Hummm—
Inside the conference room, the computer hummed. The projector's white screen displayed the program's startup sequence—the word "ATLUS" spelled out in blue letters with a white outline.
After about two minutes of loading, the program finally launched successfully.
This put Gunpei Yokoi slightly at ease. It seemed that even if Atlus was employing some kind of "black technology," they still had to follow the principles of computer development. As for why it launched immediately upon being opened, it was most likely because the program had already been running in the background on that computer, with the window simply hidden and only maximized for the demonstration.
Once inside the interface, Gunpei Yokoi immediately noticed several key points.
First, the interface was graphical. Although it still looked somewhat crude on today's computer displays, this kind of graphical user interface (GUI) could be understood almost instantly.
For example, the icon for saving a project was a picture of a floppy disk, which represented the save function. Loading, on the other hand, was represented by an icon of a floppy disk being ejected from a drive, symbolizing the insertion of a disk.
Such designs were everywhere.
Gunpei Yokoi jotted down a note.
Graphical User Interface, Visualized Operation—it sounded futuristic, but at its core, it was just about lowering the barrier to entry and expanding the user base.
He then tried creating a game with the Persona Engine. The moment the interface popped up, Gunpei Yokoi shook his head inwardly.
Too simple. Everything is just too simple. Compared to the work of "true" game developers, the program driving this engine was absurdly basic.
It wasn't a game development tool so much as a "BabyBus" app, treating the developer like an infant in need of care.
"Is this simple program really Atlus's trump card? It'll fool the reporters, I suppose, but for real game developers, this thing is utterly trivial and unworthy of serious consideration. You can only make simple programs with it; more complex features are probably impossible to implement."
Secretly, Gunpei Yokoi passed a death sentence on the software.
It looks high-end, but it's only good for fooling outsiders!
The mini-games created with this engine were essentially on par with the original Super Mario from years ago.
It wasn't exactly bad—it at least offered basic playability. But in an era of rapidly evolving software and advancing graphics, with 16-bit consoles already taking center stage, such simple games were hardly worth a second glance.
Besides...
Gunpei Yokoi glanced at the computer.
The demo machine was a high-end workstation, yet the fans roared like a jet engine about to take off. It felt like there was a helicopter hovering in the conference room, making Gunpei feel as if he might crash at any moment.
"The idea is good," he thought, "but it can only produce low-level mini-games. Plus, the hardware requirements are too high; most people won't have a machine this powerful. It seems we overthought this, getting swept up in the media hype. Now that we've actually tried it, it's clear this is nothing more than a marketing stunt."
Gunpei Yokoi had just reached his conclusion. Beside him, Miyamoto Shigeru suddenly spoke.
"I suspect it's more than that. The Persona Engine has reserved third-party interfaces, which means they're allowing developers to write their own programs to complete its functionality. For example, if the game lacks a save function, developers can write and add one themselves. This means the engine has a very high floor and an even higher ceiling! At the very least, you can create a fully playable game. At the very most, you might even be able to create a masterpiece like The Legend of Zelda!"
The only condition was that the computer had to be able to support this project.
It was now 1989, and only six short years had passed since 1983. Computer specifications had doubled, and even the top-of-the-line configurations from the time of the Famicom's release were now considered trash—electronic waste fit for the scrap heap.
Perhaps in just one more year, a vast number of computers would be able to support the Persona Engine's requirements.
"On the other hand, this engine also supports reading engineering project files. This means that if the coordination and overall planning are sufficiently excellent, it will even support team development. If we leverage the convenience of this engine, having a dozen or so people working on a game simultaneously might actually be faster than we ever imagined! In the past, making a game would take eight or nine months, or even several years for a large-scale project. But now—"
Miyamoto Shigeru suddenly fell silent.
Perhaps, if the project is planned well, a game could be released in just a few months. Moreover, judging by the capabilities demonstrated by the Persona Engine, both its floor and ceiling were remarkably high. The quality of the games would likely be even more impressive than they had anticipated.
What made the situation most troublesome was that Atlus had openly put this engine up for sale!
The rules were stated very clearly: games made using the Persona Engine would need to pay Atlus a fee of 5% of their gross revenue after release. In exchange, Atlus would also provide publishing assistance.
Recalling the rumors that Atlas had started building a cartridge factory in January, everyone in the room suddenly realized the most critical point.
They were going to create another platform!
In an instant, a dozen pairs of eyes fixed on Hiroshi Yamauchi.
Yamauchi's hands were pressed firmly onto the armrests of his chair. He seemed completely unfazed by the news.
"Regardless," Yamauchi began slowly, his tone leaving no room for argument, "when Atlas was developing the Persona Engine, they requested the packaging technology for the Nintendo FC. Nintendo granted them that license at the time. This means Atlas itself doesn't mind if others use this engine to develop games for Nintendo, does it?"
"Now, immediately, contact the Atlas office. Get Kobayashi Tetsu, Iwata Satoru—anyone who can make a decision. Nintendo will grant Atlas the combined licenses for SFC and GB cartridge packaging, allowing Atlas to package SFC or GB cartridges within the Persona Engine."
Seeing the lingering objections on the faces of those in the conference room, Yamauchi tapped the table impatiently.
"Wake up! Atlas can't become a platform holder, nor do they have the capacity to do so. You're overthinking this. They want to become a publisher—a publisher that sits between the developers and the platform holders! Once they become a publishing company, even if Atlas maintains a good relationship with Sega, they still have to consider the developers' wishes. If a developer is determined to release on a Nintendo platform, how could Atlas possibly refuse?"
After finishing his explanation, Hiroshi Yamauchi couldn't help but shake his head inwardly.
Why are you all so worried about the conflicts of interest between companies? Even if they are rivals now, there will always be opportunities for cooperation in the future.
He could already see the business opportunity presented by the Persona Engine.
The SFC and GB were newly launched platforms, and what they lacked most was games! The Mega Drive had enjoyed a first-mover advantage for over a year, and Nintendo couldn't simply catch up with its library of launch titles overnight. But now, with an engine that could rapidly develop games, they could quickly expand their game library, thereby increasing the SFC's appeal to consumers!
Under these circumstances, even if they had to pay Atlas to publish games, the games would still be released on the SFC, ultimately providing users for the platform.
Therefore, Hiroshi Yamauchi immediately saw through the true nature of this matter.
Perhaps this meant that Atlas had thoughts of transforming into a platform holder, but they couldn't become one relying solely on this. At most, they could only act as a publisher between the platform and the consumers.
The 5% cut also meant that Atlas had no intention of relying on this to become a platform holder.
For Nintendo, this was not a threat, but rather good news. As long as the Super Famicom's game library could be expanded, he believed that this 16-bit console Nintendo had created would be no worse than the Mega Drive!
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