The clash of narrative logic between film directors and ga directors will ultimately benefit the players.
"The key point is 'Pokémon'," Hisao Oguchi said, opening another mo. "Satoshi Tajiri's team has submitted a live demo for 'Pokémon Great Adventure'. They've made a big leap this ti, turning it directly into a 3D action-platforr while retaining the series' light puzzle-solving elents."
Takuya Nakayama looked at the proposal on the paper.
In his previous life, Pokémon was very cautious—or one could say conservative—on the path to 3D, or perhaps it was just because Ga Freak's capabilities were lacking.
Now that Sega holds a powerful platform like Jupiter, they naturally cannot let this top-tier IP continue to be confined to a 2D turn-based frawork.
"Satoshi Tajiri's team has fine-tuned the animation modules for the main Pokémon, adding many expressions and movents for idle states," Hisao Oguchi added. "Utilizing Jupiter's capabilities, the jumping and skill casting of the Pokémon in 3D sandbox environnts feel very solid. The feedback from the testing departnt is that this type of gaplay has extrely strong appeal to younger demographics and female players."
"The direction is correct," Takuya Nakayama evaluated. "The core of Pokémon is collecting and raising, but the form of expression must keep pace with hardware iterations. 3D sandbox exploration can maximize the display of the ecology of those Pokémon. Tell Satoshi Tajiri that scene interaction can be even bolder. There are far more ideas to explore in dynamic environntal scenes; this is also the advantage of 3D ga interaction."
Hisao Oguchi quickly took notes in his notebook.
"The rest is just the standard lineup," Hisao Oguchi continued reporting. "The motion capture data for 'Pro Soccer World 1996' has been updated, including the new season's player rosters. 'Super Robot Wars 2' and 'tal Slug 4' are following a steady and reliable path to ensure a solid foundation. The new entry in the 'Harvest Moon' series is also ready to have a trailer released at E3."
He paused, specifically pointing out one title.
"And there's 'Kirby,' making its debut on the Jupiter platform. They have remade Kirby's swallowing and copying animations using pseudo-3D effects, retaining the 2D side-scrolling gaplay while making the scenes and backgrounds have more depth. It's mainly about improving visual quality. We're not attempting 3D for the first Jupiter title for now."
Takuya Nakayama tapped his fingers on the desk.
"The first-party lineup is solid." Takuya Nakayama closed the proposal. "But for this year's E3, Sega's main stage cannot be reserved solely for these gas."
Hisao Oguchi stopped his pen and looked up at Takuya Nakayama.
"Allocate forty percent of the promotional budget, along with the two most prominent giant billboards in the central exhibition hall, to third parties," Takuya Nakayama ordered.
"Allocate them to whom?"
"Square's 'Final Fantasy VII' and Core Design's 'Tomb Raider'."
Hisao Oguchi quickly ran through the information on these two gas in his mind.
Since announcing their switch to Jupiter, Square's "Final Fantasy VII" had beco the focus of industry attention.
Hironobu Sakaguchi had bet his entire company's future on this 3D project.
As for Core Design's "Tomb Raider," that was a trump card in the hands of the European publisher Eidos, focusing on 3D sandbox exploration and a female protagonist.
"I can understand 'Final Fantasy VII'," Hisao Oguchi questioned. "It's a nuclear weapon in the RPG field that can help us lock down Sony's PlayStation in both the Japanese dostic market and the US market. But is 'Tomb Raider,' a new IP from a European studio, worth us allocating such significant resources?"
"Worth it," Takuya Nakayama said in a calm tone. "Lara Croft from Tomb Raider will beco a cultural icon of the 3D gaming era. Its full 3D perspective and complex level design perfectly match the desires of North Arican and European players for exploration and action. The potential of this ga in those markets is no less than the dominance of Final Fantasy VII in Japan. Just think about the craze around Toy Story last year—aren't the underlying gaplay and programming design very similar to Tomb Raider?"
He looked at Hisao Oguchi.
"We need to send a signal to the entire industry," Nakayama continued, explaining the business logic behind it. "Jupiter is not just a garden for Sega's first-party gas; it is also a money-printing machine for third-party manufacturers to earn excess profits. First-party gas are used to demonstrate the hardware's ceiling, while third-party gas are used to prove the prosperity of the ecosystem. Letting third parties steal the spotlight at E3 is more effective than us standing up there and bragging about our sales. A company that tries to hog everything for itself won't get far; expanding the pie is the only real path to success."
Hisao Oguchi understood.
This was a calculated gesture to signal their commitnt.
Sony is waving its checkbook around everywhere to buy exclusives, while Sega uses tangible promotional resources to elevate third-party developers to stardom.
As long as "Final Fantasy VII" and "Tomb Raider" sell well on the Jupiter, the Jupiter's market share advantage will be unshakable, and those developers still on the sidelines will lean toward Sega without hesitation.
"I will readjust the booth layout plan." Hisao Oguchi drew a circle on his mo pad, circling the nas of these two gas.
The work report ca to an end. Hisao Oguchi packed up his docunts, preparing to leave.
"Oguchi-san," Takuya Nakayama called out to him.
Hisao Oguchi sat up straight again.
"For future ga developnt projects, other than launch titles that involve brand-new hardware features, or projects that I specifically request, you and the general managers of the Developnt Departnt can decide on regular sequels and genre expansions yourselves. You don't need to bring every little detail to for approval."
Hisao Oguchi was stunned for a mont.
Sega's current situation largely depended on Takuya Nakayama's almost prophetic, acute sense for ga products.
From The King of Fighters to Pokémon, from tal Slug to Golden Sun, every project was launched with a precise finger on the pulse of the tis. Now, the Managing Director wants to delegate authority?
"You are..." Hisao Oguchi said, carefully choosing his words.
"Sega's ga developnt system is already running smoothly," Takuya Nakayama replied, leaning back in his chair and looking out the window. "Producers are responsible for creativity, the technical departnt provides underlying support, the planning departnt controls comrcial prospects, and the finance departnt calculates costs. This process is healthy. If every ga from a multinational giant requires a single executive to make the final call, then the company's resilience to risk is far too fragile."
He pushed the financial statent on the desk toward Hisao Oguchi.
"This is where I should be focusing my energy," Nakayama said, tapping his finger on the report. "Integrating the industrial chain, maintaining a healthy cash flow, negotiating IP licensing with Hollywood, and dealing with Wall Street capital. The enemies Sega faces in the future will be more than just Nintendo and Sony. As we extend our reach into every corner of the entertainnt industry, cultivating our internal strength will be more important than selling a few tens of thousands more gas."
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