the new film he's producing.
I suggest assigning it to the team most experienced with action-platform games.
We've also pre-acquired the adaptation rights to a yet-unpublished novel by Michael Crichton.
Its potential is enormous.
Once the novel is released, I will personally lead its development."
He paused, sweeping his gaze across the room, then revealed another bombshell.
"We've also reached a preliminary agreement with Tom Clancy for Clear and Present Danger.
The headquarters will need to send someone to follow up on the contract process."
Finally, his eyes landed on Yu Suzuki.
"Suzuki-san, I visited James Cameron and saw ILM's motion-capture tech.
I believe this technology is critical for Virtua Fighter.
Once this meeting ends, gather VF's core staff immediately and prepare to head to America for technical training and acquisition."
"Yes!"
Yu Suzuki straightened, eyes blazing with excitement.
After reporting all the good news, the atmosphere brightened—
until Takuya abruptly shifted topics.
"However, everyone… our victory in the American market might not be as solid as the reports suggest."
He described exactly what he saw in Walmart—
SEGA teens standing alone in front of flashy game screens,
while Nintendo children walked away holding consoles bought by their parents.
"We use 'cool' and 'speed' to capture kids' attention—
but the ones who pay are the parents.
And those parents firmly believe Nintendo is the harmless choice."
"So what now?"
A marketing executive couldn't help asking.
"Are we supposed to abandon our style and make childish games like them?"
"Of course not."
Takuya shook his head, smiling slightly.
"While we do have cute and low-intensity games, that's just to broaden our audience—not to imitate Nintendo.
What we need is to give hesitant parents a reason they cannot refuse."
"I'll personally lead the development of several new and special software titles.
Something that will make parents wholeheartedly believe—
buying a Mega Drive is an investment in their child's future."
"An investment?"
Nakayama repeated the word thoughtfully.
"Yes."
Takuya nodded confidently.
"As for arcades—my observations confirmed our strategy.
Differentiation and offering experiences impossible at home is the correct path.
We simply maintain the current direction."
The meeting ended, and everyone left deep in thought.
Yu Suzuki hurried after Takuya, grabbed his sleeve, and asked excitedly:
"Takuya! Tell me more about that motion capture!
What exactly can it do?!"
Seeing the eager "tech maniac,"
Takuya smiled and described all the details he had seen.
Suzuki's eyes practically glowed—
as if he wished he could sprout wings and fly to Hollywood immediately.
After sending Suzuki off, it was time to prepare the "gift" for those stubborn American parents.
Takuya returned to his office, didn't even remove his coat, and called his assistant in.
"Notify Hardware Division Chief Nakamura, and Computer Software Leader Nohara.
Meeting in the hardware conference room in 30 minutes."
His tone brooked no refusal.
Half an hour later, in the small hardware division meeting room—
Nakamura and Nohara were already waiting, looking puzzled.
An ad-hoc meeting personally summoned by Executive Nakayama Takuya,
and involving both hardware and software heads—
that alone was unusual.
Takuya entered right on time, carrying no documents,
pulled out a chair, and sat down.
Instead of his usual direct style,
he casually asked:
"Nakamura-san,
is it possible to make a standard computer keyboard work on the Mega Drive?"
Nakamura blinked, thrown off by the sudden question.
After thinking carefully, he replied:
"In theory, yes.
We'd need to modify the adapter port and optimize the keyboard firmware—
there might be some latency concerns, but technically nothing insurmountable.
However… why would we do that?
The MD controller is already excellent.
What would be the point of adding a keyboard?"
His real meaning was simple:
Pointless, costly, unnecessary.
Takuya only smiled and looked at Nohara.
"Nohara-san, have you used any typing-practice software on computers?
Like those teaching people to type?"
"Yes—things like Typing Tutor."
Nohara replied, confused.
"They're simple, though. Just finger placement and speed training."
"Good."
Takuya tapped the table lightly—
a rhythm like the prelude to something bigger.
Both men sensed something unusual coming.
"I want the two of you to collaborate on a completely new, special MD cartridge."
"First, it must include a fully functional typing tutor—
English, or Japanese—
allowing children to practice typing on their TV as if they were playing a game."
Nakamura and Nohara exchanged baffled looks.
Why put typing software on a game console?
Takuya saw their confusion but continued.
"Next, it must include a basic document editor—
write, edit, save documents.
A simplified word-processor."
"And most importantly—"
Takuya's tone sharpened,
"the cartridge must integrate drivers for floppy disk drives and printers,
and include a 25-pin parallel port built directly into the cartridge."
"We're not only letting users practice typing,
but allowing them to save documents to floppy disks,
and even print homework, reports, or letters directly onto A4 paper."
The two stared at him like he'd grown a second head.
A keyboard?
A floppy drive?
A printer?
For a game console?!
This wasn't a game machine anymore—
it was practically a budget home PC!
Nakamura burst out:
"We're a game company!
What about the cost?
Will the market accept this?
Who would use a console for typing and printing?!"
Nohara added seriously:
"And fitting all that software and driver support into a single cartridge,
plus Japanese kanji ROM chips—
the storage and cost will be high!
This goes far beyond gaming!"
Their reactions were expected.
Takuya let them finish before speaking.
Then he recounted exactly what he'd seen in Walmart.
After hearing it all, Nakamura cautiously asked:
"So… you want to turn it into a 'learning machine'—
something American parents would willingly buy?
A device that can play games and teach typing?"
Nohara also caught on:
"And provide basic home storage and printing functions…"
Seeing they understood, Takuya continued:
"Yes.
With this, purchasing an MD becomes more than buying a toy.
It lets children get early exposure to computers—
a future-oriented investment."
"And fathers could even use it to write simple documents or print something in a pinch.
This makes the MD something the parents themselves need.
A full setup would still be far cheaper than a real computer,
yet sufficient for most households."
Nohara raised a technical point:
"Then the typing and word-processing software must be extremely compact.
No fancy UI."
"That's exactly what I want."
Takuya affirmed.
"It doesn't need to be pretty—just useful."
Nakamura added:
"The external floppy drive will need its own power.
We should offer a complete set—cables, adapters, everything."
Watching the two enter brainstorming mode,
Takuya smiled with satisfaction.
This was exactly what he wanted.
"Good."
He stood and gave the final instructions.
"Nakamura-san—hardware starts interface testing immediately.
Begin structural design for the special cartridge."
"Nohara-san—software starts today.
Build the framework and core functions first."
"As for the floppy drive and printer models we'll support—
Marketing will research the best-selling, most common models.
I'll negotiate the partnerships personally."
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