Oguchi Hisao's hand froze as he turned the page. He stared at the proposal for a full ten seconds before slamming it shut.
"Take one," Oguchi said curtly.
Satoshi Tajiri, looking as if he'd just been granted a royal pardon, sprang forward and snatched up one of the heavy development kits. He turned and strode back to his seat, chest puffed out with pride.
That left eight machines.
In the seat next to him, Eiji Ogasawara shot to his feet. His team was responsible for the more casual, broader-audience Pokémon Great Adventure series.
"Managing Director, Director Koguchi. The development cycle for a mainline sequel is bound to be long, and it definitely won't make the first wave of launch titles. Our team has prepared a title that can perfectly fill the gap as a launch-window support game."
Ogasawara slid the proposal forward with both hands.
The cover bore a title that was both childishly playful and eye-catching: Pokémon Great Adventure: Team Rocket.
"Our previous titles, Pokémon Land on the Mega Drive and Pokémon Great Adventure on the Jupiter, were extremely well-received. This time, we plan to build on that light puzzle-action style and leverage Pokémon's unique abilities for the level design."
Ogasawara flipped open the inner pages, his words coming out in a rapid-fire stream. "The story is simple: Team Rocket has captured a group of Pokémon and locked them in a secret base filled with traps. With their trainers gone, the Pokémon must rely on each other and work together to escape."
Takuya Nakayama casually flipped through the level design sketches, raising an eyebrow.
"A puzzle game," Nakayama said, looking up with a sharp gaze. "How do you plan to build a social scene with this? A single-player, linear puzzle game will just be thrown in a corner to gather dust after one playthrough. How is that supposed to help us sell consoles?"
Ogasawara took a deep breath and pointed emphatically at the black console on the table, revealing his trump card.
"This game will be built around full-time co-op play!"
A low murmur rippled through the conference room as the team leaders exchanged glances.
A puzzle-action game on a handheld console, centered around co-op?
That was a rare move in the industry.
Ignoring the stir around him, Ogasawara continued his presentation. "By leveraging the high-speed transmission of infrared communication, two consoles can achieve seamless, real-time connectivity! Player A controls Pikachu, while Player B controls Bulbasaur."
He grabbed a whiteboard marker, spun around, and quickly sketched an asymmetrical map on the board behind him.
"Take this level, for example! Player A is stuck behind a locked iron gate, while the switch to open it is on a cliff on Player B's side! Player B has to use Bulbasaur's Vine Whip to reach across the gap and pull the lever. Only then will the gate open, allowing Player A to pass through. Immediately after, Player A must use Pikachu's Thunderbolt to power up a derelict generator, raising a drawbridge so Player B can cross safely!"
Ogasawara's excitement grew as he spoke, his marker tapping the whiteboard with a rapid thump-thump-thump, as if he were already playing the game.
"The entire game will require this kind of tight cooperation! They'll have to sit together, align their handhelds, and communicate as they play!"
"Hurry up and pull the switch! I'm about to get crushed!" "I've got a patrol bot over here—zap it through the fence to stun it first!" Ogasawara gestured wildly, mimicking the frantic yet joyful banter of players. "Combining this kind of real-life shouting and chatting with the life-or-death interdependence within the game will push the social stickiness of infrared communication to its absolute limit!"
Takuya Nakayama's lips finally curved into a smile he couldn't suppress.
Damn, this is just a handheld version of "It Takes Two" with Pokémon!
Using information asymmetry and asymmetrical level design to force players to communicate, argue, and cooperate. This logic, applied to a handheld console focused on portability and local multiplayer, was a match made in heaven!
"What if a player is a lone wolf and can't find a friend to play with?" Oguchi Hisao asked, remaining the voice of reason and throwing out the most critical business pain point.
"We've designed a single-player compromise mode," Ogasawara immediately interjected, clearly prepared. "In single-player mode, players can use the L/R buttons to switch control between the two Pokémon with a single press. The AI-controlled other Pokémon will simply follow. But this is just a compromise to ensure the game can be completed. On the summary screen for each level, we'll hint that the true fun can only be experienced in two-player co-op!"
Takuya Nakayama's slender fingers tapped the table twice, delivering the final verdict.
"This approach is brilliant. We're preserving the single-player experience while embedding double the fun into the two-player mode."
Takuya Nakayama stood up, leaning his hands on the table as his gaze swept across the room. He left them with a statement that every producer present would later hold as gospel: "Everyone, remember: Sega must never become a condescending company that tries to teach players how to play games. We only need to provide a setting and mechanics with the right degree of freedom. Even if players discover 'unintended' ways to play that far exceed our expectations after launch, that's just an extension of the game's charm."
Ogasawara nodded repeatedly, quickly scribbling the words into his notebook.
Oguchi Hisao looked at Takuya Nakayama's profile, a hint of admiration in his eyes. He then decisively pushed a development kit to the edge of the table.
"Take it. You're on the launch lineup."
Ogasawara picked up the machine, gave a deep bow, and retreated under the envious and jealous glares of those around him.
Noritaka Oba, the head of the Super Shinobi development team, immediately stood up as soon as Ogasawara took his seat.
Unlike the others, he didn't carry a thick planning document. Instead, he strode directly to the conference table, laid down a few slightly messy, hand-drawn level sketches—still bearing pencil erasures—and pushed them toward Oguchi Hisao.
"We want Dragon Ball," Oba said bluntly.
A low murmur immediately rippled through the conference room, like boiling oil.
The team leaders of the other core groups exchanged glances, their eyes filled with a mixture of surprise and wariness.
Everyone knew that Bandai had just been restructured and liquidated by Sega with ruthless efficiency. Consequently, the vast array of anime and manga IP game adaptation rights they had held were now naturally integrated into Sega's portfolio.
Now, countless eyes were fixed on Sega, waiting to see how they would digest these behemoths.
Especially Dragon Ball!
This was a national-level monster IP at the peak of its popularity, having even carved out a path to success in the West. Its fan base was immense, but also incredibly demanding.
Oguchi Hisao looked down at the sketches.
The drawing was solid, depicting Kid Goku holding the Power Pole, leaping high to strike a dinosaur with its jaws wide open.
"Oba, this IP is a hot potato," Oguchi Hisao said, tapping the desk sharply with his finger instead of immediately turning to the next sketch. His tone was grave. "Do you know how many eyes are watching us? Do you have any idea how Bandai has butchered these IPs in the past? A mountain of shoddy card battlers and reskinned grid-based RPGs. The first one was decent—it had some fresh ideas—but the sequels were pure stagnation, just milking the fans' nostalgia for a quick buck!"
Oguchi's sharp gaze pierced Oba's face. "If we mess this up, Sega's reputation and Bandai's newly acquired IP will both go down the drain. Your team is top-tier when it comes to hardcore action games, but manga adaptations are a whole different beast—the waters are deep. If you're planning to just copy Bandai's old, half-assed formula, you can forget it right now."
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