Takuya Nakayama gestured for his assistant to bring in two cups of tea, then got straight to the point. "Department Manager Sato, the Jupiter Console still has a long life cycle ahead of it. But as the Hardware Department, you must now begin building the technical foundation for the next-generation console's architecture."
Hideki Sato's expression turned serious, and he immediately pulled a notebook from his pocket. "Do you have any specific instructions?"
"First point: storage media." Takuya Nakayama raised a finger. "The capacity of CD-ROMs is already showing its limitations on this generation of consoles. RPGs like Final Fantasy or Fairy Warrior, which require large amounts of CG animation and high-quality audio, often need two, three, or even four discs. The next-generation console must adopt a higher-capacity medium."
"Are you talking about DVD-ROM?" Hideki Sato reacted quickly.
At the end of last year, several electronics giants, led by Toshiba, Matsushita, and Sony, had just unified the technical standards for DVD.
Currently, this technology was still in the very early stages of commercial exploration.
"Exactly, DVD-ROM," Takuya Nakayama nodded firmly. "A single-sided, single-layer disc can hold up to 4.7 GB, which is about seven times the capacity of a CD-ROM. That's plenty of room for developers to play with for a long time."
Hideki Sato frowned slightly, raising a technical concern. "Managing Director, Sony is one of the core architects of the DVD standard. They hold a significant technical advantage in manufacturing the optical drive's reading components. If we adopt DVD-ROM for our next-generation console, we might have to purchase the core components from them. Given our rivalry in the console market, Sony might be unwilling to sell us their latest optical drive technology, or they could squeeze us on price and supply schedules."
Takuya Nakayama smiled and waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about that. Sony isn't the only company in the DVD Forum. Toshiba, Matsushita, and Hitachi are all developing DVD technology. If Sony refuses to cooperate or sets too harsh terms, we'll just switch to another supplier. As long as our order volume is large enough, Toshiba and Matsushita will be more than happy to become our suppliers. Your immediate task is to research the DVD-ROM's interface protocols and read speeds, and thoroughly master the technology in the lab."
"Understood. I'll immediately assign engineers to follow up on the technical specifications from Toshiba and Matsushita," Hideki Sato said, scribbling quickly in his notebook.
"Second—and most importantly," Takuya Nakayama said, his smile fading as his gaze grew intense, "the next-generation console must come standard with network capabilities."
At this, both Oguchi Hisao and Hideki Sato froze.
In 1996, dial-up internet for PCs was only just beginning to gain traction. For most people, the idea of a home console connecting to a wide-area network was still a far-off dream.
"Managing Director, do you mean something like current PC games, where you can play against others over a local network?" Hideki Sato asked tentatively.
"No, I mean true wide-area network connectivity," Takuya Nakayama corrected him. "I want the next-generation console to come with a built-in modem, and even a reserved Ethernet port for future broadband access. When players buy the console, they can simply plug in a network cable, log directly into Sega's online platform, download game updates, browse the web, and even team up with players on the other side of the planet for adventures."
Oguchi Hisao keenly grasped the commercial potential behind the plan, but he also saw the immense obstacles. "Managing Director, Japan's current network infrastructure is still very weak. NTT's per-minute billing model would be an exorbitant expense for the average player. If the network costs don't come down, the console's online features will be nothing more than a gimmick."
"That's exactly what I'm about to get to," Takuya Nakayama said, looking at the two men. "The Hardware Department can't just know how to design circuit boards. Department Manager Sato, you need to allocate some manpower to start monitoring global network technology trends. At the same time, Sega will officially begin reaching out to NTT in Japan, AT&T in the United States, and several major telecommunications providers in Europe."
Takuya Nakayama took a sip of tea and continued, "We need to explore potential collaborations with these telecom giants. For example, launching monthly internet plans tailored for Sega players, or exchanging certain patented technologies. At the very least, we need some level of involvement. Networking is the inevitable trend. We can't wait for the road to be built before we make the car; we have to build the car while pushing them to make the road more accessible."
Hideki Sato felt a surge of excitement. As a hardware engineer, he knew all too well how a game console's constant internet connectivity would revolutionize its gameplay and functionality.
"Integrating a network module into the hardware design isn't the hard part," Sato said after a moment's thought. "The real challenge lies in network protocol adaptation and the server's load-bearing capacity. We need a stable, efficient network architecture at the core."
"Well, we have a perfect example to learn from." Takuya Nakayama leaned back in his chair, a relaxed smile returning to his face. "Silicon Valley Online is currently running a closed beta for a project codenamed 'D'—Dungeons & Dragons Online. It's a true virtual world capable of hosting thousands of players simultaneously."
He looked at Sato and gave him specific instructions. "Department Manager Sato, I want you to assign a few of our core engineers—the ones responsible for the next-gen console's architecture—to travel to Silicon Valley Online's headquarters in Redwood City, California. Have them study firsthand how that project's servers operate, how data is exchanged in real-time between the client and the server, and how they manage user data. Only by seeing a true online game in action will they understand what the next-gen console's network module needs to achieve."
"A trip to Silicon Valley Online?" Hideki Sato's eyes lit up. "That's fantastic. I heard they've just set up a state-of-the-art distributed server cluster. A field visit would be invaluable for our future network hardware design. I'll draft the list of attendees tomorrow."
"Go ahead," Takuya Nakayama instructed. "Broaden your horizons. Don't just focus on what our competitors are doing now; look at what players will need five or ten years down the line."
Hideki Sato bowed and left, his steps much lighter than when he had entered.
The office was once again left to Takuya Nakayama and Hisao Oguchi.
"Managing Director, your vision for the future is always breathtaking," Hisao Oguchi remarked with genuine admiration.
He had thought that by managing the current game projects well, he could keep pace with the Managing Director. But now it seemed his gaze had already surpassed the immediate next-generation console war, looking far into the distant future.
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