A ten-year warranty and return policy represented a massive cost for any company, but it also served as a tremendous incentive for distributors, quickly building their confidence.
With the ten-year warranty as a safety net, distributors could return faulty units to Sega at any time. In other words, if sales were strong, they profited. If sales were weak, they could still get their money back from Sega in time!
Unwittingly, Lin Dengwan had revealed the most reliable strategy:
*Don't sell a game console—sell a toy!*
The North American version of the FC was called the NES, nicknamed the "Gray Machine" by players due to its boxy, gray exterior.
During its launch, Nintendo deliberately avoided calling it a "game console," instead marketing it as a toy.
The FC was designed to look as much like a game console as possible, while the NES was designed to look as little like one as possible!
The fallout from Atari's collapse had been catastrophic, so severe that Americans recoiled at the mere mention of "games."
To protect the delicate sensibilities of American consumers, Nintendo repeatedly emphasized that they were selling toys, not game consoles.
Now, MS was aggressively promoting and taking pre-orders.
Nintendo wasn't idle either. While Sega's internal power struggles continued, Nintendo seized the opportunity to muddy the waters by backing Atlas, simultaneously intensifying its efforts to expand into the North American market.
However, just like Sega's situation:
They couldn't sell!
Although Nintendo of America hadn't yet been formally established, they already had a top executive in place: Arakawa Minoru, Hiroshi Yamauchi's son-in-law. Arakawa had never been much of a gamer himself, but he was an exceptional businessman. Historically, it was under his leadership that games like Tetris were added to Nintendo's library.
At that moment, Arakawa was tirelessly leading his team in grassroots marketing efforts, personally visiting stores and homes to persuade Americans to embrace the FC Game Console.
But after yet another rejection, Arakawa was bewildered.
He had heard about the stubbornness of the Japanese, but he never imagined Americans could be even more stubborn!
One afternoon, Arakawa Minoru was squatting by the roadside, munching on a hamburger, when a sweaty field sales representative came running up to him.
"Team Leader, Team Leader! Trouble! Our people got beaten up!"
Arakawa Minoru immediately stood up and rolled up his sleeves.
*A fight? Good! I'm on my way!*
"Who's fighting who?"
"Our people got beaten up by Sega of North America's field sales team!"
Arakawa Minoru grabbed a nearby brick.
*What else is there to say? Sega's people? Just take 'em down!*
Fights were inevitable in field sales. Anyone lacking the vision and drive wouldn't have been assigned to North America in the first place.
The ensuing brawl nearly attracted the police, but it ended with Arakawa Minoru's side proving more skilled in combat.
Arakawa Minoru glanced at a nearby game store and wiped his sweat.
"Sir, wouldn't you consider the Nintendo Game Console?"
"No!" The store manager locked the door and shouted through the glass, "Absolutely not! We've already signed an exclusive agreement with Sega!"
Arakawa Minoru froze.
"Didn't you say you wouldn't sell game consoles?"
"Exactly! Sega isn't selling game consoles—they're selling toys!"
Arakawa Minoru: ???
*What's the difference?!*
The game console wasn't selling, and now this terrible news had arrived. After days of intensive research, Arakawa Minoru reached a shocking conclusion.
Sega had moved faster, already capturing a portion of the market. Of course, another segment remained undecided, waiting to see how things would play out.
Sega planned to launch a new console in North America, marketing it as a "toy."
Simultaneously, Sega offered an unprecedented warranty!
Even more critical, Sega had made another demand:
Exclusivity!
Stores selling Sega consoles were forbidden from selling Nintendo consoles!
Arakawa Minoru was devastated. He was truly crushed.
He had considered these tactics himself, but he dared not propose them directly, knowing Hiroshi Yamauchi's temperament all too well.
If he dared promote the console in a way that harmed Nintendo's interests, Yamauchi might fly to America just to fire him on the spot!
Historically, when Arakawa had secretly implemented such promotional strategies, they had proven highly effective, but he had kept them hidden from Yamauchi.
When Yamauchi finally learned about Arakawa's high-warranty tactics, he flew into a rage and immediately recalled him to Japan.
Now, before Arakawa could even make a decision, part of the market had already slipped away.
"It's too late! We can't wait for my father-in-law's answer. If we don't act quickly, Sega will snatch up the entire market! Offer the same specifications as Sega immediately! And emphasize that Nintendo isn't selling game consoles—we're selling toys!"
His subordinates were both shocked and terrified.
"If we don't inform the president, we'll be in serious trouble!"
*In Japan, they'd sink us into Tokyo Bay. In America, they'll sink us into the Great Lakes!*
Given Nintendo's glorious history, they really would sink people into the Great Lakes!
But Arakawa Minoru remained resolute.
"There's no time! By the time he comes up with a new plan, it'll be too late! He'll never agree to this strategy. I'll take full responsibility for any consequences. The most important thing now is to secure market share—even if it's just pre-orders!"
He refused to believe Hiroshi Yamauchi would sink his own son-in-law into the Great Lakes!
"Have we secured the market yet?!"
---
Back in Japan, Kobayashi Tetsu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he heard the news.
In reality, the MS had a disadvantage compared to the FC. When the FC was exported to the United States, all it needed was a new shell called the NES and a conversion of the video output format from Japanese to American standards. That was sufficient.
But the MS was a redesigned and improved version of the SG.
Regardless, under pressure from Sega, the North American division finally approved the plan and began aggressively expanding into the market.
"I really want to fly to America right now!" Kobayashi Tetsu exclaimed, filled with emotion.
He had heard that the American market was in turmoil, almost like a "Home Console Wars" drama.
In Japan, Sonic had already been completed. Kobayashi Tetsu didn't need to find staff for the overseas versions, but Bandai still needed to promptly manufacture cartridges for the domestic market.
Even though Sega had opened up licensing for cartridges, all cartridges still required an encryption chip sold by Sega. Without this chip, a cartridge wouldn't be considered genuine.
Of course, there were ways to bypass the authentication, but Kobayashi Tetsu, being in the business of selling games, would never undermine his own interests by engaging in such practices.
"Bandai's cartridge production is now fully operational, and our overseas market expansion is well underway. We just need to wait until June, when the game console and cartridges launch simultaneously, to see the results!"
Kobayashi Tetsu let out a long sigh and leaned back in his office chair.
Atlas would temporarily halt game development to focus on porting their existing titles.
The MS wasn't fully compatible with SG games, requiring manual adaptation.
It was only a few months of downtime, and with just twenty-two employees, Kobayashi Tetsu could afford to keep them on.
"Oh, right."
Kobayashi Tetsu suddenly looked up.
"Naka Yuji."
Naka Yuji looked up. "Here, here. What's up?"
Kobayashi Tetsu said, "Go find a public phone and hire someone. Remember to cover your face and offer extra money. Have them call Nintendo."
"Tell them that Hiroshi Yamauchi's good son-in-law, Arakawa Minoru, is acting unilaterally in North America, making major decisions without consulting him at all."
Naka Yuji was deeply impressed.
*This is downright malicious!*
Please Support me by becoming my patreon member and get 15+ chapters.
[email protected]/Ajal69
change @ with a
Thank You to Those who joined my Patreon