Following the Sega esports tournant announcent, mid-April.
Nintendo, with Enix, unveiled the Famicom's new title, Dragon Quest.
Its tagline was blunt:
"Toriyama Akira's designs!"
"A new genre—RPG!"
"A world where you're the hero!"
Dragon Quest's reveal shook the gaming world more deeply than Sega's esports event.
The tournant innovated within existing modes.
Dragon Quest carved out a new genre track.
RPG? Role-playing ga?
To Japan's console players, it was an alien concept.
But "Toriyama Akira"—the man behind Dragon Ball—carried unmatched clout.
His na guaranteed quality.
The industry reeled.
The Legend of Zelda, with its large capacity and save feature, had proven deep gas' potential.
Now, Nintendo wielded a new genre backed by a top-tier IP.
Third-party publishers felt suffocated.
Their delayed gas faced mounting release pressure.
Zelda was selling big.
Dragon Quest lood.
The window between them was razor-thin.
Panic and chaos spread in the market.
Many publishers rushed to release shelved gas before Dragon Quest, desperate to recoup funds before Nintendo's twin blows buried them.
Tokyo, Sega headquarters, large conference room.
Mid-April.
The air felt frozen, heavy with pressure.
The massive oval mahogany table reflected stern faces.
David Rosen, flown in from Sega's U.S. branch, sat upright despite jet-lagged eyes, underscoring the eting's gravity.
Each seat held a thick dossier.
Pages detailed Zelda's steep sales curve since launch.
The Famicom Disk System's startling adoption rate in Japanese hos.
Players' near-fanatical love for the "save" function.
Their hunger for deep, dozens-of-hours gaming experiences.
And news of Nintendo and Enix's Dragon Quest, sparking panic-driven sell-offs among third parties.
Hayao Nakayama sat at the head, fingers tapping silently.
He didn't ntion Fatal Fury's esports craze—its success felt delicate now.
His gaze swept the board, voice low.
"You've all seen it."
"Nintendo's building a deep, wide moat around their console empire with the FDS and Zelda."
"The 'save' function, simple as it seems, rewrites player habits."
"It fosters long-term imrsion, emotional investnt."
"This user retention is unprecedented."
"Once players sink dozens or hundreds of hours into a world, how long can our arcade's quick thrills hold them?"
"For our Master System, lacking this capability, it's fatal."
"Long-term, it could even erode our arcade business, our foundation."
His words landed like cold stones, rippling silently.
Seeing no response, he slid arcade and esports data to the shareholders.
"The first Sega esports tournant's early response is phenonal! Registrations at designated arcades far exceed our highest projections! dia coverage is massive—TV stations reported it, even tales of players touring arcades like martial artists challenging dojos. Fatal Fury's lifecycle is vastly extended, and Sega's brand image has soared!"
The data softened the shareholders' expressions.
David Rosen cleared his throat, speaking in accented Japanese.
"We're seeing similar enthusiasm in North Arica."
"The ani-plus-tutorial model is proving viable."
"I believe the esports tournant can be replicated there, amplifying our influence."
The optimism didn't last.
A gray-haired, veteran director spoke slowly, voice cautious.
"Esports' success is comndable."
"But it doesn't solve our core console market dilemma."
"Our Master System lags far behind Nintendo's Famicom globally, especially in Japan."
"With FDS and Zelda soaring, and Dragon Quest looming, investing astronomical sums in a new 16-bit console—is the risk too high?"
"Should we consider safer strategies?"
"Focus resources on competitive Master System titles."
"Or develop affordable peripherals to enhance current users' experience."
Shareholders offered ideas, mostly conservative.
They feared massive investnt failing to dent Nintendo's dominance, potentially sinking the company.
The room's air grew stagnant again.
Hayao, seeing indecision, sipped tea. "Seems everyone has thoughts, but no consensus."
All eyes turned to him.
He squinted. "Want to hear from the man behind our biggest revenue driver this year?"
Many recalled Hayao's money-making youngest son.
"I'm not shy about talent. If no objections, I'll call Takuya in."
With Tetris and Fatal Fury's massive profits, no shareholder objected.
Hayao summoned Takuya.
Soon, Takuya entered, his young face standing out among weathered ones, eyes steady, unfazed.
He nodded respectfully to the veteran director, then spoke, voice clear and forceful.
"I overheard concerns and proposals entering. I understand. But as Father said, Nintendo's building a new ecosystem barrier with 'saves' and 'deep content.'"
"Zelda's success isn't just a great ga—it proves players will invest ti and money in complex, grand experiences. Dragon Quest pushes this further—role-playing, letting players 'live' in a ga world."
"Against this, patching up our current platform or porting arcade gas won't cut it. We can't beat Nintendo on their battlefield. To break through, we need a 'generational leap'!"
"A 16-bit console isn't just better graphics or sound. It's stronger processing, larger mory, enabling new genres and gaplay we can't yet imagine. It's the key to opening a new front outside Nintendo's moat!"
"Plus, with Fatal Fury, we've developed a mature 16-bit arcade board, System 16!"
"We can build arcade gas with chanics and skills far beyond 8-bit, bolstering our arcade business and countering the FDS/save ga impact. anwhile, hardware manufacturing advances. By the ti our console's done, System 16's Motorola 68000 CPU will be affordable. If our new console uses it, System 16 arcade gas can port effortlessly, creating a vast launch lineup spanning genres—key to quickly building a player base to ensure the console's survival! Then, we can chip at Nintendo's walls. Look at Pac-Man's fate or this week's third-party stampede—publishers are fed up with Nintendo!"
"As for funding concerns, I've prepared a new revenue-generating plan!"
His words rang out, gaze sweeping the room, brimming with unshakable confidence.
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