Kobayashi Tetsu had no intention of dismissing Tsujimoto Kenzo. The man was genuinely capable, even if his name wasn't as widely recognized as those of the other company presidents.
To invest one billion yen in hardware research while the company's revenue was still modest—that was something Kobayashi Tetsu himself would never dare to do.
He wasn't sure how long this path would take. Billions could be poured into it, only to vanish like dust in the wind, leaving nothing behind.
He knew one thing would succeed, but he wasn't entirely clear on how.
It was precisely because of this that Kobayashi Tetsu admired Tsujimoto Kenzo's courage in boldly spending one billion yen to develop the CPS1.
After all, Capcom's annual revenue hadn't even reached one billion yen in recent years; the company had been surviving solely on loans.
The CPS1, Capcom's first self-developed arcade system board, was fundamentally designed to differentiate itself from the boards used by competitors like Sega, Taito, Namco, and Konami.
At the time, besides Nintendo, these four companies formed the "Big Four" of Japanese arcade giants, nearly monopolizing the entire Japanese arcade industry. Even Kobayashi Tetsu had to rely on Sega's distribution channels to sell his Demon Tower; without them, it would have been nearly unsellable. To develop games, he would have had to purchase Sega's proprietary motherboards.
Capcom's decision to develop the CPS1 arcade board stemmed from their frustration with being dependent on others.
Games developed on the CPS1 board had a distinctive characteristic: their health bars were yellow when full and turned red when damaged. This led to the nickname "yellow bar boards" for these games.
As they spoke, Kobayashi Tetsu and Tsujimoto Kenzo arrived at Capcom's R&D lab. While called a "research and development lab," it was less refined than that, resembling a relatively clean assembly line factory more than anything else.
Tsujimoto Kenzo watched Kobayashi Tetsu's expression, wondering how much he truly knew.
He still suspected there was a mole within Capcom, but since they had decided to sell to Kobayashi Tetsu, perhaps some things could be said after all.
Upon their arrival, several staff members in the R&D lab looked up and greeted them.
"Everyone, please stop what you're doing. This is Kobayashi Tetsu, President of Atlas."
Tsujimoto Kenzo felt awkward saying this. After all, Kobayashi Tetsu looked incredibly young, barely twenty years old. Yet now, Tsujimoto Kenzo had to address him with a formal title.
The researchers glanced at Kobayashi Tetsu, as if a realization had dawned on them.
At Capcom's most desperate hour, a recognized, emerging, and wealthy game company president had come visiting.
He couldn't possibly be here to ask Tsujimoto Kenzo out on a date to play basketball, could he?
As expected, Tsujimoto Kenzo quickly announced the outcome everyone had been dreading.
"I've decided to sell a portion of Capcom's shares to President Kobayashi, giving Atlas absolute controlling interest. In other words, from this moment on, we are part of Atlas."
The researchers exchanged glances, and soon began clamoring to console and plead with Tsujimoto Kenzo.
Whether their concern was genuine or feigned, they at least put on a good show. One researcher even nearly fell to his knees in tears, a truly exaggerated display.
Kobayashi Tetsu looked utterly helpless.
"Why is this making me feel like the main villain in a video game?"
He stepped forward, clapped his hands, and the sharp sound drew everyone's attention.
"Gentlemen, let's get straight to the point. Tsujimoto Kenzo will remain as Capcom's President. Atlas will not interfere with Capcom's business strategies, only acting as an investment holding company. Your jobs are safe, and this time, there will be no shortage of funds."
The crowd instantly regained their previous expressions.
Not losing our jobs? That's wonderful!
Kobayashi Tetsu said, "Would you mind showing me the secret weapon Capcom is developing?"
Tsujimoto Kenzo thought, What kind of secret weapon is it if Kobayashi Tetsu already knows the name?
He immediately instructed a researcher, who soon brought the prototype to the table.
Kobayashi Tetsu glanced at it. Dozens of chips were mounted on the board, covered in a dense array of pins.
This was a development version of the mainboard, its circuitry still unoptimized. Of course, it couldn't compare to a finalized version.
The mainboard could be thought of as a self-contained computer. Once connected to a screen and joystick, it would be ready for gaming.
Kobayashi Tetsu narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the tiny text on the chips.
The CPS1's performance surpassed the Mega Drive. In arcade settings, it could achieve superior color rendering.
The Mega Drive, while not inferior to the Super Famicom of the same era in terms of raw power, had two major drawbacks: first, its development tools were poorly designed, and second, it was a "high CPU, low graphics" type of console. Players might not fully appreciate the Mega Drive's high-speed performance, but they would certainly notice the Super Famicom's superior graphics.
However, none of these issues existed on the CPS1 arcade board. This board was exceptionally well-tuned, using the same architecture as the Mega Drive but with superior color capabilities. If Capcom had released this as a home console, the Mega Drive would have been finished.
The CPS1 used a Motorola 68000 processor, supplemented by a Z80 chip for sound processing and some animation effects.
Ah, the Z80...
The Z80 was the same chip Nintendo later used for the Game Boy. But in the arcade, it could only perform auxiliary tasks.
This processing setup was strikingly similar to the Sega Mega Drive's architecture. Both were released around the same time, so Kobayashi Tetsu assumed it must be a remarkable coincidence that Sega later adopted a similar architecture to Capcom's arcade board.
But speaking of the Z80...
Kobayashi Tetsu looked down at the board.
Where's my Z80?!
He looked up at the Capcom researchers.
"Have you ever considered using a smaller processor as a coprocessor?"
The researchers exchanged glances, hesitating to speak.
The senior researcher, who held more authority, stepped forward.
"We have considered it, but—" He glanced at Tsujimoto Kenzo, who simply shrugged with both hands raised. "Because of the cost. Adding a second processor would require additional procurement, and the cost is prohibitive. Capcom can't afford it right now."
Kobayashi Tetsu's eyes lit up. "It's about money again? You should have said so earlier!"
Why didn't you say so earlier?! Kobayashi Tetsu was known for his generosity and had no shortage of yen.
"The funding issue is resolved. If you need more staff, hire them. I have high expectations for this motherboard. Let's get it done before 1987."
Tsujimoto Kenzo instinctively leaned back.
Oh no!
I've been taken under the wing of a wealthy benefactor!
He cleared his throat, unsure if he should say what was on his mind.
This is... the feeling of my heart fluttering!
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