Nohara grew more and more animated as he spoke, even gesturing with his hands.
"Sixty percent of the kits were sold bundled with the MD console! The distributors even managed to push a good number of printers and consumables along with them! Many families didn't buy it for games at all — they were coming specifically for this 'learning machine'! They think paying a little over two hundred dollars to let their kids both play games and start learning computers and typing early is the best 'educational investment' in the world!"
Saying this, Nohara suddenly stood and bowed deeply to Takuya, his voice full of sincere gratitude.
"Executive Nakayama, everyone in the Computer Software Development Group truly doesn't know how to thank you enough! Thanks to this project, our bonuses have multiplied several times over. Quite a few colleagues have already paid off their mortgages early! The whole team is fired up — they all say that following you not only lets us create groundbreaking work, but also allows our families to live better lives!"
Takuya lifted his gaze from the report and looked at the silently seated Department Head Nakamura.
Nakamura merely pushed up his glasses, his expression calm as ever, only giving a faint shrug. Sega certainly wasn't shorting their department on revenue shares, and after everything he'd already seen Takuya pull off in hardware development, he was mostly desensitized.
"Good."
Takuya nodded with satisfaction and set the report down.
Five million kits — the number validated his original prediction.
That wasn't just five million peripherals.
It was five million middle-class families with a favorable impression of Sega.
Then, Takuya quietly pulled out two clip-bound documents from his desk drawer and slid them across to the two men.
"These are the next projects."
Nohara and Nakamura exchanged a quick, solemn glance, then each took their respective document.
Nohara lowered his eyes — and instantly froze.
The pages contained no flashy diagrams, only Takuya's unmistakably clean, forceful handwriting listing three software concepts he had never heard of.
"Concept Proposal for an Electronic Bulletin Board System (BBS)."
"Framework for a Cross-Border Collaborative Office Email Client."
"Concept Proposal for Real-Time Instant Messaging Software."
"Executive… th-this…" Nohara was baffled.
BBS? An electronic bulletin board?
What was that? Putting the corkboard from the office lobby inside a computer?
And instant messaging — what even was that supposed to be?
Compared to Nohara's confusion, Nakamura was far calmer.
He carefully studied the technical notes about university network protocols and related hardware.
Seeing Nohara's blank stare, Takuya chuckled, tapping the desk lightly.
"The first one — the BBS — you can think of it as a bulletin board on the network. Any Sega computer with access can connect and post discussion topics, exchange information, and communicate internally."
"Second, the email client — that's what we'll use to replace fax machines for internal communication. Install this software, and a document from Tokyo Headquarters can be sent with a single click — our colleagues in America will receive it the very next second. No more waiting a whole day."
"As for the third…"
Takuya paused, a faintly mysterious smile appearing.
"You can think of it as a tool that lets you and someone else connected to the network talk in real time through a text box. You type a sentence here, and it instantly pops up on the other person's screen — as if the two of you were sitting face-to-face chatting."
"Hss—!"
Nohara finally started to grasp the idea.
He had little personal experience with networks, but he had heard hints of similar technologies from old university classmates who stayed in academia.
Looks like I really need to keep up with the cutting edge…
he thought to himself.
Takuya continued:
"I've already smoothed things out with MITI. Soon, we'll be able to connect to the academic network for testing.
"So, Nohara — I need your team to begin preliminary research on the software frameworks immediately. Get the skeletons built. Once the network connection is ready, we begin field development."
Then he turned to the still-silent Nakamura.
"Nakamura, same with your side. Your team needs to fully digest the network protocols in that packet. Internet users are still extremely few right now, so our consoles won't include networking functions yet — but once the internet becomes widespread, every single Sega console generation must have the ability to connect online! What we're building is a network empire that connects everyone."
Nakamura slowly raised his head. He wasn't excited like Nohara; instead, he tapped a particular line in the document.
"Executive, for the packet-switching protocol mentioned here — are we adopting it directly, or modifying it to adapt to the low-bandwidth home environment?"
A single sentence — straight to the core.
Takuya nodded appreciatively.
Nakamura always saw the most essential technical point.
"Ensure compatibility above all else," Takuya said decisively. "As long as Hardware Development keeps pace with the mainstream and can integrate the most widely adopted interfaces when we need them, that's enough."
Nakamura nodded.
For now, they didn't have concrete tasks yet — just adding this area to their technical watchlist.
Nohara flipped through the thin document several times.
After carefully reading all the outlined functions, excitement surged through him.
These three software proposals were essentially about connecting people through computers.
He could already imagine what these products could become once completed.
"Executive, i-if we make these… imagine how many units we could sell!" His eyes shone, calculations already running wild. "A BBS, real-time messaging — the market potential is far bigger than the learning kit! Forget mortgages — everyone could move into luxury apartments!"
He accepted the assignment with fiery enthusiasm, suddenly feeling overflowing energy.
But Takuya promptly poured a bucket of cold water over him.
"Nohara — don't start thinking about bonuses just yet. Of the three, only the email client will be sold commercially. The other two — the BBS and instant messaging — we're not selling."
"…Huh?"
Nohara's smile froze.
He dug at his ear, thinking he'd misheard.
"N-not selling? Executive, you're not joking, right?" he stammered. "These things are amazing! If we don't sell them, what was all the development effort for?"
To him, it defied all logic.
Sega was a corporation, not a charity.
Who in their right mind would give away golden geese for free?
Takuya laughed.
"Charity? No. What we're doing is staking a claim."
"Staking… a claim?"
Nohara was even more confused.
"Think of the current internet as a newly discovered continent — empty, untouched, vast."
Takuya tapped the table again.
"Sega's goal is to claim land on this new continent and establish influence."
Nohara vaguely understood but still couldn't picture the full strategy.
Even so, he stood and bowed firmly.
"Executive Nakayama — please rest assured! The Computer Software Development Group will absolutely complete the mission you've assigned!"]
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