Time had entered late November.
Akihabara, Tokyo.
The cold wind couldn't dampen the enthusiasm of the electronics district.
In the windows of major game retail stores, posters of Woody and Buzz Lightyear were displayed uniformly.
The Japanese version of the "Toy Story" game was released simultaneously with North America.
Objectively speaking, this all-CG animated film had not yet been released in Japanese theaters at this time.
Japanese audiences' awareness of these two characters relied entirely on Sega's long-term promotional campaign, which started from the E3 exhibition, as well as sporadic TV commercials.
Without the boost from box office performance, how well could the game sell on its own merit?
Many industry analysts gave conservative predictions before the release.
Reality soon slapped them in the face.
On the first day of release, the queue of gamers in front of the Sofmap flagship store in Akihabara wrapped around three blocks.
Because it was a simultaneous release coordinated with the film's release in the United States, Sega did not follow the unspoken rule of releasing all major titles on weekends, which had been in place since the "DQ movement."
As a result, a long-awaited wave of people skipping work and classes appeared once again.
Fully 3D rendered graphics, fluid action feedback, and deep optimization by Sega's headquarters for the Jupiter's hardware made the game incredibly attractive.
The high quality of the game itself was enough to make picky Japanese core gamers open their wallets.
Players at the demo stations, seeing the physics of Buzz Lightyear spreading his wings to glide and the level design of Woody solving puzzles using various toys in a miniature room, voted with their cash.
Furthermore, the high-quality gaming experience conversely raised market expectations for the film.
The editorial offices of major film magazines and entertainment media were flooded with letters from readers every day.
The phones were ringing off the hook, all with people asking exactly when this Pixar animation would be released in Japan.
Five days after the release, Sega's sales department announced a set of figures to the industry.
"Toy Story" had sold over one million copies in Japan.
Combining data from major distributors, the Jupiter's global installed base had just crossed the five-million-unit threshold the previous month, and Japan's share of that total was not an absolute majority.
With such a base, breaking one million in sales over five days implies an extremely high software-to-hardware attachment rate.
This is not just a victory for the software, but a perfect showcase of the Jupiter console's capabilities.
Sony Computer Entertainment Headquarters.
The atmosphere in the meeting room was stifling.
Ken Kutaragi threw several sales reports onto the conference table.
The sound of the papers sliding was jarringly loud in the quiet space.
"Can anyone explain these figures?" Ken Kutaragi leaned forward, his hands pressing against the tabletop.
The executives sitting on both sides lowered their heads, looking at the copies in their hands.
This was an urgent brief sent from the North American branch.
During the North American Thanksgiving holiday, the Jupiter console bundles were sold out.
The primary buyers weren't the traditional core gamers, but parents taking their children to the movie theaters.
"We previously estimated that Sega gave up the December release window because their first-party production capacity was insufficient," a marketing department executive said, bracing himself. "Now it seems they used an excellent long-term product to directly lock in the victory for the entire year-end shopping season."
Ken Kutaragi pulled out a chair, sat down, and rubbed his temples.
"Parents in North America are buying the console and the game together. A $399 bundle, without even blinking," Kutaragi said, his tone stiff. "PlayStation has now broken two million in console sales, relying on hardcore titles like Tekken and Battle Arena Toshinden. Sega doesn't care about the reputation we've built among core gamers. They used a Hollywood IP to reach directly into the pockets of non-traditional gamers."
He tapped on the desk, making a rhythmic thumping sound.
"If Jupiter continues this explosive growth through the upcoming Christmas holiday, our plan to block them in the North American market will become a joke. Our advantage in the Japanese home market will also be crushed by the sheer gap in console install base."
Faced with this dimensionality-reduction attack from Sega's cross-industry marketing, Ken Kutaragi felt a sense of frustration at having nowhere to strike back.
And the cross-industry collaboration he had previously requested from Columbia Pictures was nowhere near yielding any results.
"Adjust our year-end promotional strategy," Ken Kutaragi commanded. "Increase resource allocation toward major third-party titles. Namco's Ridge Racer Revolution is about to launch; increase the GG budget by another 30 percent. We must win back the attention of core gamers in December."
An executive noted the instruction and immediately voiced a concern.
"President Kutaragi, Sega has already sold one million units in Japan. Many gamers who originally intended to buy a PlayStation at the end of the year have now diverted their budget to the Jupiter."
"Then go talk to the retailers," Kutaragi interrupted. "Increase the channel rebates. Don't let Sega occupy all the shelf space at the end of the year."
Minato Ward, the same high-end ryotei.
The same tatami room, the same three men.
Kazumasa Kozuki held his teacup, looking at the report on Sega's million-unit sales achievement on the table.
"Five days, one million," Hiroshi Kudo shook his head, his tone tinged with lingering fear. "President Kozuki, your judgment was spot on. This wasn't just clearing the release schedule; this was clearing out the market."
Kenzo Tsujimoto leafed through the detailed data in the report.
"The feedback from Capcom's channels shows that many retailers have delisted or moved other third-party games to the edges to make shelf space for 'Toy Story'," Kenzo Tsujimoto said, closing the document. "The long-tail effect of this Sega game will last at least until the end of January next year. Not to mention that the movie won't be released in Japan until next year, which will surely trigger another peak in sales then."
"Those companies that didn't see the situation clearly and foolishly scheduled their major titles for December must be having a real headache now," Kazumasa Kozuki said, blowing the floating tea leaves off the surface of his tea before taking a sip.
Hiroshi Kudo chuckled in agreement.
Hudson's 'Panic Bomber' had long since adjusted its strategy to avoid this spotlight, and Hiroshi Kudo was now completely in the mindset of a spectator.
"This is Takuya Nakayama's MO." Kazumasa Kozuki put down his teacup. "He gives you what looks like a vacuum in December, tempting you to pour all your resources in. Once you've entered the market, he uses a phenomenal product like Toy Story to cut off traffic upstream. Any game with slightly subpar quality is drowned in the year-end tidal wave."
Kenzo Tsujimoto crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.
"We need to re-evaluate the release windows for Capcom's upcoming titles next year. Going head-to-head with Sega's first-party lineup on Jupiter is too costly. We pure software developers can't afford this kind of cross-industry collaboration model."
"The same goes for Konami," Kozuki nodded. "The decision to release Suikoden early was the right one. We took advantage of that window before Toy Story launched. Our strategy going forward is to play it steady. It's actually a good thing for us that Sega is willing to pioneer and expand the market. Once the install base grows, our subsequent games will be easier to sell."
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