In 1986, the first Legend of Zelda game had already been released. What set The Legend of Zelda apart from the start was its heavy emphasis on action elements and relatively weak focus on role-playing and character development.
This was because Nintendo was concerned that, for a role-playing game, the cartridge size was too large and the price too high, which could dampen player interest.
So when Kobayashi Tetsu proposed a collaboration, citing his desire to create a role-playing game, Miyamoto Shigeru of Nintendo readily agreed.
He was waiting too.
He wanted to see if role-playing games were actually viable.
If they proved sufficiently popular, Nintendo would quickly follow up with new titles.
May.
As schools across Japan began their new terms, newspapers and magazines controlled by Nintendo all carried the same news:
Atlus Studio's new game would be released simultaneously on both the Sega Master System and the Nintendo FC.
Simultaneously!
The first people to feel shock and disbelief upon hearing this news were the players.
For a long time, Atlas's games had been exclusive to Sega, to the point where many people assumed Atlas was a first-party studio owned by Sega.
But now, this news struck many like a blow to the head.
It turned out that Atlas wasn't actually a first-party Sega studio!
FC players were naturally overjoyed. Though they had some reservations about the RPG genre, the prospect of playing an Atlas game on their FC was a delightful surprise.
Sega players, on the other hand, were worried.
Could it be...?
Was Atlas planning to defect?!
Sega Corporation, Executive Conference Room.
"Defect! This is outright betrayal! We must punish Atlas!" Sato Hideki was practically beside himself. "Someone must take responsibility for this!"
Kobayashi Kentaro snorted derisively through his nose.
He was the man Nakayama Hayao had brought back from the US, not Sato Hideki. Naturally, he couldn't care less about Sato Hideki's opinions.
"Atlas isn't my company," he retorted. "What Xiao Che wants to do is none of my business. If he thinks this is a good move, are you suggesting I use my father's authority to arbitrarily interfere?" Nakayama Hayao raised his hand and pressed it downward in a calming gesture.
"Both of you, please calm down. You don't really want to see Atlas aligning with Nintendo, do you?"
Nakayama Hayao looked at Sato Hideki, his voice carrying a hint of warning. "I advise you not to entertain such thoughts."
Nakayama Hayao folded his arms, deep in thought.
Sanctions were out of the question, but a public statement of support was necessary. Behind the scenes, however, they needed to take some measures.
"We should further support our internal first-party developers. Sega isn't without its own independent titles. As for external partners—"
Nakayama Hayao pondered. "We could subtly rein in Atlus Studio's marketing efforts."
Sato Hideki's head snapped up, his heart pounding with anxiety.
Wait a minute...
He'd already returned control of Atlus Studio's marketing to Atlas. Now Kobayashi Tetsu was personally handling Atlas's promotions, with Sega only providing necessary support.
Nakayama Hayao took a deep breath.
You can't handle this! Your teammate is really letting you down!
A thousand thoughts condensed into a single decision. Nakayama Hayao stood up.
We'll give Atlas the cold shoulder—pretend this never happened. As for our internal development, we need to redouble our efforts to nurture first-party games. This will create a moat around Sega Games, securing our console's unique position!
As for the matter of payment, Nakayama Hayao wasn't the type to hold back funds. Such a move would be a severe escalation, and if he did it, Kobayashi Tetsu would undoubtedly declare his intention to go to Nintendo!
Time gradually slipped into late May.
In May, a groundbreaking Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) hit the market: Dragon Quest!
Developed by Enix and featuring character designs by Akira Toriyama, Dragon Quest made its debut.
Exclusive to the Nintendo FC, Dragon Quest had nothing to do with the Sega Master System.
By this point, both the MS and FC had already reached sales of five to six million units in the Japanese market, making further growth difficult. Expansion overseas was the only path forward.
And so, Dragon Quest—with its utterly unpretentious and simplistic name—entered the market.
Initially, it didn't generate much excitement. But as word of mouth spread, the unique qualities of Dragon Quest gradually emerged.
Its steady, unadventurous approach meant it couldn't go wrong. From start to finish, Dragon Quest remained a family-friendly RPG suitable for all ages, featuring a spirited, sunshiny protagonist and a classic, formulaic "save the world" narrative.
After an initial period of brief resistance, players gradually began to accept this game.
In its original timeline, Dragon Quest I ultimately reached sales of over 1.5 million copies, all within Japan. It wasn't until much later that an overseas version was released.
At that time, no one could have known that Dragon Quest would become one of the defining classics of the Japanese RPG genre. People only knew one thing:
Square had done it. When would Atlas finally release their RPG?
In a gaming magazine, Tanimura Masahito fired another salvo:
"Dragon Quest will be the greatest RPG in Japanese history, a groundbreaking genre-defining masterpiece. The accompanying manual and artbook are utterly stunning, with Akira Toriyama's art bringing an immersive experience to life."
"Every region explored in the game is brimming with elements ripe for discovery."
"It's as if I've truly become the Hero of the game, immersed in this captivating character."
"So I can't help but question whether Atlas can truly deliver a product of comparable quality! Announcing a simultaneous dual-platform release before even starting development—won't that just end up with Sega and Nintendo abandoning Atlas together?"
"It's clear that Atlas's ultimate fate will be to crumble under ruined reputation and player backlash!"
Tanimura Masahito's curses weren't particularly vulgar, but they were undeniably harsh. Moreover, they echoed the sentiments of many players.
Dragon Quest did an excellent job! It was truly outstanding!
Even Nintendo recently released The Legend of Zelda, an adventure game with action elements.
Given this, if Atlas delivers a quality product, there's no problem. But if they fail, it's over. With both platforms already invested in the project, if the final product's quality falls short of Dragon Quest—especially if it's far inferior—they can expect to be utterly ruined.
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